Tooling & Production - March/April 2009 - (Page 21) ECDM strategies ‘THE TECHNOLOGY IS not just relative to blisk machines, but has applications wherever rapid roughing of tough materials is needed.’ — Scott Ashworth “What we got is a well-designed base, ballscrews, linear guide system, and a tool changer,” he said. ‘We looked at it, got the drawings from Mazak, and realized we could modify and elevate the tool changer to be able to handle a 30"-long rod, which is being consumed during the machining of the blisks. “Not only are you ‘machining’ very tough Inconel, you’re consuming the tool in the process.” Ashworth said GE wanted to be able to load the tool changer (30 tools) and run it for hours, non-stop, which meant that KRC had to modify the way the tool changer was mounted, but not the tool changer itself. A unique machine “What we didn’t expect were the very tight specifications that GE was asking for,” he added. “You’d think that for a roughing machine, they wouldn’t really push it, but they did.” The Mazak was equipped with linear ways on all axes and directcoupled servo motors. These inherent designs allowed it to perform at five-G levels, which they needed for the very rapid accel/decel in feed rates while they were monitoring the electric current. “We designed our own spindle, the only purpose of which was to rotate the tool,” Ashworth said. The machine is non-contact. There are no forces on the machine other than the moving axes. The machine has a 3hp spindle motor. “The difficult thing about the spindle was that it had to be completely isolated because that’s where the positive of the power supply comes through, that and the tool,” Ashworth explained. “The part is the negative. The design had to encompass the isolation of the power away www.ToolingAndProduction.com from the machine as well as a slip ring assembly. This allowed only the spindle and tool to be energized. The other thing is that GE wanted a full five axis-contouring machine. With the vertical machine and the way GE wanted to present the part, the spindle needed to be tilted as the part was rotating,” he continued. “We mounted a rotary table on the Zaxis and the spindle on that, which is Continued on page 22 CNC SYSTEMS Tell us what you want to accomplish. We’ll build you a machine to do it. Want to convert raw cylindrical stock into finished parts in one continuous operation? Contact the experienced cutoff and finishing specialists at Modern Machine Tool. We’ll custom build you a machine with all the latest technological features, backed by our 90 years of cutoff experience. We offer a complete line of standard and special automatics and CNCs, capable of performing all kinds of machining functions during the cutoff operation while working with parts of any length. • No secondary machining needed • Double-end finishing capabilities • Plasma & Laser systems available • Easy and economical to maintain • Expert service, parts and support CUSTOMIZED AUTOMATICS We’ll also build any kind of related handling, end-finishing, milling or drilling equipment you need. Just contact us at -ISO 9001:2000 REGISTERED 2005 Losey Avenue • Jackson, MI 49203 Tel: (517) 788-9120 • Fax (517) 788-2668 Email: modern@modernmachinetool.com www.modernmachinetool.com March/April 2009 tooling& production 21 http://www.modernmachinetool.com http://www.modernmachinetool.com http://www.ToolingAndProduction.com
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