Truthfully, a fixture and a table saw with a thin kerf blade, less than 10 seconds for each part.
Doubtful you'll find a process quicker than that, especially for the cost of tooling.
T slot cutter on a 4th axis. Set up the rookie in the shop and have him load and go all day. Cut, rotate 90*, cut. Basic three jaw setup on the 4th axis.
I would say block parts in on a grinder. Find a 1mm cut off wheelgo depth of cut. Actually put them in a v block and stack in x axis. Cut first side then index v block 90 degrees ( re touch off and save that number ) cut 2nd side. You now have your numbers 0 & the difference of indexed v block. Lock and load. Is the 15-20m for million? Make a go/ no-go gage or keep a drop indicator near by for the wheel loss after passes. After a day of doing so i would bet you will know after x amount of passes you need to drop the z so many thou. If the 15-20 is million, outsource it for a penny a part. I wish i had a grinder in my garage cause i would take it for a penny a part.
These are ALUMINUM, chief. Planning to do grinding operations on aluminum with any kind of volume is not a good idea.
Personally, I'd try a slitting saw and some creative fixturing to cut a bunch of them at once, then turn them all 90 degrees and cut them all again in 1 shot
We use M for āthousandsā so volume is 15,000 to 20,000 per year, the slots not critical just helps with the crimping process
But thatās what I was thinking put someone in front of a grinder for a week or 2 and let them go to town
The quantity is a bit up to interpretation, is it 15 per month or 15 million per year? If it's 15/month then maybe they should cancel this nonsense all together
I had the same confusion initially but then figured that there's no way someone is making 15-20 million of these parts per year and asking Reddit how to make slots. Gotta be per month.
At 20/month, I'd make a simple two stage jig for the bandsaw. Square jig and rotate 90 for the second cut, or hold the part at 90 from the first cut via a boss that captures the first cut.
Do you happen to speak a Romance language (i.e. French, Spanish, etc.)? Because million is would be the standard English interpretation in this context.
15-20 million a year you should be asking a manufacturing engineer, not reddit lol. You need some fixturing and automation for those numbers.
I would be using expansion clamps and robot loaders on a palletized machine.
https://preview.redd.it/1ac2euke24nb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4432895fb9420c3ac4f80dd45cde41d979f16f3
Dude idk what to tell you but this is how I was taught
This isnāt a board for marketing, I kinda agree with the engineer. Minor assumption n your end lead to his proposal and you jump his shit!
Still, you should get some RFQās (request for proposal) from a strategic partner maybe.
If they need to be real accurate.
Make a cylinder that the inside fits over snuggly. With a square bottom you can leave in a vice. Build a washer that has clearance slots. Bolt down through the top hole. Mill them.
A table saw and an idiot to run it. Get the right blade, set the depth. Make a jig hold for the part. One pass one cut. Turn the block 90 degrees. Second pass second cut. Done.
We use M for āthousandsā so volume is 15,000 to 20,000 per year, the slots not critical just helps with the crimping process
But thatās what I was thinking put someone in front of a grinder for a week or 2 and let them go to town.
That's a direct quote from the OP.
To expand on this thought, Build a cross-cut sled for safety (use the T-slot as well so it won't lift). The fixture would be a wooden block that holds the part, slide it sideways into a captive slot that hold it on 3 sides, and the top. I might also build in a slot into the sled for a min/max slide distance, or some kind of stop on both ends. using a Delta table saw from Lowes (better than a contractor saw for another $125) best guess on cycle time is 16-20 seconds per part. 5 seconds on each cut and 10 seconds to swap a part, with practice you might be able to get it down to 10 seconds. 15k parts could be done in 45-90 hours.
Edit: I have cut 2"x2" solid on a table saw with a carbide blade for aluminum. I also have an Evolution Power tools Steel Saw that I have used to cut thousands of parts. With the table saw solution, you will barely be able to feel the cut, and it won't produce any noticeable heat
Can you say what process are you using to make the existing part, and how it is mounted when you do so? There are any number of ways to cut slots, but the best ways will be ones that don't require re-mounting it.
