Western Tool Company

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Tuesday, July 31, 2018

SANDING WOODEN FLOORS, ADVICE from Western Tool Company

How to Sand and Refinish Wooden Floorboards - Tips From Professional Floor Sanders

Guest Post By Charles Okwechime
 
https://www.westerntoolco.com/
Sanding Products At Westerntoolco.com
HOW TO SAND WOODEN FLOORS AND FLOORBOARDS: Refinishing Hardwood Floors - Tips from Professional Floor Sanders.
Some of the most frequent questions we get asked are about How To Sand Wooden Floors & Floorboards. So here's a step by step guide to our Wood Floor Sanding Process.
Tips from Professional Floor Sanders.
You can follow this step by step guide to get the perfect floor restoration job and bring your Wooden Floor to its old Glory.
Woof Floor Sanding is a multi-step process. Of course it's not a rocket science as many will think but
this guide will definitely help you understand the process and what to expect from a professional wood floor sanders if you decide to hire them or decided to do it yourself.
Is the floor solid or engineered? If your floor has already been sanded in the past, can it take any more? You might need to remove a section of the door threshold or skirting board to find out.
Which sanding belt or sanding disc grit should be used?. This depends on the condition of the floor. If it's badly worn and uneven, start with a coarse sandpaper followed by successively less coarse papers. Sandpaper grits for wooden flooring generally range from 16 through to 150 grit, with 16 being the most aggressive and 150 the finest.

For Abrasives and Finishing products to order online, visit Westerntoolco.com, click here


Step 2 - Sanding Preparation of the Room for Wood Floor Sanding
USEFUL TIPS:

  • For complex herringbone pattern floors, sand in the same direction as the light source.

  • For Parquet flooring, sand at a 45 degree angle to the pattern.

Step 3 - Vacuuming of your wood floor
Step 4 - Wood Floor Sanding
Step 5 - Edges And Corners
Step 6 - Final Sanding Finish
When it comes to choosing wooden floor finishes and treatments there's a wide range of different options to suit everyone's style and needs. If you are lacking inspiration and need help, Pinterest can be a great place to start looking and to get those creative juices flowing.
Staining

  • Products like Morrells Light Fast Solvent Wood Stains are great for delivering beautiful wood grain definition and an excellent overall colour. Because they're spirit based and dry pretty fast, it's best to only apply them to a small area at a time to avoid patches. Take it easy and you should be fine.

  • Apply your stain with a brush, rag or special mohair pad. Get rid of any excess with a clean, dry cloth to help the final lacquer finish stick properly.

  • Never use an exterior wood stain designed for decking, fencing or garden furniture, since they contain water repellents which also repel water based floor lacquers.

Sealing

  • Always choose a water based floor finish that includes a primer/sealer, designed to enhance the wood's natural colour and reduce the risk of 'side bonding', where the planks or parquet tiles get stuck together. If the wood shrinks - which it often does because of atmospheric conditions, central heating and seasonal temperature changes - the lacquer film gluing the wood together cracks, which looks awful.

  • Apply your sealer with a t-bar applicator or a short pile mohair roller. Apply the sealer thinly and evenly and don't put pressure on the roller. Be gentle, applying no pressure, and let the roller do the job it's designed for.

  • When the sealer is completely dry, which usually takes anywhere between two and four hours, you can apply your first layer of water-based topcoat. You don't need to do any more sanding.

Lacquering
Did you know that varnish and lacquer are the same thing? The trade tend to refer to varnishes as laquers while the public more commonly refer to these products as varnishes.

  • Again, use a t-bar applicator or a short haired microfibre roller to spread the product evenly over the floor. Remember not to use any downward pressure, instead letting the roller do its job. If you press down you can form annoying pools of superfluous lacquer.

  • Leave 2-3 hours to dry completely, after which you should sand the lacquer with a rotary sanding machine (often called a de-nib) and a 150/180 mesh screen.

  • Clean off all the dust and debris and you're ready to apply the top coat.

Step 7 - Clean & Tidy up
Step 8 - Application of Finish
Step 9 - Final Inspection
After sanding your wooden floors, you can also re-colour your floor using our range of oil based colourings. Once you've applied the stain we can then seal it in the wood helping to keep a long-lasting finish to your wooden floors.
You can also read all the useful tips on how to sand wooden floors and floorboards here at: http://floor-sanding-portsmouth.co.uk/blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Charles_Okwechime/2319790
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Sand-and-Refinish-Wooden-Floorboards---Tips-From-Professional-Floor-Sanders&id=9494362

Friday, July 27, 2018

MEASURING HUMIDITY IN MANUFACTURING from Western Tool Company

Humidity Measurement

Guest Post By Rolandas Obsta
The measurement of pressure dew point in compressed air systems or gas distribution networks has become more important recently. Manufacturers worldwide are getting aware of negative effects of having too much moisture in the air / gas pipes, as it can cause:
  • Corrosion in the pipes
  • Reduces lifespan of pneumatic parts
  • Failures in actuators
  • Contamination of compressed air system in general
  • Unscheduled production stops.
  • Incalculable additional production costs

Visit Westerntoolco.com for humidity measuring equipment and our complete online catalog


