Product category:
Machinery and Production Equipment
News Release from: Star Micronics GB | Subject: FMB Turbo 5-42XT and 40-100XT bar magazines
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 14 July 2000
Bar magazines boost lathe output
Two new bar magazines capable of increasing the productivity of an automatic turning machine by typically 10 percent have been introduced to Britain and Ireland by A and S Precision
Two new bar magazines capable of increasing the productivity of an automatic turning machine by typically 10 percent, but conceivably by as much as a third depending on the application, has been introduced to Britain and Ireland by A and S Precision under its agency agreement with the German manufacturer, FMB Called Turbo 5 - 42XT and 40 - 100XT, they have been added either side of the pre-existing 10 - 65 XT to provide a full range of magazines for feeding bar up to 100 mm diameter to a linear accuracy of ñ 0.02 mm
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 14 Jul 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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This is in stark contrast to most bar magazines whose feedout tolerance is of the order of ñ 1 mm.
Substantial savings in cycle times and hence manufacturing costs result from not having to feed forward to a stock stop or tool as with conventional equipment.
Moreover the use of stops is eliminated, freeing up a tooling station.
The accuracy of the magazines is not affected by the feed speed since the drive is delivered using a ballscrew rather than a chain drive.
The following is an actual example of savings which have been achieved.
A 60 mm long steel mandrel turned from 38 mm diameter bar, requiring boring, profile turning and threading but no driven tool work, was previously produced in a cycle time of 76 seconds when fed out to a stock stop.
The same component can be produced in 67 seconds when the lathe is fed by an FMB Turbo 10 - 65 XT, showing a productivity increase of 11.8 percent.
Cost saving was nearly 6.5 pence per piece part at the German factory which carried out the comparison, resulting in an annual saving of over £10,000 based on two-shift production.
If a component needs only a short machining cycle, feedout becomes a higher proportion of the overall throughput time and so the productivity increase is even greater.
Clearly the converse is also true.
The magazines incorporate an oil-filled channel in which the bar rotates and it is able to feed round, square or hexagonal stock, bright or black.
Bar within a wide diameter range can be accommodated within one size of channel, that range being increased if straight bar is used.
A particular feature of all FMB magazines is their extreme quietness, to the extent that it is often difficult to hear when they are operating.
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