Product category:
5-axis (3+2 axes and continuous path) machining centres
News Release from: CMS Group (UK) | Subject: CMS 5-axis CNC machining centres
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 13 November 2006
Five-axis machining centres get linear
drives
Five-axis CNC machining centres are offered with optional linear motor drives to X and Y axes for those seeking the very latest in production technology.
Introduced to the UK is a family of new 5-axis CNC machining centres from Nottingham-based, CMS UK, part of the Italian worldwide group specializing in solutions for machining all kinds of non ferrous materials Typical applications include composites, carbon fibre, model block, aluminum etc, as used in many manufacturing industries including aerospace, motor sport, automotive, marine, rail transport, construction and buildings
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 13 Nov 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
CMS UK now offers waterjet cutting systems
Tecnocut waterjet CNC cutting systems - with hundreds of systems installed worldwide - are now available from Nottingham based company CMS Group UK.
Car builder buys advanced 5-axis machining centre
Machining centre with a 24,000 rev/min, high-speed, 12kW spindle that is liquid cooled offers positioning speeds up to 80m/min with acceleration rates of up to 3.0m/s2.
* Linear drives - the standard Antares 5-axis CNC machining centre and its range of larger format Ares companions are now also offered with optional linear motor drives to X and Y axes for those seeking the very latest in production technology.
The Antares provides strokes of 2600 x 1500 x 1200mm while the larger Ares has three standard size options and can machine components requiring strokes of up to 6000 x 2600 x 1200mm.
The larger Ares machines, utilising a form of portal construction, are available in six different variants and permit the physical separation of the load/unload area from the cutting zone so that both operations can be carried out in tandem, thereby achieving maximum machine utilization.
Further reading
Modular machining centres mill at high speeds
Modular machining centdfes can be built up to 8m by 40m (X and Y axis) to order for machining large aluminium or composite components in the aerospace, automotive and marine industries.
Machining centre, 5-axis, mills Al and non-metals
For machining non-ferrous metals and non-metals a 5-axis machining centre a more stiffness to the 5-axis cutting head than is normally associated with machines of this type.
Travelling column VMC has dual-pallet indexing
Vertical machining centre with a travelling column design and integrated rotary dual-pallet indexing system provides higher levels of productivity and output and efficient workpiece loading/unloading.
* Design philosophy - according to CMS UK general manager, Toni Nagiel, the Ares/Antares concept deliberately tends towards a degree of 'over-engineering' in order to provide such a high degree of robustness, reliability and accuracy that the machines can be used with confidence for a wider range of applications than might previously have been envisaged.
This confidence in their capabilities is, he says, is being borne out by their increasing use in the high-tech industries.
* Aerospace - similarly, the materials regularly machined now extend through the more familiar mould, model and pattern-making, comprising wood, aluminum, epoxy paste and polyurethane to include structural light alloys and carbon fibre components as used, for example, in aircraft production.
* Pneumatic brake - one result of this design philosophy is to afford a far higher degree of stiffness to the 5-axis cutting head than is normally associated with machines of this type.
This useful attribute is further enhanced by the inclusion of a pneumatic brake that can be programmed to clamp the B- and C-axes during operations that do not require fully active 5-axis interpolation.
The PX5 universal head, with all five axes acting under simultaneous remote control from a GE-Fanuc 18i MB5 CNC system has, in addition to the three basic axes, a fourth axis that rotates around the vertical and a fifth that inclines the spindle in the vertical plane.
The highly specified NC control comes complete with PC Office integrated in the electrical cabinet.
* High speed - drawing on the parent company's 35 years of experience, a particularly strong spindle shaft, made in-house, is mounted on two pairs of pre-loaded bearings - ceramic type for the front pair and steel for the rear pair.
This high-speed spindle (24,000 rev/min max 12kW or 27,000 rev/min maximum 6kW) is liquid cooled.
Fast positioning speeds of 70-80m/min are achieved along with acceleration rates of up to 3.0m/s2.
Automatic tool changing is linked to a tool-holder magazine located on the front face of the traverse and has an eight-tool magazine as standard or a 16-tool option.
According to CMS, the combination of a very high performance, powerful electro spindle and the machine rigidity assured by the mobile bridge-type construction, offer users 'unmatched quality on a wide range of materials'.
* Extended markets - in extending the CMS market well beyond its original ones of woodworking and routing, the company is enjoying considerable success and, said Nagiel: "We are challenging manufacturers to look again at their previous understanding of what type of machinery they need".
"We are proving daily that, for many high-speed machining applications, equipment such as the Antares and Ares, with their large-volume working cubes, can be just as effective as higher-priced 'traditional' 5-axis machining centres." Nagiel mentioned how there can be a benefit to users by broadening their experience in this way and finds that 'a little gentle education' is often helpful.
* Vacuum workholding - cited are instances where the standard vacuum bed, for example, has provided an unexpectedly easy way for customers not familiar with the system to mount large components and save on tooling costs and downtime.
Nagiel went on to say, "Of course tee-slotted tables etc, are available as well, but production staff owe it to their companies to look at all options and, by dealing with CMS at its Nottingham base, they are talking directly to the machinery supplier and are offered full after-sales and technical advisory service from the same team.".
• CMS Group (UK): contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
