Integrated workpiece changer on milling machine

The new Mikron HSM 400 incorporates an integrated workpiece changer, enabling unmanned operation and offering purchasers vital competitive-edge benefits in productivity and cost/part

The new Mikron HSM 400 is raising the standards for high speed milling machines.

Providing automation, workpiece accuracy, ergonomics, and process reliability, this new portal machine offers major technological benefits as well as outstanding value for money.

Heralding a new generation of machines from Mikron, the HSM 400 is the product of the company's many years of experience and knowledge in the field of high-speed machining technology.

Probably the most outstanding development among a wealth of technological advances, is the incorporation of an integrated workpiece changer, enabling the unmanned operation of the machine and therefore offering purchasers vital competitive-edge benefits in productivity and cost/part.

The HSM 400 has been designed and built to the highest specification.

Every machine is prepared for both wet and dry machining, laser measurement of diameter and length is incorporated as standard and the motor spindle delivers 42,000 rpm with high load capacity, long-life ceramic hybrid ball bearings and temperature sensor for thermal compensation and vector regulation system.

Excellent machining precision and surface quality result from the outstanding component stability provided by this uncompromisingly robust machine.

The portal construction type is an enclosed O-form, the Y-Z column saddle has a rigid, high-ridged cast construction and the concrete polymer construction provides a six-fold improvement in damping qualities and a twenty-fold improvement in thermal stability compared to conventional, gray cast iron.

The HSM 400 also provides the highly dynamic axes that are vital, particularly for efficient mould manufacture.

The motor spindles provide extremely rapid acceleration and deceleration and control units incorporate digital drive technology to all driven axes, which are of a lightweight construction.

Furthermore, the HSM 400 has been designed to provide the optimum 1:10 ratio of driven to static masses.

Claimed to be the most accessible portal machine in the world, the HSM 400 has been designed for optimal ergonomic functionality, resulting in a radical, modern unit, with a total space requirement, including the integrated pallet changer, of only six cubic metres.

The single, easily manipulated door provides access from three sides, for straightforward manual or crane loading, unrestricted by the automatic workpiece handling system.

The machine provides an optimum table height of 900mm and ideal positioning depth, together with steeply angled, easy-to-clean stainless steel covers, to prevent swarf build-up.

A large window provides an unrestricted view of the workpiece and there is a single control unit for both machining and automation.

The new, fully integrated workpiece changer has a minimum of moving parts and is situated outside the working area to avoid the build-up of swarf, dust and coolant.

Programming is carried out directly at the machine control unit.

The HSM 400 has been designed and constructed to produce the highest levels of reliability and process security.

Well protected components, maintenance-free ball screws and linear guides and a carefully thought-out swarf management system all add to a truly robust and reliable system capable of tackling demanding work-loads day in, day out.

In summary, Mikron's new HSM 400 is a radical new development in high speed milling machines, providing superb precision, accuracy and reliability for a wide range of applications including: prototyping, electrode production, plastic injection and die-cast moulding, and die-forging.

The integrated work-piece and tool changing functions of the machine make 24 hour, unmanned working a realistic proposition to a greater range of companies than ever before.

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