We have redeveloped the overall design and layout of the information, and functionality has been increased, making it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Added Search Function

Search functionality has been added to help find anything on our website.

Enhanced Navigation

Dropdown menus have been utilised, to allow easy access to almost every page on the site.

Easier Access to News

All our previous news stories and electronic mail have been kept and can be found using the sidebar on most pages, making sure you keep up-to-date on everything AFM related.

Improved Partner Pages

Our partner pages have been improved to show all related pages to that brand, making it easier to find products by brand.

Greater Media Focus

And we have integrated AFM’s YouTube Channel to give you the latest videos without leaving the site.

Take Command of your scrap metal

The Command series are an innovative range of swarf compacting machines designed to increase the value of your scrap metal and save you costly cutting oils and coolant.

With a superior build quality featuring a single compression cylinder design, the 200, 400 and 600 Models set a new standard for metal recycling technology.

With various configuration options for auger box, shredder and coolant filtration products, you’ll be equipped to take command of your scrap metal today!

			Realise your ROI potential $ Superior return on investment $ Reduced labour requirements $ Increase the value of your scrap metal $ Reduce required factory space $ Reduce scrap transportation costs $ Reclaim valuable cutting fluids and coolants $ Advanced design for superior reliability and productivity

			Realise your GREEN potential Recover up to 98% of lost coolant Reduce scrap storasge requirements Comply with ISO 14001 EMS Meet your EPA obligations Provide a cleaner work environment Remove coolant spillage during transportation Increase scrap recycling efficiency

Welcome to our Green issue

Today we are focusing on the environmentally friendly products we offer from our associate partners.

Read how GW Kewder in Victoria saved time and MONEY by cleaning and re-using their machine coolant, then read on to see how the products featured can protect your staff, save you money and help the environment.

Alfie 500 saves more than just coolant

GW Kewder gained more than they bargained for with their Alfie 500

GW Kewder Engineering Pty Ltd in West Heidelberg, Victoria is a specialty manufacturing company with a strong focus on developing cost-effective products for their customers. From machined and fabricated parts to fully assembled products, GW Kewder have the capacity for large scale production with a collection of metalworking machinery that includes: 4 Multitasking Machines, 7 CNC Lathes and 11 Machining Centres.

As you would expect with this amount of machinery in operation, GW Kewder use a large amount of machine coolant. Gerry Warrington, owner and operator of GW Kewder, told us that around 8,000 litres of coolant is used every quarter. “In the past we pumped out the dirty coolant and replaced it on a regular basis, overall we had to clean out the coolant system of at least one machine every week,” said Warrington.

While this kind of regime obviously becomes expensive on an operation of this magnitude, smaller operators with fewer machines also know coolant to be a considerable cost. There is the labour associated with handling and discarding old coolant, replacing the new coolant and of course, whilst all this is all happening, your machine is not operational. Warrington explained, “While we conceded coolant was just a cost of our business, we always thought there had to be a better way.”

When Accessories for Manufacturing’s Howard Crampton introduced GW Kewder to the Alfa Laval “Alfie 500” centrifugal coolant cleaning system, the concept was initially met with scepticism. The idea of effectively cleaning your coolant and returning it to a useable state just seemed too simple. However, after an in-house demonstration in which the Alfie 500 unit was able to perform everything it claimed it could while the machine was still in production, from separating the coolant from tramp oil, dirt and particles, then returning the coolant to an almost original state to be re-used, Warrington was sold. Additionally, the machine was so effective at cleaning the used coolant that one machine operator at GW Kewder who suffers from dermatitis, was able to submerge his hand in the treated coolant tank without any inflammation of his condition.

Gerry Warrington (GW Kewder) and Howard Crampton (AFM) with the Alfa Laval Alfie 500

Since ordering the machine in late 2008, Warrington told us “The Alfie 500 has been used every day, rotating between all our machines and as yet we have not had to drain and replace any of our coolant systems in this time.” GW Kewder have also seen a pay back on the machine in a short 6 month period, which in Warrington’s eyes, should make purchasing an Alfie 500 a simple decision for almost any metalworking manufacturer.

As Warrington will attest, if you are using machine coolant, you should also be using an Alfie 500.

Read more information on the Alfa Laval range here.

Achieve sustainable manufacturing

with Losma’s environmentally friendly technology

If you feel your business could be doing more to:
a) protect the health and safety of your staff, and
b) reduce the impact it is having on the environment, read on.

In recent years, the increasingly important issue of ‘sustainability’ has impacted the entire economy, none more so than the industrial sector.

Environmental technologies are those whose use is designed to prevent, reduce and recover all types of pollutants. Adopting new materials, new processes, new working methods and a little know-how can help your business operate with low environmental impact. In the same way the automotive industry has been forced to adopt its own environmental technologies, so too our industry needs to adopt more sustainable and ecologically minded practices.

Losma’s environmentally friendly air and coolant filtration products represent an important tool at the front line in the control and elimination of pollution.

Something as simple as fitting a Losma air filter to your machine tool, or installing one in your workshop can go a long way to reducing your carbon footprint. By reducing your emissions and allowing for the re-use of valuable machine oils, you are protecting the health and safety of your workers, whilst also saving your business money.

Read more information on the Losma range of Air & Coolant Filters here.

The chucks are completely sealed and extremely low maintenance. They require less frequent lubrication (compared to competitive chucks), less downtime, no reliance on rubber seals and provide a constant gripping force.

Clamping speed is adjustable through the built in throttle system on the side of the chuck. The chuck may be partially opened to add ease to shimming.

The SMW Big Bore® Spring Clamp Chuck consumes less air due to spring clamping and requires only a simple air control unit. This means lower cost for both operation and installation hardware.

