The Microcut 5025 CNC bed mill is a three-axis CNC machine with a sliding head that travels vertically on a square column, providing 27.5″ of Z-axis travel. X and Y axis travels are 50″ X 24″.

The table size is 63″ long and 19″ wide and is supported by a 55″ long saddle. Ball screws with a 40 mm (1.57″) diameter move the machine in all three axes.

The head on the 5025 mill is driven by a 10 hp motor and achieves electronic variable speeds controlled by a 10 hp rated inverter. The mill’s spindle is 40 taper and travels 6″.

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1st Machine Tool Accessories has cut 20 per cent from the price of its Darex XPS-16 CNC drill sharpener for the rest of the year.

There will also be a 90 deg upgrade package worth GBP998.00 with every XPS-16 ordered Having the XPS-16 available in-house offers users a rapid payback Whether replacing tools or sending them out to be resharpened, the costs of purchasing, issuing payment and stocktaking are eliminated.

In many machine shops, it is the most experienced (and expensive) employees who are asked to resharpen ‘emergency’ drills by hand.

The unit will therefore pay for itself many times over in a short period of time.

Representing the ultimate in precision, simplicity and productivity, the XPS-16 offers sophisticated CNC four-axis sharpening of a wide range of twin-flute drill-point types - enabling it to quickly reproduce the complex, high quality profiles found on premium HSS, cobalt and carbide drills.

Its easy-to-learn touchscreen interface allows inexperienced users to produce perfectly resharpened drills in seconds.

To underline the system’s capabilities and ease of operation, 1st MTA will also arrange free demonstrations of the XPS-16 at customers’ premises on request.

Suitable for conical, four facet, split point and radius split-point bits with angles from 118-150 deg as standard, the XPS-16 will sharpen drills from 3-16mm diameter and 50-220mm long.

It has been designed specifically for heavy-duty use within busy machine shop environments and is capable of sharpening more than 400 drills a day.

This drill sharpener’s automatic cycle hones and deburrs the cutting edge of carbide drills in less than one minute, extending tool life and maximising drill-bit machining accuracy.

In operation, the XPS-16 allows up to 25 user-specific drill-point geometries to be easily programmed and stored for future use.

It also incorporates Darex’s latest Grind Motion Control system, which monitors the load on the grinding wheel and automatically adjusts feed and speed while keeping the drills cool.

Electroplated super-abrasive wheels are included - CBN for sharpening HSS drills and Diamond for carbide drills - to ensure a smooth finish.

Metal removal is set at a minimum to extend drill life; this can be overridden by up to 0.50mm if necessary to compensate for gouges or damaged edges.

Lifetime-lubricated seals ensure low maintenance and a long service life.

The vacuum filtration system eliminates grit and airborne contaminants such as carbide dust, keeping the machine clean while acting as a coolant.

In addition, advanced diagnostic software alerts operators to potential problems during the sharpening cycle.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/sts/sts116.html

Industrial grade 3- and 4-axis CNC routers are affordable, said the supplier, and ideal for cutting complex curves and machining 3D reliefs for mouldings.

Intelicam manufactures affordable, industrial grade 3- and 4-axis CNC Routers ideal for cutting complex curves and machining 3D reliefs for moulds The company told manufacturingtalk.com that it has just begun construction of a 4-axis high speed foam cutting CNC Router

The router has a 5ft x 10ft process area, 4ft of Z-axis motion and an integrated rotational axis that can clamp a foam block 4ft in diameter by almost 7ft long.

The all ball screw and servo drive unit can traverse at 2,000 in/min, and is fitted with, as standard, the following.

* A six-position tool changer.

* Water cooled spindle with inverter.

* Special designed foam cutting router bits up to 12in in length with a 1in diameter shaft.

* Tool height sensor.

* Chip pickup with vacuum.

All moving parts are sealed and protected with baffles from foam particles, which otherwise will harden over time causing maintenance issues.

Intelicam is offering this system for less than US$60,000.

Intelicam is also building a companion high speed foam router that replaces the rotational 4th axis with a vacuum table and 15HP vacuum blower.

With a functional range from manual turning to full CNC, the Haas TL-1 Toolroom Lathe features a proprietary conversational operating system that makes cutting parts and creating part programs nearly effortless. The operator chooses an operation, touches off the X and Z surfaces, and is then prompted to enter basic dimension information. Default values for feed per revolution, spindle speed and depth of cut are automatically entered by the control, but may be changed by the operator.

Once all necessary information is entered, a push of the Cycle Start button performs the desired operation.

A Recorder function allows information to be saved for future retrieval.

The TL-1 operates in four modes.

In all modes, the Haas control provides extremely accurate digital read-out (DRO) of position, displayed to 0.0005in when using the manual handwheels or to 0.0001in when using the electronic jog handle.

Electronic soft stops may be set to limit the travel of the lathe.

In manual mode, the X and Z axes are moved via standard handwheels.

In semi-automatic mode, the TL-1 performs simultaneous linear interpolation for both axes using a single handwheel.

ID/OD chamfers and tapers, for example, are easily cut in semi-automatic mode.

In automatic mode, built-in machining cycles (both single- and multi-pass) are available for rough and finish profiling, chamfering, grooving, parting off, threading, drilling and tapping.

