Product category:
Machine Building Components
News Release from: Waldmann Lighting | Subject: RL 70 CE fluorescent tube luminaries
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 13 February 2006
Lighting aids tool production
Supplementary machine tool lighting helps a leading manufacturer, that supplies components and tooling to the extrusion and petrochemical industries, avoid costly and disruptive machining problems.
Supplementary machine tool lighting from Waldmann Lighting is helping a manufacturer avoid costly and disruptive machining problems Based in Staverton, Gloucestershire, Intoco specialises in supplying components and tooling to the extrusion and petrochemical industries
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 9 May 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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This often means responding quickly to help a customer get back into production, and is predominantly high-accuracy one-off or low batch work in difficult materials such as high tensile tool steels and duplex and super-duplex stainless steels.
That adds up to a need to machine large and valuable components, right first time, every time and with no room for damage caused by tool failure - which is where the need for good lighting comes in.
As Intoco's Managing Director Tony Preece said: "When you are working in high tensile tool steel with high stock removal rates the need to be able to view the machining process is paramount".
"When you machine material in its hardened state as we are it is crucial to be able to clearly observe the workpiece and tool".
The initial indications of tool failure can come from the condition of the swarf.
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Secondly, when machining difficult materials, carbide failure can occur instantly, particularly when drawing high amperages and with high stock removal rates.
"If you don't catch that burn out just as it happens you can sustain damage to the tool - and that means you need a clear view of the point of cut," said Preece.
On the types of machine tools that Intoco is using, however - CNC lathes with driven tooling and large enclosed multi-axis machining centres - low light levels inside the machine can make it hard to see what is going on.
"I have to say that in my opinion manufacturers of machine tools do not pay as much attention to lighting as they should, and most machine tools as supplied don't have a high enough light level inside the cabinet," he said.
"I speak to a number of engineering companies and they all complain about not having enough light on the job".
To try to overcome this problem, Intoco experimented with various supplementary light sources, but the results were disappointing.
They didn't provide sufficient light, and because of the arduous conditions they had to work in - with heavy chip impacts and constant drenching with high-pressure coolant - they failed in a very short time.
Preece then approached Waldmann Lighting to see if it could come up with a solution.
The firm appraised each machine individually, trying out a number of different possibilities in situ, and designed a lighting scheme for each one using a variety of different fluorescent tube lights.
Waldmann's RL 70 CE fluorescent tube luminaries provide a range of options that allow machine tool suppliers and users to provide appropriate lighting exactly where it is needed for safe and error-free setup and operation.
Single or double tube versions are available in various sizes and power levels, with or without glare-reducing parabolic louvres that create a tightly controlled directional beam.
They use high-frequency electronic ballasts that ensure energy-efficient operation with no possibility of hazardous strobing effects, and advanced T5 tube technology to get the greatest possible output from the smallest possible light.
The luminaries are designed to withstand the hostile environment of the machining zone; they are sealed against moisture and dust to IP67 and housed in tough borosilicate glass shield to resist heavy chip impacts and other knocks.
For Intoco, Waldmann Lighting designed individual lighting schemes with up to five high-intensity RL 70 CE fluorescent tube lights per machining centre.
It used carefully chosen variants from the RL 70 CE range to create a combination of general area and directional lighting that provided the required quality of light everywhere in the machine tool envelope.
"We wanted a good level of overall lighting, but we also wanted focused light on the job," said Preece, and this is where the reflective parabolic louvres came into play".
"They give a very intense light coming down onto the work, and they also stop any glare".
"Wherever the spindle and the component are the light is always good and doesn't throw a shadow on the job at any point".
"The benefits have been very significant".
The operator can now maintain visual contact with the point of cut at all times and recognise from the condition of the swarf if a tool failure is imminent.
Graeme Hall, Managing Director of Waldmann Lighting , added: "Greater control over the machining process is not the only benefit of good lighting in the workplace".
"Not many people seem to realise this, but the European Machinery Directive, as set out in EN1837 calls for at least 500lux in the working area with no glare, shadowing or stroboscopic effect".
"But it isn't just a question of compliance, it is good common sense to make sure that the workplace is adequately lit".
"There are clear causal relationships between working conditions and performance that show just how important good lighting can be".
"The direct results of effective workplace lighting include reduced absenteeism, greater efficiency, improved concentration levels, fewer rejects and higher productivity". Request a free brochure from Waldmann Lighting ...
"It needn't cost much more to get the lighting right and extra expenditure will soon prove its value.".
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