Fagor CNCs make mill-turn lathe programming easier
1 min read
Spain's control maker Fagor Automation has developed CNC features that better, more easily and safely support the programming of lathes with twin turrets that perform simultaneous operations.
When programming without the new functions, operators will have to consider all the non-cutting movements, machining passes, feedrates of the axes, etc, at all times.
The feature developed by Fagor Automation is called 'Dynamic distribution of machining operations', or DINDIST.
The operation is programmed in a single program (as if it were a simple lathe) and the CNC takes charge of distributing or synchronising the machining passes with the other channel in one of the following ways: by distributing the passes between channels such that the CNC synchronises the channels so that when a pass begins, the other channel starts the next pass, hence executing the machining operation in half the time; or by synchronised identical passes such that all channels run the same pass, but with an angular spindle offset. This makes it possible to increase the feedrate because the CNC distributes the section to be machined between the tools.
Image: Left, distributed; right, synchronised
