Prismatic machining, turning and grinding centres on show at MACH

13th February 2018

Source: NCMT

Prismatic machining, turning and grinding centres on show at MACH

This year at the MACH exhibition taking place 9-13^th April in NEC Birmingham NCMT will be showcasing a range of prismatic machining, turning and grinding centres from Okuma. All Okuma machines are sold and serviced exclusively in the UK and Ireland by NCMT, and can be found on stand H19-640 at MACH 2018.

Genos M460V 5-axis vertical machining centre
The latest model in the Genos series and the first 5-axis machine in this highly popular range is the new M460V-5AX vertical machining centre, from Okuma. This next-generation machine, built in Japan, is designed to manufacture high precision parts at impressive metal removal rates in a compact footprint.

The hypoid gear-driven trunnion with rotary table and 5-axis simultaneous control give the machine the ability to cut even the most complex of components in a variety of materials, from titanium to aluminium, and it does so without sacrificing dimensional accuracy, finish quality or productivity. Machining volume is 762x460x460mm and the BT40 spindle is rated at 15,000rpm/22kW. A 32-position tool magazine is provided and control is by the proprietary, user-friendly OSP CNC.

Highly rigid, thermally-stable, double column construction protects the vertical machining centre from thermal deformation, resulting in high machining performance. Okuma's Thermo-Friendly Concept is nevertheless included in the specification, applied to both the machine structure (TAS-C) and the spindle (TAS-S), based on feedback from temperature sensors to deliver high accuracy machining in a normal shop floor environment. Tests have shown thermal deviation to be less than 10µ over a 24-hour period, despite a variation in ambient temperature of 8°C.

Features such as Okuma’s 5-axis tuning system that accurately fine-tunes the geometry of the machine for ultra-high precision and Okuma’s Absoscales on the X, Y and Z axes are all part of the standard package, along with ServoNavi AI and ServoNavi SF which can automatically detect workpiece weight and adjust the machine's drives accordingly.

Machining Navi, an optional feature that minimises chatter by finding the best cutting conditions, employs a microphone to detect the onset of vibration and feed information back to the control. A change in spindle speed is recommended to suppress the chatter.

Okuma Genos L3000-MY turning centre

The new, compact L3000-M lathe is also a next-generation Genos machine with a high specification at a competitive package price. However, a Y-axis turret and live tooling are also available.

The turning centre is rigidly constructed and features an integral spindle motor and rigid guideways for powerful, high precision CNC machining of a wide range of materials including exotic alloys. TAS-C is standard, enabling tight tolerances to be maintained on the shop floor. Productivity can be increased by mounting an MT5 centre to the NC driven tailstock, which may be easily set-up for various workpieces.

The Genos L3000-M is designed so that cleaning, filtration and maintenance tasks are simplified. User-friendly features include a separate coolant tank for quick servicing, easy spindle access to speed maintenance as well as machine set-up, and reduced chip accumulation for less machine down-time during removal.

The specification includes 300mm maximum turning diameter, 38-3,800rpm spindle speed range, up to 30m/min rapids, a compact footprint of 2.5x1.9m and an installed weight of five tonnes.

Machining Navi and Okuma's Advanced One-Touch IGF are available options on the OSP control. The IGF system allows users to describe part geometry including diameter, length, grooves and threads using simple commands, from which the system draws the defined shape and then develops the part program automatically. An off-line version of the software is available for use on a PC to minimise machine down-time.

Multus U3000 2SW x 1500 multi-tasking turn-mill centre
Visitors to MACH 2018 will learn that it is possible to achieve world-leading accuracy when cutting and skiving external and internal gears and splines on standard Okuma 5-axis multi-tasking lathes and 5-axis machining centres, due to their high levels of accuracy and repeatability combined with robust construction.

NCMT believes that it is at the forefront of gear production on a multi-tasking turn-mill platform and will demonstrate power skiving on a Multus U3000 2SW with opposed spindle and 1.5m between centres. The process is intended for producing gears from solid billets in large volumes to high accuracy using a dedicated skiving tool to sequentially rough and finish each type and size of gear. Even with deep tooth profiles, a Class 6 spur gear can be achieved due to accurate synchronisation of tool and workpiece rotations.

Other gear production techniques and their relative benefits will be covered during the presentations, including hobbing using a carbide inserted cutter, shaping and spiral bevel milling.

Multus B200II W750 multi-tasking turn-mill centre The MULTUS B200II on show will be billed as the ultimate fusion of turn-milling capability, with turning, vertical or horizontal milling and material handling consolidated into one 6 or 8” chuck machine. The multi-tasking CNC turn-mill centre performs process-intensive machining for quicker production, while making more effective use of just over 3.9x2.2m of floor space. With fewer set-ups, work in process is drastically reduced and machine utilisation increased.

The eight-tonne MULTUS B200II has a 225° B-axis milling spindle capable of 12,000rpm (optionally 20,000rpm) and Y-axis motion for machining flexibility. The 40-tool magazine can be increased in size to 60 tools at the time of order. The 6,000rpm main and counter spindles have a full contouring C-axis and the model on show will have a 750mm centre distance.

The machine is equipped with Okuma’s OSP P300SA control, designed for ease of operation. With single-mode operation and superior graphics, novice operators as well as professional machinists experience an intuitive, more effective way of producing parts. Thermo-Friendly Concept and Collision Avoidance System are standard, with Machining Navi as an option.

A highlight of the control is Okuma’s TurnCut software for turning machines, also well-known on the manufacturer’s machining centre platforms. The software allows features to be created on a turn-milled part, either off-centre on its end or at any cross angle, by interpolating the linear motions of the B-axis while rotating a turning tool in the spindle at the same speed. The feature does not have to be circular either, but can be polygonal provided that the corners are radiused.

Multus B200II W750 multi-tasking turn-mill centre
The MULTUS B200II on show will be billed as the ultimate fusion of turn-milling capability, with turning, vertical or horizontal milling and material handling consolidated into one 6 or 8” chuck machine. The multi-tasking CNC turn-mill centre performs process-intensive machining for quicker production, while making more effective use of just over 3.9x2.2m of floor space. With fewer set-ups, work in process is drastically reduced and machine utilisation increased.

GA26W CNC grinder
The GA26W fast, high-precision, cylindrical grinder is equipped with the multi-touch OSP-P300GA CNC control, which runs on a Windows platform and integrates the machine with the motors, drives and encoders, all of which are manufactured by Okuma. The control and touchscreen increase efficiency by allowing users to toggle between machine operations, programming and wheel preparation screens.

A rigid foundation paired with Okuma’s hydrodynamic wheel spindle enables heavy-duty grinding.

Maximum grinding diameter is 200mm and distance between centres is 400 or 650mm. The machine is equipped as standard with a chatter control function that automatically adjusts wheel speed for accurate, stable machining, ideal for high accuracy mass production of smaller parts. Use of an NC footstock with 50mm quill stroke leads to fewer set-ups, raising productivity in high-mix production environments.

Other key features of the grinder are IGAP+ conversational programming, a large, 610mm diameter grinding wheel up to 150mm wide driven by a 7.5kW (optionally 15kW) motor via a hydrodynamic spindle, wheel rotation accuracy within 0.01μm and high feed rates of 30m/min in the X-axis, 20m/min in Z. Wheelhead rather than table traverse gives the CNC grinder a compact footprint that saves floor space, machine width being just over 2.5m, the narrowest in its class.