MACHINING CENTRES DRIVING PERFORMANCE
universal mill-turn machining centre has
been installed, to meet the demanding
manufacturing settings.
Due to concerns about chip fall,
robustness, accuracy, and consistency,
many 5-axis machines designed for tool and
die mould applications failed to meet
Simmons’ needs, but the company found
the German rm’s G550T was the answer
and has enabled it to not only meet, but
exceed their ROI goals in the rst three
years of operation.
Simmons Machine Tool Corporation is a
machine tool and automation builder that
produces specialised machine tools for
railway wheel set maintenance and
production worldwide.
The company manufactures machine
tools for high-speed, metro, passenger
transit, and freight railway applications.
Given the heavy-duty nature of these
applications and an industry trend of
forgoing preventative maintenance in favour
of selecting machines that can take the
heavy wear-and-tear, products must be
extremely robust.
“We reviewed several different 5-axis
machines, and most couldn’t keep up with
the demands of our application,” explains
president & chief operating of cer David
William Davis.
“We make a lot chips when we make a
cutter, so chip containment and evacuation
from the machine tool is important, and
many just didn’t measure up.”
The company found that 5-axis machining
centres with vertical spindle orientations
tended to have more surfaces and areas for
chips to collect on, which prevented easy
chip evacuation.
Additionally, many 5-axis machines were
focused on die and mould production rather
than heavy duty metal cutting, and so could
not hold up to this demanding railway
MCM RENEWS CLOCK EVOLUTION LINE
Italian technology rm MCM has renewed its Clock EVOlution line,
which has been done to “adapt to the increasingly challenging
demands of the market” – and the new machining centres come
complete with cutting-edge solutions and an ergonomic design.
MCM’s UK agent is RK Machine Tools ( www.is.gd/EgvyRM ) and it
launched the new models to the market in October 2020, with the
presentation of Clock 800 EVO model, featuring cubic working area
(X, Y, Z strokes of 800 mm), pallets up to 500x630 mm and a wide
range of spindles from 8,000 to 30,000 rpm.
The Clock EVOlution line covers machining volumes between 512
dm3 and 1320 dm3, combining high dynamics, rigidity, precision
and exibility. The models differ from each other in the volume of
the working area, but all guarantee optimal dynamic and mechanical
characteristics, as well as absolute maintenance of geometry over
time.
The rigidity is extremely high thanks to the double-plane base, the
linear recirculating ball guides and the careful design with dynamic
and static test of the structures using FEM software. The machine
kinematics includes the transversal movement upright (X) and
longitudinal movement workpiece support table (Z).
As for all MCM machines, the cast iron structure consists of the
two main blocks (base, carriage) and the Y-axis column. The tilted
position of X-axis guides provides absolute structural rigidity even
under signi cant mechanical stress, MCM explains.
The design includes the optimisation of the overall dimensions
on the oor and the reduction of the overall space taken up by the
machine – which MCM notes is an “increasingly important request
from all customers”.
The machine has
machine application.
dependability was also an issue, primarily
involving spindle bearing contamination and
related failures,” adds Davis.
machine builders, locally available service
plus quality remote or virtual service was
often simply not available.”
technology has translated into cost savings
and ef ciency bene ts for Simmons Machine
Tool Corporation.
dramatically reduced over previous 5-axis
machining, as the G550T is better built to
withstand the demands of Simmons’
manufacturing processes and materials.
centres certainly seems high on the agenda
of many manufacturers, despite the Covid-19
pandemic.
been redesigned in its
entirety to facilitate
and speed up both
installation and
maintenance, all
aimed at ensuring a
“Overall machine robustness and
“Lastly, we found that with many 5 axis
Implementing Grob’s 5-axis machining
Davis says that downtime has been
Investment in the latest machining
MCM has renewed its Clock
EVOlution line to adapt to
the increasingly challenging
reduction in machine downtime
and greater functional ef ciency.
Important developments have also
been implemented in terms of
ease of use. The machines have
demands of the market
capacity up to 500 tool places on
single machine with ISO/MAS 40 or 50, HSK-A63 or A100 systems.
The Clock EVO allows high removal or high cutting speed
machining with no compromise, thanks to the wide range of MCMdesign
spindles (up to 65 kW and 690 Nm) with variable bearing
preload automatically controlled by the CNC according to the type of
machining to be performed.
Like all MCM machining centres, EVO Clocks are available with
4 or 5 axes and multitasking, capable of combining milling, turning,
grinding and power skiving operations in the same centre. The
multitasking version will feature a new tilting rotary table that is
equipped with high-speed bearing that allows turning operations up
to 1200 rpm.
MCM says the Clock EVO provides a “strategic solution” for all
the needs of the main production sectors: automotive, aerospace,
energy, defence and general mechanics.
36 January 2021 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
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