Machining Center Applications. Models & Applications?

Posted on May 8, 2019

Machining Center Applications. Models & Applications

The machining of work pieces composed of hard materials is a difficult task for vertical machining centers, including aerospace propellers, landing gear, fuselage shells, and wing frames. Therefore, in addition to the traditional machining center model, a series of vertical machining centers for hard carbide materials were specially developed.

 

Machining Center Applications - Which One for What Application?

Vertical Machining Center (CNC Machining Center)

The machining of work pieces composed of hard materials is a difficult task for vertical machining centers, including aerospace propellers, landing gear, fuselage shells, and wing frames. Therefore, in addition to the traditional machining center model, a series of vertical machining centers for hard carbide materials were specially developed.

 

An Art of Cutting Well Developed in the Metalworking Sector

The machining center is a machine tool model with various depths, which can handle many precision machining tasks at on one machine. This convenient one-stop machining concept came from traditional milling machines and tapping machines, when aircraft engineering changed from propeller driven to jet driven.

Since the speed of jet aircraft is very different from that of propeller aircraft, the accuracy requirements of parts processing are also very different. Therefore, the development of this special type of machine tool is changing rapidly to meet the higher standards and stricter requirements of the aerospace industry.

 

What Are the Applied Fields of Machining Centers?

After the revolutionary changes in the aerospace industry, the machining center has been widely used in various industries due to its higher processing probability and capability, thus providing a strong competitiveness for the automotive, power generation, hardware and home appliance industries.

The original function of the milling machine is to remove the work piece material by advancing the movable spinning tool into one or more work pieces within one axis. Later, due to the use of different axis alignment methods, such as boxed or linear guides, it began to achieve this processing method in different directions.

In addition to traditional turning, milling can cover a variety of cutting operations, so the range is wider, from single tiny parts for 3C consumables to heavy and large work pieces for heavy industry. Therefore, milling has become one of the most commonly used machining methods, which can help machine users achieve precise machining.

Research and experiments on milling and tapping methods are very popular in the academic field and in private companies. Conventional lathes are difficult to process precision work pieces with complex contours. Therefore, the development of machining centers was activated in industry.

 

Varieties of Machining Centers

The term "machining center" can be used to describe various CNC tapping, drilling and milling machines. These machine tools are equipped with several critical accessories such as linear guides, roller screws, power turrets and tools. These auxiliary accessories can be regarded as a part of the machining center.

As this trend becomes more and more mature, the machining center is more highly customized than before, which brings new business model ecology. Therefore, the sales persons of the machining center need to pay attention to the changes of machine functions and trends.

Machining centers can be divided into two main categories: vertical and horizontal, and of course there are more structural types, in this article, we will further discuss these two categories.

What Is Vertical Machining?

The structure of the vertical machining center is vertically aligned, and the work piece is processed by the cutting tool moving vertically up or down on the vertical axis.

For a 3 axis machining center, it is usually the Z axis, and for a 4 or 5 axis machining center, it is the A and B axes to achieve precise machining on the vertical axis.

Due to gravity, the vertical machining center will not have the concentricity issue as the horizontal structure, because the vertical chuck can firmly clamp the work piece on the work table, and the work table lies flat on the base supported by the track.

Therefore, the application of vertical machining centers and horizontal machining centers is different. Based on this feature, engineers know how to use these two models in different solutions.

:: Read more : What Vertical Machining Centers Are so Popular?

 

What Is Horizontal Machining?

Conversely, the spindle and chuck of the horizontal machining centers are placed horizontally. Processing is operated horizontally, usually parallel to the machine base.

Due to the vertical design of the chuck and cylinder, the weight of the work piece will cause different situations, which means that more coordination must be made through the 4th and 5th axes.

:: Read more : Why Horizontal Machining Center Wins in Certain Cases

 

Other Component and Accessories of Machining Centers

Power turrets are more often installed on horizontal machining centers, which greatly reduce tool change time and make the production model more efficient. The shape of the work piece in the machining center is usually not circular, but complex contours, because it can be processed in a more efficient manner by carrying a powered turret.

 

Critical Variables

The power supply and spindle speed are important factors that determine the capacity and accuracy of the machining center. In heavy duty machining, when high speed running is required, the torque must be estimated in detail, because the two are highly related but there is no certain formula. In addition, the torque value must also take into account many other variables in the machine design.

Manufacturers in Europe, Japan and Taiwan have a slight consensus on the speed standards, but regional differences are still significant. Therefore, there is a need for full communication between the machining center manufacturer and the user to select the best solution for the production line.

 

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