Product category:
Horizontal machining centres (HMC)
News Release from: Heller Machine Tools | Subject: Horizontal machining centres
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 08 November 2005
HMC cells machine JCB's first diesel
engine
Three horizontal machining centre cells in a purpose-built UK facility are now machining cylinder heads, blocks and bed plates for earthmover constructor JCB's first diesel engine.
When JCB decided to build its own diesel engine - the first it had launched for itself - it felt that it needed as a partner an engine designer/manufacturer with a credible, proven track record and one upon which it could rely JCB selected Wellingborough, UK-based Mahle Powertrain for the inherent expertise and recognised capabilities, knowledge and understanding of key suppliers within the industry, the convenient geographical position in the UK, and the competitiveness
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 9 Dec 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Mahle Powertrain is best known for its production of the exceptional high performance engines for Ford, the V12 Aston Martin, the Audi RS4 and RS6, and the naturally aspirated V12 among many others, The company designs, develops and builds a wide range of engines, from racetrack to road, from very small to very large, from chain saws to ships and generators, from agriculture to marine and defence.
Established as engine designers, when Audi bought the company, the focus of the business changed, and the emphasis moved from the design and development of high performance engines to their manufacture.
Managing director of Mahle Powertrain, Warren Roberts, said: "This proved to be a great asset when we were negotiating the JCB contract".
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"We understand fully the intricacies of designing and manufacturing an engine.
When working more as subcontractors than as First Tier suppliers, we also refined our overall competitiveness in the market place.
This meant we could offer JCB a complete package: an undisputable grasp of engine technology, faultless manufacturing standards, and excellent cost control." * Purpose built factory - with an already busy manufacturing plant, Mahle Powertrain erected a new, purpose-built unit.
It also sought a machine tool partner of equivalent standards to work with and supply the machine tools necessary to manufacture the JCB engine cylinder head, block and bedplate.
Mahle selected Heller Machine Tools, Redditch, UK, as a partner because, said Roberts: "At this level, the performance of the machine tool itself is given.
Heller offered us far more.
With a manufacturing plant in the UK, teams of experienced design, applications and service engineers and a solid financial status, we were able to trust them as a partner and to be confident that they would be 'on site' if, and whenever, we needed them." Roberts continued: "Operating a continuous 24h shift, five days per week, we have no capacity for failure, so the support available was an absolute essential.
We also benchmarked the Heller machines in use in the Audi plant in Hungary, where they are proven to be excellent machines." * Turnkey package - initially, Mahle intended to source the machine tools, fixtures and tooling, and to plan the production itself.
However, it found it was able to devolve much of the applications engineering to Heller.
Heller engineers took responsibility for fixture design, and ultimately the tooling package, to ensure the CPK values were met on all features before the machines were installed.
Furthermore, despite its original intention to complete all the planning itself, Mahle involved Heller in the value stream mapping to ensure the most efficient production process.
* Horizontal machining centres - eighteen horizontal machining centres (HMCs) were installed at the Mahle Powertrain plant.
Of these, 15 MCH 280 HMCs are for the manufacture of the cylinder heads and blocks and three MCi 16s for machining the bed plates.
Roberts said: "In use, the machines have more than 'lived up' to our expectations for performance and the Heller service has been 'second-to-none' throughout the project." The MCH 280s are grouped in two cells, one for cylinder head machining and one for blocks.
The iron castings are initially marked for traceability, and then move through the cell to completion, where final washing and inspection take place.
The MCi 16s for a separate cell for machining the bedplates.
Spindle speeds in use range from 284 to 5026 rev/min.
A torque/spindle speed graph is used to identify the maximum torque available for running the milling cutters.
Tools are automatically changed up to a diameter of 280mm.
The longest tool in use is a 606mm long boring bar and is carried in the Heller tool magazine.
Despite the length of the tool, accuracies of with 5 micron on diameter and 15 micron on concentricity are maintained by the face location of the HSK100 tool holder and the corresponding drawbar mechanism.
Integrated power monitoring (IPM), also part of the Heller package, is applied to all critical tools and ensures worn or broken tools are changed automatically.
All machines have hydraulic clamping and air detection to check for the correct loading of the component.
* About the HMCs - the MCH and MCi HMCs are built at Heller's plant in Redditch.
They have the high build quality, which provides the rigidity, robustness and precision needed for efficient and profitable production by giving greater productivity, faster chip-to-chip times, bigger axes travels and greater tool capacity with a reduced 'footprint'.
The MCH 280 HMCs have the Heller SK50 or HSK100 spindles and provide a large working envelope of 1000mm x 800mm x 800mm (X, Y and Z respectively).
Spindle speed is 45-6,000 rev/min.
Pallet size is 630mm square.
Rapid traverse is 50m/min as standard and 60m/min as an option.
Acceleration rate is 4mm/s2 with 7mm/s2 as an option.
Control is by Siemens Sinumerik 840D CNC.
The chain magazine has been designed to provide extremely short tool-to-tool times because of its high travel rate.
Chip-to-chip time is 3.8s to VDI.
Tools are accepted in a 100-pocket chain magazine or in a 400-place rack-type magazine.
The MC 16.1 complements the other machines in the Heller MC range, providing faster traverse rates (90m/min), faster acceleration (12mm/s2), and even faster chip-to-chip times (2.2s).
In-process tool monitoring helps eliminate scrap and lost time by providing simultaneous tool breakage detection and integrated process monitoring.
Spindle is the HSK-A 63 or SK 40.
A high-speed chain magazine with 40, 80 or 160 pockets, or a universal rack magazine with a capacity of up to 372 tools is offered.
Working envelope is 630mm in X, Y and Z. Request a free brochure from Heller Machine Tools ...
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