With bore sizes of Ø275mm, Ø395mm and Ø565mm, these impressive new chucks are designed to fit spindle sizes A-15 and above.

By removing mists and vapours created from soluble or neat oil, the Darwin air filter can save you money and improve the working environment.

The Darwin Series covers throughput from 600 to 3,000 m3/hour. It is suitable for widely differing applications, from small lathes to grinding machines or complex machining centres.

The air filters of the Darwin Series collect and coalesce the oily pollutant though centrifugal action of the rotor. The collected oil is simply sent back to the machine tool through the drainage pipe.

Compact design and flexibility ensure they can be mounted in any position. They are the only filter which can be operated in both vertical and horizontal position using a single mounting kit.

Routine maintenance is simple as every component has been designed to be easily accessible, in situ.

As your needs change so can the Darwin. It is a modular system. There are 150 permutations. These components can be changed at any time.

The three rotor types are interchangeable to allow for different types of machine tools.

The high level of filtration guaranteed by the Darwin can be further increased by pre and post filters.

The advantages of the QJC chuck are as follows:

• Change jaws quickly, rapid setup
• Great variety of jaw types available
• Accuracy
• Centrifugal force compensation
• High gripping force
• High – low chucking
• Ideal for small batch production

The jaw change mechanism on the KNCS-N (NB) uses an external key inserted into the chuck body that disengages the jaw from the internal drive mechanism in the chuck, allowing the jaw to be removed from the chuck body.

SMW AUTOBLOK KNCS

Variety of jaw types available

The KNCS-N chuck has the greatest variety of different types of jaws available compared with any other chuck. The KNCS-NB has master jaws with differing serrations designed to use any inventory of existing top jaws already in stock. The KNCS-N offers a large variety of soft-jaw and hard-jaw types and sizes. In addition, the KNCS-N has available monoblock soft and hard jaws. The monoblock jaws offer greater accuracy (no bolts to attach the top jaw to the master jaw) and lower cost.

Accuracy

The wedge-bar drive of the KNCS-N (NB) gives these chucks much better accuracy than standard wedge hook chucks. The best accuracy possible on a wedge hook chuck is generally given as T.I.R of .001”. The KNCS-N can operate in the T.I.R. range of .0002” to .0004”. As the chuck size increases from 16” to 20” to 24” diameter, the accuracy gradually degrades from .0008” to .0012” on the largest size. It is not possible to achieve this level of accuracy on a wedge hook chuck; the wedge/master jaw connection is not accurate enough to provide this level of precision.

Centrifugal force compensation

One of the characteristics of the wedge-bar drive on the KNCS-N (NB) is centrifugal force compensation, accomplished without counterweights. A counter-centrifugal wedge-hook chuck uses counterweights to offset the loss of grip force caused by centrifugal force. These counterweights can deform thin-wall or delicate parts at spindle stop.

A standard 8” wedge hook chuck will turn at 5,000-rpm maximum and lose 50% of its static grip force at this speed. An 8” QJC chuck will turn at 6,000-rpm maximum and lose only 30% of its static grip force. This represents a 20% increase in operating speed with much less loss of grip force compared to a standard chuck. This makes the QJC chuck the ideal tool for machining thin wall or delicate work pieces since the operation can begin with much lower static gripping force, thereby reducing the distortion on the part.

High Gripping Force

An 8” QJC chuck produces 22,480 pounds of static grip force. An 8” standard wedge hook chuck produces 24,730 pounds of static grip force. At maximum rpm, the QJC chuck is exerting 15,736 pounds of grip force against the part, while the wedge hook chuck is applying 13,488 pounds of grip force through all three jaws. The combination of higher speed and greater grip force at maximum rpm allow the QJC chuck to operate in applications with much greater metal removal rates than a standard chuck is capable of holding.

High – low chucking

One method of producing thin-wall or delicate parts is referred to as high – low chucking. The part is held at high pressure for the roughing operation. The clamping pressure causes distortion in the part, the machining removes that distortion and makes the part round. If the work piece were released at this point, it would spring back to its shape with a tri-lobe distortion caused by the gripping force. In high – low machining, the turning center is brought to full spindle stop after the roughing operation. A series of electronic and hydraulic controls reduce the clamping pressure to a very low level, eliminating the distortion caused by the high pressure clamping. This change in clamping pressure is accomplished without opening the chuck jaws or removing the work piece from the chuck. This maintains a consistent datum on the work piece and results in a very accurate finished part. The finishing turning is done at the low pressure setting, completing the part without any distortion.

High – low chucking cannot be done using a wedge hook chuck. The wedge locks on the master jaw tongue and the only way to change the clamping pressure applied to the part is to open the jaws and re-clamp the part. This will cause a change of position in the part and a loss of the clamping datum along with a great increase in the scrap rate.

Small batch production

In addition to its advantages for machining at high rpm and high metal removal rates, the QJC chuck is ideal for small batch production and prototyping work. The flexibility of the jaw change mechanism and the variety of jaw types available make the QJC chuck the most versatile small batch chuck available.

• A collection of chucks, jaws, steady rests and live tooling solutions from SMW-Autoblok & Mario Pinto for assured workholding strength and accuracy.
• The Iemca/Gimco VIP-80 bar feeder, demonstrating how the correct loading system will allow you more un-attended machining, thus lowering costs.
• The Alfie 500 from Alfa Laval, a compact and highly efficient coolant cleaning solution that is ideal for metal working shops.
• Various Losma products from the popular Darwin series highlighting how de-misting the air from your machines can reduce oil deposits through out your plant and reduce injury and illness to your workers.
• The Zoller Smile tool presetter for off line tool setting and reduced set up times to keep your machines cutting longer.
• Robotic and automation tooling products from De-Sta-Co, designed to make your automated systems more versatile, compact and cost effective.