THIS WEEK IN MACHINERY: Boring, Grinding, Bending and More

New products from Fives, LVD Strippit, Schütte and Tsugami/Rem.

Fives Giddings & Lewis Horizontal Boring Mill

The Giddings & Lewis RT 130 T-Bed horizontal boring mill. (Image courtesy of Fives Group.)

Fives Giddings & Lewis has introduced a new line of US-built T-bed boring mills designed and priced for job-shops. T-bed or travelling column boring mills move the column along the Z-axis and the tables along the X-axis.

Engineered for flat-floor installation, small footprint and low ceiling clearance, the first models are configured with a 10,000-kg capacity (22,000 lb) and 1250 x 1400 mm (49.2 x 55.1”) contouring rotary table. Optional 1400 x 1800 mm (55.1 x 70.9”) tables are also available.

“These job-shop boring mills are the heavyweights in their class, designed with beefy cast-iron structures, a cross-braced column for torsional stiffness, linear scales, a precision hydrostatic contouring table and 25 kN thrust capacity,” said product manager Jim Vadnais.

Other features on the new machines include an electronically counterbalanced Y-axis headstock for superior contouring performance. The sidehung headstock is designed for improved visibility and operator access. The spindle snout reaches over the table for rigid cutting without extension and with spindle travel extends well beyond center.

In addition, the spindle can reach below the table top to probe for location on the table or a particular feature. The zero-backlash rotary table is powered by two independent motors and pinion drives that are tensioned against each other to compensate for any lost motion.

The new Giddings & Lewis RT 130 and RT 155 boring mills feature 130 or 155 mm (5.1” or 6.1”) diameter gear-driven spindles available with up to 45 kW (60 hp) and 3380 Nm (2493 ft lb) torque. All spindles are size 50 tool taper and equipped with Giddings & Lewis’ spindle thermal growth compensation.

Heavy-duty linear ways on these machines utilize roller bearing carriages that ride on hardened and ground guideways. Standard X-Y-Z axis travels are 2000, 1500 and 1600 mm (78.7”, 59.1” and 63”) with W-axis spindle travel of 750 mm (29.5”).

All CNC’s for the new machines are equipped with Fives Machining Systems’ new Diagnostic Communications System (DCS). The DCS allows customers to connect with Global Service technicians on a secure system to review active alarms and operator messages, operator and alarm histories, control parameter settings, PLC programs and the state of devices such as solenoids, switches and encoders.

For more information, visit the Fives website.

 

LVD Strippit Electric Press Brake

The Dyna-Press 40/15 electric press brake. (Image courtesy of LVD Strippit.)

LVD Strippit has expanded its Dyna-Press Series of compact, high-speed electric press brakes with the addition of the Dyna-Press 40/15 Plus, a 40-ton model that offers a working length of 1530mm (60”) featuring a four-axis back gauge and LVD’s TOUCH-B touch screen CNC control.

Like the other Dyna-Press models, the Dyna-Press 40/15 Plus is designed to bend parts at speeds of 25 mm per second (59” per minute). The coupling of the ram and servomotors is realized through two heavy-duty ball screws to distribute force and tonnage evenly across the working length.

The electric ram offers smooth transition from approach to working speed and minimizes power consumption through the use of an optimal power to inertia motor ratio.

The TOUCH-B control minimizes operator input and is designed to make part programming easy and intuitive. Operators can create in 2D and simulate in 3D on the 15-inch touch screen. The TOUCH-B control also offers network connection with CADMAN-B programming software for added flexibility.

The Dyna-Press 40/15 Plus joins the Dyna-Press 12/8, 24/12 and 24/12 Plus models. A range of tooling styles are available for both punches and dies.

For more information, visit the LVD Group website.

 

Schütte CNC Grinder

The Linear325 CNC Grinder. (Image courtesy of Schutte.)

The Linear325 CNC Grinder. (Image courtesy of Schütte.)

Schütte recently held a demonstration of its new 325linear, a 5-axis CNC grinder with extended x- and y-axis movement. In addition, the grinder features two auxiliary slides for workpiece clamping and improved grinding wheel guidance over the entire machining envelope.

Applications for the new machine include micro tools, gun drills, hob cutters and complex geometries, as well as a wide variety of medical implants and orthopedic surgical tools. The 325linear typically operates in the range of 2500-4000 rpm. 

