How do you make a work uniform?

Did you know creating a work uniform will save you time and money?

When I was younger I hated the idea of having to wear a uniform.

To earn extra money I worked part time in a supermarket on top of my day job before I became a teenage mum.

Their ugly work uniform at the time was a really drab brown a-line dress with a belt.

An ugly color with an ugly cut and it did no favors for anyone bigger than a UK size 8/US4.

That first experience of wearing a uniform put me off the idea of ever wearing one for my day job. Luckily as a civil servant I don’t need to.

But here’s the funny thing.

15 years after leaving that depressing brown dress behind I found myself with a self-imposed work uniform.

Needless to say brown doesn’t feature!

When you are working full time with small children, time and money are often in short supply.

Even if you earn a decent wage I know you will put the children, bills and life first before buying yourself clothes to make you look and feel good whilst at work.

When working you don’t have time to dress yourself carefully and stylishly.

You don’t have the money to spend on the latest fashions to then wear them to work.

When money is tight, buying clothes for yourself is your last thought.

Many workplaces require you to dress smartly or smart casual. These are so broad that your entire wardrobe could fit these categories.

Choosing what to wear every day from your entire wardrobe can be painful and time wasting.

The Problem

Do these problems sound familiar? Do you:-

Waste time standing in front of your wardrobe wondering what to wear

End up wearing something you are not comfortable in and it drags your day down

Wear your nicest clothes because you’re not sure if something else suits you

Spend time trying to match shoes to clothes

Waste yet more of your precious time choosing matching accessories

Feel frazzled by the time you have finished dressing

Spend too much on clothes so you have enough to wear both at work and at home?

The Solution

The solution is to design your own work uniform. By creating a capsule wardrobe for work you can stop wearing all your nicer gear.

When you get a chance to go on a night out you will be able to wear something that feels special.

How To Design Your Own Workwear Sets (Capsule Wardrobe)

Decide on a style of dressing that will be appropriate for your workplace

Ensure you are comfortable with this clothing style

A small palette of 2/3 base colors

Choose clothing styles that are interchangeable with other items in your base color

Classic styles with minimal branding/logos don’t date

Choose tops that you can wear with all of your base colors

Ensure your shoes are comfortable enough to wear all day, more than once a week

I work in an office and manage a team so needed a women’s professional wardrobe, choosing to team jackets with skirts and trousers.

How to prevent deviation of conveyor belt

When your factory is running at full speed, trying to ship a product or fulfill an order, the last thing you want is a conveyor belt running off course. Unfortunately, sometimes even the slightest movement or change on a conveyor can throw the belt off track. Misalignment of idlers or rollers, improper joints, and material accumulation are just some of the reasons that can cause your conveyor belt to deviate from the track. Sometimes, minor collisions with heavy machinery and even weather -- strong winds, frost, and sun exposure -- can interfere with your conveyor belt path.

Potential danger of running off course

If found and corrected in time, the conveyor belt deviation will hardly damage the conveyor. However, other types of damage may occur if it is not detected or corrected. If the conveyor belt continuously hits the frame, it will not only damage the frame, but also may scrape off the conveyor belt layer by layer until it is worn out. Conveyor belt width will also be affected, resulting in a reduction in the amount of material carried.

If the conveyor belt runs badly off course, the material will overflow from the top to the surrounding area, which may lead to safety violations. In rare cases, friction can heat up and the conveyor belt can become a source of fire, causing serious safety problems.

Safety regulations are also a factor

Safety regulations are in place in many parts of the world to regulate these issues. For example, in the United States, the MSHA enacted 30CFR 75.1731, which specifically states that "conveyor belts must be properly aligned to prevent friction between a moving conveyor belt and a frame or component." Failure to comply with these regulations can result in fines and/or disruption of operations.

Temporary repair of conveyor belt

For most factories, a complete overhaul of conveyors is usually not within the budget. Instead, some people resort to temporary repair procedures - such as attaching side rollers to conveyors - which can actually make the problem worse. Idlers mounted on the edge of conveyor belts are not always effective because conveyor belts are better suited for pulling than pushing, so this runs in reverse. Another method of adjusting the conveyor belt is to use friction - oblique idlers relative to the direction in which the belt is running. The third method is to adjust the tension. Usually the conveyor belt is always "away" from the high tension side. If the tension on one side increases, the conveyor belt will move to the other side.

