German-owned Heller Machine Tools, whose factory in Redditch produces selected four-axis and five-axis horizontal machining centres (HMCs) for world markets, has released its second-generation HF 3500 five-axis horizontal machining centre. The HF 3500 Gen2, with its 710 x 750 x 710 mm working volume, as well as the larger HF 5500, are available with a fixed table or an automatic pallet changer. Both are built in Redditch and incorporate a multitude of improvements over the previous-generation model. The machines are available with either an HSK-A63 or HSK-A100 tool interface in three versions – POWER, SPEED and the new PRO option – the latter intended for long periods of simultaneous five-axis machining.

Designed to raise cutting performance, innovations in the second generation include: an approximate halving of the minimum distance between the spindle nose and the centreline of the 225° swivelling trunnion; the availability of twin motors and ballscrew drives for moving the trunnion/rotary table assembly in the Z axis, with position feedback via linear scales; and the offer of six new spindles produced in an automated facility at Heller’s headquarters in Nürtingen.

Other notable improvements include increased stiffness of key components, shorter chips-to-chip times and faster tool change from a chain-type magazine with up to 240 pockets or a rack-type magazine with up to 405 positions. The high-end PRO package additionally offers 10 m/s2 acceleration in X, Y and Z.

The guideways employ linear roller bearings, enabling high dynamics and rapids up to 90 m/min, while the rotary axes have direct drives and YRT bearings. There is also increased feed force in the Z axis, dynamic motors driving the rotary axes and the option of adding a turning function using a high-speed rotary torque table.

For further information
www.heller.biz

NAMCO was founded in 1976 to serve the growing demand for precision machine components, custom gears and transmission parts. With locations in Edmonton, Canada, and Chardon, Ohio, the company employs more than 75 skilled workers who manufacture products for customers in the paper, oil and gas, mining, and other industries. Since 2019, NAMCO has invested in 15 CNC machines from DMG Mori, including a DMC 125 FD duoBLOCK for gear milling with gearMILL software and two Taiyo Koki machines for grinding.

“Thanks to gearMILL gear-cutting software, we can now manufacture our special solutions quickly and, above all, easily,” states Bernard Vukovic, managing director NAMCO Machine & Gear Works. “Furthermore, thanks to the mill-turn technology on the DMC 125 FD duoBLOCK, we achieve high precision in one clamping.”

To be competitive on the production side, NAMCO relies on CNC machine tool technology from DMG Mori. Vukovic explains the high investment volume in the past three years with the need to expand production capability: “On one hand, we need innovative machining technologies to manufacture efficiently and in the required quality, and on the other hand, it was a matter of increasing capacity.”

The versatility of DMG Mori machines is reflected in one of NAMCO’s core areas, gear cutting. Here, the team relies on a DMC 125 FD duoBLOCK with the exclusive DMG Mori gearMILL gear-cutting software. The mill-turn centre with pallet changer allows set-up to take place during machining and is designed for high-precision complete machining of rotationally symmetrical components up to 1250 mm in diameter – including five-axis milling and turning. Since everything is done in one set-up, errors due to manual re-clamping operations are eliminated.

For further information
www.dmgmori.com

The use of a Starrag twin-pallet, five-axis STC machining centre is not only enabling Switzerland-based punching technology specialist Berhalter AG to “significantly reduce” machining costs by enabling the machine to be fed with long-running five-axis parts or multiple-loaded work, but the machine’s extensive axes travels and capabilities are also allowing the company to out-compete local competitors by processing extra-large components for its aerospace customers.

It was, in fact, the machining of aerospace parts that initially led the company to the re-engineered Starrag STC 1250, which with X, Y and Z-axis travels of 2200 x 1600 x 2100 mm and a 240-tool tower magazine, arrived in 2020 for processing larger parts.

