Product category:
Machining centres - all types
News Release from: Ixion Auerbach | Subject: IA3 TLF-U machining centre
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 September 2007
Machining centre ATC changes deep hole
drills
A machining centre's tool magazine automatically changes deep hole drilling tools up to a length of 1460mm within a minute - including a steady rest and the sealing system.
Ixion Auerbach of Hamburg, Germany, will introduce its IA3 TLF-U machining centre, which performs automatic milling and deep hole drilling of workpieces weighing up to 10,000kg Ixion Auerbach will show the machining centre at EMO 2007
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 6 Sep 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Ixion Aerbach's universal tool magazine and automatic tool changer (ATC) handles standard milling tools as well and deep hole drills of up to 1460mm in length.
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Changing of deep hole drills - including the steady rest and sealing system - takes only one minute, cut-to-cut.
The IA3 TLF-U tool magazine holds 24 deep-drilling and/or milling tools for machining deep hole bores up to 1200mm deep in one stroke, as well as for complex 5-axis milling tasks.
Ixion Auerbach has offered a machining centre for combined deep drilling and milling on up to 5-axis since 2002.
Meanwhile, 35 machines have been delivered.
And it seems certain that there will be considerably more in the future.
Because at the EMO in Hanover, the completely revised model IA3 TLF-U will be presented, whereby the 'U' will most certainly be received with great interest.
The 'U' stands for universal changer and it promises far-reaching rationalisation effects.
In addition to normal milling cutters and drills, deep-drilling tools up to 1460mm long, including the steady rest and sealing system, can be changed automatically.
The initiative for the development came from practice, as they say at Ixion.
After all, despite all universality and performance of the combined deep-drilling and milling machines, long deep-drilling tools had to be changed in manually on the machines available up to now.
Practiced machine operators required about an average of 15 min to do this, but the wish for unsupervised machining times led to the development of the ATC.
The IA3 TLF-U combines modern deep-drilling technology with the possibilities of a powerful machining centre, whereby milling, spot and spiral drilling, boring out of fits, thread milling and cutting as well as deep drilling with single-lip tools can be done unmanned.
In combination with their five CNC axes, numerous features, such as tool breakage monitoring, the supporting steady rest which moves with the axis or coolant up to 100 bar through the spindle and a walk-in full-encapsulation, the new development not only frees the path to the time- and cost-saving ghost shift for mold makers, who are primarily addressed here, but also all other cutters who do all-round complete milling of cubic workpieces, or also shaft parts, and who have to provide them with deep boreholes.
The kinematics and load capacity of the IA3 TLF-U are predestined for a wide application range.
The 1500 x 1000mm2 work table designed as 360 deg NC axis can carry a maximum of 7000kg (optionally up to 10,000kg).
Therefore, there is plenty of space for large workpieces, multiple set-ups or even the use of an optionally available shaft drilling unit.
The table traverses in X by 1800mm.
The drilling/milling unit, which is mounted on a solid moving column, has a vertical (Y) path of 1200mm and can be optionally positioned in the range of -25 deg to +15 deg with NC, which allows for inclined boreholes with respect to the table clamping surface.
The Z-axis travel measures 1700mm (moving column) and the W-axis 1675mm (drilling axis).
The SK 40 (optionally HSK-63) spindle of the IA3 TLF-U has a max.
power of 13kW and is suitable both for roughing with milling cutters as well as for the use of filigree tools with its programmable speed range of up to 6000 rev/min (optionally 10,000 rev/min).
In material 1.2311, users achieve metal removal rates of up to 250 cm3/min.
Ixion said that 4-32mm is the maximum drilling capacity with single-lip tools.
Thread-cutting capacity is up to M24, whereby larger diameters can be elegantly cut by means of circular milling.
And in the case of deep hole drilling, the IA3 TLF-U manages up to 1125mm with two steady rests and 1200mm without steady rests in one stroke.
The patent pending IA3 TLF-U universal ATC has room for 24 tools and handles single-lip drills up to 1460mm long and steady rests as exactly as standardised precision tools.
In a way, IA3 TLF-U users have two machines in a space-saving and ergonomic housing at their disposal, which also allows process-safe and clean automated long-term operation thanks to its well thought-out chip disposal concept.
It should also be pointed out that the universal ATC cannot be retrofitted to existing machines.
* Ixion Auerbach at EMO 2007, Hannover, Germany, September 17-22, Hall 13, Stands D86 and D96.
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