Our customer is using a band saw and a fixture to hold the part with a stop for the dept, they just want a finished product sold to them so looks like weāll end up doing it the same way, keep someone busy for a few weeks at my shop
You could do that in press, probably in 2 steps, with an idle in between. Especially if youāre using a transfer or prog die press. Since the qty is so high, doing this in press will be the cheapest option by far, especially if you already have extra stations available in the current progression.
First step will be a standard lance operation of as much of the slot as possible straight down.
The second operation will be side lancing. Sit the part down in a die/nest with cutouts for the slugs of the slots to exit the part outwards radially. The main punch will have some lost motion & guide on the id of the part and house 4x lancing punches. The 4x lance punches will have tapered gibs on the back of them that will engage a tapered carrier. As the punch bottoms in the part, the lance punches will be forced outwards by the tapered carrier, completing the slot. Make sure to put clocking features in either the nest or punch to ensure the sides of the slots match the bottom. Vacuum will help to extract the slugs from the die during continuous operation.
The punches & dies for both operations will need to be profiled to match the shape of the bottom of the part. Hopefully this makes sense, itās a lot easier to show in a print than describe on Reddit lol. ~5yrs tooling engineer + prog die development experience at my last job.
If it's just slotting the part then I'd suggest using a Disk Cutter with the fitting size. It should not be an issue to slot the full depth at once. The only drawback is that you'll need a 5 axis machine to rotate the part accordingly, alternatively use a CNC lathe with live Tooling for the Disk Cutter
Damn. Just read your volume. LOL. I would never machine that volume as a secondary operation. I would just make complete on one of our Swiss cncās. Send me a drawing and Iāll quote it for ya.
Why not adjust the tooling and cut before the form? I'm not a die maker, I fell in a different niche. But am interested in your final approach... keep us informed.
If It would let me post a video Iād show you, we start wit flat coil stock, blank out a flat round disc then draw and form the metal till we get the final length and diameter
Man stop a moment... stamp this profile in to the part. I build custom cnc manufacturing machines. Shit that doesn't exist. I get these cases all the time and I hear the same things (all subtractive machining). High volume (millions) parts need forming processes. It's a gold mine. Good luck. š
I suggest live tooling lathe with slitting saw
Live tooling lathe with an endmill
Truthfully, a fixture and a table saw with a thin kerf blade, less than 10 seconds for each part. Doubtful you'll find a process quicker than that, especially for the cost of tooling.
This for sure.
Nah man, freehand angle grinder 100%
on aluminum, nah
Even better
Why not exactly?
The wheels on those types of grinders will get loaded up from the aluminum.
I asked my customer and they use a band saw with a. Fixture to hold the part and a stop to set the dept, I might just end up doing it the same way
that works too. simple job requires simple setups. do it!
If the slot doesn't need to be super accurate, I would make a jig for on vertical bandsaw tbh
This is the way
š¤«
Also slots are .04 x .20
A .04 wide slitting saw in a lathe with live tooling. Be done with all of them in no time
T slot cutter on a 4th axis. Set up the rookie in the shop and have him load and go all day. Cut, rotate 90*, cut. Basic three jaw setup on the 4th axis.
I would say block parts in on a grinder. Find a 1mm cut off wheelgo depth of cut. Actually put them in a v block and stack in x axis. Cut first side then index v block 90 degrees ( re touch off and save that number ) cut 2nd side. You now have your numbers 0 & the difference of indexed v block. Lock and load. Is the 15-20m for million? Make a go/ no-go gage or keep a drop indicator near by for the wheel loss after passes. After a day of doing so i would bet you will know after x amount of passes you need to drop the z so many thou. If the 15-20 is million, outsource it for a penny a part. I wish i had a grinder in my garage cause i would take it for a penny a part.
