A Quick Overview of Slotting Machines and Their Applications
24 August 2022Manufacturing companies can only provide for the needs of their clients if they will be using the right set of materials. They should also hire experienced and skilled professionals who can process various types of workpieces. Ultimately, these companies should invest in the right manufacturing machines to make their operations successful.
To date, many manufacturing machines can be used to carry out machining processes. Some processes include boring, milling, drilling, turning, sawing, reaming, and tapping. Another process that manufacturing companies carry out is slotting.
Slotting is a machining process that holds a workpiece on the machine table so it can be advanced into the path of a reciprocating ram with a cutting tool. This process intends to produce slots from a surface in vertical, horizontal, or inclined positions.
Main Parts of Slotting Machines
Slotting machines can carry out the slotting process for single or small batch production. These machines have cutting tools that move back and forth vertically while the object is being moved intermittently in a horizontal direction. The workpiece can likewise move on a circular arc.
The main parts of slotting machines are the base, cross-slide, handwheel, column, ram, and table. The base works as the bed or box that takes up all the forces from the cutting process and the machine’s load. Cross-slide, alternatively, is installed upon the saddle’s guideways that can be moved right parallel to the face of the column. A column is another slotting machine part comprised of the driving device of the ram and the feeding mechanism of the table.
Ram is the component responsible for the placement of the slotting tool, which moves at specific angles to the table to work on the workpiece. The table, ultimately, allows users to affix the workpiece. It can often be adjusted around the centre or horizontally. It can likewise be positioned in multiple degrees for indexing purposes.
How Slotting Machines Operate
Slotting machines often work vertically, ensuring that workpieces can be processed without any issues. The ram of these machines is connected to the crank. Since the crank is attached to the gears, any increase or decrease in the gear speed will also allow the crank’s rotation to increase or decrease. The ram will then move up and down based on the previously stated actions.
Now, upon setting the workpiece to the table, the cutting tool will then be commanded to move in reciprocating action. The interaction between the workpiece and the tool will then cut some part of the material to generate the needed slots. Most cutting tools used for these machines are made from high-speed steel or tool steel equipped with a carbide insert tip.
With their working principles, slotting machines can be utilised in cutting slots, shaping internal and external forms or profiles, and machining vertical surfaces. They can also be maximised in machining angular or inclined surfaces, generating complex parts, and machining blind holes. They can likewise cut grooves and keys. Some businesses that can benefit from slotting machines are repair shops, tool rooms, textile factories, steel-rolling mills, and power plants.
To know more about the slotting process and our services, you can contact us at Kinetic Engineering.
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