Dryers used to remove moisture from gas, are not always performing as they intend to do, mostly caused by a poor maintenance. Humidity measurement acts as a kind of insurance system, monitoring the dryer performance and indicating alarms whenever values are out of valid ranges. As a result it provides:
  • Fast responses to failures in compressed air drying through permanent monitoring of pressure dew point.
  • Increase the lifespan of compressed air system and it components.
  • Make maintenance of the compressed air system more efficient.
  • Ensures stable quality of products through less problems in operation of the system

But humidity measurement is not only restricted to applications in air / gas drying. There are many more processes in industry where a well monitored dew point is crucial for the overall process and the quality of the products.
Applications for dew point monitoring:
  • Plastic injection and blow molding
  • High voltage switch gears and transformers
  • Spray painting process
  • Bottle filling
  • Medical gases
  • Pipeline drying

Compressed air is used in brake systems and door openers of rail vehicles. It has to be free of any condensate otherwise the brake system and the pneumatic door openers may freeze in winter and corrosion damages in the distribution network and at pneumatic components (cylinders, valves) can occur. For this reason a regular dew point measurement is essential.
The humidity sensor provides reliable and long term stable dew point monitoring in industrial applications. The newly developed sensor features improved signal and stability in demanding industrial applications. Drifts caused by temperature changes, dust and aging are eliminated by the electronics providing reliable measurements. Recalibration interval thus could be increased to 2 years.
The measured dew point is output via a 4-20 mA signal output. The integrated display shows online measurement values and alarm status. One alarm can be programmed which will activate a relay.
Benefits
  • Humidity sensor for low dew point applications down to -80 �C
  • Graphic display, relay output
  • IP65 casing provides robust protection in rough environment
  • Very fast response time ensures safe and reliable indication
  • Can be installed directly into dryers through G 1/2" thread
  • High accuracy of �2 �C dew point

Company Riveja specializes in test and measurement systems and equipments for industrial use. Our product range covers everything from transducer to the full size production tests solutions. We design and manufacture customized test and measurement systems. Our services include automation design, manufacturing and commissioning. Riveja's measurement solutions are mainly used in product development, research and maintenance. Riveja has a wide selection of devices from transducer to the high-end analyzers. Typical measurable values are temperature, vibration, pressure, rotation, force, torque, strain and noise. Systems are widely used in vehicle- and defense industry, universities, research institutes, electronics and in machine building applications.
For more information please see: [http://www.riveja.lt]
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Rolandas_Obsta/953027
http://EzineArticles.com/?Humidity-Measurement&id=6193192

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

MATERIAL HANDLING, INDUSTRIAL STORAGE SUPPLIES: Keep Production Safe

Material Handling Equipment: Industrial Storage Supplies To Keep Production Safe And Efficient

Guest Post By Greg A Palmer
https://www.westerntoolco.com/
Material Storage Supplies at Western Tool Company
Material handling is the foundation of every efficient, safe industrial process. No matter the level of sophistication of a production facility, the line can only move as fast as raw materials are brought in and finished goods are moved out. This also plays a major role in safety; moving large amounts of goods quickly and efficiently has to be done with a strong emphasis on safety. A dropped load not only causes damage and product loss, but also endangers workers. Highly effective material handling systems and equipment, right down to individual hoist rings, have to be designed and implemented with safety and efficiency as high priorities.
Material Handling On The Production Floor
Managing supplies and inventory takes place in the two major areas of storage of stock and utilizing materials in the production area. After goods come off of the shelf or out of the truck, they have to be
utilized in the production process and that requires a unique set of material handling devices. Many times, this comes in the form of cranes, hoist rings, and rigging systems. Many devices for inventory management and transportation are considered catalog items, meaning that they are standard across supply companies for ease of use.
The crucial component in any rigging system is the weakest link. Every single part of an overhead system has to be rated for twice the expected load to ensure nothing fails. This means every component, from rigging down to hoist rings, has to be capable of easily managing a heavy load, even if a partial failure occurs.
These requirements break down into a number of design decisions for effective and safe material handling. One such decision comes into play for choosing hoist rings. Fixed hoist rings offer a greater rated load, but swivel mount fixed rings offer more maneuverability and a better range of motion for loading goods onto the production line. Materials of construction are also a key design decision. For example, in a corrosive chemical environment, the use of carbon steel hoist rings would be disastrous; it would be better to utilize stainless steel or heavy duty polymers in this situation.
Industrial Storage Supplies
The bulk of material handling decisions are involved with storage of both raw materials and finished products before final shipment. The most common solution comes down to pallets and pallet racks. These systems are catalog items to facilitate easy storage and the ability to expand warehousing capabilities. Pallets are so common because they are easy to work with, handle many different types of loads, and are made for stacking when combined with rack systems.
Rack systems make for an ideal use of storage space. Long rows and high columns allow every square inch of a warehouse to be utilized from floor to ceiling. Most importantly, these racks allow for safe and secure stacking of pallets. All of the stacked and stored goods can be easily reached with any number of pallet handling devices for quick retrieval.

