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One of the things
that HE&M Saw excels at is responding to customer input and
solving their problems. Here’s
a typical problem and solution from the engineers and designers at
HE&M Saw:
A
customer wants a saw that will cut at a constant rate of speed; that
is, he wants a saw that he can adjust to cut an exotic type of steel
at exactly 9 square inches per minute.
The customer, who refers to tables and calculations provided by
both the steel manufacturer and the blade manufacturer, determines
this speed. Part of the
equation is determined by the customer’s needs.
The material could be cut faster, but blade life and accuracy
might suffer. It could be
cut slower, but production times (and labor costs) would increase.
So
HE&M Saw designed the Computer Controlled Traverse System.
This is a system that allows the saw operator to quickly
program the exact rate of traverse required for cutting a given
material. Suppose
he has a bar that is eight inches by eight inches.
This bar has 64 square inches and must be cut at a speed of 9
square inches per minute to comply with the customer’s specific
requirements. All the operator has to do is enter two pieces of information
into the computer: the
width and the cutting rate (in square inches per minute) On
the CCT keypad, the operator punches in an 8 for width and a 9 for
rate. He’s finished. The
saw and CCT does the rest. When
the saw begins cutting, the arm will traverse at a rate of exactly 9
square inches per minute.
Here’s
a bit of information about using a constant traverse system of
cutting: constant traversing speed is used to maintain a uniform speed
through the material.
The advantages are:
Uniform
chip thickness
As the blade teeth get dull, the chip thickness will remain constant.
If the material work-hardens, the blade will be forced into the
material.
Cutting times will remain constant
The disadvantages are:
Slower
cutting times in non-uniform cross-sections.
As the teeth get dull, the blade may cut crooked.
When the blade teeth are too dull to cut, the blade will stall and
slip on the wheel Each different width material will require a
different traversing rate.
The
HE&M Saw Computer Controlled Traverse System specifically
addressed the “disadvantages” of the constant feed method.
If the blade teeth begin to dull, the Cut Watcher will notify
the operator that a reduction in traverse speed is necessary.
The operator, on seeing that the blade is beginning to cut
crooked, simply reduces the traverse speed.
When the blade is too dull to cut at the programmed speed, the CCT
will automatically stop traversing and shift into the “cutting
force” system. In other
words, under normal circumstances, the saw will never cut faster than
the maximum force allowed. This
system saves blades and saves cuts.
The
CCT incorporates a sophisticated vector drive motor driving dual
precision ball screws and works in conjunction with the lift cylinder
to achieve this system.
TESTIMONIALS:
Testimonials
to the value of the CCT have come from David Parker of Forged Products
in Houston, Texas and Dick Payne of Schultz Steel in South Gate,
California.
Parker
states that there is a dramatic increase in blade life.
He indicates that the blade on the HE&M Saw Model 8080 is
now about three weeks per blade on a saw that virtually runs 24 hours
a day, 6-7 days per week.
Dick Payne indicates that,
“We are very pleased with the CCT.
We’re getting a 200% to 250% increase in productivity.
We’re averaging 6 square inches per minute cutting titanium. Yes,
we’re very pleased.” Schultz
Steel has twoH130DC HE&M Saws.
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