HIGH SPEED MACHINING CENTERS PROVIDE EXCELLENT THERMAL CONTROL
Mikron high-speed machining centers from GF AgieCharmilles use the Swiss-designed Opticool concept to quickly disperse heat, resulting in a geometric stability that provides extremely high repeat accuracy in axial movement.
Posted: October 6, 2010
GF AgieCharmilles (Lincolnshire, IL) has introduced a series of Mikron high-speed machining centers that raises the bar for metalworking precision. The series currently includes the HSM 400 LP Precision, HSM 400U LP Precision and HSM 500 LP Precision.
Produced in Switzerland, every machine in the LP Precision series must prove its unconditional stability in demanding work conditions before being shipped. Experienced experts use handpicked machine components to build each machine in the line.
GF AgieCharmilles is the only European machine manufacturer to offer a solution for process-reliable tool measurement on the machine tool. The company's Intelligent Tool Measurement (ITM) provides optical tool measurement at full spindle speed, enabling the high levels of precision found in LP Precision machines. ITM records the tool tip with modern image sensors and then uses specialized software to clean up the image, resulting in the first ever ability to obtain a tool measurement with an absolute Z-reference in the micron range. This breakthrough allows for the development of new and more efficient operating strategies.
Machines in the LP Precision series possess excellent thermal control characteristics, with systems cooling the drive groups in a targeted manner. Each of the linear axes, as well as the rotation/tilt unit, has its own cooling circuit. The Opticool concept, which also includes cooling of the spindle nose, allows for a previously unobtainable level of temperature stability. The quick dispersion of heat results in a geometric stability that provides extremely high repeat accuracy in axial movement. An example of the performance provided by the LP Precision series consists of an application in CrVMo steel with a hardness of HRc 60. When removing the average amount of material in a finishing process with a residual oversize of less than 10 um, the whole workpiece surface could be machined to an average roughness of 0.02 Ra and 20 um.
GF AgieCharmilles' OSS (Operator Support System) Precision module enables maximum performance from the LP Precision series. Drive and control parameters can be controlled in such a way as to maximize cutting speed, surface quality or precision of contouring. Whatever the task, OSS Precision allows for the objectives to be reached more rapidly and reliably, boosting productivity and efficiency.
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