At an exclusive preview event for the press held earlier this month at the company’s headquarters in Tiverton, XYZ Machine Tools demonstrated full simultaneous machining on its new UMC-5X five-axis machining centre.
“We took our time in sourcing the UMC-5X in order to be confident that we had the right solution to five-axis machining that could meet the needs of a wide variety of customers, from those just starting out in the five-axis arena, to those already well-versed in this technology,” says managing director Nigel Atherton. “The machine is a perfect fit with our existing range in that it combines value for money with high specifications, which we know will make it attractive to XYZ customers.”
The gantry-style machine with trunnion table offers Siemens 840D slShopMill control (or HeidenhainiTNC 640 HSCI option) and Heidenhain LC183 linear scales on the X, Y and Z axes. Furthermore, direct drives for the ballscrews deliver circularity of 6-7 µm.
Among the notable design features of the 600 x 600 x 500 mm (XYZ axis travels) UMC-5X is the availability of 500 mm of Y-axis travel forward of the table surface when the table is tilted 90° towards the rear (component facing forward). This is said to be greater than many competitor machines, including those quoting the same axis travels as the UMC-5X, thus allowing larger workpieces to be machined.
Full 360° C-axis rotation of the Italian-built LCM table is achieved via a direct-drive high-torque motor, giving 90 rpm, while ±120° is available in the tilting A-axis. Traori/Kinematic functions support five-axis simultaneous machining for improved accuracy.
Loads of up to 600 kg can be supported on the 600 mm diameter table, while maximum feed rates are 36 m/min in the three linear axes. A 40-taper, 12,000 rpm, 30 kW, 239 Nm in-line Siemens spindle is offered as standard (15,000 option). Alternatively, a Kessler HSK-A63 18,000 rpm (24,000 option), 25 kW, 40 Nm motorised spindle can be fitted. Through-spindle coolant at 20 bar (70 bar option)
is supplied with both spindles.
Among a number of ‘smart machining’ functions offered as standard are tool-tip positioning control, axial accuracy control and spindle vibration supervision.
Dubbed by XYZ as ‘The Challenger’, the list price for a standard UMC-5X is £153,000 + VAT. A selection of machines to various specifications will be held in stock, although machines can be ordered to exact requirements with delivery inside four months.
“In Europe, 25% of VMCs are five-axis models,” says Mike Corbett, applications manager at XYZ. “However, although the UK lags behind countries such as Germany by volume, numbers here are rising and we want to be part of that growth.”
This ambition follows a record-breaking period at XYZ, where profit has increased in each of the previous six years. In fact, the company reports “scorching” March trading figures that could set it up for yet another “best ever year” once calculations are complete.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com