MACHINING CENTRES XYZ & QUASER TECH PROVIDE CAPACITY ANSWERS
to bring in an XYZ 1000 LR vertical
machining centre.
Says Butcher: “The XYZ 1000 LR has
given us greater exibility and the ability for
me to run jobs that bene t from the
toolchanger, while I continue to operate the
SMX 3500. The step up from the ProtoTRAK
control to the Siemens 828D control was
straightforward and, so far, I haven’t had to
make use of any of the free training offered
by XYZ; we may well just keep that in hand
for when we take on new operators.”
The XYZ 1000 LR is the largest of
XYZ Machine Tools’ linear rail
machines, having axis travels
of 1,000 by 500 by 500
mm (X, Y, Z) and
feedrates up to 20 m/
min in all axes. It boasts
an 18 hp (13 kW),
8,000 rpm BT 40
spindle and a standard
20-position carousel
toolchanger as standard
(24-position arm-type is an
option). “The toolchanger was
critical for me, as it allows me to block out
work or do one-off prototypes on the SMX
while the LR is running production work, with
full con dence that the job will be nished,
just as expected, at the end of the cycle,”
the director adds.
He continues: “Andy had some
experience of XYZ machines from his
previous employer, so we had con dence
that they could deliver what we wanted.
From my perspective as a non-machinist,
they have proved to be a shrewd investment,
delivering a cost-effective and speedy
solution to our machining requirements.
A further bene t is the quality of work that
Andy is able to produce. This hasn’t gone
unnoticed by our customers and is leading
to more machining work, so we are entering
a win-win situation, as we have the capacity
to spare now that we have the XYZ 1000 LR
and also the ability to be highly competitive
in the type of work we are being asked to
produce.”
That work may not normally be
considered ideal for a machining centre, as
typical batch sizes are anything from one-off
to 20-off, but Mitre Industries says the XYZ
1000 LR with its Siemens control is
extremely ef cient, due to the ease of
Bearing change delivers
€35,600 annual saving
An unnamed steel mill swapped the
spindle bearing in a milling machine used
to mill rails for lift equipment. Requiring
the machining of two at areas at the ends
that assist the tting of the rails during
assembly, while the time required to mill
these rough surfaces is short, the
stiffness of the machine’s spindle is
critical, due to the length of the rails. With
the original bearings, the steel plant
noticed that spindle stiffness
reduced after just three
months, making it necessary
to change the spindle
assembly, including motors.
A change of spindle
bearing has delivered
large annual savings for a
steel mill
set-up, mixed with the ability to
import les from a CAM system.
At BSC Filters, a world leader in the
design and manufacture of electromagnetic
wave lters for the defence sector, the
installation of a Quaser MV134EH vertical
machining centre has increased machining
capacity in line with increasing demand.
Explains Daniel Malarkey, machine shop
supervisor at BSC Filters: “Over the last 12
months, our business has grown 22%, and
this is largely due to demand for more
complex components for the defence sector.
“We had to meet this demand head on
and that is what why we chose to engage
with ETG Engineering Technology Group,
https://is.gd/ulufay to help us spec a new
machine that gave us exibility, speed and
consistent quality.
“The service was excellent and the
capabilities of the Quaser MV134EH were
quickly identi ed, agreed and installed
within the timeframe we requested. We now
have the additional capacity required to
meet the 22% growth and, importantly, go
after more new business opportunities.”
BSC was already a Quaser machine user.
This latest has a 940 by 550 mm table,
travels of 661 by 572 by 560 mm (X, Y, Z)
and can carry 500 kg on the table. The high
speed spindle option of 12,000 rpm was
NSK engineers recommended that the
spindle be redesigned with a four-row
bearing set, instead of three, thus
increasing both the radial load capacity
and radial stiffness. The contact angle was
also changed, from 15° to 25°, thus
increasing shaft bending stiffness.
Standard NSK (https://is.gd/tapepa) high
precision angular contact ball bearings
(ACBB) provided the solution.
The new bearings continued working in
the steel mill’s machine for more than a
year, with no failures in either the motor or
transmission. Operating life for the set-up
moved from three months to over a year.
chosen, while the standard 30-tool capacity
toolchanger was considered appropriate.
Heidenhain control is tted to the Quaser
MV134EH.
BSC Filters, which is part of the Dover
Microwave Products Group, is expecting
further growth in the coming months, so will
be looking to convert one of its older
Quasers so that it delivers 4-axis
performance.
A Quaser MV134EH
vertical machining centre
has increased machining
capacity for BSC Filters
www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets February 2020 35
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