Product category:
Vertical machining centres (VMC)
News Release from: Emag UK | Subject: Production vertical machining centre
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 August 2006
Compact VMC has rigid monobloc structure
Vertical machining centre has a monobloc structure enclosed on three sides and topped by a gantry to combine a minimal footprint with extreme rigidity and full protection of guideways.
Nowadays floor space requirement is one of the decisive criteria in choosing a suitable machining center It is for this very reason that SW Schwaebische Werkzeugmaschinen, Waldmoessingen, Germany, developed their BA S03 series of vertical machining centers
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 12 Nov 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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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 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.
The design - a monobloc enclosed on three sides and topped by a gantry - combines a minimal footprint with extreme rigidity and the safest possible protection of guideways and drive components against the ingress of chip particles and coolant.
Rigidity is achieved, to a large extent, by the box-in-box design of the Z-axis.
Two separate drives for the Y-axis ensure that the slide moves in true parallel, even when cutting forces exert off-centre pressure.
Further reading
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.
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.
The direct drives for the swivel axes and direct measuring systems offer a positioning accuracy of +/- 5 angular seconds.
The overall positioning accuracy Tp in the machining area of the BA S03 according to norm VDI DGQ 3441 is 0.008mm.
Acceleration of up to 8m/s2 and speeds of max 75m/min in the linear and up to 50 deg/s in the rotary axes ensure that idle times are kept to a minimum.
The direct-drive main spindles reach speeds of max 17,500 rev/min and are at full power of 15.5kW (40% ED) as soon as they reach 2500 rev/min.
Tool receptors HSK 63 and a torque rate of 60Nm ensure that even larger tools, such as surface mills and face mills with blade inserts, can be used.
As an alternative to the standard spindles SW now offers one with more than twice the torque.
The machining centre automatically replaces tools of up to 7.5kg weight and 70mm diameter (max 160mm dia., where the adjoining space is available) from a tool magazine with 40 (optionally 64; on two-spindle machines 2 x 20, or optionally 2 x 32) storage positions.
Use of the pick-up principle, where the main spindle travels to the tool changeover station, minimises the time taken up by tool changes.
This ensures that the average chip-to-chip time is 3s.
The 600 x 400 x 400mm (X-, Y-, Z-axis) machining area of the single table version contains the fixture plate that carries fixtures and workpieces weighing up to 400kg and swivels 360 deg.
This variant is best suitable for prototype and small batch production.
Higher productivity levels and cycle-time concurrent loading/unloading can be achieved with the twin-table version, which features two fixture plates (A-axis) supported on both sides in a swivel trunnion.
These swing 180 deg from loading/unloading station to machining position in 3.5s.
The loading/unloading station is totally separate from the machining area.
Workpieces can be safely loaded and unloaded manually, by robot or with the aid of a gantry loader.
Equipping one or both of the fixture plates with additional rotary tables allows for workpieces to be machined from five sides and at any angle in a single set-up.
The interfaces for hydraulic and pneumatic actuation and clamping are integrated into swivel trunnions and fixture plates.
The optimal chip flow conditions in the totally enclosed machining area make the BA S03 Machining Center ideal for dry machining.
The through-spindle coolant supply uses either conventional coolants or aerosol lubrication in minimal dosages, both at a pressure of 120 bar.
The flexibility in their design principle make the machines of the BA S03 series from SW an ideal technically and commercially viable alternative to much larger and more elaborate machining centers, especially when it comes to the manufacture of smaller and medium size workpieces in changing batch sizes. Request a free brochure from Emag UK ...
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