The combination of friction and tension effectively prevents the conveyor belt from running off

Field tests have shown that a combination of friction and tension is the best way to get the Huayue conveyor belt back on track when the racks are not aligned correctly. Many equipment manufacturers provide edge idlers alongside steel return idlers that allow them to rotate or tilt relative to the travel of the conveyor belt. The friction exerted by the idlers on the conveyor belt can turn the latter. The problem with this method is that the edge of the conveyor belt will hit the edge idlers hard, but with little practical effect, and will exert great pressure on the edge of the conveyor belt. This will create greater force in the idlers, which may damage the conveyor belt.

Other manufacturers often offer products called "oscillators" for this purpose, which use a single central bearing inside a gelatin-covered idler (pipe) to cause the conveyor belt to turn. The problem with this design is that in order to generate steering force, the idlers have to be tilted down on the off-course side. This can backfire, as reducing tension can quickly cause the belt to slip into more serious running. Only in applications with minimal tension, where the steering force is much more influential than the tension, does this approach have a chance of providing good results.

In order to avoid applying too much pressure or making the deviation problem worse, the tracker with a "rotating and tilting" design can ensure friction and change the conveyor belt tension distribution. The rotating and tilting mechanism can make the conveyor belt back to the middle of the conveyor, and the efficiency is more than three times higher than other schemes.

The next time you encounter a conveyor that runs sideways or sideways, consider using a "spin and tilt" tracker. This is a very efficient solution that works before off-track problems cause damage or downtime.

What is CNC Thread Milling？

Thread milling is a conventional computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing process. It is widely exploited for producing holes that adopt screws of varying sizes. Thread milling has numerous used in machine shop, sometimes even replaces CNC tapping. 

Let’s deepen into CNC mill machine, Threading process , types of thread cutters and learn more about its difference from tapping.

What is Thread Milling?

It is a metalworking process used to cut threads of varying sizes with the help of  machine spindles. In this case, the spindle is a rotatory part of a CNC thread mill that holds a cutting tool. By cutting off small chips of a previously made hole, CNC thread mills achieve threads of varying types.

A single CNC unit can produce numerous types of threads, and the essential considerations here are the following:

• Left or right-handed threads. They differ in the direction in which a screw’s thread wraps around its shaft. Left-hand threads were made by clockwise spindle movement, and left-handed threads by counterclockwise spindle movement. 

• Materials of workpieces. Traditionally, thread mills are metalworking CNC units, and even for wooden components, there is a need for a metal insert to accommodate the screw. Pay attention to types of metal if softer or harder ones require distinct tooling. 

• Hole diameters. Considering that the thread mill is to be inserted in a pre-drilled hole, it is important that you choose the appropriate diameter of both a thread and a drill bit, so they match. 

• Depth of thread engagement. Also called the height of thread engagement, this indicator is the radial distance by which coaxially assembled threads overlap each over. 

• External or internal thread. It means a cutting tool that shapes either cylindrical or conical external or internal surfaces. The latter is for screws, while the first type is used, for example, to form bottles’ caps. 

• Class of thread. It is simply a thread’s alphanumerical designation showing its grade of machining tolerance and allowance. 

• Thread tolerance.Deriving from the previous consideration, the accuracy that can be achieved with a thread is also essential. 

Insert type. For a single row threading, there are two insert profiles, full profile and V-profile. They slightly change the approach to threading, as detailed at the end of the post. 

How Does a Thread Mill Work?

Let’s provide an alternative definition of the process to reveal the machining aspect. A conventional, single-point threading is both a cutting and a forming operation done with a thread. It creates a helical groove having a specific shape with the help of a threading insert -– cutting tool, having a corresponding size and shape. This thread is to adopt a screw in it. Here are some aspects of threading:

• Cutting operations. The main cutting procedure here is making a uniform advancement into a hole per spindle revolution. To achieve this, the CNC machine unit is to perform cutting in accordance with a set of commands. 

• Machine units. CNC thread mills are machinery that has triaxle control and helical interpolation functions. Technically, though there are specific thread mills, such automated centers as CNC milling and turning ones can perform the operation as well.