Starrag developed its STC machines for the economical processing of demanding aerospace structural components, multi-blades and casings with long cycle times. The machines’ static and dynamic properties, as well as their tried-and-tested swivel head, are said to set the benchmark for simultaneous five-axis, heavy-duty cutting. However, such demands are not just a necessity for the aviation and energy production industries, as Berhalter also uses its STC 1250 for challenging machine and pump parts made from stainless steel, for example, which require high stability for the accurate production of large holes. Indeed, a positioning accuracy to 0.01 mm is consistently achieved along the STC’s full travel range. In addition, the option of multiple clamping for small parts adds another level of flexibility.

The five-axis capability of the Starrag machine also put it ahead of the large machining centre previously used by Berhalter. In addition to its three dynamic linear axes, the CNC rotary table acts as the fourth simultaneous axis; it has a high-torque, a high-damping drive and can be clamped hydraulically.

For further information
www.starrag.com

Six Hurco three-axis VMCs carry out the majority of prismatic machining in the tool room of Beccles-based plastic packaging manufacturer Berry M&H. Although the firm dates back to 1973, the first Hurco machines, a VM10i and a VMX30i, did not arrive until 2015 when the assets of another tool-making company were acquired.

Berry M&H’s Beccles tool-room manager Kurt Knights, who has been with the company for over 20 years, says: “When we started using WinMax conversational software in the Hurco control, it made shop-floor programming far easier and quicker for our operators – and it simplified training for new employees and apprentices alike.

Offline code generation for a mould takes typically 10 hours, while the shop-floor element takes around two hours, much faster and more simply than is possible on a machining centre driven by a G-code control, says Hurco. It quickly became apparent that the Hurco/WinMax combination was highly suitable for Berry M&H’s requirements, which centre mainly on the fast-turnaround production of moulds from 170 mm-wide Alumec 89 billets. Most moulds comprise neck, body and base blocks manufactured from this high-strength aluminium alloy, held together by a steel back plate.

The company purchased two new Hurco VM5i three-axis VMCs for machining these moulds, with a third added in 2019. In November 2020, a larger Hurco VM30i with a 1270 x 508 x 508 mm working volume arrived that Knights describes as “a superb machine and excellent value for money”. The investment was because of Berry M&H’s decision to move more strongly into the production of bigger moulds up to 700 mm wide and with up to six cavities.

For further information
www.hurco.co.uk

A new five-axis version of the existing Makino Slim3n VMC focuses on the high-volume production of complex parts. Complete with optional automatic twin-pallet changer (APC), availability of the Japanese-built machine in the UK and Ireland is through sole agent NCMT.
The production centre is FEA-optimised with a fixed 600 x 400 mm table to maximise the working envelope (500 x 400 x 500 mm) and provide structural rigidity for heavy payloads. In total, the combined maximum weight of the component and fixture is 400 kg. High productivity is courtesy of up to 20 m/min cutting feed rates in all orthogonal axes and 50 m/min rapids.
Notably, the tall machining area makes the VMC not only compact but, according to NCMT, the only machine in its class able to accommodate vertically-oriented fixtures. A short spindle overhang increases the structure’s overall torsional stiffness and reduces vibration to enhance cutting performance.
The Makino HSK-A50 spindle, having constant pre-load, multi-plane balancing and reduced thermal growth, provides rigidity and high-speed running. Two specifications offer 16,000 rpm/15 kW/36 Nm as standard or, optionally, 8000 rpm/18 kW/80 Nm to cater for a wide range of machining applications. The standard 26-pocket magazine of the automatic tool changer with integral door delivers smooth, fast indexing to support high productivity.
In the five-axis version, the Slim3n VMC gains a two-axis CNC rotary table and trunnion arrangement, with a Fanuc Series 0i-MF control providing complex machining possibilities by interpolating up to four CNC axes simultaneously. A four-axis version, with twin drive to the trunnion but without a rotary table, is available for machining heavier components or taking deep roughing cuts.

For further information
www.ncmt.co.uk