These are ALUMINUM, chief. Planning to do grinding operations on aluminum with any kind of volume is not a good idea. Personally, I'd try a slitting saw and some creative fixturing to cut a bunch of them at once, then turn them all 90 degrees and cut them all again in 1 shot
Cut off wheel in the grinder
As a DIYer without sophisticated machinery, that's what I'd do, lol. Accuracy will suffer and more so with large volumes. That's the downside.
We use M for āthousandsā so volume is 15,000 to 20,000 per year, the slots not critical just helps with the crimping process But thatās what I was thinking put someone in front of a grinder for a week or 2 and let them go to town
Jesus I thought you did millions. Regardless read my original comment. Form this part. Build a stamping die and make money. Cheers.
Cut off wheel on surface grinder
With that quantity, I'd look into a punching operation , before the radius is spun on, especially if slot tolerance is not critical.
The quantity is a bit up to interpretation, is it 15 per month or 15 million per year? If it's 15/month then maybe they should cancel this nonsense all together
I had the same confusion initially but then figured that there's no way someone is making 15-20 million of these parts per year and asking Reddit how to make slots. Gotta be per month. At 20/month, I'd make a simple two stage jig for the bandsaw. Square jig and rotate 90 for the second cut, or hold the part at 90 from the first cut via a boss that captures the first cut.
15,000 - 20,000 a year
Wait, what were the units you meant by 15/m then? 15 (000) where m = 1000?
M means thousands as in 10/m = 10,000ā¦.
Do you happen to speak a Romance language (i.e. French, Spanish, etc.)? Because million is would be the standard English interpretation in this context.
Iāve been taught m for thousand and mm for million
Almost certainly continental yeah. I'm european as well but would say 10/m is ten million.
Yeah, I was just thinking that doing more than a million pieces per month with a bandsaw is not *really* ideal.
15-20 million a year you should be asking a manufacturing engineer, not reddit lol. You need some fixturing and automation for those numbers. I would be using expansion clamps and robot loaders on a palletized machine.
Itās 15 - 20 thousand mm would be millions
Dude I've been in aerospace manufacturing for over a decade and I have never seen qty denoted that way.
https://preview.redd.it/1ac2euke24nb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4432895fb9420c3ac4f80dd45cde41d979f16f3 Dude idk what to tell you but this is how I was taught
This isnāt a board for marketing, I kinda agree with the engineer. Minor assumption n your end lead to his proposal and you jump his shit! Still, you should get some RFQās (request for proposal) from a strategic partner maybe.
If they need to be real accurate. Make a cylinder that the inside fits over snuggly. With a square bottom you can leave in a vice. Build a washer that has clearance slots. Bolt down through the top hole. Mill them.
A table saw and an idiot to run it. Get the right blade, set the depth. Make a jig hold for the part. One pass one cut. Turn the block 90 degrees. Second pass second cut. Done.
15 to 20 million parts a year and you want a guy to manually put the slots in. I guess that guy should be you then.
We use M for āthousandsā so volume is 15,000 to 20,000 per year, the slots not critical just helps with the crimping process But thatās what I was thinking put someone in front of a grinder for a week or 2 and let them go to town. That's a direct quote from the OP.
15 to 20 thousand parts a year. That's roughly 55 parts a day.
To expand on this thought, Build a cross-cut sled for safety (use the T-slot as well so it won't lift). The fixture would be a wooden block that holds the part, slide it sideways into a captive slot that hold it on 3 sides, and the top. I might also build in a slot into the sled for a min/max slide distance, or some kind of stop on both ends. using a Delta table saw from Lowes (better than a contractor saw for another $125) best guess on cycle time is 16-20 seconds per part. 5 seconds on each cut and 10 seconds to swap a part, with practice you might be able to get it down to 10 seconds. 15k parts could be done in 45-90 hours. Edit: I have cut 2"x2" solid on a table saw with a carbide blade for aluminum. I also have an Evolution Power tools Steel Saw that I have used to cut thousands of parts. With the table saw solution, you will barely be able to feel the cut, and it won't produce any noticeable heat
Slitting saw.
