Product category:
Pick-up spindle turning, multi-tasking, turning and machining centres
News Release from: Emag UK | Subject: Vertical pick-up spindle machines
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 12 November 2001
EMAG is a market leader in vertical
machining
EMAG has literally turned machining on its head. The pick-up-principle simplifies automatic loading and unloading of workpieces at almost no extra cost.
For decades, EMAG has been building highperformance automatics and highly automated CNC turning cells and systems In 1992, EMAG was the first in the world to build a vertical turning machine with an inverted pick-up spindle: EMAG has literally turned machining on its head
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 12 Nov 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Pick-up spindle machines - does the UK lag behind?
Are UK suppliers - particularly automotive sub-contractors - lagging behind Germany and the US in the take-up of pick-up spindle machining and turning centres? The question is put by EMAG UK.
EMAG UK - a company profile
Since its foundation in 1984, EMAG UK has established a strong position in the UK automotive market supplying CNC multi-functional production centres.
The pick-up-principle simplifies automatic loading and unloading of workpieces at almost no extra cost.
Today, 3,000 of these new and innovative series of machines worldwide turn, drill, mill, grind, balance, offer laser applications, etc.
A single machine concept intended for a variety of production processes - many advantages.
Further reading
Turrets feed vertical shaft turning centre
Following on from its earlier horizontal shaft turning machine, Emag has developed a vertical shaft turning machine using two turrets to exchange workpieces as well as perform machining.
Grinding and automation expertise extended
With the integration of Ingersoll Naxos crankshaft grinding machine company into the Emag Group, systems can be developed in conjunction with Karstens, Reinecker, Kopp and Heilig Automation.
Compact centre combines hard turn and grind
For the vertical high-speed machining of medium size and also very small workpieces a compact produ ction centre combines hard turning and finish grinding or various grinding processes.
The VSC series of machines can be used for a variety of individual and combined machining processes, typically including Green and Hard turning + Grinding in one machine, i.e one clamping operation.
The advantages: Increased process integrity, improved component quality, lower investment, lower unit production costs, identical programming and maintenance requirements.
The new HSC series offers all these advantages for the machining of shaft-type components.
DaimlerChrysler: Grinding is now included - a manufacturing concept for the future.
Hard turning and grinding in one clamping operation: EMAG and its subsidiary REINECKER, a well known specialist for precision grinding, certainly left a lasting impression at Daimler- Chrysler Stuttgart successfully machining gears for the A-class gearbox.
Hardened gears are finish machined - new technology at DaimlerChrysler.
The combined Turning and Grinding Centre looks exactly like its neighbours, which only turn the gears.
The DS version (DS stands for Drehen + Schleifen = Turning + Grinding) not only hard-turns but also features two or more integrated grinding spindles.
Dipl.-Ing.
Gerd Frech, the production planning engineer at DaimlerChrysler says, "We have had very good experiences with EMAG machines, which we also use for turning our gears.
Following the announcement of the new machine with integrated grinding spindles, we certainly sat up and took notice because at this time we were under pressure to increase output and we hoped that this new technology would remove the need to invest in a separate grinding machine.
So we decided quite quickly to use this machine alongside the existing VSC turning machines." Two machining methods on just one machine - reveals lower production times and costs Previously, similar gears were completely finish ground on a conventional grinder; inherently, valuable time was lost and unavoidable inaccuracies occurred in re-chucking the workpiece and, furthermore, the grinding process took longer.
In addition, compared to today's standards, "a grinding allowance of 0.2mm was required at the pre-turned stage to allow for distortion in the hardening process", explains Gerd Frech.
"Now we have a machine that does both hard turning and grinding in the same clamping operation".
In fact, ,We are now hard-turning leaving a grinding allowance of 0.02mm only on the diameter - a tenth of what we needed before.
Thus the grinding operation becomes just one of finishing, and - in actual fact for these components - only the undesirable spiral turning operation grooves are removed".
Is this combined machining process really more productive? Gerd Frech acknowledges that it is: "If we compare processes, previously we took 90 seconds to grind these parts.
Today we need just 70 seconds to complete a part." Saving can be made on investment costs too.
On capital expenditure, significant savings were realised as well.
"The combo machine from EMAG REINECKER, including its handling system, is about 70% of the cost of the old grinding solution", says Gerd Frech.
"Here the practicality of the pick-up spindle plays an important role by eliminating the need for a gantry loader".
"With straight forward grinding operations, overheating of the end faces was often problematic", explains Gerd Frech.
"We find the surfacefinish tolerance of RZ < 2.5 æm is easily achieved with hard-turning on the DS." In addition, the tool-life expectancy of the tool that finish turns the end faces and pre-turn the bore is no less than 450 components.
This is surprisingly high for gears with a hardness of HRC 60ñ2.
Hard-turning is performed with grinding precision The surface is completely free of turning marks after grinding, achieving a surface finish of 1.2micron Rz and less.
This clearly demonstrates the high degree of rigidity offered by the VSC design.
Fixed tool carriers make the turret extraordinarily stable, an important precondition for achieving surface finish quality when hardturning or finish-grinding.
Ready for use in series Production.
Gerd Frech can report: "Together with REINECKER we have increased the original output of 220 to 300 components per shift.
We can no longer imagine being without this machine".
And he foresees further additions. Request a free brochure from Emag UK ...
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