Gas Lens for a TIG Welding Application

At McCormick Industries, production of close tolerance parts with complicated features is our specialty. In this project, we worked with a customer in the welding industry, with whom we have a 20+ year relationship with.

We were tasked with the manufacturing of a gas lens, which is designed as a collet body that adds an extra level of precision to TIG welding applications. The dimensional aspects of gas lenses are very exacting in order to deliver a consistent diffused gas flow. This gas lens incorporated cross holes along the body and geometrically complex features on the inner diameter. Specifications also called for stamped markings on one of the cylindrical surfaces.

Our advanced Swiss machining centers are extremely precise systems with sophisticated motion and tool holding capabilities. This allowed us to program multiple operations in a single pass. We employed a variety of tools for cross drilling, milling, stamping, and other precise machining processes. Another important feature of these Swiss screw machines is a high-pressure coolant system. High-pressure technology effectively removes heat generated by the cutting process, which extends tool life, improves surface finishes, and promotes the use of higher cutting speeds.

Constructed from tellurium copper, the final product featured dimensions of 1.297″ in length x .5″ in diameter and an 80 surface finish. Our robust machining process enabled us to hold ±.005″ dimensional and ±.5″ angular tolerances. Quality assurance involved in-process machine vision inspection, caliper and micrometer measurement, as well as ball tangent measurement when verifying the accuracy of the internal diameters.

To learn more about this project or our production capabilities, contact us today.

Request Quote