Touted as the industry’s highest output 5-axis horizontal machining center for clean, contained cutting of parts as large as 2 m by 4 m, the HyperMach H4000 is designed for high throughput precision machining of next-generation aircraft components.
According to the machine’s builder, MAG Cincinnati (www.cinmach.com), the H4000 effectively turns the profiler configuration on its side with a vertical X-axis moving table, full-portal open center for high-volume chip/fluid collection and conveying, and a fixed column providing Y-axis and Z-axis (slide) positioning of a contouring A-axis and X-axis spindle. And, since cutting operations are totally enclosed, chips fall through to a high-volume conveyor to prevent chip re-cutting and to eliminate the need for a chip blow-off attendant. The company said the machine’s autonomous operation capabilities make it ideal for being integrated into or expanded upon for multiple-machine processing in MAMAG Cincinnati’s Cincron cell modules.
Another noteworthy feature, according to MAG Cincinnati, is that the machine is the only one in its class that can be set up for pallet loading from the right or left side with chip conveyor discharge also from either direction. The company also said the H4000’s compact design allows a larger machining envelope with a smaller footprint than competitive machines.
The machine’s automatic tool changer and tool storage, along with valves and component controls, all are visible from a centrally located operator station and can be accessed while maintaining visual contact with the machine’s HMI. Operators can check, load and exchange tools without walking around to the other side of the machine.
Flat-floor machine installation reduces cost and installation time and avoids pits and multi-step foundations for easy reconfiguration of plant layouts. Cincron cell automation modules provide for near-infinite material handling and cell configurations for multi-machine processing and production efficiency.
“The H4000 addresses industry needs for leaner, faster, more automated production of large complex-geometry parts made to today’s tighter tolerances,” Randy Von Moll, MAG Cincinnati platform manager for aluminum machining, said. Von Moll said the machine was engineered to the five parameters required for high-performance machining – high spindle rpm, high spindle power, high feed and toolpath rates, high acceleration and deceleration, and high accuracy. The last three require robust construction and outstanding dynamic response by the machine, Von Moll noted. The machine’s full-portal, closed-loop construction maximizes stiffness and provides maximum consistent cutting performance at any position of the pallet and spindle, while eliminating thermal drift and periodic realignment between column and pallet table.
This five-point engineering is what allows the single-spindle H4000 to out produce older 3-spindle gantry vertical profilers, added Von Moll.