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Hwacheon Machinery’s Sirius machinesfeature high-speed integral motorspindles, roller guideways and are oil-jetcooled for high-speed, high-precisionmachining. The UM and UL+ models have20,000-rpm spindles and the UX modelhas a 12,000-rpm spindle.Machining Centers & CellsPrecision Solutionsare ProductivityEnhancersDesign advances combine speed, powerand innovative software-controlled functionsJim LorinczSenior EditorManufacturers from generalengineering job shopsto high-precision die moldshops have a wide range ofmachining centers to choosefrom to meet their machiningcustomer requirements. Advances in technology canbe found in virtually every facet of machine designfrom finite element analysis (FEA) construction to softwarecontrol of machine movement and compensationfor machine thermal growth. Machines can be foundApril 2013 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 61

Machining Centers & Cellsin families ranging from general purpose to moldmaking, withvariations in design that are capable of heavy-duty metal removalwithout sacrificing fine surface finishes or the ability tohandle a wide range of materials. Here are examples from theend-user point of view and that of the designers, builders, anddistributors of advanced machine technology to meet thesechallenges shops face on a daily basis.There Must be a More Efficient WayWhen OVM Design and Manufacturing LLC (Westminster,MD) was awarded a contract for a job consisting of 49 differentcomponents that would run over 18 months, Bob andRob Baird, father and son and OVM co-owners, respectively,looked to their machine tool dealer for help. “We were runningthe part on a nonpalletized vertical machining center andthought there must be a more efficient solution,” said BobBaird. “Our customers were driving us to produce parts fasterand with extreme accuracy.” Their machine tool dealer, MTACo. Inc. (Ellicott City, MD), recommended the Fanuc RoboDrillPC2, from importer Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury,MA) as a way to significantly improve productivity.Rob Baird (L) and Bob Baird (R), father and son co-ownersof OVM Design and Manufacturing LLC (Westminster,MD) needed an economical VMC palletized solution toprovide the horsepower and machine rigidity to producea housing chassis, as well as other parts. The Bairds foundthe solution in a high-performance Feeler VMP-580 APCfrom Methods Machine Tools Inc.The RoboDrill is a vertical machining center with aheavy-duty, high-speed 30-taper, 24,000-rpm spindle and anintegrated pallet-changing system for pallet changes in sevenseconds. OVM, which is a general job shop that manufacturesa variety of metal and plastic components for recurring or oneoffjobs, ranging from small lots to quantities of several thousand,took the recommendation and purchased the RoboDrill.“The RoboDrill is great for making fast, light cuts includingdrilling, tapping and light milling,” said Rob Baird. “Thepalletized machine allows us to load parts or change fixtureson one pallet while machining is done on the second pallet.And the toolchanger is very fast.” For example, one of thecomponents they produced was an aluminum side plate foran assembly. This operation included 10–12 tools, which tookeight seconds each to change prior to the RoboDrill. With theRoboDrill, tool changes were drastically reduced to only 1.5seconds each. “We reduced machining time on this job by30% and met our delivery with a high-quality part,” Rob said.OVM again turned to its dealer on a recurring job for a housingchassis made of 2024 aluminum that OVM needs to run toproduce a quantity of 35 parts daily to fill orders of 250 abouttwice a year. MTA recommended the Feeler VMP-580 APCfrom Methods Machine Tools with an automatic pallet changer(APC) and a 24-tool ATC. “We use two vises on each pallet. Onthe first vise, we mill the pockets and part profile; then we movethe part to a second vise to position the 2.0" [51 mm] of height,as well as drill and countersink a few holes. Every time wechange pallets we have a completed part. With the Feeler VMC,we estimate we are saving about 25% of time on this job alonebecause the pallets allow one operator to load and unload partswhile the VMC is running,” said Rob Baird.The experience of the Bairds is typical of many shops thatdon’t have the luxury of long lead times to produce the partstheir customers require. Shops are always looking for a betterway of meeting their customers’ requirements. They maketheir choices based