Automotive Design & Production is the one media brand invested in delivering your message in print, online, via email, and in-person to the right automotive industry professionals at the right time.
Issue link: https://adp.epubxp.com/i/742392
ON MANUFACTURING GEAR Machining Center for Die Cast Parts For years, machining centers have been, by and large, general-purpose machines, designed and engineered to handle a variety of workpieces. The Makino a40 is a horizontal machining center. It has a 400-mm pallet. It has X, Y, Z travels of 560, 640 and 640 mm, respectively. It has a cutting feed rate of 60 m/min. It can handle parts that are 630 mm in diameter and 900 mm tall. It has a payload of 400 kg. It has a CAT 40 spindle that can accelerate to 12,000 rpm in 0.5 seconds. It has a 6,000-rpm rigid tapping synchronization speed. It has a vision-type broken tool detection system for untended operations. It has dedicated tool taper cleaning nozzles that wash the tool taper with 20-μ filtered coolant. But here's the thing: although it is a horizontal machining center that resembles almost every general-purpose horizontal machining center out there, it isn't designed for all applications. Rather, it is specifically engineered to meet the requirements of the machining of die castings. David C. Ward, product marketing manager at Makino, says that the machine was looked at from the get-go as in minimizing the potential inertia in the structure in order to make quick moves with reliability and accuracy. Ward points out that because of the cost pressures that suppliers of die cast components are facing, by having a machine that has broad capability—as described above—but application specificity—as in die castings—the a40 has the ability to be cost effective, to the extent that he provides an example showing how it could be possible to use three a40s rather than four general-purpose machining centers—which can make a significant bottom-line difference. makino.com Universal Machining Center for Porting Haas Automation has developed the UMC-750P, a 40-taper vertical machining center that is designed for profiling and head porting (thus the P in its name), although it can be applied to other applications that require complex five-axis machining in a single setup. The machine has an 8,100-rpm direct-drive spindle (there is an optional 12,000 rpm unit) that's driven by a 30-hp vector drive system. There is a 40+1-tool side- mounted tool changer. The machine's travels are 30 x 20 x 20 inches. In addition to which, there is a 33 x 14.75-inch fixed table that has an HRT210 rotary table with an A-frame support mounted on it. The rotary table provides 360 degrees of A-axis rotation. While there is a B-axis trunnion that provides ±45 degrees of tilt. Which all contribute to part positioning at almost any angle. The Haas Next Generation Control features 1 GB of program memory. Other features include user definable macros, coordinate rotation and scaling, user-defined second home position, Ethernet interface, and a 15-inch color LCD monitor with USB port. haascnc.com Mobile Robot The MH12 is a six-axis robot from Yaskawa Motoman that's designed for a variety of applications, ranging from assembly to machine tending. It has a curved upper arm, a design that facilitates reach—it has a 1,440-mm horizontal reach and 2,511-mm vertical reach—and a double-yoke design that enhances strength. The work envelope for the robot even extends behind it. It has a payload capacity of 12 kg. It is said to be the fastest robot in its class. Control is via the DX200 controller, which is capable of handling up to 72 axes (or eight robots). What's particularly interesting about this configuration—designated the YMR12—is that it is mounted on an OTTO 1500 self-driving vehicle from OTTO Motors. The autonomous platform has a payload capacity of 1,500 kg. It has a maximum speed of 2.0 m/sec and a runtime of 6 hours before recharging (~1 hour) is required. In this configuration for machine load/unload, the robot is equipped with a vision system and an adaptive gripper. Communication between the YMR12 and machines is performed wirelessly. motoman.com; ottomotor.com 38