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Product category: 5-axis (3+2 axes and continuous path) machining centres
News Release from: YMT Technologies | Subject: YCM FX350A 5-axis VMC at MACH 08
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 29 April 2008

5-axis vertical machining centre has
large Z-axis

Five-axis vertical machining centre from YMT technologies has an extended Z-axis and a swarf system that ensures removal of swarf without manual intervention.

YMT Technologies stand demonstrated its YCM FX350A 5-axis continuous path vertical machining centre (VMC) during last week's MACH 2008 machine tool exhibition held in Birmingham, UK YMT said that the YCM FX350A can be used to machine complex aerospace, electronic and automotive components

The column of the machine has been extended to provide Z-axis travel of 480mm, while the X- and Y-axis (700mm and 520mm) offer travel to fully exploit continuous path 5-axis machining.

The axis lengths allow the use of long cutting tools to generate complex freeform geometric surfaces such as those found on blades, impellers and blisks, said YMT.

The VMC's 'footprint' of 2625mm by 2210mm and the use of a high accuracy two-axis rotary unit permits large workpieces up to 400mm diameter by 400mm long to be machined to extremely tight tolerances, said YMT.

The FX350A offers a repeatability of 0.007mm and positioning accuracy of 0.010mm.

The FX350A has a 22.5kW, 12,000 rev/min spindle with a BBT-40 nose, which provides face and taper contact for rigid seating of the tool holder and, therefore, a more predictable and repeatable positioning of the tip of the cutting tool.

YMT told manufacturingtalk that this tool clamping rigidity also results in an improved surface finish on the component and a considerable increase cutting tool life.

Through spindle coolant supply (20 bar) is standard as is swarf flushing.

Both of these play an important role in keeping the machine running efficiently for extended periods.

* Swarf clearance - an important area that is often overlooked on any prismatic cutting machine is that of swarf clearance.

YMT company director, Howard Mancey, said: "If manual intervention is required to remove swarf nests from within the working envelope of the machine, then the overall efficiency of the process is reduced, which has a negative impact on the payback calculations used to justify the investment".

He continued: As well as the standard swarf flush system used to wash chips away from the machining area, the FX350A is fitted with a tailored swarf evacuation system.

The exact design of the system will depend upon the material type predominantly being machined".

With the capability to combine a number of previous machining operations within one machining cycle, the FX350A not only saves energy but also addresses the skill shortage currently facing UK engineering companies.

More complex components can be machined in a single set-up, which reduces or removes the need for subsequent assembly operations.

The heavy duty Meehanite cast structure of the FX350A allows it to provide the same metal cutting performance levels normally expected from a 3-axis VMC, said YMT, but with the additional functionality of two extra cutting/positioning axes.

The 2-axis rotary unit is another example of the high quality applied to the machine.

Specifically designed and manufactured by a leading Japanese rotary table specialist Nikken, the 2-axis rotary unit provides an A-axis (tilt) of 211 deg and a continuous rotary C-axis.

Every FX350A receives an initial laser calibration on all axes, which is used to set up the CNC system.

The centre rotational position point of both rotary axes is entered into the kinematic table of the control system so that the control may track the centre point of rotation.

It is imperative that precise centre points in relationship to the linear X-, Y- and Z-axis are found and recorded, as the overall accuracy of the machine is dependent upon the set up of the kinematic table.

The use of this table allows the accurate mapping of the machining envelope in the CNC system with bespoke software, to ensure that each of the five axes are correctly aligned to each other at all times.

Mancey said: "The YCM FX350A has been designed and built to exceed the specific demands of the various high tech UK engineering/manufacturing industry sectors with design input from the engineers at YMT Technologies.

More than 1000 man-hours of design and engineering time have been invested by our staff to achieve a machine tool that is built up to a high specification - not down to a price".

He added: "The use of 5-axis simultaneous machining has an immediate effect on any manufacturing operation's drive towards reducing costs.

Components which would have required two or more machine operations - with the associated increased costs of multiple set-ups, additional tooling and workholding, work-in-progress, and rejects due to accumulated datum errors - can now be completed on one machine, in a single set-up.".

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