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Beer Machining Technology relies on Ingersoll tools, among others. The new addition is the Win Cut cutting system, a parting tool from the 3D printer. The result: higher cutting values and more economical production.

Dipl.-Phys. Manfred Flohr is a freelance specialist journalist

Georg Beer's company was founded in 1995 as a secondary business, initially producing bolts and simple small turned parts for surrounding farmers. Gradually, craftsmen and small to medium-sized enterprises expanded the customer base. After starting in a garage, which was actually a former pigsty, the company picked up speed three years later with the first three-axis milling machine. The secondary business became the main business in 2003, and in 2013 a factory in Schmidgaden with two halls was finally put into operation.

Ten years later, it became too crowded there and Beer relocated to Schwarzenfeld, also located in the Upper Palatinate. On a large plot, the production area could be expanded from 2,000 square meters to 6,400 square meters. In the process, Beer also expanded his machinery, which now includes eight lathes and eleven milling machines, seven of which are 5-axis centers. Currently, 47 employees work in three shifts. The existing lathes are equipped with bar loaders or robots. Beer's goal is further automation of the company.

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Today, Beer Machining manufactures machine parts. These are components for conveyor systems and agricultural machinery, turned and milled parts for gearboxes or work on housing and frame parts. Typical batch sizes are between 50 and 300 components, but orders of 20,000 pieces have also been executed. The processing of steel accounts for two thirds, the rest is predominantly stainless steel and some aluminium.

The requirements for the components have increased enormously in recent years.

In the past, when precise fits were required, they were looking at 3/100 mm. Today, we are in the micrometer range.

Georg Beer, Geschäftsführer Beer Zerspanungstechnik GmbH

In particular, form and positional tolerances are increasingly tight. What used to be able to be processed in two or three setups has to be done in a single one today to achieve this. The higher demands are also evident in the machine park, where the 5-axis centers are fully utilized.

The time for experiments is over

Udo Stangl, technical advisor at Ingersoll, has a special relationship with the company. When he started as a field representative for the tool manufacturer ten years ago, Beer was his first customer he was able to win over for Ingersoll. During those early days, a lot was still being experimented with, as Georg Beer reports. Today, the company strives to reduce its tool suppliers to just a few. The proportion of tools from Ingersoll has increased, which are now used in all areas for turning, drilling and milling. "This also makes it easier for our employees, who ultimately have to be familiar with the possible cutting values," Beer explains. Ingersoll supports this with on-site training.

For indexable insert drills, Beer has now completely switched to tools from the manufacturer from Haiger, with which good experiences have been made. "When an existing tool from another manufacturer fails, it is replaced with a new one from Ingersoll," says Georg Beer. For high-feed milling, the Gold S Feed from Ingersoll has proven to be the best after various tests in the company and is now used in the diameters 50 and 63 millimeters. Here, the demand of the contract manufacturer varies greatly and depends on series in which they are needed. "We have just machined 300 valve blocks, but don't know when the next order of this kind will come," says Beer. Last year less stainless steel was processed, but more steel instead. But this is just a snapshot.

High stability with soft cutting behavior

A consistently required machining step, on the other hand, is the parting off of turned parts, as Beer always turns from the bar. For this, Ingersoll has introduced its new Win Cut system, which Georg Beer was immediately impressed with: "This is a very good tool. I like the cutting behavior and the type of mounting of the Win-Cut grooving system. It's better than anything we've used before. With the triangular blade shape, the tool gets a high stability and thus a smoother, soft cutting behavior. This tool is more cutting-friendly."

Georg Beer's judgment is based on decades of experience and he looks back on the time when the behavior of a tool was judged by ear on open machines. "With today's encapsulated machines, I can't hear anything anymore, but when I observe how evenly the chips flow off, I can very well imagine what I would hear with an open machine." When parting off with the Ingersoll tool, there would hardly be anything to hear, at best a sharp quiet whistling. Harsh scraping noises only occur with incorrect parameters. "If the values are right and the correct settings have been chosen, however, it's like cutting through butter," Beer assures. The best experience in machining, in Beer's opinion, can be gathered on a conventional machine where turning is done by hand. Here the forces to be applied are directly noticeable and the chip flight is best observed. This is how knowledge is built up.

Stable construction and 3D printing

Thomas Kölbl, application technician at Ingersoll, gives details about the new tool: "In order to optimally support the plate and achieve the large parting depth of up to 120 millimeters at 2 or 3 millimeters parting width, without affecting another cutting edge, Win Cut works with a one-sided plate." For Georg Beer, this concept is very understandable. With previously used tools, he has found that the second cutting edge on a double-sided plate already shows some wear when it is changed. With the one-sided plate, more cost-effective production is possible.

The triangular blade is firmly screwed to the holder, giving it a very high stability. The plan contact ensures that lever actions, which can especially occur with swords with a larger projection length, are completely absorbed in the tool holder. The cutting inserts have a special clamping system over three contact surfaces at the lower step, which is more robust than a conventional self-clamping system, increasing the stability of the system. The efficient cooling of the Win-Cut grooving system was made possible by 3D printing. The cooling jet reaches the cutting edge from above and below via winding cooling channels inside, ensuring optimal chip control.

Beer is currently using the system with triangular swords in the diameters 52 and 82 millimeters with the SFC and SFJ cutting plates for different chip development. The soft cut is not only something for the ear, but also benefits productivity because it allows for higher cutting values. "With the same tool life, we were able to increase the standing quantity and thus save money compared to the previous tool," reports Georg Beer. "In the end, it's always about the economic aspect."