E33 HIGH-SPEED VMC FOR GRAPHITE AND HARD MILLING APPLICATIONS
MAKINO’S E33
HIGH-SPEED VMC FOR GRAPHITE AND HARD-MILLING APPLICATIONS
Provides high precision and superior surface finish and tool life
AUBURN
HILLS, MI—September 2006—Makino’s newest
vertical machining center is ideal for operations wanting high precision,
high-speed milling of both graphite and steel. The E33 offers a rapid traverse
and cutting feed-rate on all axes of 1,574 IPM and maintains low vibration
characteristics, while also creating superior surface finishes. Extended tool
life and advanced controls add to the machine’s overall ease of use and
unattended operation time.
Built with automation in
mind, the E33 comes standard with SGI.4 for reduced cycle times and a Pro.5
controller. The machine comes standard with an HSK 40,000 RPM spindle, with
Makino’s patented core-cooled spindle, and with a 30-tool automatic tool
changer.
Visit Booth # 8301 in Hall
A of the South Building
during the 2006 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois,
September 6 through 13 to learn more about this and other technological
innovations.
Also plan to visit Booth #
D-4110 in the EDM Pavilion at IMTS to see demonstration on equipment and
processes that meet the demand for micro-dimensions and ultra-high precision
EDMing.
Increasing
Productivity
Diamond Injection
Molds Inc., of Ontario, California, purchased a Makino E33 to
manufacture parts for the medical, automotive plastics and irrigation
industries.
“We wanted to reduce lead times and become more competitive, while expanding
our business to run 24/7 to increase overall productivity,” says supervisor
Kenny Schmidt.
“In addition, we wanted the
ability to machine hardened mold inserts and speed up our electrode
manufacturing process. With the Makino E33, we achieved these goals and greatly
reduced the amount of electrodes needed to manufacture molds.”
Competitive
Advantages
The Makino E33 has
a low ownership cost that comes from its low capital cost, low operating cost
and low maintenance cost. It is highly productive and highly profitable, which
makes it a good return on investment.
On a recent job, Diamond
saw the competitive results with the E33 firsthand. “We manufactured a
duplicate mold using the E33. We hard milled the core inserts complete.
Previously we used many processes to manufacture the cores,” says Schmidt.
“We used a lot of EDM in
the past, and the entire job used to take 150 hours. Now, with the Makino E33,
it takes less than 53 hours to make the 12 cores for this mold – a reduction of
two-thirds the time.”
“The Makino E33’s ability
to machine graphite fast and accurately has doubled our capacity to manufacture
electrodes. If we get backed up in manufacturing electrodes we can use the E33
to catch up. The ability to do both electrode manufacturing and hard die
milling gives us flexibility in our schedule.”
“The Makino E33 gave us
versatility and reduced our lead times,” says owner Mark Spangler. “The speed
and accuracy of the machine broadened our company’s horizons and increased the
opportunities for the types of jobs that we can pursue.
“Now we can go after
more of the quick prototype work – things that need to go in and out of the
shop quickly. That’s the kind of return on investment that Diamond is seeing
right away.”
“This is our first Makino
machine and we are very happy with the E33,” says Schmidt. “It wasn’t just the
machine that made this possible—it was also Makino behind the machine. We
attended Tech Transfer classes at Makino in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
They not only showed us the technology, but they showed us how to use it
well. Now we also have great application and technical support locally
from Makino’s facility in Fountain
Valley, California.”
“As far as the performance
on the shop floor – in conjunction with the knowledge gained from Tech
Transfer, we have seen superior surface finishes, minimized our hand finishing
and have reduced the need for jig grinding.”
Diamond will further
increase the company’s productivity when they purchase a robot to use with this
machine sometime in the near future. “Makino has referred us to many good
vendors which has complimented the work that we do with the E33,” says Schmidt.
“We expect nothing but good things as we move forward with the E33.”
Features and
Advantages
The E33 has an
X-axis of 650 mm (25.6 in.), and Y- and Z-axes of 450 mm (17.7 in.). The
standard work table is 850 mm x 500 mm (33.5 in. x 19.7 in.) and work load
capacity is 500 kg (1,102 lbs.). Equipped with scale feedback as a standard
feature, the machine provides positioning accuracy of +/-0.0015 mm (+/-0.000059
in.) and repeatability of +/- 0.001 mm (+/- 0.000039) enabling highly accurate
cutting.
While the E33 weighs
in at a rugged 16,090 pounds (7,300 kg) for solid rigidity and stability, it
comes in a compact size ideal for any shop. It has a width of 85 inches (2,160
mm), a height of 119.6 inches (3,038 mm) and an overall length of 154.6 inches (3,928
mm) – including the dust collection system.
The high performance Pro.5
control offers a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) that is easily
configurable, and Makino’s proprietary Data Center
serves as a repository and interface for networking and seamless
communications. SGI.4 ULTRA, the latest generation of Makino’s patented,
high-accuracy 3-D software is ideal for complex surfaces because it efficiently
processes tiny blocks of NC data. ULTRA mode provides both outstanding accuracy
and minimum machining time – up to 30% faster than standard SGI.4.
The E33 features a fully
enclosed chip and splash shield that completely seals the workzone and prevents
dust and chips from escaping. A center chip trough uses a scrapper-type chip
conveyor and a fully integrated dust collection system keeps the machining zone
clean.
The Makino E33 is well suited for graphite and hard milling. It has a
heavy cast iron construction (12,784 pounds or 5,800 kg) for outstanding
stiffness and rigidity. The machine has fully supported travels, high
reliability and is thermally stable.
It has a stiff, high-speed,
high-accuracy 40,000-rpm spindle, with ceramic ball design (1.57 inch or 40 mm
diameter) and under race lubrication for minimal thermal distortion. The
integral dust collection system comes standard on the E33, as does a 30-tool
capacity automatic tool changer.
Makino is a global provider of advanced machining technology and
application support, where new thinking takes shape for the
metalcutting and die/mold industries. Makino manufacturing and service
centers are located in the United States, Japan, Germany, Singapore,
Italy, France, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, China, Mexico, Brazil and India,
and are supported by a worldwide distributor network. For more
information call 1.800.552.3288, or visit www.makino.com.
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E33 Images: JPG TIF
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Makino logo: JPG
Media Contact
Brandon Rhoten
HSR Business to Business
513.346.3588
makino@hsr.com