Feature Story

BAND SAW BOOSTS PRODUCTIVITY 35 PERCENT WITH SQUARE-CUT, 0.005-INCH REPEATABILITY

"Adding a new band saw has boosted our cutting productivity by 35 percent with squareness at near-net and 0.005-inch repeatability," says Craig Yarde, owner of Yarde Metals, Bristol, Conn. "Carbide-tipped blades give three times the blade life compared to standard bimetal blades. We now offer more cut-to-length services with tighter tolerances and a six-percent increase in bar-stock yields."

The 22-year-old company with 325 employees cuts all types of stainless steel, such as 304, 316L, 15-5ph, 17-4 ph, and grades of aluminum.

"For these high-production requirements," Yarde says, "we wanted a band saw to operate around the clock with minimal maintenance, operator and training time." The firm serves 6,000 customers who fabricate aviation, biomedical, microprocessing, automotive, and telecommunications. With additional facilities in Tewksbury, MA; Deer Park, NY; and East Hanover, NJ, and Limerick, PA, Yarde said the companyís annual revenues exceed $100 million.

The firm's new Amada CTB-400 CNC band saw provides a cutting rate up to 5/8-in. 2/min on nickel-based alloys, twice as fast as with other saw in the shop. Surface finishes are in the range of 80 RMS on stainless-steel grades. Yarde adds that finishes average 70-100 100 microinches, comprared to 125 microinches from his other band saws.

Most larger stainless-steel-bar, cut-to-length jobs now flow through the CTB-400. On five-inch rounds or larger, cut tolerances are set at plus 0.03-inch oversize on the new saw versus 0.06-inch on other saws, thus reducing secondary machining. Aluminum-bar stock is processed as quickly as with a circular saw, with less kerf loss.

The band saw runs with one operator per shift, 24 hours a day, five days a week. Automatic guide-arm positioning minimizes errors when placing a part. The operator can program and preset controls for speed, feed pressure, and part length with the self-diagnostic CNC saw. A band-deviation detector allows loading several pieces at once instead of one at a time. An anti-vibration guide-roller arm extends blade life.

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