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G 环球瞭望

LOBAL OUTLOOK

如果是用数控机床进行加工，则每 300 个 That said, that plate-machining job presented
孔就可能出现一次断丝，而 FlexArm 将错误率 a challenge. The shop’s CNC mill did not have
降低到了 1/3000。在使用 FlexArm 时，操作员 adequate Z-axis travel to handle the thickness
可以在情况发生前发现已有缺口的丝锥，换成数 of the plates or the ability to tap holes all the
控机床，则会继续执行任务，导致丝锥破裂。一 way around the parts, so using it to perform the
旦发生这种情况，受到影响的不仅是昂贵的部件 tapping operations was not an option. He also did
或生产进度，操作人员还要浪费时间，找到丝锥 not want to risk breaking a tap in one of the holes
片段。 or cross-threading the ¼-inch-thick, 14-inch-tall
6061-T6 aluminum plates, which cost $1,000 each.
通过加快生产，腾出铣床的时间，降低加
Because of the difficulty of the job and the tight
工成本，FlexArm 完成第一次任务后，这家车间
turnaround, Mr. Little had little time to consider
便收回了机器购买成本。
solutions.
The Tapping Arm’s Advantages Over a
【英文如下】
CNC Milling Machine
Sometimes shops are asked to take on jobs Mr. Little remembered seeing a video on
that seem impossible. Little Enterprises, a small Facebook of a pneumatic tapping arm from
shop in Purcellville, Virginia, was faced with such FlexArm, a manufacturer of drilling and tapping
a task last December. A new customer had a solutions. He put a call into the company and
job consisting of six plates that each required ordered an A32 model.
600 holes to be tapped. The real challenge, FlexArm’s pneumatic arms are specifically
however, was the timeline: The job needed to be designed for fast and easy tapping. With adjustable
completed in a week. Three other shops had told gas counter-balanced springs, operators can
the customer that it would take months, but Little
simply position the tap over a hole and execute
Enterprises was able to tap all 3,600 holes in the the tap. The FlexArm can also be adjusted to stay
allotted timeframe with the help of a tapping arm where it is positioned or automatically return to
from FlexArm (Wapakoneta, Ohio).
the home (folded) position. The tap head is always
A Little Shop with a Big Job at 90 degrees to ensure accurate threading with
Little Enterprises gets its name from its the Helicoil inserts.
founder, Rob Little, but it also describes the The FlexArm counterbalances the weight of
number of employees. The shop consists of Mr. the motor and absorbs the torque created by the
Little and his father. His wife is also on the payroll, tool to reduce fatigue and the risk of operator
and his 12-year-old daughter and 13-year-old injury. A quick-change chuck enables operators to
son help after school, on weekends and during quickly change tap sizes without changing gears,
Christmas and summer breaks. head height or stops.
What the shop lacks in operator quantity When the FlexArm arrived, Mr. Little wasted
it makes up for in technology. Mr. Little uses no time. He set up the parts in Kurt vises and had
Autodesk Inventor, a parametric 3D solid modeling his 13-year-old son do the tapping while he filmed
software, to speed the prototyping process. For it to make his own Facebook video. “The FlexArm
instance, when he makes changes to the design is not considered hazardous manufacturing
of the model, the CAM software updates the code equipment under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
for the shop’s CNC lathe mill. definitions, and my son loves using it,” he says.

·86· 第06期 数控机床市场