Get Smart: Smart Damper for Turning, Cutting Data App for Smartphones and Tablets

As part of their growing offering of turning solutions, BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc. (Hoffman Estates, IL) has released their Smart Damper boring bar for lathe applications. A heavyweight, strengthened damping mechanism integrated into the tool holder functions as both a dynamic counter and friction damper. It instantaneously absorbs vibration and eliminates chatter helping to achieve higher machining accuracy, better surface finishes and increased metal removal rates for higher productivity at critical machining depths. It’s also designed with the capability of supplying coolant through the body directly to the cutting edge. The Smart Damper boring bar features three modular insert holders, optimized for right-hand ID turning with ISO standard inserts at a minimum diameter of Ø1.58 in. Metric bodies are available in Ø32 mm and 40 mm, with inch versions at Ø1.250 in and 1.500 in. The general rule of thumb with this system is boring depths are possible at approximately 7xd.

“Normally, when vibration occurs cutting speeds need to be reduced,” explained Jack Burley, the vice president of sales and engineering at BIG KAISER. “These cutting speeds affect efficiency, surface finish and tool life. The Smart Damper series has been so impactful for our customers, we made bringing this boring bar to market one of our top priorities as we expand our turning line.”

Leveraging the precision of BIG KAISER tooling through remote real-time information access further improves productivity and control on the factory floor. Now the company has developed a smartphone and tablet app to enhance the user-experience when assembling and running boring tools while providing extremely precise cutting data. This app will also help operators fine-tune the optimal cutting parameters for their tool assemblies. They can save their tool adjustment history in the app for future reference; this is an essential piece of the puzzle for shops joining the smart manufacturing movement. This app currently supports 50 BIG KAISER boring heads, covering diameters from .016 in up to 24.41 in. Cutting data for roughing and finishing tools is available in both inch and metric units.

Using the app is child’s play: Choose your tool, enter your application values, calculate your cutting data, input it into your control, make a measuring bore, adjust the tool, and bore away. “Today, machining is just as much about controlling processes as the actual tools themselves. Manufacturing needs accurate, real-time and mobile information management and this new app delivers just that,” noted Chris Kaiser, the chief executive officer of BIG KAISER. “We are very excited by the app’s crisp visual appearance, ease of use and the extremely precise cutting data that it will provide to our customers – everything at their fingertips for improved productivity and control.”

The key benefit that this app brings the user is that machine and tool data, parameters and settings are always available and can be monitored remotely in real-time. Comprehensive information is displayed on a large legible screen, providing greater comfort than the existing on-machine interface. More precise information should lead to improved decision-making, thereby contributing to the bottom line. The app is available now for free download from the App Store and Google Play by searching “BIG KAISER Boring App.” Beta testing is already underway for direct synchronization with their next generation of digital boring heads, the EWD-EVO. Features will include visual display of head adjustments on the app for easier in-machine adjustments and saving of cutting data for specific heads and operations. These app features, along with the new digital heads, are expected to be available late 2017.

BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc., 2600 Huntington Boulevard, Hoffman Estates, IL 60192, 224-770-2999, Fax: 224-770-2997, bigkaiser@us.bigkaiser.com, www.us.bigkaiser.com.