Sensors & Electronics
Awards & Recognition
FLC Awards
1996 - Automated Tool Profile Grinding Machine
Developers: Donald E. Rasmussen, Gerald P. Morgen, Leslie J. Kirihara
Freeborn Tool Company, a small company in Spokane, Washington, is greatly improving its position as an international leader in the shaper tool segment of the machine tool industry through the technology transfer of an exciting new tool grinding capability developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Don Rasmussen, Les Kirihara, and Gerald Morgen are Pacific Northwest researchers who used their expertise in automated control systems to assist Freeborn Tool in replacing their conventional manual, pattern-based process for manufacturing wood shaper tools with an automated tool profile grinding machine. Wood shaper tools are used to produce patterns on wood products such as furniture, cabinets, and doors.
When Freeborn Tool expressed interest in Pacific Northwest's expertise but could not afford a major development contract, the nominees provided access to the U.S. Department of Energy laboratory and its unique resources through a DOE Staff Exchange and then a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. Quietly, to protect the firm's competitive position, the Pacific Northwest nominees and Freeborn Tool staff developed a prototype automated machine.
The new machine produces shaper tool tips that are much more precise than those produced through the manual, pattern-following process. The machine provides capability for producing shaper tools with easily replaceable tips, thus opening the door to an entirely new product line for Freeborn Tool. The prototype was so successful that it was moved from Pacific Northwest to the Freeborn Tool plant for production line use.
Until now, the U.S. machine tool industry has been endangered by increasing competition from outside the United States; however, the capability provided by Pacific Northwest's technology is expected to result in increased U.S. sales and a burgeoning international market for Freeborn Tool. The firm's owner says that without the Pacific Northwest team's assistance, and the opportunities provided through the CRADA and staff exchange, Freeborn Tool would not have been able to move forward in this effort.
Excerpted from PNNL FLC webpage.
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