• Coding. In any case, CNC units require a G-coded file that would have all the operations defined precisely. For example, given a 3-axes thread mill, an engineer may code the command for the spindle: go 50 mm along X-axis, then go 20 mm along Y-axis, then lower down 10 mm along Z-axis. Then, he will code the command to start performing rotary movements while lowering the spindle down along Z-axis. In such a manner, a CNC thread mill is given exact instructions. 

• Modeling. Typically, G-coded files are created automatically. It is done by converting computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) files having a 3D model of a workpiece into G-coded files. 

Eventually, a finished thread is obtained by preparing a file, setting a machine and its tooling, and performing the procedure. Take a look at the process of forming a left-handed, internal thread in the image below.

What is a Thread?

You may already have an insight into what treads look like and how they operate. But your understanding of CNC threading would be incomplete without reviewing parts of a thread. At the end of the day, the specificities of a cutting tool are what define the final outcomes. 

So, a thread is a cutting tool that transmits motion in order to perform the procedure with its sharp edges, and its parts and significant measures are the following:

• Root.  It is the part of a thread’s surface that joins the adjacent trad forms’ flanks. It also joins the thread overall to the cone from which the tool projects.

• Flank. It is the part of a thread’s surface that connects the crest with the root. This intersection’s axial plane must be a straight line.

• Crest. It is the part of a thread’s surface that joins the flanks of a thread. 

• Pitch. It is simply the distance between corresponding points on adjacent thread forms. It lies in the same axial plane as other thread forms, and on the same side of the axis. Its value can be measured by dividing the lead by the number of thread starts.

• Major diameter. Given a straight thread, it is the diameter of a major cylinder. 

• Minor diameter. Given a straight thread, it is the diameter of a minor cylinder. 

• Helix Angle. Given a straight thread, this angle is made by the thread’s helix and its relation to the thread’ axis. This angle complements the lead one. 

Types of Thread Mill You Need to Know

Thread mills or thread cutters are tools to make thread by milling. They may vary in forms and sizes, depending on a thread’s purpose and the intended design. There are two major types of thread milling tools:

• Solid carbide thread mill. Such tools are more suitable for small-sized holes and are technically more precise and expensive than indexable ones. They offer single-pass thread generation, smoothest cutting action possible, and performing blind operations over multiple material types. 
• Indexable insert thread mill. These ones are intended for holes that are over 0.625 inches in diameter. They are more cost-effective because each insert suits both right and left-hand machining, and tool life is longer. Such cutters offer single-tool-pass production as well, performing blind operations and reliable clamping. They also require less machine power.
  

Thread Milling vs Tapping – What’s the Difference？

• Both thread milling and typing can be used to create screw threads. But that’s the only major similarity. So, let’s review some distinct factors to outline a clear difference between these two manufacturing processes:
  
  
  

  
  
  

How Do I Choose a Thread Mill?

• When it comes to choosing a thread cutter for your needs, there are some aspects to consider.

  • Do not chase the most affordable options. Experience shows that cutting tools are something that worth every penny spent as cheap cutters deteriorate rapidly.

  • Insert type. As a rule of thumb, full profile inserts perform better overall and produce higher quality shapes at maximal accuracy. At the same time, V-profile inserts enable not to purchase much inventory because multiple pitches may fit the same thread. 

  • Cutting diameter. You can freely employ a thread mill of a smaller size than a hole. So, stick with versatile diameters rather than purchasing a distinct cutter for every hole size.

  • Assess the number of rapid passes. It is not obligatory to perform threading in one pass. In complex applications, it is better to revise the number of passes with cutters of different sizes. Several radial passes will help you to achieve finer internal surface quality. It will also improve the consistency of thread from batches to batches. 

  • Male or female thread.  Pay attention to the specificities of a threading operation to be performed. One clear example is the need for an external or male or internal or female thread, as mentioned previously. Take a look at what both look like in the image below. 
  

Summary

In essence, threading is one of the most straightforward manufacturing operations. CNC milling or truning center or lathe performs it with the help of thread mills and G-coded file specifying the instruction.

There are two major families of thread mills, which are indexable insert and solid carbide ones. They have varying costs and suit different design purposes. When choosing a thread mill, you should pay particular attention to its characteristics and type so the desired cutter operates as expected.