Sonaca Montreal Expands Milling Capacity

Sonaca Montreal Inc. (Mirabel, QC) is a world leader in the manufacture of large aluminum aerostructure components for commercial and business aviation. Needing additional capacity, they chose Fives Liné Machines (Granby, QC) as a partner to develop the Powermill V, a high speed, technologically advanced and maintenance friendly 5-axis gantry mill. The Canadian/Quebec governments supported the purchase of this high performance machine through long-term loans.

The speed and power of the Powermill V spindle and axes drive systems provide substantial metal removal capabilities. Its milling head is manufactured at the Granby facility and introduces a 125/156 kW, 30,000 rpm spindle with a HSK A63/F80 tool taper. Linear motors produce a 76 m/min (3,000 ipm) traverse rate that greatly reduces cycle time. The rails of this high-rail machine are installed on an elevated concrete foundation providing a natural enclosure.

“Working with the user, we engineered a superior system that places a high priority on accuracy, quality, reliability and in-process systems,” said Brian Kilpatrick, a regional sales manager at Fives Liné Machines. “The system we developed has integrated vacuum table workholding, programmable high pressure coolant that facilitates removal of the high chip load, mist collection that includes a full-length machine roof system, thermal compensation, chip extraction, automated tool changing and tool/part probing systems.’’

Maintenance and operator-friendly features were design priorities in the development of the Powermill V. The operator station area includes a monitor of remote gauges with real-time feedback for machine utilities and critical components. HD cameras allow the operator to easily view cutting operations from a safe and remote position. For periodic quality assurance verifications and reporting, a machine health-check system examines machine geometry and the head check cycle assesses the geometry of the milling head. “The amazing capabilities of this machine are a testament to the team effort that went into this project,” noted Sylvain Bédard, the chief executive officer of Sonaca Montreal. “We’re proud to be able to offer our customers the highest quality parts being machined on this state-of-the-art system.’’

Sonaca Montreal will be showing the capabilities of the Powermill V to their customers at an open house on December 11, 2017.

www.sonacamontreal.com, www.fivesgroup.com