Western Tool Company has a complete line of Material Handling and Storage Inventory, click here for our online catalog

The list of equipment designed to carry, lift, and load pallets could fill up a book by itself. The most commonly used devices in industry tend to be pallet jacks, forklift trucks, dollies, carts, and hand trucks. In order to move inventory vertically, forklift trucks and powered jacks are often utilized. Once the inventory is on the floor, any number of manual and powered devices are well suited for moving stock throughout a warehouse or facility. Best of all, most of these options only require a single person to move an entire load either by hand or with a truck or powered jack.
Even More Material Handling Options
Beyond racks and rigging systems, companies have a plethora of choices when it comes to effective inventory management, storage, and utilization. Just a few of the catalog items available include drum handling equipment from specialized jacks and hoists to platforms and movers. A wise array of carts can serve nearly any purpose. Caster and wheels can be added to any stable platform to instantly create a mobile cart. Conveyor belts and systems, whether powered or with rollers, are ideal for moving stock down a line. Forklift trucks come in a diverse array of sizes and configurations with enough accessories to allow them to perform nearly any duty. Dock and outdoor equipment is available for handling the loading and unloading of trucks and covered vans. The list goes on and on.
No matter the item, every device has to be used and maintained properly to ensure safe and efficient storage and transportation of goods and materials.
Greg Palmer is an author for Reid Supply, an industrial distribution company with a 60 year history supplying customers in all 50 states and over 40 countries with material handling.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Greg_A_Palmer/367306
http://EzineArticles.com/?Material-Handling-Equipment:-Industrial-Storage-Supplies-To-Keep-Production-Safe-And-Efficient&id=5939555

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

SUPPLYPRO VENDING: CONTROL INVENTORY IN MANUFACTURING from Western Tool Company

https://www.westerntoolco.com/
Supplypro products at Western Tool Company

SupplyPro products at Western Tool Company

The first auto-configurable inventory control system designed to control what, where, and when you want, at the exact quantity required. And if your needs change, so does the SupplySystem.  Every SupplySystem is individually configured to meet your requirements. Whether you're looking for a low cost system to manage a handful of critical items or an extremely dense tooling workstation to control thousands of SKU's, the SupplySystem can be configured to maximize efficiency. Each system is configured individually to meet specific needs.

Western Tool Company is an authorized dealer of SupplyPro Products.  Click here to contact us or call 
303-422-3413

Sunday, July 22, 2018

2 HEAD WIDE BELT SANDERS from Western Tool Company

There seems to be a lot of guess work on how best to utilize 2 head wide belt machines. I hope to clear some of that up for the reader, as well as establish some basic processes that will help them to
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Proud distributor of Surfprep
achieve better results. All belts discussed are paper belts unless noted. Stock removal should be the same on either paper or cloth.
There are three basic types of two head machines; Drum/Drum, Drum/Platen, and Drum/Combi-head. For the purposes of this article we are going to focus on the two most common for smaller cabinet and furniture shops; Drum/Platen and Drum/Combi-head.
Let us start by talking about what the different types of heads are good for.
The drum is great for leveling out a part and inducing a short, deep scratch that also opens up the surface of the wood. Softer drums have a larger contact patch so they leave longer, shallower scratch pattern.