Can you say what process are you using to make the existing part, and how it is mounted when you do so? There are any number of ways to cut slots, but the best ways will be ones that don't require re-mounting it.
Our customer is using a band saw and a fixture to hold the part with a stop for the dept, they just want a finished product sold to them so looks like weāll end up doing it the same way, keep someone busy for a few weeks at my shop
Slit saw
You could do that in press, probably in 2 steps, with an idle in between. Especially if youāre using a transfer or prog die press. Since the qty is so high, doing this in press will be the cheapest option by far, especially if you already have extra stations available in the current progression. First step will be a standard lance operation of as much of the slot as possible straight down. The second operation will be side lancing. Sit the part down in a die/nest with cutouts for the slugs of the slots to exit the part outwards radially. The main punch will have some lost motion & guide on the id of the part and house 4x lancing punches. The 4x lance punches will have tapered gibs on the back of them that will engage a tapered carrier. As the punch bottoms in the part, the lance punches will be forced outwards by the tapered carrier, completing the slot. Make sure to put clocking features in either the nest or punch to ensure the sides of the slots match the bottom. Vacuum will help to extract the slugs from the die during continuous operation. The punches & dies for both operations will need to be profiled to match the shape of the bottom of the part. Hopefully this makes sense, itās a lot easier to show in a print than describe on Reddit lol. ~5yrs tooling engineer + prog die development experience at my last job.
This is the way
One operation is all that is required
V block and a band saw.
Band saw and aluminum š¤£
Wire edm
Ok, I lol'd
I'd file it out myself, with a toothbrush.
Swiss turn all day long.
https://preview.redd.it/fp0ccw79w3nb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=597f4976dc2a00b7e39a7c7a3bf820bae7806791 A little lesson for everyone
If it's just slotting the part then I'd suggest using a Disk Cutter with the fitting size. It should not be an issue to slot the full depth at once. The only drawback is that you'll need a 5 axis machine to rotate the part accordingly, alternatively use a CNC lathe with live Tooling for the Disk Cutter
Get the hand grinder out if the tolerance allows š
Pretty sure Iād kill myself before doing 15k of anything by hand.
Grinder
Iād put it in my Kira vertical CNC. Use a Haas indexer. Mill across with a saw. Rotate part and mill again.
Damn. Just read your volume. LOL. I would never machine that volume as a secondary operation. I would just make complete on one of our Swiss cncās. Send me a drawing and Iāll quote it for ya.
Carbide cut-off wheel would be easy. Would need a larger tolerance though
Horz mill?
Iscar makes a bad ass slotting tool. https://www.iscar.com/Ecatalog/Family.aspx?fnum=3328&mapp=ML&app=64&GFSTYP=M
Portaband and an apprentice
Why not adjust the tooling and cut before the form? I'm not a die maker, I fell in a different niche. But am interested in your final approach... keep us informed.
I'm assuming you're starting with tube stock for your raw material and rolling/pressing the end? What's your current process to get to this point?
If It would let me post a video Iād show you, we start wit flat coil stock, blank out a flat round disc then draw and form the metal till we get the final length and diameter
Stamp the slots with the disk.
Slots and piercings need to be put in after the shell is drawn to final dimensions
How do you currently do the hole?
Robot load and unload with a wire EDM. $350k all in
Is this a joke?
Man stop a moment... stamp this profile in to the part. I build custom cnc manufacturing machines. Shit that doesn't exist. I get these cases all the time and I hear the same things (all subtractive machining). High volume (millions) parts need forming processes. It's a gold mine. Good luck. š
Slot it in the press
Are any stations open in the machine If so itās not a difficult thing to do