"Aluminum profiles are produced in all shapes and sizes," said a Suhner spokesperson. "Often, these profiles can be very difficult to machine because of the various shapes, sizes, number of operations required and cycle times needed. When a profile shape will not allow the holes to be punched and cycle time makes producing the parts on machining centers impractical, Suhner, with its modular design and broad assortment of spindle options, can now offer processors a solution to their machining needs."
Suhner's line of spindles for profile machining includes the MONOmaster electric driven, pneumatic feed units, ranging in size from the smallest BEM-3 unit, capable of drilling up to a 3 mm hole in mild steel, up to the BEM-28 unit, capable of drilling up to 28 mm in mild steel and having 200 mm of controlled stroke. Many of the units in the MONOmaster line are available with other options, such as inline direct drive units for the BEM-6 and 12S, as well as 1:4 speed increasers for the BEM-6 and 6D units capable of speeds up to 14,400 RPMs at 60 Hz. With the larger BEM12 and 12D units, the option of 4:1 or 16:1 gear reduction is available, giving RPM speeds as slow as 40 RPMs at 60 Hz.
"Suhner also offers the MULTImaster line of flexible shaft driven units, a feature not currently offered by any other spindle manufacturer," said the spokesperson. "These units are driven by Suhner flexible shafts and are ideal in areas where spacing is a critical concern." The smaller BEW-3 unit allows spacing as close as 48 mm center to center, the BEW-6 unit as close as 55 mm center to center and the larger BEW-12 unit as close as 75 mm center to center. Using these units with Suhner's VG System, users can drive up to eight spindles with a single motor.
For high precision, tough applications, Suhner offers the POWERmaster line of spindles. This includes the BEX-15 and BEX-35 machining units, capable of running at speeds up to 23,000 RPM. These are block units, capable of milling, drilling and sawing operations. Suhner also offers a complete line of slide products to provide the feed movement for the block spindles. These slides are available in pneumatic or ball screw feed design, for either servo or gear motors.
Also available for the machining of aluminum profiles is Suhner's line of adjustable and fixed spindle multi-heads for drilling special hole patterns or hole spacing where spindles are too large to fit into the required spacing for the center to center distances needed. Suhner's line of fixed spindle multi-heads is built in Rome, GA, and often can be built to spec in less than six weeks.
A typical machine used by a major automotive roof rack manufacturer incorporates many of these Suhner items to produce the long bars for a Ford Escape roof rack. This machine uses Suhner BEW-6 units to drill 6 mm holes from the front and back side of the part, where electric spindles will not fit. BEM-12 motorized units with fixed spindle multi-heads are being used to produce 8 mm diameter holes that are too close for even the smallest spindles to produce when mounted side by side. Suhner's BEX-35 PowerMaster units are used at each end of the part to saw the part to length. All of these operations are ongoing at the same time to quickly produce complete machined parts.
For more information contact:
Suhner Industrial Products Corp.
Hwy. 411 S. at Suhner Drive
P.O. Box 1234
Rome, GA 30162-1234
706-235-8046
automation.usa@suhner.com
www.suhner.com