The additional second auxiliary slide enables the 325linear to utilize tool guidance, part support, tailstock or workpiece pallets in operation. Schütte also provides customized software for the preparation of various implants as well as rasp/broach, drill/reamer and other specific tool programs. The onboard CNC offers full cycle simulation for the user.  

On the 325linear machine’s a-axis, users can install collet chucks, hydraulic expansion chucks or multi-range chucks. With the automated collet changer, workpieces with different diameters can be clamped with high concentricity in the unmanned loader station.

The Schütte a-axis configuration on this machine also permits position-oriented clamping of non-rotationally symmetrical workpieces. As a result, sequential workpieces with various roughing and finishing requirements can be preset on the machine for continuous processing.  

The grinding system offers scalable automation, with optional 140-position tool changer, 5-24 grinding wheel magazine and flexible robotic tool gripper for changing even the smallest micro tools. The same base machine can be utilized for continuous production of a single part in a work cell setup or used for sequential one-off work as needed.  

The 325linear features a universal rotation a-axis with a high level of concentricity (<0.0001º resolution) and pitch accuracy, while the xyz-axis resolution is maintained at <0.1 microns. The swiveling c-axis for the grinding head has a 225º range of motion, also with <0.0001º resolution accuracy. The primary motor spindle operates up to 12,000 rpm with 15kW max drive output, while the grinding spindle option affords a maximum speed of 24,000 rpm.  Linear axis travel on the machine is 480 mm x 250 mm x 275 mm (XYZ).  

The machine is offered with the proprietary SIGSpro (Schütte Integrated Grinding Software) as the programming interface, allowing users to assign clamping options for each grinding operation being performed.

When the support and tool guidance system are used, preset distances from the grinding wheel to the workpiece can be defined and held constant. In 3D mode, all cycle steps can be simulated, controlled and optimized for exact estimating, collision avoidance and even external workstation integration with the other workpieces. 

All motion control on the 325linear is maintained on a Siemens 840D sl CNC with compatible drive technology.

For more information, visit the Schütte website.

 

Tsugami CNC Lathes

The B0125-III CNC lathe. (Image courtesy of Tsugami/Rem.)

The B0125-III CNC lathe. (Image courtesy of Tsugami/Rem.)

Tsugami/Rem Sales, the exclusive North American importer of Precision Tsugami machine tools, announced today the release of four next generation Tsugami CNC machines.

The new models represent the third generation of Tsugami’s Opposed Gang Tool CNC Lathes and are identified with a “-III” after their base model numbers. Newly released models include the B0125-III, B0126-III, B0205-III and the B0206-III.

The B0125-III and B0126-III are 12 mm machines with five and six axes, respectively. The B0205-III and B0206-III are 20 mm machines with five and six axes, respectively.

To increase the machines’ overall rigidity, Tsugami moved the electrical control cabinet from inside the machines to an external position behind the machines and installed two additional support ribs in the space that held the control cabinet. Tsugami also redesigned the machines’ castings, effectively increasing their weight by more than 650 pounds.

“The increased mass is expected to improve cutting ability,” said Tsugami/Rem Sales vice president Mike Mugno. “We anticipate improvements in part runout and straightness, particularly after parts have been transferred from the main spindle to the subspindle.”

Other machine enhancements include increasing the main spindle cross tool speeds from 5,000 rpm to 8,000 rpm, lengthening the back spindle slide stroke on the X2 and Z2 axes, increasing the ball screw diameters, expanding the tool area inside the machines and expediting chip flow and removal.

Tsugami also updated the machines’ programming software. One new feature, called part program checking, analyzes the part program code and provides the operator with suggested code optimizations to increase the operating speed of the program and subsequently reduce part cycle time.

The thermal displacement compensation function has also been enhanced and can now be used on every linear axis. Other software changes include improvements to the rapid feed override process and automatic back tool post interference protection.

All four machines include Tsugami’s free Abile programming software and all are convertible, meaning they can be run as traditional Swiss style lathes using a guide bushing or operated with an optional chucker kit, which can be quickly installed.

Tsugami plans to launch more next generation models over the next 12 months.

For more information, visit the Tsugami/Rem Sales website.


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