Impeller

<body><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td> <p> <font color="#C0C0C0">Welcome to</font> <img src="images/ModGrindley.gif" alt="ModGrindley.bmp (4534 bytes)" WIDTH="107" HEIGHT="32">  <font color="#C0C0C0">Mfg</font>.</p> </td></tr></table><table dir="ltr" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td valign="top" width="1%"> <p><font color="#FFFF00"><br> <font face="CLucern"><big><a href="Testimonials.htm">Customer Comments</a></big></font></font></p> <p><font face="CLucern" color="#FFFF00"><big><br> <a href="PartType.htm">Sample Parts</a></big></font></p> <p><font face="CLucern" color="#FFFF00"><big><br> <a href="machines.htm">Machines</a></big></font></p> <p><font face="CLucern" color="#FFFF00"><big><br> <a href="History.htm">History</a></big></font></p> <p><font face="CLucern" color="#FFFF00"><big><br> <a href="contactus.htm">How to Contact us</a></big></font></p> </td><td valign="top" width="24"></td><td valign="top"> <p align="center"><img src="images/impeller.jpg" alt="impeller.jpg (11406 bytes)" WIDTH="363" HEIGHT="356"></p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"><big><big><big><big>Impeller for a Ram jet engine</big></big></big></big></p> <p align="left">    This part provided some manufacturing challenges as did a lot of the parts we did in the 1960's.  This was a time when 5 axis machines were a pipe dream for most people in the job shop business.  The customer wanted a mixed flow impeller capable of producing over 400 psi.</p> <p align="left">    The customer had tried different manufacturing solutions but they all came up short.  They tried to cast the part but when they heat treated the part the vanes tended to droop.  This was obviously unacceptable.   Bob knew that we would have to make this out of a solid piece of aluminum.  </p> <p align="left">    The main obstacle that had to be solved was how to machine the vanes.  This presented a unique challenge to a non-NC shop in the 60's.   Bob set to work on a machine that would be able to machine the impeller out of solid.  </p> <p align="left">    He designed and built a small desktop, cam driven, 5 axis, 30,000 RPM, manually operated milling machine.  He developed cams to rotate the milling head 90° while also moving from the center of the part to the edge of its 3" periphery. At the same time the part was being rotated 90°.  It took us 45 minutes to machine this part.  He put both the 3D and 2D cams on the same shaft that held the workpiece.  Bob also made a fixture to make the end mill cutters that we used for this job.  We made our own ball end mills to cut this part.</p> <p align="left">    The result of this was that the part was 40% more efficient than the customers engineers had anticipated.  So much so that they had to come by the shop to see the machine that cut this impeller. </td></tr></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td> <h5 align="center"><big><a href="Default.htm" style="color: rgb(128,128,128)">Home</a><font color="#FFFFFF">|</font><a href="Testimonials.htm" style="color: rgb(128,128,128)">Customer Comments</a><font color="#FFFFFF">|</font><a href="PartType.htm" style="color: rgb(128,128,128)">Sample Parts</a><font color="#FFFFFF">|</font><a href="machines.htm" style="color: rgb(128,128,128)">Machines</a><font color="#FFFFFF">|</font><a href="History.htm" style="color: rgb(128,128,128)">History</a><font color="#FFFFFF">|</font><a href="contactus.htm" style="color: rgb(128,128,128)">Contact Us</a></big></h5> <h5><font color="#008080">Last modified: March 08, 2003</font></h5> <h5 align="right"><font color="#0080C0">You're not the first, but you are #<img src="_vti_bin/fpcount.exe/?Page=_borders/bottom.htm|Image=2" alt="Hit Counter"> and hopefully not the last</font></h5> </td></tr></table></body>