5 Axis Horizontal Machining Center Ensures Accuracy and Repeatability
Kitamura‘s versatile and strong Supercell-400 reduces set-ups by machining multiple surfaces in one set-up, and reduces down time by handling highly mixed production components, completely unmanned.
Posted: November 25, 2013
Kitamura Machinery of USA, Inc. (Wheeling, IL), the premier manufacturer of precision horizontal, vertical and 5-axis machining centers, has expanded its machining center lineup with the Mycenter Supercell-400 horizontal 5-axis machining center.
By combining a “lights-out” machining mentality with simultaneous 5-axis capabilities, the firm has constructed an ultra-high precision, flexible manufacturing system capable of not only machining multiple surfaces in one set-up, but also has the versatility to handle highly mixed production components, completely unmanned.
“The Mycenter Supercell-400 was further developed from earlier technology in our manufacture of the first Supercell-Series 5-axis horizontal machining centers back in 1985,” explains Dr. Akihiro Kitamura, the company president. “Our goal with the Supercell-400 was to bring a product to market that could dramatically reduce set-ups, improve parts accuracy and eliminate work in process inventory in order to meet JIT objectives.
“The Mycenter Supercell-400 offers our users a multi-pallet, multi-tool system capable of machining a wide variety of parts, unattended for hours at a time,” he continues. “Add in the durability to maintain specs over many years and you have an investment that keeps providing a return long after units from other manufacturers have been replaced.”
A demonstration of a Kitamura Mycenter H400 Supercell 5-axis horizontal machining center.
The machine is designed with a 360 deg rotary table combined with a 100 deg trunnion table, 20-pallet APC, 140T ATC and a 15,000 rpm, energy efficient, 4-step gear driven dual contact spindle. Options of up to 120 pallets and up to 290 tools can be added for greater machining flexibility in unmanned operation.
A 20,000 rpm, gear driven dual contact spindle is also an available option for high speed machining requirements. Linear scale feedback is standard on all axes allowing for ultra-high accuracies of ±0.000039 in, repeatability ±0.00002 in.
To ensure proper machine operation, a work ID system employs an IC chip on each pallet allowing for storage and communication of pallet work data quickly and accurately with the machines controller. Pallet size on the Mycenter-Supercell-400 is 13.78 in round with a maximum load per pallet of 118.8 lb for the 20-station pallet system.
Kitamura’s original Automatic Work Handling Robot (AWC) is exclusively designed for the Supercell-400, reducing pallet load & unload time, allowing for precise and safe JIT operation for highly mixed production runs.
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