Johnny SolidWorks
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Location
- Rochester
Good Evening All
I'm looking at a precision deburr application (aerospace customer) and the part geometry necessitates a simultaneous 5-Axis operation. The parts range from fairly small (would fit in a 2 inch cube) up to 18 inch rectangles, 4 to 5 inches thick.
To stave off everyone saying "do it another way dummy!" we can pretend I'm not a complete idiot, and that there are very valid reasons to consider purchasing an entire, brand-new, simultaneous 5-axis machining center, to do nothing other than deburr parts.
Cycle time is important on all parts (isn't it always?) so a higher speed spindle and quick rapids are important. Since it's only going to be running a chamfer mill (with relatively light chamfers at that) I'm not too concerned about machine rigidity.
Probably makes sense to gang-up the smaller parts (since the cycle time for the deburr process is likely about the same amount of time as loading/unloading the machine.) So I'm looking at those 4-up 5C collet rotaries. Make sense? Are there better options for a quick load/unload with this type of setup? About the only way to hold these parts that makes sense is to use an ID grip (whether an outward acting gripper/chuck, arbor, mandrel, whatever.) A custom solution isn't out of the question, if it's necessary.
The only advantage a larger ATC will give me is being able to hold more chamfer mills, so it's not really a priority, right?
What am I not thinking about that I should be? What am I worried about that I shouldn't be?
Edit: We're a certified 6-axis robot integrator, and already tried a robot for this exact application, and were not at all happy with the results. I wasn't involved with that phase of the project, so there may have been other issues I'm not aware of, but I have some confidence that if a robot mounted spindle was a good solution for this application, the guys on the project would have made it work.
Edit #2: This machine is going into a 24/7/365 manufacturing facility, and throughput is huge. Might very well wind up being robot-tended.
Thanks All!
I'm looking at a precision deburr application (aerospace customer) and the part geometry necessitates a simultaneous 5-Axis operation. The parts range from fairly small (would fit in a 2 inch cube) up to 18 inch rectangles, 4 to 5 inches thick.
To stave off everyone saying "do it another way dummy!" we can pretend I'm not a complete idiot, and that there are very valid reasons to consider purchasing an entire, brand-new, simultaneous 5-axis machining center, to do nothing other than deburr parts.
Cycle time is important on all parts (isn't it always?) so a higher speed spindle and quick rapids are important. Since it's only going to be running a chamfer mill (with relatively light chamfers at that) I'm not too concerned about machine rigidity.
Probably makes sense to gang-up the smaller parts (since the cycle time for the deburr process is likely about the same amount of time as loading/unloading the machine.) So I'm looking at those 4-up 5C collet rotaries. Make sense? Are there better options for a quick load/unload with this type of setup? About the only way to hold these parts that makes sense is to use an ID grip (whether an outward acting gripper/chuck, arbor, mandrel, whatever.) A custom solution isn't out of the question, if it's necessary.
The only advantage a larger ATC will give me is being able to hold more chamfer mills, so it's not really a priority, right?
What am I not thinking about that I should be? What am I worried about that I shouldn't be?
Edit: We're a certified 6-axis robot integrator, and already tried a robot for this exact application, and were not at all happy with the results. I wasn't involved with that phase of the project, so there may have been other issues I'm not aware of, but I have some confidence that if a robot mounted spindle was a good solution for this application, the guys on the project would have made it work.
Edit #2: This machine is going into a 24/7/365 manufacturing facility, and throughput is huge. Might very well wind up being robot-tended.
Thanks All!
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