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The platen is good for leaving a longer, shallow scratch that is helpful because it is easier to remove. These heads can only remove a few thousandths of an inch of material so they are only for finishing applications. These heads do not do well when you skip a grit. Platen heads also wear, making adjustments necessary to maintain stock removal. Platens like to run paper belts because it limits the amount of wear from the rough backing material on the graphite cloth that covers the felt.
A combination drum/platen head is the best of both worlds. It can remove some material and also leave a very shallow scratch. This type of head has a huge advantage over the normal platen because a vast majority of the work can be done by the drum part of the head. This type of head doesn’t mind skipping a grit at all. Because the platen is doing much less of the actual stock removal, the head needs a lot less adjustment and there is much less wear on the graphite over time.
What is your goal with the wide belt sander?
You want to tear open the surface of the wood and level it with the first contact drum. Then you want to remove that scratch pattern with the subsequent belts and hand sanding without closing that surface back up. This is best accomplished by not removing more than the little mountains of scratch pattern from the first head, without going further down into the valleys at the base of that scratch pattern. Removing more than just the scratches will result in lots of heat and pressure, which are the enemies of color consistency and surface quality.
There are maximum amounts of material a belt can remove.
Grit max
80 .024”
100 .017”
120 .010”
150 .006”
180 .004”
220 .002”
If you desire to just remove the scratch pattern then there are minimums you must remove to get rid of a particular scratch. It is best not to go over these numbers.
Grit minimum to remove
80 .008”
100 .006”
120 .004”
150 .002”
180 .001”
220 .0005”
If you sand with an 80 grit, you want the next belt to remove about .008” to get rid of the scratch. A 100 grit belt can remove up to .017” max, but if it follows an 80 grit belt it only needs to remove .008”.
The following suggested sequences are all two passes per side. I am doing it this way because I rarely find situations where the machine has the stock removal capability to remove all the necessary material and not over tax the belts. Occasionally very light amounts of material are removed and then it’s fine to do one pass.
This is where it is very important not to lie to yourself. If you are taking .015” off the average thickness of the stiles and rails, but your mismatch is .010”, then you are removing .025” at some points on the surface. The overall stock removal is one of the most important factors in protecting your belts and machine. Heat and pressure is the result of sanding off too much material.
Drum/Platen
There are thousands of older drum/platen two head machines floating around in the industry. These machines are the most limited of the two designs discussed in this article. The platen cannot remove a lot of material. Skipping a grit between the drum and platen is not sustainable because of the pressure on the platen and normal wear that is accelerated by excessive pressure. If you want to end at 180, then the drum should run a 150 grit. This combination can only remove about .008” maximum, so a pass with coarser belts is almost always a must.
It is possible to skip a grit going into a platen. The accelerated wear from extra pressure means more adjustments to the platen height. The extra pressure means more polishing and heat.
This is where things get tricky. There are several factors at play.
If a drum/platen machine is set up right, it is set for the finishing grit sequence. This means the platen will be removing only a couple thousandths of an inch. If the finishing grit sequence is 150/180, the platen is set to take off exactly .002”.
If 100 and 120 grit belts were installed on the machine set up this way, the 120 will only remove around .002”. This is not enough to remove the 100 grit scratch, but as it only removes part of the scratch, it actually polishes the surface a bit and makes more heat and pressure on the next pass.
It is in the best interest of the operator to use only the first head with a 100 grit to knock down the surface, leaving the easily damaged platen out of the cut, or removed from the machine entirely on the roughing pass. The result of the 100 grit alone is definitely a rougher, more broken up scratch pattern that represents sharper peaks and valleys. The scratch is actually easier for the 150 grit, running on the drum during the second pass, to remove. The surface stays more open for consistency.
If we stick with the 150/180 grit sequence on the final pass, and use the 100 grit to knock down both sides first, taking no more than .017” per side. On the finishing passes you want to take .006” with the drum and .002” with the platen for a total of .008” per side finishing passes. This is a total of .025” per side. I would try to work it out to stay around .020” per side to keep from maxing out the 100 grit all the time.
People ask me all the time about just running multiple passes with the 150/180 combination, but they honestly don’t realize this is the worst sanding practice EVER. The scratch pattern left by a 150/180 combination only requires about .001” to remove it in hand sanding. Those are very tiny peaks and valleys. If you them come back with the same sequence and remove another .008”, you are removing .001” of scratch and another .007” of solid wood. Compared to removing a coarse scratch where the actual mass removed from the surface is dramatically less, this creates a ton of heat and pressure.
If you follow a 100 grit scratch you are removing .006” with the 150 and .002” with the 180, but 50% or more of the material you removed was air. The 100 grit drum scratch pattern is a broken surface. There is nothing solid about it. You just knocked off the tops of the peaks of the mountains without ever touching the solid wood in the valleys below.
Drum/ Combi-head
There are two types of Drum/ Combi-head machines.
Some machines have dead shafts and air exclusion that allows the drums or platen to be moved up out of the cut at will. The heads automatically drop back into the working position upon activation. This type of machine is the most versatile. It easily allows only one head to be used at a time. This is a huge advantage that will be discussed further.
Other machines have manual adjustments on each head but no way to easily move the head out of the cut. Moving the heads once a proper set up is achieved is very undesirable. These machines necessitate running more than one belt at a time.
Air exclusion machines
After our earlier discussion on scratch pattern, we know we want a very open and soft scratch coming into a second pass. For these machines I like to run 80, 120, and 150 or 180 for a very easy to hand sand result. Because I can retract the softer drum and platen of the second head out of the way, I run an 80 grit belt by itself to cut down, flatten, and open the surface, while protecting the second head. The first drum is always harder so it gives the maximum scratch depth and openness. The maximum for the 80 grit is .024” per side. On the finishing pass, the 120 needs to remove .008” and the 150 or 180 must remove .004”. This means .012” per side for the two finishing passes. This process can remove .036” per side max. I try to limit it to .030” per side to avoid maxing out the grit sequence.
Non air exclusion machines
If we are going for the same grit sequence in a machine that does not have air exclusion we have two options.
One option is to run 80/100, and pull the platen out of the machine entirely for the first pass. The 100 grit is really only there to protect the drum as it only removes a few thousandths of an inch off the 80 grit scratch. The next sequence would be 120 and 150 or 180 used as above with the platen, but maybe around .010” per side for the final pass.
The other option is to run a cloth 80 grit belt and leave the final belt (150 or 180) on the drum, but leave that head motor off. The reason for this is the greater thickness of the cloth belt will automatically take the second head out of the cut. The platen would be pulled out to avoid damage or incidental contact. This is often a pretty good option. The final sequence of 120, 150 or 180 would be used as normal with the platen when coming after an 80 grit belt.
Each of these configurations will create a scratch that will melt off like butter during hand sanding. How much you remove with the second pass and the structure of the wood is what really sets the final processes up for success or failure. Avoiding smashing and polishing is the key to success.