on the performance, reliability and reputationof their machine tool suppliers.Control Technology Drives Machine DevelopmentA distinguishing characteristic of machining centers andCNC lathes manufactured by Hurco Companies Inc. (Indianapolis,IN) is differentiation of its products through developmentof its own advanced CNC control technology. “Machiningcenters from Hurco can be found in any shop that values amachine that’s easy to program for getting jobs done quicklyin virtually any product category,” said Greg Volovic, executivevice president-technology and operations. “Our engineerscan add new features to our controls, almost on a daily basis,to meet specific customer requirements and we drive future62 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | April 2013

Machining Centers & Cellsdevelopment of machine models through our control technology,”said Volovic.“The Hurco control gives the user both conversational programmingand standard NC, that supports ISO/EIA standards,which means the user can take any Fanuc program or G codeprogram and run it on our machines, which are fully Fanuccompatible. This versatility is important to our customersbecause they run a high mix of parts. They know the best wayto approach each job and we make sure our control technologysupports that approach so they can increase productivityand profitability whether they use NC, conversational, or both.Our NC/Conversational Merge feature lets the user combineboth programming types into one program. It enables the userto call an NC subprogram from any conversational program,or add the simplicity of conversational features, such as transformplane, pattern operations, or scaling, to NC programs. Inaddition, our UltiMonitor feature has remote monitoring andremote diagnostics capabilities. It’s a very smart intuitive systemthat lets us identify and solve a customer’s problem, ofteneven before the service man arrives,” said Volovic.company by being both a machine tool builder and a machinetool user. Hwacheon is a supplier of cylinder heads, blocks,crankshafts, and other precision components like gears andspindles to the Korean automotive industry. Hwacheon is alsoa major supplier of precision machining centers specificallydeveloped for the Korean die-mold industry.“Our moldmaking machine tools feature standard integratedsoftware developed in conjunction with Fanuc forthermal displacement control and compensation. We’re notonly thermally measuring the machine throughout its use,but we’re using the information collected to dynamically verifyand control accuracy,” said Michael Huggett, president,Hwacheon Machinery America Inc. (Vernon Hills, IL). “Weare able to control the kinematics of the machines for contourmachining, allowing us to optimize machine performance forroughing, semifinish, and finish machining without going backand forth through a number of different programs.”“While some machine tool builders are getting away frombox-way geared headstock machines, Hwacheon is committedto supplying both the heavy-duty geared headstockShops are always looking for a better way of meeting their customers’ requirements.They make their choices based on the performance, reliability and reputationof their machine tool suppliers.At Hurco, evolving control technology is driving machinedevelopment. “Our new line of machining centers will featurehigh-speed spindles 18,000–30,000 rpm, and a new five-axislarge machining center will join the three-axis 3.2-m DCXmachine.” Two new Hurco machine introductions, the VMX24HSi and VMX42 HSi machines, equipped with its patentedUltiMotion technology, are showing “improvements in productivityup to 40% relative to cutting the part,” said Volovic. “It’sa brand-new way of controlling motion. We’ve taken the positionloops, which normally would be on third party cards, andmoved them into the core CNC. This enables us to dramaticallyimprove performance. For example, if you’re in the middleof a tapping cycle, UltiMotion lets you dynamically adjust thecycle while it’s in operation. You can tap at one speed going inand come out many times faster, or continue a cycle after ane-stop and power up without redoing the cycle.”Builder Benefits as User and Automotive ManufacturerHwacheon Machinery America Inc. (Vernon Hills, IL) benefitsfrom the manufacturing experience of its Korean parentmachines, as well as integral spindle motor, linear guidewaymachines. There’s a need in the market for manufacturerswho want to have heavy-duty reliable machines that are ableto take a crash and are powerful