In full CNC, the TL-1 is programmed using standard G code, and all axis motion is regulated by the Haas control via a G-code program.

Operations that would be difficult or impossible on a manual machine, such as radii, tapers, profiles, grooving, ID and OD threading, and rigid tapping, are all possible on the TL-1 - without knowledge of G-code programming.

Help menus are available directly on-screen, and a dry-run graphics feature allows operators to check their work before running a part.

MACH 2006 witnessed several new machines from Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool manufacturer in the world.

Haas demonstrated machines and metal cutting technology for aerospace, automotive, medical, mould and die and general machining industries.

More than 25 CNC technology products were on show demonstrate vertical and horizontal machining and turning applications.

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Problems are bound to occur when you use multiple laptop PCs with a communication program to load and unload CNC programs into more than 100 CNC-controlled Swiss, second operation and EDM machines. Just ask Bruce Cerepak, engineering/special projects manager of KELCO Industries (Minneapolis, Minnesota). KELCO, a MedSource Technologies Company, provides contract machining services to the medical industry for precision metal implantable devices. Components are used in pacemakers, defibrillators, drug delivery systems and hearing improvement devices, to name a few.

“Although the laptops worked, backup of the CNC programs from the laptops wasn’t performed regularly,” Mr. Cerepak says. “We had the same programs on a couple of different laptops, so we always had to check for the most current version. The laptops lasted less than a year due to normal use or wear and tear. And because the laptops served multiple areas, when the people responsible for programming wanted to use a laptop, they had to go search for it. It was easier to leave the programs in the CNC control if the part would be run in the near future.”

Mr. Cerepak says that in the case of some of KELCO’s second operation CNCs where the programs are small, the same programs were stored in five or six machine controls. When a new program was needed at a second operation CNC, it was entered into the control by manual data input (MDI). “It took time and mistakes were made, but that was easier than finding and using the laptop.”

Because of management’s desire to eliminate the use of laptops and provide daily backup of all CNC programs, KELCO began the switch to MultiDNC from Xpert CNC Technologies, Inc. (Corona, California), with two 32-port systems when it was still written for Windows 3.1. After MultiDNC for Windows 98/95/NT was released, KELCO eventually installed five additional MultiDNC systems. At that point, says Mr. Cerepak, “our problems were gone. MultiDNC eliminates programming steps and wasted time. There are no laptops to search for, replace or repair. And MDI is rarely used.” Now KELCO’s CNC programs are saved to the network, which is backed up daily. In the case of a catastrophe—a tornado, for example—Mr. Cerepak says that not having to recreate the programs would be a great advantage. Programming is done off the machines, the changes are easy to save, and programs can be loaded into the CNC machines from the CNC machine control.

“MultiDNC is extremely versatile in terms of configurability as far as communicating with different types of machines and doing different translations as programs go in and programs go out,” says Mr. Cerepak. “It’s smart enough to get the program to the machine in the format that it needs. Just the other day, we had a couple of new machines on the floor and they needed to see the program just a little bit differently in one area. So rather than just rewriting the programs entirely, we were able to take the programs we have and do a translation during send. This is a major convenience.”

CNC programs can now be shared among all seven of KELCO Industries’ systems departments. Because of MultiDNC’s remote function, saving or retrieving a CNC program can now be done without having to leave the CNC machine. “Basically, MultiDNC does what we need, when we need it,” says Mr. Cerepak.

http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/0100bp4.html

JetCAM International offers JetCAM Expert 15.59.14, the latest version of its nesting software for CNC punching and profiling machines. The software provides enhanced support for digitizer tablets, improved CAD import and curve-blending routines and backend support to allow integration from Vistagy’s FiberSim.

Additions to the CAM section include expanded profiling corner slowdown capabilities as well as new features for common-line cutting and hole destruction. In addition, all four nesting modules have been enhanced with improvements to broken order logic, hole avoidance, off-sheet cutting and clustering.

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Komo introduces the next version of its CAD/CAM software, Router-CIM 2006, which is fully compatible with AutoCAD 2006. The Advanced Nesting Module option includes Stay Down Nesting and Common Line Cutting. These features eliminate the excess movement of lifting the head to move to the next coordinate, the need for excess read-ins and reduces cycle times on rectangular parts, Komo says.

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Featuring a non-rotating hood, Albrecht’s key-lock CNC drill chuck is opened and closed via a hex key inserted into the side of the body. Available with coolant-through capability, the chuck’s short length and integral shank provide rigidity, the company says. The chuck can run both clockwise and counter-clockwise, and its worm/gear arrangement is designed for high gripping force. Balanced to 6,500 rpm, the chuck is available with standard or diamond-coated jaws.

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To make the unloading process more efficient, Bardons & Oliver offers a robot unloader for CNC machines. After the part is cut off and discharged, a lifting mechanism positions the part so it can be unloaded by the robot arm. Lifting the parts with a magnet, the unloader can be programmed to tilt the part to dump any coolant prior to stacking. It can then stack the part in a bundle frame or move the part to the next operation. With the ability to swing 180 degrees, the robot can service two machines by swinging back and forth.

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