 Written by Adam West, Abrasive Specialist/ Wide Belt Technician

Friday, July 20, 2018

STARRETT SURFACE ROUGHNESS TESTER at Western Tool Company

The Starrett SR400/300 Surface Roughness Testers are full-featured, powerful and versatile surface roughness testers. They can be used either freestanding or bench mounted with fixturing for batch measurement and laboratory applications.
 To purchase this product, visit our online catalog and ordering system at Westerntoolco.com (click here)

Thursday, July 19, 2018

PFERD TC Burrs STEEL Cut at Western Tool Company

https://www.westerntoolco.com/
Pferd products at Western Tool Company,
call us at 303-422-3413
With its innovative cut steel, Pferd has developed unique burrs for machining steel and cast steel, that Western Tool Company is a proud distributor of Pferd products.
are distinguished by a tangible aggressiveness with good guidability. Thus they ensure safe and precise work. Their extremely high stock removal performance makes these burrs with cut steel impressive, with significant time savings and high economic value.

Watch the video here:

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

WHAT'S NEW AT KYOCERA? Western Tool Company

Kyocera has brand new product offerings featuring the new DRA high efficiency modular drills, MFH-Micro high feed mills, and insert grade PDL025 for aluminum machining among various other tooling lineup expansions. Check out the new lineup.  For our line of  Kyocera products, call us at 303-422-3413 or visit our website here: Western Tool Company in Arvada Colorado - Westerntoolco.com

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

RADIAC HIGH PERFORMANCE WHEEL PACK at Western Tool Company

STARTEC XP-P

High Performance Wheel Pack

Call 303-422-3413 to order or visit Westerntoolco.com
The STARTEC XP-P high performance wheel pack is made up of three STARTEC wheels for fluting, gashing and clearing.
https://www.westerntoolco.com/

PRINCIPLE APPLICATIONS

FLUTING

STARTEC XP-P fluting wheels, long the Cutting Tools industry standard, provide proven performance with a boost to overall customer availability.
BENEFITS OF STARTEC XP-P FLUTING WHEELS
+  Faster feed rates
+  Greater depth of cut
+  Low wheel wear
+  Reduced machine load
+  Increased machine productivityhttps://www.westerntoolco.com/

GASHING

STARTEC XP-P gashing wheels reduce cycle time with superior corner holding and profiling capabilities.
BENEFITS OF STARTEC XP-P GASHING WHEELS
+  Excellent form holding
+  Higher feed rates

CLEARING

STARTEC XP-P clearing wheels are used in the grinding of clearance surfaces and face geometries on milling tools.
BENEFITS OF STARTEC XP-P CLEARING WHEELS
+  Excellent form holding
+  High quality surface finishes

Sunday, July 15, 2018

ERGODYNE'S ADVICE ON SAFETY, PREVENT FALLING OBJECTS from Western Tool Company

https://www.westerntoolco.com/
Dropped Objects Prevention from Ergodyne

THE 3T'S OF DROPPED OBJECTS PREVENTION


TRAPPING
The creation of connection points on tools that don’t already have them designed into the 
tools. Be cautious, just because something looks like it has a connection point, it doesn’t 
mean it’s engineered to be one

One-Step Tool Attachments:
Examples include slips that slide onto screw drivers and hex keys; brackets and wraps that fit specific power tools or tape measures; and sleeves that
house cell phones.
Two-Step  Attachments:
Involve two separate solutions combined into one attachment.
“Tool Tails” are applied onto a tool and then “trapped” by a tape or shrink to secure them.

TETHERING
Prevents the object itself from falling, or at least falling very far, by securing the tool or object
to a worker or other anchor point, typically with a tool lanyard.
Things to consider when choosing a tool lanyard:

Weight of tool you’re using
Type of connection needed
 Clearance
Types of Lanyards
Coil lanyards
Retractable lanyards
Wrist lanyards
Traditional lanyards
Specialty lanyards (for hard hats, mobile devices etc.

TOPPING
Describes having a closure on all containers workers use to bring tools and equipment 
to and from heights.
Types of Containers
Tool pouches and bags
Hoist buckets and bags

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON DROPPED OBJECTS PREVENTION (westerntoolco.com)

Thursday, July 12, 2018

DIE CLEARANCE INFO FROM DAYTON LAMINA at Western Tool Company

A New Look at Die Clearance

Call 303-422-3413 or visit westerntoolco.com to order.
Improve productivity and tool life in stamping applications, starting with selection of optimum clearance in piercing and trimming applications.

Optimum Clearance – one number fits all?

Die designers, tool builders and Dayton Progress have advocated the use of optimum cutting clearance to improve tool life. With higher strength steels and other new sheet materials emerging in the market, the old clearance percentages seldom appear to provide reliable tool life. Why?
While working with the older sheet material grades, the tensile strength was lower. So even when the sheet gage or thickness increased, the loads experienced by the tools did not increase significantly. In turn, stampers generally applied a single clearance percentage across all thickness ranges. But with the newer grades, the tensile strength is much higher, and the load on the tools increases considerably with not just the tensile strength of the sheet, but also with the sheet thickness. For example, thicker sheets apply higher load on tools than thinner gage materials. Under these conditions, it is easy to see that one clearance percentage is no longer optimum.
 _______________

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________________

New Clearance – one solution for each application!

