Ohio Broach creates perfect custom bearing machine for European company

A customized bearing machine for a European customer is among Ohio Broach's past successes.

For decades, The Ohio Broach and Machine Company has worked with an unmatched range of applications in broaching. Its services have yielded many success stories. For instance, a European manufacturer once approached Ohio Broach for a machine that could size the thickness of engine crankshaft thrust bearings for the automotive industry.

The Ohio Broach team delved deeply into its long history of top machine-building talents to meet this unique challenge.

Two tons of cutting force

For this task, the company designed and built a specialized “Ohio” H218X horizontal broaching machine. The bearings are now being manufactured through a process that includes stamped parts being moved from nearby presses to the broaching machine and then loaded into a double-station magazine that carries about 20 minutes’ worth of components in the machine. The equipment strips the bottom part of the full part stack in both magazines and pushes the parts through two broach tunnels, in which broaching tools remove stock and hold parts flat while maintaining a surface finish of 1.2 Ra or less.

Next, the parts exit the tunnels into an unloading area and move down chutes to a collection area. The fixtures return to the first station, and the cycle restarts. The cycle continues until the magazines are low, the parts are fed into the broach tools incorrectly, or the parts have not been removed from the chute exit area.

The custom machine has two tons of cutting force and 18 inches of cutting stroke, plus tandem stations too. This is a hydraulically driven machine with a dual parallel hydraulic system in which one side can run independently of the other. Coolant is supplied to the broach cutters by the integral coolant pump and reservoir. A PLC controls the bearing machine, and the machine can broach up to 1,400 parts an hour. Each tool can cut up to 40,000 parts between sharpening applications, depending on the material and the size.

The customer immediately benefited from this machine, with higher efficiency and competitiveness. Once again, Ohio Broach used its skills to create the ideal solution.

To learn more, contact Ohio Broach.

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