Zone: Rotary Transfer Machines

The Hammond Way

Barstock For Transfer Machine Embracing innovation is part of the culture in this California production shop. Its founder takes competition and technical challenges as quests that demand creative solutions from man and machine.

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The Hammond Way 11/30/2007 Production Machining: Embracing innovation is part of the culture in this California production shop. Its founder takes competition and technical challenges as quests that demand creative solutions from man and machine.
Transfer Machines Help Regain Business In The States 7/16/2007 Production Machining: As companies continue to wrestle with offshore competitors, many are finding that the use of transfer machines aids the situation. Once used solely for dedicated machining of high-volume parts runs, transfer machines now give OEMs and job shops enhanced flexibility because of the improved onboard controls. Medium-quantity runs, as well as smaller batches of complex parts, are now suitable for properly equipped CNC transfer machines.
Scalable Transfer Machine Offers Flexible Solutions 6/15/2007 Production Machining: Mikron Machining Technology (Monroe, Connecticut) now offers the NRG-50 rotary transfer machine, which provides new dimensions in the cost-efficient production of large-volume series. The machines are designed for prismatic parts with an edge length of as much as 50 mm or, alternatively, 35-mm diameter and 70-mm length.
Complete In One Chucking 4/17/2007 Production Machining: Compared to barstock, castings, forgings and sawn blanks present a different set of workhandling challenges for production machining. This article looks at how Hydromat Inc. is meeting these challenges on its rotary transfer machines with engineered indexing workholders.
Rotary Transfer Machines For Extruded Bar 10/19/2006 Production Machining: To address the requirements of extruded bar applications, Italian builder Picchi, which is distributed in the United States through RBR Associates (Darien, Illinois), has developed a line of rotary transfer machines designed to handle round, hex, square, rectangular, elliptical and even complicated extruded shapes.

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Overview Of:

Rotary Transfer Machines

Historically transfer machine technology was classified as “Hard Automation.” This term reflected the dedicated nature of the individual workstations that performed various machining operations on a workpiece. Increasingly, as lots sizes go down, CNC technology is being used on these machines to allow for more flexibility to change the machine from one job to another.

On traditional rotary transfer machines, pallets that contain fixured or colleted workpiece blanks, are arranged on a round table (not unlike a Lazy Susan) that indexes from one working station to the next. One index of the table produces a complete part. On many machine designs, the machining stations coupled with indexible or contouring pallets allow for 3, 4- or 5 axis machining. They are capable of milling, drilling, and contouring a workpiece. Usually these modules use a horizontally oriented main spindle with a quill fed Z-axis. The number of stations around the periphery depends on the complexity of the workpiece.

For parts of rotation two primary types of rotary transfer machine designs are used. Multi-station horizontal table machines process bar fed or chucked blanks held in collets or chucks around the periphery of the indexing table. Machining modules mounted in an end-feed or cross feed orientation provide the machining action to the usually stationary workpieces.

The trunnion-type is a second design that is used for high production of parts of rotation. It uses an indexing wheel mounted in a vertical orientation (like a ferris wheel) with grippers located around the periphery. These grippers hold the workpiece blank in the center while tool stations from the headstock and tailstock ends of the machine attack both ends of the blank at once. Cross slide operations can be performed using machining modules mounted perpendicular to the workpiece axis.

Rotary Transfer Trends:

Prismatic part production
Six-sided machining
Robotic load/unload
CNC rotary transfer machines
C-axis contouring pallets
Annular tooling
Double drop production setups
Flexible high volume production