sawing/cutting
uperalloys are being selected more frequently to replace carbon steel alloys in a variety of applications. Superalloys are specifically designed to have high strength at high temperatures, making them ideal for the aviation and aeronautic industries and other environments where these special properties are required. Superalloys are also more resistant to corrosion, oxidation, and wear and tear.
Composites are a combination of elements in a structure or atomic arrangement, which is often complicated and repeated regularly in the configuration of their structure. Superalloys use the power of “phase variation.” This means that instead of having one atomic arrangement repeated throughout the material, superalloys have multiple atomic arrangements known as “phases.” A simple comparison is water versus ice. Ice has the same molecular composition as water but a different atomic arrangement or phase. The physical properties of the material are much different, even though the molecular composition is the same.
HE&M Saw has taken this feature to another level. According to Max Harris, HE&M’s chief engineer, the newest version of Cut Watcher is called Active Cut Watcher. This improved feature tracks, monitors and reports the straightness of the cut and initiates actions to straighten the cut. This feature prevents material waste and improves the efficiency of the sawing process tremendously.
The saw is able to continue the cutting process rather than stopping the sawing cycle due to the blade-track deviation by automatically increasing the tension on the blade using a cylinder to exert additional blade tension pressure. The increased tension on the blade provides for a more rigid blade, helping it to maintain a straight cut longer.
Tests have shown that both features will increase blade life and provide for straight cuts more consistently, even as the blade begins to dull. SCT is an advancement of a previous and still-viable feature called the Computer Controlled Traverse, or CCT, which HE&M has offered for decades.
A third improved feature is also based on an older patented HE&M Saw design: Blade Enhancer. Blade Enhancer has been around for decades and was based on a concept that is often used when sawing by hand. It provides a “rocking” motion to the blade, which is similar to the see-saw motion used when cutting a log using a hand saw. The unique pressure control reduces the surface area contacting the teeth. The concentrated force on fewer teeth reduces cutting time, increases blade life and improves the sawing process when cutting hard materials like superalloys, due to the increased penetration of the teeth.
Along with these new and updated features, the DC22HA-CTS2 model will integrate into Industry 4.0 functions using MT Connect. The Association for Manufacturing Technology has developed this open-source communication standard to allow a variety of machines to communicate, which facilitates remote machine monitoring and offline job programming.
“Our band saws are more often being designed in line with what has been used in the CNC machine universe, by updating our saw controls and providing higher precision for the primary process of sawing,” Harris says, adding that the machine builder will continue to develop new features.