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New Machining Center Concept to Take Heavy Cuts

Chiron FZ 16 S 5-axis VMC

Chiron FZ 16 S Variocell-System

Hinge

Blisk

Seat leg

"Chiron has developed a range of 5-axis VMCs that are designed to provide extreme stiffness and greater stability, allowing the machines to take heavy cuts in difficult material while maintaining the characteristic Chiron accuracy," said a company spokesperson. The machines deliver turn-key capability for a wide range of applications and are fully i4.0 ready.

"Combining high precision metal removal with high feed rates yields a machine that can hog material while delivering high quality surfaces," said the spokesperson. "This capability will be of great interest to the pump, compressor, aerospace components, mold and die, and automotive industries that produce complex parts from high alloy and exotic metals such as titanium, Inconel and stainless steels. The ability to produce finished parts rapidly in a single set-up saves cycle time and avoids the need for secondary operations."

The single-spindle 5-axis machine, the FZ 16 S, includes 20,000 RPM, HSK63A spindles. The small-footprint FZ 16 develops 200 nm of spindle torque and features a high Kv rating (a measure of the stiffness and accuracy of the drive). Work envelope is 660 mm, 660 mm and 400 mm XYZ, while acceleration is 15, 13 and 18 m/sec. sq. in XYZ axes, adding speed to the power of the new machine.

Workpieces are mounted on a rotary table fixed to a trunnion, providing a 4th axis. Raw parts can be loaded manually or with automation from the easy-access front of the machine.

"The work changing speed of the machines and Chiron's fast tool change, just over 2 seconds, plus 162 tool changer capacity mean the machines can efficiently handle low lot sizes-a plus for future production planning in many industries," said the spokesperson.

A key development for this series of Chiron machines is the gantry-style construction rather than a C-frame, which provides greater stability for the heavier cuts and rapid axis positioning. This construction will be seen in future Chiron Group machines. "The base is a vibration-dampening, highly stable concrete material that is less sensitive to heat than cast iron or steel weldments. Even during heavy cuts, the machine runs nearly without vibration or noise," said the spokesperson.

An automation solution specially developed for the new FZ 16 series is the VariocellPallet that enables flexible, economic processing of small batch sizes. Raw parts are clamped on a rotary indexing table with up to 10 prefabricated pallets. The handling system supplies raw parts to the machining center and removes the finished workpieces with the pallet. This increases productivity because as one pallet is being processed, a second can be loaded in parallel.

One main feature of VariocellPallet is the easy, flexible operator access to the machining center. The pallet automation does not require much space and can be loaded and unloaded manually if necessary.

An alternative automation solution for the FZ 16 is the modular, customer-specific configurable Variocell-System.

For more information contact:

CHIRON America, Inc.

10950 Withers Cove Park Drive

Charlotte, NC 28278

704-587-9526

info@chironamerica.com

www.chironamerica.us

NORTHEAST

E. PA

Alta Enterprises, Inc.

2600 E. Saucon Valley Rd.

Center Valley, PA 18034

610-866-8866

info@altamachinetools.com

www.altamachinetools.com

MIDWEST

MI

Dynamic Machine of Detroit

1653 East Maple Rd.

Troy, MI 48083

Tel. 248-404-6190

info@dynamicmachine.com

www.dynamicmachine.com

WI, MN, IA, NE, ND, SD

Concept Machine Tool - WI

407 Austin Circle

Delafield, WI 53018

262-646-4488

www.conceptmachine.com

MN

Concept Machine Tool

15625 Medina Road

Minneapolis, MN 55447

763-559-1975

www.conceptmachine.com

OH

Reynolds Machinery

760 Liberty Lane

Dayton, OH 45449

937-847-8121

www.reynoldsmachinery.com

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