Product category:
5-axis (3+2 axes and continuous path) machining centres
News Release from: Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools | Subject: Hermle B 300 at MACH 2008
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 21 March 2008
'Entry level' VMC offers 3-/5-axis
machining
For first time users of 3-/5-axis machining, a lower cost, 'entry level' vertical machining centre, with slower fast feed rates and fewer optional extras, will make its debut at MACH 2008.
For first time users of 3-/5-axis machining, a lower cost, 'entry level' vertical machining centre, with slower fast feed rates and fewer optional extras, will make its debut at MACH 2008 Hermle will be showing mould and die makers, for the first time, its 'entry level' B 300 vertical machining centre at the UK's MACH 2008 machine tool exhibition
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 26 Aug 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Foundry's mill-turning investment ups exports
Coventry-based foundry has upheld and expanded exports by adding on high-tech mill-turning centre facilities to machine turbocharger impellers supplied to Italian and US customers.
Pick-up spindle lathe has hexapod features
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.
The B 300 is intended also for subcontract machine shops producing high-added-value components for aerospace, medical and motorsport.
The Hermle B 300 will be on the stand of sole sales and service agent in the UK, Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools.
Hermle is also staging a concurrent in-house event at its factory and headquarters in Gosheim, Germany, where the machine will also be exhibited.
Further reading
Vertical turning lathe takes on complex production
New from Index is the option to fit a four-axis CNC tool turret in addition to a standard two-axis turret on the German manufacturer's V300 vertical turning lathe (VTL), allowing the production of mor
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
Bigger envelope vertical-spindle machining centre
The new, Spanish-built Kondia ZM-99 vertical-spindle machining centre from Geo Kingsbury MHP has a working envelope more than 50 per cent larger than the CM60-MA model which it replaces.
, German machine tool builder, Hermle, has introduced the entry-level B 300 vertical machining centre.
Precision and reliability of the B 300 are equivalent to those of the C-series machines, but cost is 20% lower.
The B 300 specification has slightly slower machine movements and a reduced number of optional extras that can be fitted.
The fourth and fifth axes on the B 300 are provided by a rotary table mounted on a swivelling trunnion, as on the manufacturer's more highly specified C-Series machines.
Compared with the more expensive C 30 model, the X-axis travel has been increased to give a 23% larger working volume.
Linear axis travels are X - 800mm, Y - 600 mm and Z -500mm.
All three axes move the tool, so it has been possible to locate the guideways and digital servo drives above the machining area to protect them from contamination.
Rapid motion in the linear axes is 30m/min.
The two rotary axis movements are 360 deg for various configurations of rotary table and +/-110 deg for the trunnion.
Maximum speeds are 15.5 and 10 rev/min respectively.
Simultaneous interpolation of all the axes by the Heidenhain iTNC 530 CNC system provides full 5-axis machining capability.
* Structural features - as with all Hermle machining centres, the new model has the patented arrangement of three staggered Y-axis guideways, one central to, and set back from, the outer two.
This effectively halves the Y-axis span and gives stable traverse using three-point support combined with a single drive in line with the central carriage on the gantry.
A mineral casting bed also promotes stable, vibration-free machining, particularly as the bearings for the trunnion are set directly into cast holes in the sides of the bed.
Kingsbury told manufacturingtalk that high productivity results from 5m/s2 acceleration in the linear axes, fast rotary axes, 6s chip-to-chip tool change from the 30-station magazine, and a 15,000 rev/min/19kW spindle with a slim profile to assist when machining deep cavities.
There is a choice of 40-taper and HSK A 63 tool interfaces.
* Collision detection - for users that do not have collision detection as part of their CAM software, Hermle provides a novel safety system.
If a cycle is incorrectly programmed so that the spindle hits the workpiece or table in rapid traverse, six mounting bushes with collapsible sleeves crumple and absorb the energy just long enough for the shock to be detected and the machine stopped.
The spindle is saved from damage and needs only to be remounted with six new bolts.
Other features of the machine are a compact footprint and three-point support, avoiding the need for foundations.
The maximum component weight of 250 kg supported by a 5-axis B 300 can be increased to 1.5 tonnes if a user opts for a 3-axis version of the machine with a 1,000 x 560 mm fixed table.
* Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools at MACH 2008, NEC, Birmingham, UK, April 21-25, Hall 5, Stand 5190.
• Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
