Broaching is a machining operation which moves a tool called broach over the workpiece to remove material, cutting a predetermined shape. The broaching tool is a collection of single-point cutting tools arrayed in sequence, cutting one after the other. It can be used to machine small to medium sized castings, forgings, screw machine parts, and stampings. Rable utilizes a variety of broaching methods such as keyway, key seater, wobble broaching, turret broaching and external rotary hex broaching.
- Broaching is one of the industry's most precise and productive processes but because of its high tooling costs it is most often used in high volume industries like automotive.
- Broaching can also replace a number of other machining operations saving time and requiring less tools. Although broaching can be used on most any metallic alloy can it works best on soft materials like aluminum, copper alloys, brass and even in plastics. Hard materials can be broached, but the broach dulls quickly.
- A good example of how broaching can address specific needs is how we used an atypical indexable-insert style broaching tool to lock a lathe's spindle into position and rapidly drive the tool at very small tooling depths to create keyways and slots. This improves feature-to-feature accuracy, reduces handling & set up times and eliminates the need for specialized keyseaters.
- Rable Machine also uses this tool to produce parts for a turbine unit. The improved keyway for these parts must be precisely reduced relative to the curved vanes around the part's O.D. This position accuracy is possible because the turning, milling and broaching operations are all completed in one chucking. Although the tool removes only .0015 inch of material per pass, it does so at 300 ipm...resulting in a cycle time of only two minutes.
If you have an application that might benefit from this kind of creative thinking and technology, give us a call. We'd be happy to sit down with your engineering group to review your options.
