Kennametal Extrude Hone Redesigned TEM S250 Machine
New Machine Design Showcases Technical Innovations and Promotes Greater Levels of Customization while Remaining Budget Friendly
Irwin, Pa. (January 09, 2009)-In these uncertain economic times, Kennametal Extrude Hone offers customers interested in its distinctive Thermal Energy Method (TEM) technology the greatest value and production flexibility for the price point with the newly enhanced TEM S250 machine. Featuring a modular design, a more compact footprint and new add-options to support customization, the TEM S250 is a competitively priced deburring solution.
"Since its introduction in the 1970s, TEM has enjoyed a solid reputation as a rapid, low-cost, high-production deburring solution in the United States and abroad," explains Jim Koroskenyi, Manager, TEM - Kennametal Extrude Hone Center of Excellence. "With that said, however, TEM is now experiencing a resurgence of sorts among today's next generation of engineers who are just becoming familiar with TEM's outstanding performance capabilities. As such, demand for this extremely unique yet reliable process technology has increased throughout numerous industries. The new and economically priced TEM S250 machine enables customers to invest and implement the technology-without putting a strain on budgets."
TEM is unique among material removal process primarily because it removes burrs and flash simultaneously throughout the workpiece, including internal and external locations, without compromising the integrity of other surfaces.
It also offers a highly controllable and repeatable process with the lowest overall burr removal cost. Depending upon workpiece size, a single Kennametal Extrude Hone TEM machine like the enhanced TEM S250 is capable of processing upwards of a million or more parts per year. Best of all, the TEM S250 machine in particular promotes lean manufacturing with its modular design and small footprint.
Flexible and Economic
The TEM S250 deburring system can be designed to meet individual customer requirements. Available add-on options offer an even greater level of customization.
The TEM S250 is available with different chamber diameters and heights. The combustion chamber is supplied with a height of 150 mm (standard) or with the "extended chamber" option with a height of 300 mm, which offers the possibility of machining larger workpieces. The two-piece deburring chamber is totally water cooled, enabling the system to be used in continuous operation. It is also easy to integrate the system into a linked production line. All of these functions result in more operating efficiencies and greater flexibility.
The machine frame of the TEM S250 is extremely stable and is designed to offer long-lasting fatigue strength and performance. The closing pressure of the combustion chamber is 250 US tons (2,250 kN) and the maximum chamber fill pressure, depending on the chamber diameter, is between 232 psi and 348 psi.
With its compact design, the TEM S250 requires very little production floor space. Nevertheless, it is capable of machining both small batches, as well as mass-produced workpieces, making the TEM S250 an extremely economical solution for manufacturers with a diverse range of workpieces and batch sizes.
Process Reliability and Ergonomics
During the latest design enhancements to the TEM S250, considerable attention was also paid to ergonomic operation and ease of handling. A vertical sliding door, when combined with a loading device using a roamer arm, simplifies loading and unloading of the system. Additionally, as an add-on option, the loading device can be hydraulically operated. A modularly constructed enclosure, which can house all of the units, provides noise protection and increased operational safety. The maintenance doors on the deburring system are easily accessible. A hydraulically-operated gas dosing system supplies the fuel gas for the process to the deburring chamber.
A touchscreen mounted on a swing arm simplifies machine operation and monitoring while the user-friendly control system facilitates quick setup and precise adjustment of process parameters. Process-reliable operation is also supported by integral fault diagnostics.
TEM-A Lightning-fast, Cost-effective Process
TEM is an entirely distinctive process and is primarily used to remove internal and external burrs, as well as flashings, from metallic and die cast workpieces after machining. The S250 may also be applied to some plastics applications.
TEM uses intense heat to deburr and deflash workpieces without compromising adjoining workpiece surfaces-accurately, quickly and cost-effectively. During the TEM process, a fuel gas mixture-typically consisting of oxygen with natural gas or methane or hydrogen-is introduced under pressure into the deburring chamber. When a spark plug is ignited, the fuel gas mixture combusts. The thermal energy produced in the combustion of the gas mixture is released as a 20 millisecond long, high-speed thermal wave. Since the burrs feature large surface areas but thin cross-sections, they are instantaneously burned off. As the workpiece is completely enveloped by the fuel gas mixture, all of the internal and external burrs are exposed to rapid oxidation. The process is therefore particularly suitable for workpieces that feature burrs in location that are "difficult to reach".
Post-cleaning Offering
For those customers who use Kennametal Extrude Hone's low-cost TEM process, post-cleaning of workpieces may be a necessary next step. The intense burst of heat used in the TEM process creates oxidized material on the surface of processed workpieces. Unless these workpieces are then heat treated, plated or coated in separate processes, they likely require cleaning to remove the oxidized material.
Kennametal Extrude Hone's newest precision cleaning offering, the STORM 360, is the perfect complement to the TEM S250 model. The STORM 360 incorporates the best features of the world's most advanced solvent degreasing machines, but without the use of potentially harmful solvents. The STORM 360 uses aqueous chemistry to clean and deoxidize workpieces once deburred in the TEM S250 machine.
Together, the TEM S250 and STORM 360 provide a cost-effective solution for lean operations that require rapid deburring and precision cleaning.
About Kennametal Extrude Hone
Kennametal Extrude Hone, located in Irwin, Pennsylvania, USA defined a new level of quality and control for manufacturers worldwide with the invention of its patented Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) process in 1966. AFM is a non-traditional method for deburring, polishing and radiusing difficult-to-reach surfaces and edges. Today, Extrude Hone is a market leader in deburring and surface finishing process technologies such as AFM, Electrolytic Machining (ECM) and Thermal Energy Method (TEM). Extrude Hone provides technical solutions in the fields of automotive and diesel, aerospace and gas turbines, fluid power, food processing, semiconductors, medical, die and mold and general engineering. Kennametal Extrude Hone provides these technologies to industry in the form of capital equipment, as well as through its global network of Contract Finishing Services (CFS) locations. Visit us at www.extrudehone.com.
