mazak 4th axis rotary table free sample

With this extension, your CNC milling machine gets the 4th axis. That allows you, for example, to mill round parts or create engravings on rounded surfaces.

This rotary axis is made to order for us by a German precision mechanic. In this price segment, this rotation axis for CNC milling machines is unrivalled in Europe!

There are many rotary tables on the market. If possible, they have to be inexpensive. You can get a lot of them! Usefulness? That is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. For example, there are many CNC turntables with the cheapest belt transmission. The disadvantages are obvious: slippage due to the belt. If not in the belt drive itself, then on the load or idle side of the belt. Perhaps useful for engraving work. For milling, however, usually not or limited in the choice of material (aluminium 3D milling not possible).

Mention “5-axis machining” to many manufacturing engineers and shop managers and their eyes either glaze over or widen in apprehension. And, it’s true that simultaneous 5-axis capability is really needed only for a relatively small percentage of the most complex workpieces, according to Jim Endsley, machining centers product manager for Okuma America Inc., Charlotte, N.C.

But consider a vertical machining center equipped with a tilting rotary table. Such a machine can handle five-side machining of prismatic parts, a far more common application than 5-axis contouring. The addition of the A and B axes allows shops to finish a variety of workpieces in a single setup, reducing cycle times and avoiding possible scrap or rework due to stack-up errors. And the machines themselves can be easier to program and less capital-intensive than equipment capable of simultaneous 5-axis machining using spindle movement.

For these reasons, Okuma prefers to talk to potential customers about “universal machining,” Endsley said. “That focus on what we call ‘point-and-shoot’ 5-axis work tends to keep their attention. You position the C-axis, position the A-axis, and you drill a hole. Then you roll to the next position and do it again, or do some milling or whatever operation is required. That’s true universal machining.”

According to Endsley, 60 percent of parts machined worldwide also have a blind side—one that is not machined. “With a universal machine, that’s your locating point,” he said. “You can set that down on a table, roll the table around and attack five sides of that part. Again, that’s true universal machining—one setup and one complete part. ”

Okuma’s MU VMC series is a good example of the types of machines that can be fitted with a tilting rotary table. They are sold with 400mm and 500mm tables to avoid potential accuracy issues associated with heavy workpieces. “As you get larger, the part weight can affect accuracy when you articulate the table,” Endsley explained. Okuma specs its tilt/rotary table accuracies at the maximum weight and, for table sizes of 800mm and 1,000mm, builds its Millac VH machines with articulating heads, he added. This eliminates any potential accuracy problems due to part weight.

Why should a shop that operates 3-axis VMCs add a 4th or 5th axis to its next purchase? Chuck Birkle, vice president of sales and marketing for Mazak Corp., Florence, Ky., advised taking a global view of the market for machined parts.

Mazak offers several options for 5-axis VMCs. Its new vertical Integrex J machines, for example, are multitask machines that don’t provide full contouring capability, Birkle noted.

According to Endsley, some shops might be weighing the choice of a 5-axis VMC or HMC. In that case, the selection is driven more by part volume, according to Endsley. “Productivity-wise, these machines can hang with a HMC up to about 35,000 pieces per year,” he said. “After that, load/unload becomes an issue on the VMCs. And, if you’re running over 35,000 pieces annually, it probably makes sense to invest in the fixturing you’d need for HMCs.

Switching from 3-axis and 4-axis to 5-axis Chiron machines enabled a Tier 1 automotive supplier to machine these power steering rack housings complete in a single clamping and hold position of the intersection point of primary bores on the part to ±40µm.

Doosan Infracore America Corp., Pine Brook, N.J., offers both standard C-frame machines equipped with tilting rotary tables and larger VMCs with fully integrated tilting rotary tables and 5-axis contouring capability. While there is a difference in capability between the point-and-shoot C-frame machines and the larger, full contouring VMCs, customers often choose based on the size of components they are machining, according to Ron Kilgore, machining centers product manager.

“Medical manufacturers, for example, generally produce relatively small but complex components,” Kilgore said. “They tend to go as small as they can and still make their parts, and they will choose a small C-frame machine with a tilt/rotary table because they want to save floor space. Aerospace customers, on the other hand, want a machine that has everything built in and that can handle large parts.”

An example of the latter type of machine is Doosan’s VC630/5AX, which combines a 630mm tilting rotary table with 5-axis contouring capability. Kilgore said Doosan is looking at extending the line in both directions with 800mm and 500mm rotary tables, but its C-frame machines with tilting rotary table and 4+1 CNC capability are probably a better bet for many shops. The phrase 4+1 refers to a 3-axis machine with a rotary table, with “4” being the X, Y and Z axes and the rotary table, and “1” being the tilt of the rotary table.

Kilgore said VMCs with true 5-axis capability command a price premium of 20 percent or more over 4+1 machines. “It’s a different control, and it requires some specialized software features for simultaneous 5-axis, for example,” he said.

Shops that truly need simultaneous 5-axis capability also tend to want higher speed—and price tag—spindles, he added. “A lot of times they’re either cutting aluminum or taking skim-type cuts on tougher workpieces, such as turbine components, which requires a 15,000- or 20,000-rpm spindle.”

