High Speed Horizontal Machining Centers Guide

The CNC high speed horizontal machining center is an advanced technology. In the machining center area, "high speed" means that the spindle speed (rpm) is higher than a certain standard. The standard is not specific, because in different countries, the standard may be different, and the industry may also have different requirements. However, for most Asian machining center models, high speed means at least rpm above 12,000. In Western Europe, high speed is often referred to as above 30,000 rpm.

CNC High speed horizontal machining center is a highly developed machine tool that can handle many types of milling tasks. It is developed on the basis of horizontal milling machine. Since its successful establishment, the development of this particular type of machine has made good progress in the industry. Since then, the machine center has been widely used in various industries, and provided a wide range of industrial achievements and commercial value for the aviation industry. High speed horizontal machining centers are usually equipped with a series of auxiliary equipment, such as tool magazine, ATC (automatic tool changer), power tool turret, CMM (coordinate measuring machine), multi-axis working table, in order to make full use of horizontal processing capabilities.

Basic Model: Vertical Machining Center

Now, the vertical machining center is arranged with its structure aligned in the vertical direction, and the workpiece is processed by cutting tools that move up and down. Contrary to the vertical machining center, the spindle of the CNC horizontal machining center is placed horizontally, and the programmed machining is horizontally processed. For vertical and horizontal models, either one can be equipped with 5 axes. Regarding the five-axis machining center, there are three main methods of constructing the five-axis machining action.


Different Kind of Five Axis Models

Among the many varieties, all the machining angles can be achieved by only the swing head. The machine's swing head model and the other four plus one and three plus two machining centers are considered convenient, while the latter two have more practical advantages, such as great flexibility and practical price. Generally, the three plus two model is a conventional CNC three-axis machining center, which will be equipped with another working table, whose working mechanism contains other two axes respectively.

Furthermore, with the two axes designed on the rotary table  (ie, the worktable), the x, y, and z axes can be moved to two new working dimensions, allowing for possible cutting processes at multiple angles. The same structure as the four plus one, and all these mechanisms are under the control of the computer numerical control unit, so that the synchronized action perfectly matches the target accuracy. In the field situation, if the size of the workpiece is too large, the processing will cause excessive vibration to the machine body, thereby reducing the accuracy of the machining center. Therefore, manufacturers might add some other structural designs onto the body in order to make it with better rigidity. In many designs, the double column is one of the very practical solutions to solve the problem of processing vibration and improve accuracy. Double column machining centers are usually divided into two types: fixed columns or moving columns. The design of the former is that both columns are left in place and cannot be moved, while the latter allows the rebirth of another shaft, which greatly improves convenience.


High Speed End Milling

In order to complete high-speed milling, there is another milling method called end mill. In the metalworking industry, an end mill is a milling cutter, a cutting tool used in industrial milling. It differs from drilling tools in corresponding applications, geometry, and production. Drills can only cut in the axial direction, while a milling bit can generally cut in all directions, though some cannot cut axially. End mills are used in profile milling, tracer milling, face milling, and many other milling applications. There are a variety of machining tasks, such as the usage of various tools to machine grooves, slots and pockets in the workpiece. Common types of tool bit types are square end cutters, ball end cutters, t-slot cutters, and shell mills. In addition, square end cutters can mill square slots, pockets, and edges. Ball-end cutters can mill radius slots or fillets. T-slot milling cutters can mill T-slots. Shell end cutters are used for large planes and chamfers. These tool types are also different. Each cutter has four critical angles, including the end cutting edge angle, axial relief angle, radial relief angle and radial relief angle. Depending on the material to be milled and the milling task to be performed, different tool styles and methods can be adopted. For example, when milling materials like aluminum, it may be advantageous to use a tool with very deep, polished flutes.


Horizontal Arrangement

The horizontal arrangement in the machine tool industry is very common, such as the arrangement in lathes and milling machines is very popular. CNC horizontal machining center is convenient for on-site workers to clearly observe the workpiece for further processing and inspection. If the processing needs are different, it is best to have vertical counterparts. So that there is no perfect tooling stage design, and all designs should be based on the user's production model.

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