Product category:
Pick-up spindle turning, multi-tasking, turning and machining centres
News Release from: Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools | Subject: Pick-up spindle, hanging spindle VTL
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 March 2007
Pick-up spindle VTL machines in one
set-up
A turnkey cell with a single hanging-spindle lathe machines fuel injection pump adapters in one clamping, rather than two, using a bespoke two-jaw chuck.
When a UK automotive subcontractor won the contract to supply fuel injection pump adapters for a new diesel engine, the company decided that a dedicated cell was needed to machine the high-pressure aluminium die castings on both ends within a 76s TAKT time The obvious choices were to install four 3-axis horizontal-spindle lathes and employ two operators, or to invest in two opposed-spindle turning centres
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 26 Aug 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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A new, hanging-spindle, vertical turning lathe (VTL) has been introduced by Index on which the spindle head is able to move freely in three dimensional space.
However, Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools, UK, came up with an alternative that was around half the capital cost, based on a turnkey cell with a single Index V160C hanging-spindle (pick-up spindle) lathe.
Key to achieving the cost-effective solution was the ability to machine the adapter in one clamping, rather than two, using a bespoke two-jaw chuck that allows sufficient clearance at the back for the component to be turned on the reverse end using a special tool that accesses the back face through the bore.
Not only is one machine sufficient, but the 54s cycle is well within the TAKT time of the line, which includes assembling an O-ring onto the adapter and pressure testing prior to just-in-time delivery to the car manufacturer.
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Brass turning on CNC lathes
Leipold (UK) uses eight Index 6-axis CNC lathes supplied by Geo Kingsbury, the latest two installed during May and June 2000
The Index V160C works around the clock, the operator loading castings onto a built-in conveyor with fail-safe location pots.
From here, after completing a machining cycle, the vertical spindle picks up the next part and transfers it to the machining area.
The OD of the casting is turned to 62.97-62.94mm (datum C), followed by turning of the main face, including the lugs, to +/-0.25mm on depth (datum D).
The bores are opened out, the front section to 53 +/-0.1mm, the lead bore to 52+/-0.15mm and the oil seal bore to 50.039-50.000mm (datum A).
To achieve this latter tolerance, particular attention has been paid to the clamping pressure of the jaws.
The special cutter, which uses polycrystalline diamond inserts (as do all the other tools), then turns the back face (datum B) to 30 microns perpendicularity to datum A.
Finally, using the spindle's C-axis and live tooling in the turret, the holes through the four lugs are opened out, two to 10.5-10.7mm and the others to 9.0-9.2 mm.
According to the subcontractor, this is a highly capable production cell that turns out components within tolerance from a cold start, although 24h operation means that the machine is only switched off during shutdown periods.
Moreover no insert changes, or even tool offsets, were needed during the time that the first 4,000-off parts were machined, indicating a very stable process.
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