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Fast CNC

What is the big key to the speed of this machine?

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Looks like they are cutting about 1/4 plate at a really aggressive rate. Obviously ramping and spray lubricant help, but that is not all it takes to cut that aggressively or is this also a super high speed spindle?

My experience so far has been that if I try to take off more than about .003 by .250 per pass I can run about 20 IPM with aluminum with lubricant. This looks like they are taking about .250 by .1875 in a single pass after ramping in at something like 60 IPM.

Excuse my numbers if they are off since I can only judge this process by what is shown on the video and guess at the dimensions.

Reply to
Bob La Londe
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Definitely a high speed spindle with a fair amount of HP, high pressure coolant to clear chips, and most importantly rigidity.

Reply to
Pete C.

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I was thinking spindle speed had to be the key. Everything else you can see. How fast do you think they are spinning to be able to do that?

Reply to
Bob La Londe

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Reply to
RoyJ

Not sure what machine is in the video, but some of Datron's machines run

40k spindles.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

From the info I've read about them, these types of machines are referred to as HSM, for high speed machining.

Spindle RPMs in the tens-of-thousands and the overall machines are built specifically for this purpose, not just a standard machine with a powerful high speed motor retrofitted.

The videos are very impressive, but I could enjoy spending a day just watching various parts being machined.

They are so fast/efficient that they can machine a part from solid stock, that would've previously been made by fabricating the part with several pieces of sheet stock, such as airframe structural members.

Reply to
Wild_Bill

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Guessing based on sound at least 10k, perhaps 15k. Has to spin fast to keep the chip load per tooth low at those feeds.

Reply to
Pete C.

Gotta be that salsa music. Chukka chukka tick tick tick ...

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

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I turn 10K with my machine and there is no way I could get a fraction of that speed or chip removal.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Given the typical use that the machines are sold for, it may well be 1/8" plate for panel fronts, with the square holes being for 1/2" push button switches.

Mark Rand RTFM

Reply to
Mark Rand

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I read a book on some early experiments at Boeing with high speed machining in the late 60's I think. They were running a huge Cincinnatti horizontal mill with a 1/2" end mill at 75,000 RPM and 80 Hp, 600 IPM feeds and 640 cu. inches of aluminum removal per minute. These numbers made my head spin, 80 Hp into a 1/2" end mill! YIKES! I put the book back and figured I'd never get into that class of machining.

Part of the trick is to maintain totally INSANE feedrates to keep the heat generation moving along as fast as possible. Much of the heat goes off in the chip, but you want to prevent the aluminum, especially, from warming up much. I think the tests I refer to may have been run dry, to protect the carbide tools and also because at these metal removal rates all you'd be doing is boiling a huge amount of water and not really cooling the work or tool much.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

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