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I was recently asked to explain the motion control system used in CNC machine tools to someone in my family. Realizing that this individual didn’t have a background in manufacturing, and certainly had no experience with anything this complicated and technical, I had to relate my explanation to something common and simple: like driving a car.
For some reason, 5-axis machining scares people. While talking with people at trade shows, or when discussing the potential of a customer’s parts being a good fit for 5-sided machining, you can just see an uneasy feeling begin to overwhelm them and fear begin to well up in their eyes. The mere thought of all of those axes moving at one time sends them wanting to run for the hills. But if we take the time to look at it logically and break it down to what is really happening, it isn’t scary at all!
For many years, Hurco has offered an easy conversational solution for programming simple 3D geometries at the control, without the need for expensive CAD/CAM software. With today’s WinMax control, it’s even easier and more powerful than ever before!
High-speed machining is usually associated with any spindle speed above 15k rpm, but it is much more than just a faster spindle. The whole machine must be considered when selecting a good candidate machine for high-speed machining. Thermal compensation, overall machine rigidity and construction, positional feedback, the motion control system, tool retention, and many other characteristics must be looked at in detail before determining that a particular machine is suitable for the task.
If the past few years have taught us anything, it's that the addition of 5-axis technology can positively impact a company’s bottom line, even in shops that only run "3-axis work." On average, shops who take advantage of this technology have seen improvements of 20% to 30% in efficiency. Imagine what would a 20% to 30% reduction in cycle time and setup time on a part that you are already running in your shop would mean to you.
5-axis machining has become much more prevalent in today’s manufacturing marketplace, and the overall knowledge base of machinists and operators has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several years. Yet there is still a great deal of misunderstanding and mystery surrounding accuracy, both as it applies to the workpiece itself, and also how the overall positioning of the rotary axes of the machine might be affected.
For anyone new to 5-axis machining, it should quickly become apparent that fixturing can be one of the single most challenging tasks that you will face during the setup process. Although there are many different styles of professionally manufactured workholding devices available, from a variety of different manufacturers - like Kurt, Raptor Workholding, Lang, Jergens, Bock, Hirschmann, and System 3R just to name a few - creativity is the name of the game.
