Medical precision

The success of the recently launched 102 TM CNC lathe from Schaublin Machine Tools has been marked with a number of orders to established medical manufacturers.

The success of the recently launched 102 TM CNC lathe from Schaublin Machine Tools has been marked with a number of orders to established medical manufacturers Clada Medical and Alta Science. Both have acquired new102 TM CNC turning centres for the machining of small components.

The high precision lathe is ideal for the medical, dental, micro and optical sectors as well as the production of small aerospace and automotive components. The compact turning machine has a turning diameter of 200mm and a turning length of 100mm that has made this unit, the installation of choice for the two medical R&D companies.

Weighing in at 700kg, the machine has a linear tooling system on the X-axis giving a 120mm stroke enabling two radial tool positions with up to five frontal tool positions dependent upon the workpiece geometry.

C-axis machining with a programmable increment of 0.001° is a standard feature and Schaublin Machines offer driven tooling units for drilling, milling and/or grinding. This gives the 102TM CNC the inherent flexibility and capability that has contributed to the machine's early success. Controlled by the Fanuc Oi Mate TC numerical control with Turn Mate via tactile screen as standard; the machine has a headstock through bore capacity option of 20mm or 25mm.

With continued development of additional equipment, Schaublin Machines now offer the option for vacuum clamping, thus enabling turning and or milling on thin walled fragile components.

Despite these attributes, it is the ±3µm accuracy level and the optional grinding attachment that caught the attention of the two medical customers. With Clada Medical being a medical R&D company, the tight tolerance capabilities were a major factor in the acquisition. Whilst all the components produced on the 102TM CNC at Alta Science are less than 2mm in diameter, the optional extra of the grinding attachment was selected by both companies as installation and removal is simple, credit to the integrated motor. The grinding fixture operates at spindle speeds from 4,000rpm to 24,000rpm.

The attachment operates with a B8 type collet that has a bore capacity from 0.5mm to 8mm in 0.1mm increments with anything from 3mm up to the maximum 8mm also being available in 0.5mm steps. This attachment has proven to be ideal for the manufacture of medical components.

The success of the 102TM CNC turning centre from Schaublin was immediately followed by the launch of the 225TMi CNC turning centre with integrated motor and C-axis. Effectively, the 225TMi CNC centre is a larger version of the 102TM CNC machine.

It features a linear tooling configuration identical to that on the smaller 102 TM CNC. The larger 225 TMi CNC machine has a weight of 1,250Kg that supports a turning envelope of 270mm diameter with a maximum swing over the carriage of 115mm. The 225TMi CNC operates in the same tolerance band as the 102 TM CNC and has optional extras such as a tool zero setting microscope and a tool centring microscope to guarantee precision.

However, the 225TMi CNC is suited to larger workpieces as well as smaller more intricate parts with its AC spindle motor generating 5.5KW of power for more robust machining. Combined with a headstock through bar capacity of 40mm diameter and pneumatic workpiece collector, the 225 TMi CNC offers accuracy and productivity.

Schaublin
www.smsa.ch Clada Medical
www.cladamedical.com Alta Science
www.altascience.ie
 

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