With this finding in mind, stampers need to consider selecting clearances by material grade and thickness. Extensive tests on different sheet materials and thickness have generated an optimum clearance table similar to the one shown here. A typical clearance table shows the sheet tensile strength (X-axis) and gage thickness (Y-axis), and with increasing tensile strength and gage thickness should increase to improve tool life and productivity.
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Typical clearance matrix by sheet tensile strength and gage thickness
Care should be taken when picking a clearance percentage from this table, and should favor recommended clearances for the particular sheet material, i.e. recommended clearance tables for Aluminum would differ from recommended clearance tables for DP Steel. Additionally, clearance selected will influence other process conditions such as tool load, resulting hole quality (roll-over), and tool life (failure mode), and will need to be considered.
We should now understand the need for selecting clearance based not only on the material being formed, but also upon the thickness of the material, and the material’s shear strength. But as always there are trade-offs while selecting a die clearance too near the minimum or maximum range. Let's look at the influence clearance selection can have on piercing loads in further detail.

Optimum Clearance & Punching Loads

Traditional tooling practice has shown that increasing clearance will decrease piercing or shearing loads on the tools, thereby effectively increasing tool life. However, the effects of using the largest possible clearance on every application have never been studied fully until now. The graph below illustrates how the piercing load on a punch changes as we increase the clearance from 6% per side to 14% per side while piercing MART1400 steel (203KSI,1400MPa) of 0.040” [1mm] thickness. It is evident that when clearance is increased, the load does decrease – in this case by approximately 10%. One can imagine that the reduction in piercing load would decrease as the shear strength of the sheet material increases, i.e more reduction in load could be observed for low strength grades than high strength grades. Hence explaining the wide spread use of larger clearances to alleviate loads on tools by stampers.
Force chart
Piercing load recorded during piercing of 0.040” [1mm] thick MART 1400 grade sheet material (Courtesy: Börje, UT)
Perhaps the most important observation from this study is that vibration has been introduced and is larger than at smaller clearances. One can imagine that with increasing shear strengths of the sheet material, this effect will be more pronounced, i.e. higher strength steels will induce more vibration during piercing than low strength steels.
But why is this finding important? Well for one, when the tool assembly is not rigid, the hole geometry and location could differ between consecutive parts, resulting in quality issues. But more importantly, with larger clearance and greater vibration, tools are going to have a tendency to move during the piercing operation and become more prone to chipping rather than a gradual wear. Armed with this knowledge, stampers can work around this issue if larger clearances need to be used for an application, by using a headed retention system rather than a ball-lock retention system. While the use of the headed system will not completely eliminate or compensate for the vibration, it will greatly reduce the play in the assembly compared to a ball-lock system.

Clearance & Hole Quality

Another aspect to be considered while increasing clearance is the resulting hole quality. When the pierced hole is functioning as a clearance hole, the resultant burnish and break characteristics from the larger clearance is unimportant. However, when secondary operations are performed, such as tapping then stampers need to pay close attention to the effect of larger clearances on the resulting hole quality.
The micrographs below show the different hole quality for the same material pierced using two different clearances. It is clearly observable that the hole pierced with the larger clearance has larger roll-over and in turn may be unsuitable for secondary operations, even though the quality of the shear and break surfaces are clean. In turn, stampers need to select a clearance window that provides them with the best hole quality desirable and balanced with acceptable tool life.
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Hole quality conditions recorded during piercing of 0.040” [1mm] thick MART 1400 grade sheet material with different clearances (Courtesy: Börje, UT)
Perhaps the greatest influence clearance selection will have is on how tools perform and ultimately fail in production.

Tool Failure and Optimal Die Clearances

The HSLA steels require new considerations for tooling performance which are dramatically different than the old school one size fits all approach of lower carbon steels. Let's revisit the general concept of die clearance and the measurement of hole quality.
The process of punching a hole involves impact and loading forces being exerted and focused upon the material confined between the punch point and die button. The material must fail during the perforating process in the anticipated manner or else the resultant hole is unacceptable. The success of creating the desired effect, the proper hole characteristics is heavily reliant upon the correct punch steel and the correct die clearance.
The "rule of thumb" clearance used for many years has been five percent per side. Clearance is defined as the percentage of material thickness per side, ie the distance between the punch point and the die button opening. The five percent was a good baseline but did not always consider the material characteristics and its thickness. These material traits can adversely affect the tool life and the hole size.
If the die clearance is too tight, the hole can be as much as .0005 in smaller than the punch. This condition creates excessive wear, extreme stripping pressure, and excessive burrs. When the die clearance is increased, the hole can be .0002-.0005 in larger than the punch. This leaves a slip fit condition and can decrease the abrasive punch wear by as much as two-thirds.
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https://www.westerntoolco.com/
Hole quality is usually gauged by the burr generated during the piercing process. Measurement of the burr is the leading indicator of tool wear. As the burr increases, distinct wear can be clearly seen on the punch, which requires either punch sharpening or replacement. More die clearance does not mean more burr height. Actually as depicted in the chart, as the die clearance is increased and the size of the hole becomes larger than the punch, the burr height drops dramatically.
If the hole continues to decrease, without changing die clearance abrasive wear is occurring on the punch, from the pierced material eroding the surface of the punch. If the hole begins to increase, an adhesive wear condition is underway with the material seizing onto the punch.
source: www.daytonlamina.com

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

ALL ABOUT METAL ADHESIVES from Western Tool Company

Industrial Metal Adhesives - All about Metal Adhesives

Guest Post By James Martindale
Industrial metal adhesives include hot metal adhesives, epoxy adhesives, polyurethane adhesives, sealants, thermoset adhesives, UV curing adhesives, silicon adhesives, acrylic adhesives, and other chemical adhesives. Basically, these are the components that make up the various types of adhesives that are used in industries to bond metal together. The names not only reflect the chemical makeup of the various adhesives, but also their adhesion properties. Depending on the type of bond that is sought after and what types of metals are being bonded, a specific type of adhesive will be used.
Acrylic adhesives are known for their excellent environmental resistance, which means they can stand up to a pounding in extreme weather conditions, such as rain, sleet, or frost. Also, compared to other resin-adhesives, acrylic adhesives have a fast setting time for jobs that need to be finished quickly.

