As shared by Cutting Tool Engineering in the article “Fixturing a Big Ring”, Akron Gear & Engineering Inc. faced a tough decision during the height of the COVID-19 slowdown: outsource a complex project or find a way to handle it in-house despite equipment challenges. The company ultimately chose to keep the job in-house, showcasing the critical role that innovative fixturing plays in large-part machining.
The project involved machining a massive 1-ton steel ring made of 4340 alloy. Their go-to vertical turret lathe was undergoing a rebuild, forcing the team to shift the job to a horizontal CNC boring mill instead. The problem? They didn’t have the right fixturing to hold the part vertically—a fundamental change from their usual horizontal setup.
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Article with all rights reserved, courtesy of Cutting Tool Engineering — https://www.ctemag.com