Prismatic machining on BT30 and BT40 machining centres accounts for a majority of throughput at the Mildenhall factory of subcontractor CTPE.
Supplied by Citizen Machinery UK, the 10-axis ANX-42SYY lathe is fitted with the latest Fanuc 31i 15-inch touch-screen control incorporating a new HMI. It also features the company’s superimposed machining, whereby three tools can be in cut at the same time thanks to X-axis movement of the sub spindle. The sub spindle offset has the additional advantage of allowing reverse end machining of long parts with extended tools, while simultaneous machining of the front end of the next component is in progress at the main spindle.
Advantage is regularly taken of the machine’s other stand-out feature, LFV (low frequency vibration) chipbreaking software in the control’s operating system. The function is independent of the programmed cutting cycle. LFV may similarly be switched off when it is not needed, avoiding a slight reduction in metal removal rate due to high-frequency oscillation of the tool tip away from the component surface. In practice, at Mildenhall LFV is on for 10 to 15% of a typical cycle.