for heavy-duty machining aswell as able to hold high accuracies in both positioning andfinishing,” said Huggett.Hwacheon’s Vesta 1050B box-way geared headstockmachining center is capable of heavy roughing cuts as well asfine finish machining. “The 1050B is a true universal machineavailable with 40 or 50-taper 6000 or 8000-rpm spindles withhydrostatic bearing guideways that produce micron accuracyin a heavy-duty machine,” said Huggett. For high-precisiondie-mold applications, Hwacheon’s Sirius machines feature20,000-rpm high-speed spindles for the UM and UL+ modelsand 12,000-rpm spindle for the UX model. The Sirius machineshave integral motor spindles and roller linear guidewaysand are oil-jet cooled.For five-axis machining, which is gaining popularity anduse in the die-mold market, Hwacheon offers the M-2 machiningcenter. “The advantage of five-axis machining for die-mold64 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | April 2013

work is the ability to use shorter tools, gaining more rigidity andaccuracy for fine surface finishing. Also we are able to do a dynamicreset of kinematics before taking the final finish passesthat can compensate for any changes in the machine due totemperature, vibration or changes in thetool itself,” said Huggett.Large Capacity Mold and Die MachiningTwo all new CNC vertical machining centers for machininglarge industrial molds and dies from Hyundai WIA (Carlstadt,NJ) feature XYZ-axis travels of 61 × 29.5 × 28.5" (1550 × 750 ×Five Face/Five Axis Machining CentersJapanTek’s 5X-410 machiningcenter from SB Machine Tools (Schaumburg,IL) provides a unique five-face/five-axis machining capability that canbe configured in four different ways:five-axis machining with APC; five-facemachining with APC; horizontal machiningwith APC; and vertical machiningwith APC. Unlike cradle or trunniontypes, the 5X-410 maintains originalstrokes and part size/weight envelopes,while offering better accessibility.Contrasted with tilting table/articulatinghead types, the 5X-410 is said to bemuch easier to program and operate.The 5X-410 is well suited for aviation,aerospace, medical, automotive, and dieand mold applications, among others.The 120° (90° ±15°) tilting spindlemakes the 5X-410 well suited for aerospace,medical, automotive, and dieand mold applications, among others.Design intention is to combine a fullycontrolled, double-wormgear driven palletand extended linear strokes in XYZaxes to provide an enhanced, yet simplifiedapproach to simultaneous, multiaxismachining. The 16" (406-mm) squarepallet accommodates a 16 × 16" (406 ×406-mm) workpiece and allows for fullfour sides and top surface machiningon any 16" cube part. A 30-hp (22-kW)main motor, a 60-tool magazine withATC and coolant through the spindleare standard. The standard speed of theCAT-40 spindle is 12,000 rpm; 15,000rpm is available as an option.April 2013 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 65

Machining Centers & CellsJapanTek’s 5X-410 machining center from SB MachineTools (Schaumburg, IL) provides a unique five-face/fiveaxismachining capability that can be configured in fourdifferent ways for precision machining applications inthe aerospace, medical, automotive, and die and moldindustries, among others.725 mm) for the F750M model and 96.5 × 37.4 × 33.5" (2450× 950 × 850 mm) for the F960M model. Standard featuresfound on both M-Series machining centers include; 12,000-rpmbuilt-in spindle with Big Plus 50-taper spindle nose, thru spindlecoolant with chiller, hardened and ground box guideways andHW MP II CNC mold package included in the control. Ultraprecisionclass angular bearings of the 2000-rpm built-in cartridgetype spindles minimize noise and vibration at high cuttingspeeds and thermal transmission to the main spindle.Big Plus spindle system (BBT #50) provides dual contactbetween the spindle face and the flange face of the toolholder.This greatly increases tool rigidity, reduces run outand adds significant productivity to any machining application.Spindle motor is 16–25 hp (11.9–18.6 kW) with spindletorque rated at 893/732 N•m. The Big Plus spindle offersmachine users fast material removal rates, as well as highaccuracy and rigidity. It guarantees stability when run athigh spindle speeds for high-rpm precision machining. CNCcontrol is the Fanuc 31i.All guideways are hardened and ground, wide box typefor long-term rigidity and machining accuracy. By adaptingthe “semi-rising sliding ways” system the load on theX and Y-axis slide way is decreased dramatically enablingthe