Robust Machining of Tough Materials for Aerospace and More

In Booth 1858, Zimmermann Inc. (Wixom, MI) displays their FZH400 Horizontal Machining Center that bears the “Made in Germany” quality label. The core technology of this system is a robust, water-cooled travelling column. Conventional designs have the drawback that lever effects cause their deviation to increase as the slide extends. This is not the case with the innovative traveling column design of the new FZH400. With increasing depth of immersion into the material, the guide carriage distance grows and leads to advanced rigidity. The stepped drive guide ensures a perfectly constant geometry along the Z-axis. This, in turn, guarantees maximum rigidity in sensitive areas of the workpiece.

Used in combination with highly dynamic milling heads, the FZH400 ensures an extremely efficient milling process during the machining of aluminum and composites – a basic prerequisite for economic workpiece machining. The versatility of the patented M3ABC 3-axis milling head improves efficiency through a maximized material removal rate, particularly when machining structural parts. An integral, standard component of the FZH400 is its pallet handling capability, with an area for setting up pallets during machine operation. This newly developed handling system permits reliable transportation of the pallets, is suitable for longer pallet lengths, and can be extended without difficulty. The FZH400 can be equipped with a VH30 2-axis milling head or a patented M3ABC 3-axis milling head as required. Both of these fork-type heads are designed as cast iron monoblock components to ensure outstanding temperature stability and possesses integrated oscillation and vibration damping for optimized surface quality and machining performance.

Thanks to the zero-play drive mechanism, the VH30 2-axis milling (1) head permits high-precision positioning and repeatability in the A- and C- axes. The VH30 is designed for HSC machining of aluminum and composite materials and maximizes performance during volume machining. The versatile M3ABC 3-axis milling head (2) possesses an additional B-axis and therefore has an even greater swiveling range. The M3ABC is immensely versatile and was specially developed for the machining of structural parts. It is characterized by maximum machining volumes, short throughput times and a high level of economic efficiency.

Also on display will be the compact FZ40 CNC portal milling machine for machining hard materials as well as aluminum. Its inherently rigid machine structure allows for simultaneous 5-axis high speed machining. This compact machine, with its solid cast base, does not require a foundation and can be set up on any solid shop floors. The machine table is integrated into the cast baseplate to allow up to 16 metric tons of table load. Eight mounting elements of the FZ40 compact reduce vibration – the basic requirement for high accuracy and optimum surface quality of the workpieces. The sidewalls are filled with a special dampening concrete mix to further enhance performance. The machine has a fully enclosed working space with a fixed machine table. The structural sound overhead gantry with a reinforced Z-ram make up the moving masses.

Adding the new dynamic milling head VH60 has created a powerful performer. The combination of high strength and rigidity, constant moving masses and dynamic drives meets the high demands of various industries. The newly developed dynamic two-axis VH60 milling head is very temperature stable, due to the cast monolithic fork design. Furthermore, oscillation and vibration dampening are reduced to a minimum, to ensure even more precise machining results. Up to 102 kW (137 hp), up to 575 Nm (424 ft-lb) of torque and HSK A100 will deliver optimal performance. The backlash-free drives achieves a precise positioning accuracy and repeatability in the A-axis and C-axis. The VH60 is designed for high speed machining of tough materials, such as steel and titanium, as well as aluminum.

Zimmermann Inc., 30587 Century Drive, Wixom, MI 48393, 248-305-9707, Fax: 248-305-9751,  www.zimmermann-inc.com.