Product category:
Machinery and Production Equipment
News Release from: Toyoda Mitsui Europe UK | Subject: Machining
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 21 March 2001
Toyoda launches purpose-built machining
centre
Toyoda launches purpose-built machining centre for mould and die manufacture.
Spindle speed options up to 40,000 rpm and cutting feed rates up to 30 m/min are notable features of the new Toyoda FH63M horizontal machining centre The twin-pallet machine is Toyoda's first to be developed specifically for the mould and die sector
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 14 Jul 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Although derived from the standard FH63, the machine incorporates a number of application-orientated features which maximise accuracy and productivity, resulting in a 20 per cent reduction in average machining time for complicated die cavities.
A principal feature is the 'AI nano' contouring control.
This provides 180 block look-ahead and interpolates in units of one nanometer (one thousandth of a micron) to provide very smooth, high speed contouring.
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Cavities and cores produced using the machine are said to exhibit excellent surface finish and require only minimal hand polishing.
Such a system relies heavily on the mechanical integrity of the machine with which it is used.
The bed is a high stiffness, one piece iron casting which supports the X and Z axis slideways.
Toyoda uses a double ballscrew drive on the vertical Y axis / column to maximise accuracy and rigidity, while the Z axis stroke is supported on box slides separated by a three micron oil film.
The assembly is thus very rigid and maintains squareness under heavy machining loads.
The column has been made shorter than on comparable conventional machines to lower its centre of gravity, thereby increasing stability.
This has helped Toyoda engineers to develop the machine with much faster linear acceleration - at 5 m/s/s it is almost double that of the FH63.
Mould cavity machining cycles tend to be lengthy, leading to heat build-up in the spindle which results in a small but measurable displacement of the cutting edge.
A sensor is built into the Toyoda spindle which causes a Z-axis offset adjustment to be made if the spindle should start to grow.
It is noteworthy that the spindle features ceramic bearings and built-in motor technology.
Machining envelope is 1,000 mm in X by 700 mm in Y by 650 mm in Z.
A fourth rotary axis with one degree incremental index is standard, while 0.001 degree index is available as an option.
Rapid feed rate is 30 m/min.
Standard tool storage is 40 tools, although optional tool magazines with capacities up to 190 tools may be specified.
Tool change time is 4.5 seconds for tools up to 15 kg, and 5.5 seconds for tools up to 27 kg.
As standard, the machine is equipped with a 25 kW spindle delivering speeds in the range 50 to 15,000 rpm.
Options include a 22 kW spindle with 20,000 rpm maximum speed, and a 18 kW spindle offering up to 40,000 rpm.
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