Bearing manufacturer benefits from the machine design capabilities of Ohio Broach

The Ohio Broach & Machine Company has extensive experience making broach machines for the production of high performance parts such as crankshaft thrust bearings. For instance, the company designed and built a broaching machine package for a European bearing manufacturer that supplies bearings to a variety of automotive companies. 

Machine features

For this application, Ohio Broach provided a specialized “Ohio” H218X horizontal broach machine. It features two tons of cutting force, 18 inches of cutting stroke, and tandem stations. The machine is driven by hydraulics, and it uses a dual parallel hydraulic system. This enables one side of the machine to run independently from the other. The machine incorporates an integral coolant pump and reservoir that provide coolant to the broach cutters. It is capable of broaching up to 1,400 parts per hour, and can broach up to 40,000 parts before broach sharpening is needed (depending on the part size and material). The machine uses a PLC for control. 

Manufacturing process

Ohio Broach provided a broaching machine package that ensures the manufacturing process is as efficient as possible. The bearings are initially stamped on presses that are located close to the broach machine. The broach machine has a double station magazine that allows operators to load approximately 20 minutes worth of parts.

Next, the bottom part of each magazine is removed from the full stack of parts and then pushed through the two broach tunnels. At this stage, the broach tools remove stock while holding the parts flat and maintaining a surface finish finer than 1.2 Ra. Then the parts are pushed to an unloading area where they are removed from the fixtures by two sets of fingers. Lastly, the parts move down the exit chutes and to the collection area. 

Once broaching is complete, the fixtures return to their initial position so they are ready for the next part. This cycle repeats automatically until the magazines run low, parts are not removed from the exit chute, or parts are improperly fed into the broach tools.

Ohio Broach expertise

Ohio Broach is involved with all phases of broaching, from design and manufacturing to production and sharpening. This experience has made Ohio Broach one of the most trusted names in the industry. To learn more, visit the company website.

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