Article From: 2/18/2004 Production Machining
The four-axis HMC 400 twin pallet horizontal machining center is said to be designed to help job shops step into higher levels of production, such as a 24/7 duty cycle to maximize productivity. The company says the machining center offers a rigid boxway construction, accuracy, consistent repeatability, standard simultaneous fourth-axis machining and a range of cutting power.
Its twin 400-mm diameter pallets lock onto the simultaneous fourth-axis rotary table with 13,000 lbs of holding force. A double enveloping gear on the rotary table and mechanical disc brake with 12 pads ensure accuracy of ±5 arcsecond and repeatability of ±1 arcsecond. The rotary table motor features a ratio of 180:1 and operates at 17 rpm. The pallets feature 20" × 24" × 20" XYZ travels.
The HMC features a 10,000 rpm spindle with air/oil lubrication and a high-torque spindle for rapid travel rates up to 1,200 ipm (30.4 m). Using heavy-duty, flame-hardened box ways and rib-reinforced castings, the HMC is said to provide rigidity and vibration damping capability for ±5 arcsecond accuracy.
Using a digital control for faster program execution speeds, the machining center produces a smoother surface finish when contouring at high spindle speeds, the company says.
It also features a 3-second tool-to-tool change time with a 40-pocket dual arm automatic toolchanger (ATC), which uses a synchronous swing motion, picking up the new tool and old tool simultaneously. For ease in loading the ATC, tools are loaded from the back of the machine, the company says.
