HEAVY ENGINEERING MACHINE SHOPS PULL THEIR WEIGHT
level of accuracy is achieved on the MCX
1400 means that downstream bene ts are
experienced in the metrology department.
CNC inspection is faster, for example, as it
requires less comprehensive routines and
fewer components need to be checked.
The engineer concludes: “We’ve also
been migrating the machining of our custom
gearboxes and some standard products
across to the B+W machine to take
advantage of its productivity. It already does
the work of the old HMC and another
machining centre, and we’re looking to
consolidate jobs on it that we currently put
on a third machine.”
CRUSHING BENEFITS
When thinking of heavy engineering,
horizontal borers are perhaps the sector’s
most iconic machine tool, and installations
continue to be commonplace across the UK.
A case in point can be seen at the Coalville
facility of Terex, a mobile crusher machine
manufacturer that recently invested in a
large capacity Doosan DBC160 horizontal
borer from Mills CNC (https://is.gd/edocag).
Used to produce the high accuracy bores,
holes and threads found in the fabricated
sections of Terex’s mobile crushers, the
DBC160 accommodates sections that can
weigh up to 30 tonnes. Machining
operations can be relatively long and such is
the need to maintain productivity that high
removal rates are an ongoing requirement.
Up to 70 mobile crusher machines are
manufactured at Terex’s Coalville facility
every month.
Explains Jason Toon, operations and
facilities manager: “The machine
speci cation we’d drawn up included the
requirement for a large 3 m Y-axis. We didn’t
realise at the time that the new Doosan
DBC160 borer could be supplied with such a
large Y-axis, although when we found out,
we were naturally interested.
“The DBC160 is a new machine and we
were going to be the rst customer in the
UK to buy one,” he adds. “This, plus the
performance-critical nature of the
investment, meant we had to get it right rst
time.”
The DBC160 is a large capacity, moving-
column borer equipped with a 160 mm
diameter boring spindle (45 kW/2,000
rpm). Workpieces measuring 3,400 mm in
diameter, and up to 20 tonnes in weight,
can be accommodated on the machine’s
B-axis rotary table.
“We’ve been delighted with
the DBC160
machine’s
performance, and
we cannot speak
Mills CNC’s dedication and commitment,
which have been rst-class,” says Toon.
Further north, Kendal-based engineering
company Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon has made
a seven- gure investment with Yamazaki
Mazak (otocah) to increase
highly enough about
Soraluce factory bears fruit
Soraluce’s recent opening of a factory dedicated to the assembly
of portal-type machining centres was coupled with the launch of a
newly developed range of “redesigned and revitalised” machines
and associated technologies.
For instance, the introduction of a machining head that
combines milling, boring, turning and grinding was demonstrated
on a Soraluce TA-M 25, one of a newly developed range of
machines for multi-tasking operations on components up to
8,000 mm diameter in a single set-up. Table capacities of up to
10,500 kg (milling) and 3,000 kg (turning) are available.
The machines join an extensive and now expanded series of
portal machines in moving table, gantry and moving cross beam
styles – all available from Soraluce’s exclusive UK and Ireland
distributor, TW Ward CNC Machinery (https://is.gd/fi divu).
Included in the range are: PM moving-table models with X, Y, Z
and W (cross beam) axes offering from 5,600 to 7,600 mm,
4,500 to 5,000 mm, 1,500 to 2,000 mm, and 1,000 to 2,000
mm, respectively; and PMG, PRG and PXG gantry models with X,
Y, Z and W axes providing from 6,000 to 10,000 mm, 4,000 to
10,500 mm, 1,500 to 3,000 mm, and 1,000 to 4,000 mm.
https://is.gd/otocah
productivity and
bolster its UK
The Doosan
horizontal borer at
Terex is tackling
parts such as this
Importantly, it was also the display of DWS and VSET –
developments driven by Soraluce’s IK4-Ideko technology centre
– that drew an equal level of attention from visitors.
DWS is an active damping device to eliminate chatter.
Comprising a controller and one or more inertial actuators placed
on the part to be machined, the result is better surface nishes,
especially in workpiece areas that may be ‘more exible’. DWS
complements Soraluce’s DAS+ smart system for eliminating
chatter, and both systems integrate with the machines’ CNC
system (Siemens or Heidenhain).
VSET is a measurement system to simplify component set-up.
Using 3D vision, two of its three modules (VSET Measuring – the
capture of optical reference points, and VSET Fitting – compares
measured data with a 3D model of the part) are run with the part
off-machine, without interruption to operations. The third module,
VSET Alignment, integrates the results of measurement with the
machine’s CNC and the component positioning on the table.
Set-up times can be reduced by up to 70%, reports the company.
Indeed, Soraluce says VSET will repay itself in less than a year,
depending on throughput.
www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets September 2019 53
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/otocah
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