According to Kilgore, the learning curve involved in moving from 3-axis to 5-axis VMCs is fairly steep. “Shops that aren’t currently doing simultaneous 5-axis work, if they believe it’s easy, they’re misled,” he said. “Shops that have done it for years do it very well, but it’s a completely different way of thinking and usually a shop will even have to change its business model to some extent to truly embrace it.

“Point and shoot, on the other hand, is a jump [from 3-axis machining], but if a shop has operated HMCs at all it’s fairly easy to explain to them,” he continued. “The usual progression is a VMC, add a 4th axis to the VMC, move to a HMC, and then maybe later come back and add a 4+1 VMC.”

Norman Holtzhauer, engineering manager for Chiron America Inc., Charlotte, N.C., suggested that users new to point-and-shoot programming index the table to the required angle, then set a new work coordinate system that allows use of simple X-, Y- and Z-axis movements. “Controls allow you to have a number of different work offsets,” he explained. “You can set zero in whatever position you want. You’re not trying to track a zero point through 3-D space, so you can redefine it wherever you want to simplify programming.”

Doosan offers two approaches to multiaxis machining on a VMC: C-frame machines with 4+1 machining capability designed for point-and-shoot applications (shown here) and a 630mm table machine with full contouring capability.

Chiron’s Holtzhauer cited a Tier 1 automotive supplier machining two types of cast aluminum steering rack housings for electric and hydraulic power steering systems. The parts were initially produced across multiple setups on 3- and 4-axis machines supplied by Chiron, he recalled.

“Then the customer decided the shop had to hold the intersection point of the primary bores on the housing to within 40µm, with a 2.0 Cpk,” Holtzhauer said. “Basically, that means you can’t be off more than about 7µm to 10µm on each individual axis.”

Switching to 5-axis Chiron machines allowed machining of all four primary bores, plus finishing the other features, in one clamping, according to Holtzhauer. “The key was doing all the machining on one machine instead of three,” he said. “They were still doing all the same operations, so there weren’t big cycle time improvements and it still took three machines to get the same output. But the result was a much higher-quality part.” CTE

The camera’s aluminum head is machined by P+S’s manufacturing division on a high-speed VF-3SS vertical machining center from Haas Automation Inc., Oxnard, Calif. Equipped with a Haas TR160 trunnion table, the machine enables milling of the parallel surfaces between the lens and the sensor location face to a tolerance of ±0.01mm, according to Richard Wagner, manufacturing division manager for P+S Technik. The head also requires production of a fine-pitch (M2×0.25) thread and other tight-tolerance features, and must look as good as it works, Wagner added.

P+S Technik now has five Haas VMCs—a 3-axis VF-1 and four 5-axis models. “We make 8,000 different parts for customers with average batch sizes of 50 to 100 pieces, although they can range from one prototype to 1,000 [production] pieces,” Wagner said. “Some of these can only be machined on a 4- or 5-axis machine, because you have to be able to simultaneously mill angles and radii so they merge into each other. It is also very economical to produce free-form surfaces on the VF-3SS using 3-D copy milling.”

Adding a 4th axis rotary table to a milling machine provides several advantages to your job shop. Having another axis to work with gives milling machine users more precision and accuracy without having to change part positions.

Also, an additional axis would prove to make any milling machine more diverse in the work it is capable of doing. Lathe machines introduce the aspect of a rotating part, so a rotary table would add the same benefits provided. A 4th axis rotary table, in general, can provide more precision and ease to a complex design, reducing time and costs for the production of a certain piece.

A 4th axis rotary table serves to add a rotating axis to the desired piece being shaped. Similar to a lathe’s rotating head-stock, the rotary table holds the piece and moves it at exact intervals of revolutions.

Because it can move in precise degrees of motion, machinists can easily calculate correct positions, just as they do with the other three axes of motion on the machine. Once all 4 axes are used, making grooves or holes in the piece is much easier than without the rotary table. This saves time by discarding the task of removing and resetting the piece in another position. Having the ability to move the piece in determined intervals and precision in multiple axes is important for more complex machine work.

Just like with the other three axes of motion, the 4th axis can be adjusted for specific amounts of distances to accurately tell what position you are at in relation to the dimensions of the piece.

Also, the scales used to measure its motion can save time and resources by reducing the amount of mistakes that could result in major delays. A 4th axis rotary table can be integrated into a milling machine’s control in order to set the positions needed. This makes accurately machining multiple pieces faster and easier to accomplish.

With a full 4th axis, your milling machine can handle a much more diverse set of jobs. For example, machining parts with holes in which mill must work with a circular pattern with equal distances is certainly possible with 360 degree movements. Arc cuts, grooves, and other complex curves are included with the benefits of a 4th axis rotary table. Cutting out the teeth of gear parts is another possible application.

A 4th axis rotary table extends the degree of motion necessary for complex work needed by any skilled machinist. With quality material, a machinist can create intricate parts and expand the types of orders your job shop can take on.

CNC Indexing & Feeding Technologies offers a wide selection of 4th axis TJR rotary tables. Contact us today to learn about our high quality CNC accessories.

1MTA offers a large range of 4th axis rotary tables supplied by Kitagawa, specialists in high-quality machining equipment. 4 axis CNC rotary tables add an additional, rotary axis to your indexing table allowing for greater precision and versatility.