M-Series VMC’s to hold tolerance and repeatability overlonger cycle times. The F960M table is further supported atall times by the use of four boxways and two supplementalways. This allows for a maximum table load of 4500 kg withoutany table distortion.To aid in the machining of molds, the Hyundai WIA MoldPackage is applied as a standard feature for the F750/960MSeries machines. This ensures accurate and high-quality surfacefinishes and contouring. Main points of the Mold Packageinclude a Fanuc 31iA control, AICC II package, featuringmachining condition selection function, AI contour control II,smooth backlash compensation, thermal displacement featureand automatic power-off feature.Evolving Designs for Universal Machining CentersGrob Systems Inc. (Bluffton, OH) has evolved its universalmachining centers in milestones that began with the first appearanceof the G350 in 2007, followed by the launch of themuch larger G550 in 2009 and then in 2011 EMO and 2012AMB showcasing the G550T five-axis universal mill-turn machiningcenter. To meet the demand and sustain the evolutionof the G series machines, Grob has expanded its manufacturinglocations in the US, Germany and China by more than600,000 ft 2 (55,472 m 2 ).Grob engineers are adding options to the standardcomponents to meet demand from medical technology,tool and mold making, aerospace and automotive industryapplications, among others. The growing Grob customerbase includes a printing machinery manufacturer, the Swisscompany Liechti, which specializes in the supplying turnkeysolutions for the production of turbine blades and impellers.An order from a leading aerospace parts manufacturer totaled28 G350/G550 machines equipped with pallet changers andSiemens 840D sl CNC controls.A hunting rifle manufacturer was recently looking for anautomated machining cell to produce high tensile strengthaluminum parts for its rifles. The process originally utilizedfour-axis machines, but the company wanted to progressto five-axis machines to reduce the number of machiningsetups. The machines also needed to be capable of deepholedrilling, have excellent chip evacuation and be capableof holding tolerances to ±0.005 mm. The tombstone setupprovided by Grob allows parts to be completed in only two setupswhile the original process took five different setups. FourGROB G350 machining centers with 205 tools each werepurchased for the application along with a pallet pool systemto have lights-out production.The Diamond Cut milling series of vertical machining centersfrom MC Machinery Systems Inc. (Wood Dale, IL) comprises fiveseries of VMCs and drilling and tapping machines. The MC Millingline covers a broad cross section of machining operations includinggeneral engineering, mold and die, drill/tap, and heavydutymachining. The MCV Series general-purpose machiningcenters feature two spindle/tooling systems, CAT-40 8000-rpm66 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | April 2013

Want More Information?and CAT-50 6000-rpm motor, for applications like fixtures, moldbase, and secondary operations. The DV Series general-purposemachine features a 15,000-rpm direct-drive spindle and CAT-40tooling for intricate milling work in job shops.The DM Series features a 20,000-rpm HSK-A63 spindlefor die mold, hard milling, as well as graphite machining withtwo models. For large-part machining, the SV Series featuresheavy-duty box-way construction for large-part machining withlarge tools, with a 10,000-rpm belt-driven CAT-50 spindle. TheTV Series drill/tap machines feature 24,000-rpm high-speedBBT-30 dual-contact spindles driven by a 5-hp (3.7-kW)motor. Design intent of each of the machine models in theMC Milling line is to make selection of the right combinationof features for the job at hand easy to make for the customer.In addition to its high-end Roku-Roku machining centers formold and die work, shops are familiar with all of its productlines including Mitsubishi EDM, waterjet, lasers, consumableproducts, and press brakes. MEGrob Systems Inc.Ph: 419-358-9015Web site: www.grobgroup.comHurco Companies Inc.Ph: 317-293-5309Web site: www.hurco.comHwacheon Machinery America Inc.Ph: 847-573-0100Web site: www.hwacheon.comHyundai WIAPh: 201-636-5600Web site: www.hyundai-wiamachine.comMethods Machine Tools Inc.Ph: 978-443-5388Web site: www.methodsmachine.comMitsubishi / MC MachineryPh: 630-616-5920Web site: www.mitsubishi-world.comSB Machine ToolsPh: 847-882-9600Web site: www.sbmachinetools.comApril 2013 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 67