Product category:
Vertical machining centres (VMC)
News Release from: Hurco Europe | Subject: VMX64 vertical machining centres
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 26 January 2005
VMCs increase milling capacity by two
thirds
Two vertical machining centres have increased the press tool makers milling capacity by two thirds in terms of throughput, and larger presswork progression tools can now be repaired.
The purchase by Brierley of two Hurco VMX64 vertical machining centres during 2004 has increased the press tool makers milling capacity by two thirds in terms of throughput, and by 25 per cent in terms of the length of tool it can manufacture or repair Anything from draw- and single-point tools to 1.6m long, multi-stage progression tools weighing 10 tonnes can now be tackled
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 25 Nov 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The purchase by Brierley of two Hurco VMX64 vertical machining centres during 2004 has increased the press tool maker's milling capacity by two thirds in terms of throughput.
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Keen to keep electrode manufacture 'in-house' to control lead-time, quality and cost, a mould and press tool maker decided to buy a vertical machining centre to produce EDM electrodes.
The latest machine acquisitions form part of an GBP 800,000 investment made in the past five years since a management buyout by Geoff Barnes and three co-directors, which has also seen a relocation to larger premises in Stourbridge, West Midlands, a doubling of Sodick CNC wire eroders to four, and installation of five CAD/CAM seats from Vero International.
The company intends to continue its expansion, the next purchase likely to be a fourth tryout press of 500 tonnes force, 25 per cent more than current capacity.
The 25HP (18.6kW), high torque, Hurco VMX64 machines have a working envelope of 1625 x 860 x 760mm, significantly larger than that of the other machining centres on site, allowing Brierley to more than halve the amount of work that it has to sub-contract to around 10 per cent.
Further reading
Hurco increases machining centre size
Hurco has introduced a larger vertical-spindle, 3- to 5-axis machining centre suited in particular to mould and die manufacture, aerospace components, job shop applications and short-run production.
One-stop EDM toolmaker buys CNC milling
An EDM toolmaker-come-general subcontractor wanting to expand into prismatic metalcutting has bought a Hurco machining centre to offer a one-stop service
Toolmaker adds on machining centres
In answer to demands for prismatic machining as well as EDM, toolmaker Forum Services purchased a Hurco 4020 HTM machining centre
This results in a considerable annual saving, bearing in mind that three quarters of the company's GBP 3.5 million turnover is in tooling manufacture and maintenance, the remainder being generated by the production of fixtures and special purpose machinery.
Commented Mr Barnes, "We are seeing more larger tools going through the shop these days, particularly from Wagon Automotive whose press tools we service.
"We chose Hurco machines partly due to their speed and accuracy, and also due to the long-term reliability of our first machine which we bought in the mid-1990s.
In addition, we like the DXF UltiDraw option within the manufacturers twin-screen Ultimax CNC system, which can import 2D files in DXF format directly from our CAD system and generate cutter paths automatically.
In effect, this bypasses the 2D CAM functionality of our Vero system, which we only use if we receive difficult file formats from designers.
"The DXF file translation capability saves time for simpler 2D components and reduces the load on our CAD/CAM seats.
As most press tools are essentially made from a series of plates, more than 50 per cent of our machining is 2D rather than 3D, so the Hurco DXF option is a great benefit to us Similarly, Brierley has flexibility when programming 3D parts in that, although this is usually carried out off-line in the CAD/CAM department, for simpler components it is also possible on the shop floor directly at the Ultimax control using Hurcos 3D mould software.
To create a part, the operator defines the surface as a 2D profile in either XY or YZ, after which it is translated along a straight line or rotated around a centreline to produce the 3D shape.
Although the Hurco Ultimax control has an exclusive advantage in the way it can be programmed simply and easily, it also has a strong capability for handling NC data.
All 3D work at Brierley produced from the CAD/CAM system takes full advantage of the controls large hard-drive capacity and advanced look-ahead high speed profiling software.
The Hurco Ultinet option is used for fast, fault-free data transfer across Brierleys network.
One other item of Hurco software that Mr Barnes finds particularly useful is UltiPocket with helical ramp, which enables automatic island avoidance when cutting inside a pocket.
This feature allows helical ramp entry into the component, allowing advantage to be taken of all of the latest developments in tipped cutter technology.
Established in 1976 and employing over 50 staff, Brierley services and manufactures tooling for the aerospace, automotive and white goods industries.
Tools are generally machined before hardening to standard tolerances of +/-0.01 or +/-0.02mm.
As there is a lot of drilling in press tool manufacture, through-spindle coolant has been provided on both of the new 40-taper Hurco machines, whose spindles are fed by 40-station, swing-arm tool carousels and deliver speeds up to 8,000 rev/min. Request a free brochure from Hurco Europe ...
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