Low Frequency Vibration (LFV) machining technology will be an important theme to customers at Citizen Machinery UK’s annual three day open house event being staged at the UK headquarters in Bushey which starts today.
Amongst the 16 machines on view (from October 16-18) will be the UK launch of the LFV versions of the Citizen Cincom L32-VlllLFV sliding head turn-mill centre and the Miyano BNA-42GTYLFV sliding headstock turning centre.
In addition, Citizen will be demonstrating 5-axis machining technology on the latest Cincom D25-Vlll sliding head turn-mill centre using the latest Mitsubishi 800, a true 5-axis simultaneous machining control platform combined with Citizen’s Cincom operating system.
As part of Citizen’s progressive introduction of feeding the patented LFV technology across its range of Citizen and Miyano machines, the L32-VlllLFV and Miyano BNA-42GTYLFVs have been eagerly awaited to provide major advantages from programmable control of chip size on larger capacity machines from both stables.
Why progressive inclusion of LFV? LFV is a fundamental in the machine design and is not achieved through simple macro programming. It is selectable at the machine control to provide rapid oscillation of the cutting tool creating, in effect, precise air gaps in synchronisation with the rotation of the machine spindle.
To maintain machining integrity when selectively employing LFV to turning, drilling, grooving and even thread cutting to difficult materials from plastics to copper and high alloy content steels, the machine requires upgrading in its overall rigidity, vibration damping and drive systems
The Citizen L32-VlllLFV with 38mm bar size option and removable guide bush can carry up to 30 tools, according to specification six for gang turning, four to six gang driven, four to nine front drilling and between five and 11 for back drilling. Both main (7.5kW) and sub-spindle (3.7kW) have 8,000rpm motors with 1kW driven tools with 6,000rpm motors. Rapid traverse rates are fast at 32m/minute.
Adding LFV to the Miyano moving headstock hybrid BNA-42GTYLFV design, it has been significantly developed as a rigid yet compact machining platform taking just 2.3m by 1.5m of floor space and using plain, hand scraped slideways on each axis with special ballscrews and roller bearings on the X1 cross feed to the headstock. Through the Cincom ‘Superimposition’ operating control software, simultaneous cutting with up to three tools can be achieved.
There are two spindles, the 42mm main, with 3-axis X1, Y1 and Z1 having 11kW 6,000rpm and 34mm, 5.5kW, 5,000rpm 2-axis X3 and Z3 for the sub-spindle. Up to 45 tools can be carried. The eight-station turret has 1kW power, 6,000rpm driven tools with half-indexing enabling up to 16 tools to be carried. The gang tool slide can carry up to 13 tools.
A further 18 companies will be supporting the open house event covering CAD/CAM, tooling, quality, materials and machine accessories.
Lunch will be provided each day and, on Wednesday 17th October the open house will be extending its visitor hours of 9am to 5pm until 9.30pm when all are welcome to the traditional Citizen Curry Evening.
While Citizen Machinery UK has an open invitation to all, in order to help with catering, those wishing to attend are able to register online at citizenmachinery.co.uk/open.house.event or telephone: 01923 691500.
Citizen Machinery UK www.citizenmachinery.co.uk
