IMTS2010 Generates a lot of Interest in CBER

IMTS Visitors discussing CBER applications

IMTS 2010 generated a lot of interest in the CBER product line. The ability to convert standard ER collet holders into precision boring systems was exciting to many of the visitors to our booth. In the past modular boring systems required special tool holders most of which we unique to the manufacturer of modular system. The special holders increased the cost of the boring systems and limited the ability of the user to use different systems because of these costs.

CBER on Display at IMTS 

A number of our visitors wanted to discuss using the CBER products in their swiss machine as well as in live tooling applications for the mill/turn centers. Precision boring in these applications has not been common in the past because of the physical limitations of the holding systems. This is no longer the case because so many of these machines are tooled for ER collet holders.







We thank all of the visitors to our booth and look forward to working with you and meeting the needs of your precision boring requirements,

Manufacturer chooses Boring instead of Interpolation – Reduces cycle time by 50%

Products Engineering Corporation Combination Square Kit

Products Engineering Corporation (www.pectools.com) has been producing precision tools in Southern California since 1960.  One of their most popular products is a combination square that requires two precision concentric bores and two precision concentric diameters for the tool to function properly.

Combination square bodies waiting to be loaded on the pallet

Products Engineering Corporation manufactures their combination square bodies on a Haas VF-1 machining center with a Midaco pallet shuttle. Each pallet is designed to hold 19 bodies at a time. Michael Berlin, Quality Assurance Manager at PEC, explained that they had been circle interpolating the two bores with satisfactory results but each pallet had a 28-minute cycle time. He wanted to improve the cycle time and possibly the quality of the bores so he started researching alternative hole-making methods.

A pallet of bodies in the Haas

Michael contacted Criterion about the possibility of a boring system that could bore his casting without any additional hole preparation. One bore is 2.500” in diameter while the other bore is slightly larger.  It was decided that the Cri-Bore modular boring system would be the best choice for this operation. The Cri-Bore system would give him easy adjustability and the single point tool would produce the bore he required. We determined the appropriate SFPM for his material was in the 400 – 700 range with a feed rate around .002” per revolution.  Michael said changing from circle interpolating to boring has reduced his cycle time from 28 minutes a pallet to 14 minutes a pallet and improved the quality of his bores.

Because of the success of the boring operation, Michael Berlin contacted Criterion again to see if we could help him with the mating part. Michael asked if we had any products that could cut outside diameters on his vertical machining centers. He was using circle interpolation on these parts also and a pallet of parts was taking 47 minutes to manufacture. We proposed using the Large Diameter Cri-Bore System with the cutting tip turned 180 degrees and a counterbalance weight added so the correct SFPM could be achieved. Some minor modifications to the insert holder were needed so the existing fixturing could be used. The SFPM and the feed rate were the same for this operation as the previous. Products Engineering Corporation’s change to our LCB1.5 Modular Boring System reduced the cycle time for this operation by 16 minutes. In addition to the reduction in time there was also an improvement in quality on these parts. A pallet of combination square bodies now can be made in 31 minutes.

A pallet of parts for OD Turning in the Haas

Completed parts ready for the next operation


A special Thank you to the management of Products Engineering Corporation for selecting Criterion for this project and allowing us to Photograph, Video Record and write about this project . If you would like to see the video log on to our youtube channel.

www.youtube.com/user/CriterionMW