Production Milling/Turning Large Workpieces with an HMC

Shrinking batch sizes with larger varieties of parts and rising competitive pressure are increasingly leading to the demand for complete 5-axis machining — milling as well as turning — in a single set-up. Heller Machine Tools LP (Troy, MI) is more than meeting these demands with their new CP 8000 5-axis milling and turning center for highly productive machining with efficient cutting parameters.

The CP 8000 handles larger workpieces, offering a  work area of 1,250 mm x 1,200 mm x 1,400 mm (X, Y, Z), for pallet sizes of 800 mm x 800 mm. This enables milling of workpieces with a maximum loading capacity of 2,000 kg, a diameter of up to 1,250 mm and a maximum height of 1,400 mm in one set-up, and a reliable and highly productive turning process.

The CP 8000 is particularly productive and economical in machining predominantly cubic parts, with a particularly strong emphasis on process reliability or when the rotationally symmetric length/diameter ratio of the components is less than 1.

The fifth axis integrated into the tool indicates the significance attached to accomplishing turning operations. Whether horizontal or vertical, external and internal turning contours can be produced extremely efficiently with the C or A and B axis. The direct torque drive system in the rotary table delivers the power needed when the workpiece rotates against the tool.

A highlight of the CP 8000 is its ability to identify imbalances in the workpiece or the rotary table. Using drive-internal signals without the need for additional sensors, it identifies the smallest imbalance in the workpiece and corrects it. This is important for central clamping with repeat accuracy, but is also relevant for safety and productivity reasons.

Heller Machine Tools LP, 1225 Equity Drive, Troy, MI 48084, 248-288-5000, Fax: 248-288-9560, [email protected], www.heller-us.com.