Product category:
Machinery and Production Equipment
News Release from: ACI (UK)
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 21 November 2000
Anilam enters vertical machining centre
market
Anilam enters vertical machining centre market with one-stop control, drives and motors package.
Anilam has entered the vertical machining centre market by announcing a complete control system, drives and motor package that promises users unrivalled levels of cost-competitive performance - for example, rapid traverse rates of up to 30m/min and fast program block cycle processing times The move into the volume VMC arena - which builds on Anilam's established worldwide success in milling and turning - follows a period of intense development at Anilam's Newport Pagnell site in close collaboration with machine tool distributor, Eurospark
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 23 Aug 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Eurospark markets a series of VMCs manufactured in the US, and the Anilam control package is currently being offered on the VMC 1000 Mk II, a machine with X, Y and Z axes travels of 1020 by 510 by 510mm.
Phil Goulding, Anilam's UK General Manager, explains how the company has traditionally focused on bed and turret mills, and centre lathes, simply because it didn't present a complete package to suit the requirements of VMC manufacturers/distributors - even though Anilam's multi-axis control technology has always been totally appropriate.
"OEMs don't want to source controls, motors and drives from various suppliers - they want to be presented with a one-off package," insists Phil Goulding.
"Today, Anilam can do just that in the VMC market by offering a selection of fully integrated drives and motors to complement our renowned front end control technology." Commenting that the motor packages required for Anilam milling applications are typically rated at either 2, 3.5 or 4.5Nm, Phil Goulding adds that the motors now being offered by Anilam for VMCs go up to 20Nm - to suit the traverse and spindle speed requirements of such machines.
Bed and turret mills rarely operate at more than 6m/min, he adds.
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The Anilam VMC control system - the Series 6400 - is based on the company's highly successful Series 5000 32-bit PC-based system.
Featuring Pentium processor and a minimum of 8 Mbyte RAM (upgradable to 64 Mbyte), the control is capable of fast block cycle and throughput times.
Importantly, the CNC also boasts a CAM programming mode for interactive programming using icons (moves shown as they are being programmed), menu-driven tooling, tool compensation and interference checking, and built-in post-processor.
In addition, the Series 6400 features colour graphics, conversational G codes and enhanced mould and die capability (scaling, mirror image, modal corner rounding/chamfering, for example) as well as a host of canned cycles including mould rotation, draft angle and irregular pockets.
Simulation graphic functions embrace rapid, feed and compensated moves (colour differentiated) isometric views, auto part fit, window zoom and static tool display, for instance.
Says Bryan Moylan, managing director of Eurospark: "It is user-friendly CNC features such as these that prompted our collaboration, after many years of working with Anilam on the DRO side.
Crucially, our need was for a level of conversational control that while satisfying VMC's often complex machining requirements, was also easy to use." Evidence of this can be found in the Series 6400's conversational programming routines that utilise a wide range of canned cycles: * Irregular pockets - a simple routine of prompts produces clearances of irregular shapes; * Geometry - the geometry calculator, for determining points, lines and circles, automatically forms the program foundation; and * Bolt hole pattern and drill cycles are created by simple question and answer routines.
Coupled with machine features that include a table working area of 1120mm by 510mm, a fast tool-to-tool toolchange time via the standard 20-station automatic toolchanger (40-tool option) and a repeatability of +/-0.0025mm, the result is a high-performance VMC.
Describing the conversion project that, so far, has led to the availability of the machine for demonstration at Eurospark's Leicester showroom, Anilam's Phil Goulding says: "After paying close attention to what our colleagues in America had already achieved on a series of VMCs of different manufacture - noting their comments on drive and motor ratings - our association with Eurospark naturally evoked discussions about vertical machining.
The result was that Eurospark delivered a VMC to us for the conversion project." After removing the existing control and motors - and noting that various mechanical features - like the machine's 10mm pitch ballscrew and non-slip linear guideways - were suitable for the task, Anilam's technical team set about fitting and integrating the new control package.
The conversion was fairly straightforward, adds Phil Goulding, especially on the mechanical side - with, for example, the new motors (AC brushless) being able to be coupled directly to the ballscrew.
Acknowledging that machine design (motor mountings, for instance) is based around the incumbent control and motor package, the project actually highlighted how Anilam's digital CNC technology can eliminate various machine features that are usually accepted without question.
"For example," says Phil Goulding, "because our control features Integral Programmable Intelligence, there is no need for a separate PLC unit.
Also, compared to older CNC systems that are accompanied by a separate bank of drives, these are now housed in one compact module." A number of mechanical and software aspects did, however, have to be 'modified'.
For example, a new spindle drive pulley assembly with 1:1 ratio had to be built to suit the rigid tapping routines.
And toolchanging caused a few minor switching problems, which were easily overcome.
Also, Anilam had to compensate for counterbalance characteristics in the machine's Z axis.
"We are very pleased with the way the project went," concludes Phil Goulding, "and if with Eurospark we can achieve levels of success in the UK similar to those being enjoyed by our parent on the other side of the Atlantic, then we'll obviously be over the moon.".
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