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Adhesives, Sealants and Tapes at Westerntoolco.com

Western Tool Company has a complete line of Adhesives, Sealants, and Tapes, click here for more information and our online catalog (westerntoolco.com)

Cyanoacrylates, more commonly known as super glue, is a type of acrylic adhesive that cures instantly on contact through a process that involves surface moisture. If bonding metals together that will be placed in high temperatures, the types of adhesives that would work best for the job are Phenolic, melamine, and urea formaldehyde resins. These are thermosetting bonds that are strong and will hold up for long periods of time when exposed to intense heat. This is a popular adhesive for bonding industrial parts, since they are often exposed to these high heat levels.
Polyurethane adhesives offer a strong bond, but it's one that includes a great deal of flexibility. These types of industrial metal adhesives also perform well on durability tests and have a high level of impact resistance. Rubber and silicone adhesives are also offered as sealants. The rubber examples of these offer the most flexibility when needed. The silicone-based adhesives and sealants, on the other hand, are more rigid and offer a high degree of durability, in addition to resistance to high temperatures.
The previously mentioned adhesives are all defined on their chemical makeup. There are others, however, that are defined by their adhesion properties. These include hot metal adhesives, pressure sensitive and contact adhesives, thermoset adhesives, and UV curing adhesives. Hot metal adhesives can be softened by exposing them to heat and hardened again by cooling off. This allows for repositioning of metal parts in case a mistake is made, or if finite measurements need to be in place. Thermoset adhesives are set into place and cured using heat or a mixture of head and pressure. Finally, UV curing adhesives use ultraviolet or other types of radiation to cure, offering a permanent bond that doesn't need heat to set.
There are plenty of industrial metal adhesives to choose from. You simply need to decide what the job is and what special requirements the bonds need to have. Whether they need flexibility, extreme tolerance to heat, or if they need to stand up to harsh weather, there is an adhesive out there that works well with just about any condition.
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James Martindale writes for Rocol who specializes in industrial metal adhesives. Rocol take pride in producing advanced products for industry needs.
For more information visit Rocol for Industrial Adhesives
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/James_Martindale/64024
http://EzineArticles.com/?Industrial-Metal-Adhesives---All-about-Metal-Adhesives&id=473757

Monday, July 9, 2018

SANDING WOOD, THE "HOW TO" GUIDE ON SANDPAPER from Western Tool Company

How to Sand Wood

Guest Post By Hank Walton
https://www.westerntoolco.com/
Sandpaper at Westerntoolco.com
There's an art to sanding wood. If you've ever been dissatisfied with the finish on a piece of furniture you made, it's probably because you didn't know how to sand wood correctly. There's no shortcuts to sanding - just a lot of patience and a few simple steps. Now, let's learn how to sand wood and the various types of sandpapers and grits we will use.
When you visit your local hardware store or home center, you'll find many types of sandpaper. Which is best? We're going to discuss that in a minute but first, a word of warning: Don't buy glass paper. This is the low quality sandpaper you'll find and be tempted to buy because of the cheap price. It may be cheaper but in the long run, you'll end up spending more because glass paper breaks down very quickly. Having said that, let's look at some better choices:

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  • Silicon Carbide - Unlike glass paper which is yellow in color, silicon carbide paper is black. This paper is hard enough to sand metal. If you're wet sanding an oil finish, the wet-dry silicon carbide paper (320-600 grit) is a good choice.
  • Garnet Paper - Like the name implies, this paper is made from small pieces of garnet. It's inexpensive and better quality than glass paper but doesn't work well with some hardwoods. Most experienced woodworkers don't use garnet paper very much - and instead opt for the more versatile aluminum oxide paper.
  • Aluminum Oxide - This paper is excellent for almost any kind of wood and is the choice of most woodworkers. Unless you're doing a lot of metal or wet sanding, this is the best paper for your workshop. If you want to learn how to sand wood properly, aluminum oxide sandpaper is your best bet.

We've discussed the various papers and their applications. Now, let's take a look at grit categories:

  • Very Coarse - 40-60 grit.
  • Coarse - 80-100 grit.
  • Medium - 120-180 grit.
  • Fine - 220-280 grit.
  • Very Fine - 320-600 grit.

