Magdeburg’s MAP PRO.X1000 exploits low mass and thermal stability of CFRP
1 min read
The Magdeburg Machine Construction Company has used carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) instead of aluminium for the spindle drive mechanism housing in its MAP PRO.X1000 5-axis vertical machining centre. The light weight and thermal properties of CFRP enable the 71 kW, 14,000 rpm spindle motor in the linear driven portal design machine to achieve axis rapid travels of up to 120 m/min, with an acceleration of 20 m/sec² in the vertical Z-axis and 12 m/sec² acceleration in both X and Y.
2D CNC, UK distributor for the MAP PRO.X1000, points out that compared to titanium and steel, the same weight of CFRP has five times the tensile strength and CFRP can replace around 5 kg of steel. CFRP has a density of 1.6 g/cm3 with excellent fatigue strength, titanium 4.5 g/cm3 and steel 7.8 g/cm3.
The linear axis dynamics of the MAP PRO.X1000 gain the productivity benefit of the CFRP weight reduction which can shorten machining time by using higher cutting speeds, while supporting high precision in terms of size, geometry and surface finish. In addition, extremely low levels of thermal expansion from the CFRP housing significantly reduce thermal growth during machining and provide increased damping effects which benefit tool life, predictability and machine consistency. Maintenance costs should be lower, due to the high fatigue strength CFRP and its freedom from corrosion. The reduction in moving mass also reduces energy consumption.
A low mass aluminium portal style gantry slide is used in the X- and Z-axes, while cooled and capsulated linear drives and linear scales mounted outside of the work area further increase thermal stability and support a positioning accuracy capability of 0.005 mm.
The MAP PRO.X1000 has XYZ axis travels of 800, 1,015 and 800 mm respectively. The A-axis on the trunnion-mounted 500 mm dia rotary table will rotate between +120º and -120º and a full 360º C-axis is included. The 71 kW spindle has a maximum torque 272 Nm with taper options of HSK-A100 or HSK-A63 providing high power for rapid metal removal. Control is via Siemens 840D with options of Heidenhain or Fanuc systems.
A fully integrated tool magazine is modular and thus expandable into a novel three levels of conveyor within the footprint of the machine. This construction provides options of capacities for 30, 78, 138 and 198 tools. Chip-to-chip time is 3 sec.
Machine options include a rotary/tilting table with face plate, with an 800 mm square pallet, zero point clamping and a turning function through a continuous C-axis. A three-station pallet change or seven-station pallet pool can be added.
