MACHINING / TECHNOLOGY

ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE MACHINE (EDM) - FANUC WIRE CUT

EDM is a final step in the manufacturing process whereby material is ‘eroded’ away through electrical spark discharges. N the case of wire EDM, a filament of wire runs between two operating guides and is set close to the work piece. The work piece, which sits in a fluidised chamber, never makes contact with the wire.

The Wire Cut main attraction is its capability to conform to copious amounts of shapes and contours along with its extreme accuracy, reliability and fine finishes.

HOFLER RAPID GRINDER

Geographe identified the need to supply higher quality products to its clients by acquiring the Hofler CNC Gear Grinder, one of the most advanced gear grinders of its kind in Australia. Controlled by torque motor precision, the Hofler CNC Gear Grinder at Geographe powers through the task of grinding gears of up to 1500mm diameter with high accuracy and quality finish. The revolutionary table drive technology replaces the old worm and wheel indexing system improving grinding precision - thereby producing smoother, quieter running gearing. Recent commissioning trials at Geographe produced a gear DIN 1 quality - the highest rating.

The end benefits of these features to customer work is threefold:

1. Better load distribution per tooth giving higher torque capability
2. Less wear meaning much longer life
3. Better tooth mesh and finish offering lower noise output

CYLINDRICAL GRINDING

With the built-in intelligence of an automated measuring system, Geographe’s Shigiya robotically-loaded Cylindrical Grinder is not only accurate but provides extreme reliability. Measuring its own output with a probe, the Shigiya grinds to a minimum tolerance of 0.003mm.

The Shigiya is capable of grinding 50mm - 200mm diameters, up to 1650mm in length, weighing up to 250kg. GeographeTM utilises its inhouse robot in conjunction with the grinder to provide automatic cell loading.

ROBOTIC TURNING CENTRE

The Integrex 50 Robotic Turning Centre is the result of a five year world wide search driven by Geographe’s vision for a multifunctional turning centre capable of producing an unattended, automated economic batch quantity of one. With customisation, it has become a unique and sophisticated integration of: milling, turning and automatic loading, with interchangeable jaws and robotic hands.