ESI Engineering Specialties, Inc. manufactured an aftermarket add-on component for their facility’s arbors.
The component required a flange nut that could be affixed to the arbor to keep the material that the arbor held in place.
The requirements were specific: they had to be both wide and strong enough to hold large coils of material in place, but they could not hinder the rotation of the arbors in any way. The nuts also had to easily screw onto the arbors quickly and easily.
The Solution
Before beginning the manufacturing process, we designed the flange nut with 3D CAD software. To ensure that the flange nuts had the strength and heft required, we started with 9″ diameter aluminum bronze bar stock. Aluminum bronze, a copper and aluminum alloy, is the strongest of all bronze alloys — this made it an ideal choice.
After boring a 5.33 inch diameter hole through the center of the bar, we threaded the inner diameter. We had selected an Acme #7 thread for the nut I.D. and we turned outer diameter down to 8.5 inches. We then cut-off individual nuts, each 1-inch-thick, from the threaded bar stock. Each nut was given six individual thread leads. After deburring the thread leads, every nut was tested by hand on a sample male arbor component.
We elected to have six thread leads to increase ease of use of the nut and make it easier to screw on. With more openings, the nut could be turned starting from almost any location on the arbor. The Acme #7 thread was chosen for its large pitch and low thread per inch count — fewer threads of a larger size allow the nut to fasten more quickly.
Click on drawing for full view.
The Results
By designing a nut that maximized both speed and ease of use, ESI’s customer achieved quicker material changes in their facility, ultimately decreasing their downtime. By selecting a common but strong material and utilizing our CNC machining capabilities — the production was performed in one set-up on our multi-axis CNC lathe — we were able to maintain very reasonable costs for the project.
To learn more about how ESI Engineering Specialties can use our CNC manufacturing capabilities to improve the quality and cost of your next project, Request a Quote.
Specifications
| Capabilities Applied/Processes | Bore through-hole, thread internal diameter, cut each part to length |
| Equipment Used to Manufacture Part | Multi-axis CNC lathe |
| Overall Part Dimensions | 8.5” OD x 1” THK with 6 Start #7 ACME Thread |
| Tightest Tolerances | .005” |
| Material Used | C63000 Aluminum bronze |
| Industry for Use | Wire processing equipment |
| In Process Testing/Inspection Performed | Male arbor/check mating component |
| Volume | 20 |
| Delivery/Turnaround Time | 3 weeks |
| Standards Met | Standard 3D CAD Drawing |