Now that you've learned a thing or two about the various papers and grits, let's briefly cover the basics of how to sand wood:

  • Full sheets of paper can be quartered or halved to make it easier to work with.
  • Periodically clean the paper by taping it with your hand or blowing on it. When the paper can no longer be cleaned, replace it.
  • Take your sandpaper and wrap it around a block of wood for a more solid backing. Also, your hand won't get so tired.
  • Frequently you will have to sand irregular pieces of wood such as molding. The best way to do this is with a contoured block. You can buy one or make it yourself with a wooden dowel.
  • Certain finishes work better with certain sandpapers. For example, if you're using shellac or oil, you'll want to sand with 320-grit paper. Conversely, if you're working with wax, you'll want to sand with 220-grit; a varnish finish should be sanded with 150 to 220-grit.

There you have it - a crash course on sandpapers and how to sand wood. Remember, sanding wood requires a lot of patience. But, if done correctly, it can make a world of difference to the finished product. So take your time and you'll have a project you can be proud of.
Download 1,000's of woodworking plans and projects here [http://www.plans4woodworking.biz].
Easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step diagrams with full color pictures. For any skill level.
Buy Woodworking Plans [http://www.plans4woodworking.biz]
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 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Hank_Walton/966575
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Sand-Wood&id=6060791

Friday, July 6, 2018

MITUTOYO MEASURING TOOLS at Western Tool Company

Mitutoyo America Corporation was formed in 1963 and is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois (just outside of Chicago). Mitutoyo America offers the full product line of precision measuring tools, instruments and equipment with a distribution network, training and education classes, software development, and service support to provide a comprehensive metrology organization.  Western tool distributes a complete line of Mitutoyo products, click here to view them in our online catalog:   Westerntoolco.com


Thursday, July 5, 2018

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRINDING WHEELS from Western Tool Company

What Are The Different Types Of Grinding Wheels?

Guest Post By Anton Donald
A matrix of coarse particles is the main ingredient used in making a grinding wheel. As a result, these wheels are perfect for grinding machines that aid in various abrasive cuttings. Some common materials cut using a grinding wheel are asphalt, concrete, metal, and stainless steel. Therefore, you can understand that these tools are extremely important in industrial and manufacturing firms.
If you are starting an industrial and manufacturing firm, then you must have this tool in your inventory. But before you place a bulk order, you must also know about the different types of grinding wheels available in the market. Here is the list we want to see:

See our complete line of grinding wheels at Westerntoolco.com 


#1. Straight Wheel: This is the most common grinding wheel you will find. It produces a slightly
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Grinding Wheels at Westerntoolco.com
concave surface. Therefore, it comes in handy in pedestal or bench grinding operations. The width, diameter and the form of this wheel depend entirely on the power of the machines and the class of the work.
#2. Cylinder Wheel: This wheel comes in handy only in horizontal or vertical spindle grinders as it is usually large. There is no center mounting support present in this tool. As the end-face of the wheel is the only effective part, it produces only flat surfaces.
#3. Tapered Wheel: This tool comes in handy for gear teeth, grinding thread, and similar activities. A tapered wheel is stronger than a straight wheel. It can also deal with a greater lateral load. This is because a tapered wheel is actually a straight wheel that tapers out towards the center.
#4. Straight Cup: This grinding wheel has an extra radial grinding surface. And this surface makes it a better choice when it comes to tool and cutter grinders.
#5. Diamond Wheel: As the name suggests, this tool has industrial diamonds bonded to the periphery. This is the reason this tool is perfect to grind extremely tough substances like concrete, gemstones, and carbide cutting tips.
#6. Mounted Point: This tool is small and gets bonded to a mandrel. There are 2 types of mounted point - diamond and resin. The diamond-mounted point is useful in carrying out profiling work in hard materials. The resin-mounted point comes in handy for de-burring applications.
#7. Parting Wheel: This tool has radial fibers, thin width and self-sharpening features. It helps in cutting protruding bolts, reinforcement bars, and any material that needs quick trimming. This is the reason it is also popular by the term "cut off wheel."
These are the 7 types of grinding wheels. I'm sure it will now become easier for you to pick the ones according to your specific needs.
Anton Donald is a mechanical engineer working in the company that manufactures die cutting machines. He is also an avid blogger. In this article, he is talking about the different types of grinding wheels.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Anton_Donald/1305735
http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Are-The-Different-Types-Of-Grinding-Wheels?&id=8483026

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

PFERD INOX CUT BURS DEMONSTRATION from Western Tool Company

Western Tool is an authorized distributor of Pferd products. Visit our online catalog at Westerntoolco.com
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Working on stainless steel can be a challenge. Work too fast, and you risk damaging the workpiece. Go too slow, and your productivity suffers. The new INOX Cut Burs from PFERD are the fastest burs for stainless steel. Featuring an innovative tooth geometry designed for high stock removal and low heat development on stainless steel, TC Burs INOX Cut are up to the challenge. - Outstanding stock removal and tool life on stainless steel (INOX) - High-grade quality finish - Comfortable working with reduced vibrations and less noise.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

WESTERN TOOL COMPANY DISTRIBUTES DORIAN TOOL (industrial supply)

Western Tool Company located in Arvada Colorado is a proud distributor of Dorian Tool Products.  This informative video tells about their technology and quality whether it's using robotic arms, carousel type machines, 5th and 6 axis milling machines, laser machines, lathes or grinders:


For our complete line of Dorian Products, click here:
Westerntoolco.com