Machine, machine, grind.  This is the typical manufacturing flow in most shops when working with materials that are prone to distortion because of internal stresses in material.  Bonal Technologies is putting an end to that with their Black Magic line of distortion controllers.  Their products use small amounts of mechanical energy waves to vibrate the material parallel to it’s crystaline structure so as to align molecules in a more uniform pattern, thus relieving internal stresses.  Still with us?

The technology to relieve stress in parts in this manner has been around since the 70′s, however Bonal Technologies has packaged this method in three sized tools ranging from a 50 lb capacity to 300 lbs.  An operator secures the part to the surface and adjusts two dials to correspond to the type of material and piece weight.  Over a period of time ranging from a half hour to an hour the part undergoes stress relief and is ready for machining.

We however are a bit skeptical.  We’ve yet to get our hands on one and run real life testing.  To complicate the matter further, several attempts to contact Bonal Technologies have gone unanswered.  Procede at your own risk!