Moveable ram on a Fermat HBM.
Fermat WFT13R horizontal boring mill with moveable ram.
Fermat WRF13 table mill.
"Lucas Precision is having a record year selling Fermat horizontal boring mills. There are currently 50 Fermat machines sold in North America. Lucas Precision's 100 years of experience coupled with Fermat's technology and designs are adding value to the customer. Fermat firmly believes in the benefits of incorporating technological advances into its machines, such as the introduction of the movable ram and robotic tool changers," said a company spokesperson.
Lucas Precision is currently stocking machines in its Cleveland facility and will expand the stock offering in the near future. Lucas Precision's newest Fermat machine, the WFT13R horizontal boring mill with a moveable ram, still under construction in the Czech Republic, is equipped with a 60 station ATC with a Kuka robot as its tool changer. "The technological advances available today provide a more precise and accurate tool change. The WFT13R table mill will have a ram with 23-inch (600 mm) of travel in addition to the standard 29-inch (730 mm) spindle travel. The robotic tool changer is the future of tool changing in the machining industry, and will simplify the traditional double changer arm ATC," said the spokesperson.
Some of the options that are offered with the ram design support the chip removal process in different ways. Through-the-spindle coolant options included with the ram allows for better chip removal particularly for deep-hole drilling. The pressure of the coolant empties the bore, allowing the spindle to remove chips more efficiently. With the addition of any attachment (angle heads, facing heads etc.) the ram deviation is compensated by the coordinated movement of the two ball screws on the Y-axis. For example, when the angle head is mounted on the ram, the control system automatically recognizes the angle head and sets a new table of parameters for the head compensation. "As a result, WFT13R achieves more accurate geometry for various types of attachments. Pallet systems are another option that can be used in Fermat's machine design to increase chip removal by reducing the down time of the spindle through decreased part change time," said the spokesperson.
"Fermat's horizontal boring mills with a moveable ram with a 5" spindle on a table mill provide superior rigidity for the spindle during machining," said the spokesperson. Fermat's ram option is equipped with 23.6 inches of travel and the dimensions are 16 inches by 18 inches. The heavy duty WRFT130 table mill offered by Fermat is a linear way machine equipped with 39.4 inches of ram travel and is 17 inches by 17 inches square. The purpose of incorporating a ram into the table design is to provide support to the spindle as it is extended. "This option increases chip removal and gives manufacturers' greater access to inner dimensions, and elongates the spindle travel into otherwise difficult to reach areas. Fermat's decision to incorporate this option into their design is to ensure powerful and continuous chip removal even when the spindle is fully extended," said the spokesperson.
The columns of the Fermat floor-mill machine are designed for rigidity. The elimination of the more typical two-piece column and column slide design increases rigidity through the entire movement of the headstock and ram. "The columns on Fermat's floor-mills increase in width as the height increases to support larger columns, which translates to greater stiffness of the columns and more precise, accurate and efficient chip removal by the ram and spindle," said the spokesperson.
"Lucas is looking to expand its distribution network, as well as its field service crew. Any questions or inquiries should be directed to your local machine tool distributor or Lucas Precision," said the spokesperson.
For more information contact:
Paul Mandelbaum
Brendan Washington
Bill Zaker
Lucas Precision
13020 St. Clair Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44108
216-451-5588
paulm@lucasprecision.com
fermat.sales@lucasprecision.com
www.lucasprecision.com
Petra Mrkvová, Export Department
Fermat Machinery
Prumyslova 11
102 19 Prague 10
Czech Republic
Cell: 011-420-773-690-135
urbanova@fermatmachinery.com
america@fermatmachinery.com
www.fermatmachinery.com