State-of-the-art CNC Machine in Close-up – “Its fast movements are spectacular”

Blog 02.12.2021

CNC machine is familiar to many, but what is a state-of-the-art CNC machine? In a nutshell, it is a much faster CNC machine than any other CNC milling machine and capable of higher accelerations in particular.

Speed, in turn, enables significantly higher efficiency in machining and, for example, laser machining.

Because this kind of CNC machine controls higher speeds and accelerations than a conventional machine tool, it places high demands on its mechanical implementation. Especially when the machine should perform the work processes accurately and without vibration.

So what should you keep in min when designing this kind of machine from the beginning?

Designing a state-of-the-art CNC machine

State-of-the-art CNC special purpose machine is a demanding machine automation solution. It requires both the manufacturer and the customer to commit to several months of cooperation.

From the manufacturer’s point of view, the most important thing is, of course, to listen carefully to the customer’s wishes and design the optimal solution to implement them.

You have to consider a few technical requirements in order to achieve the high dynamics of a CNC machine:

Speed and acceleration

A state-of-the-art CNC machine is impossible to achieve only by increasing the speeds and accelerations of a standard CNC machine, for example with more powerful motors.

It is important to take into account the deformations and deflections caused by high moments and mass inertia forces. Those thus impair the accuracy of the machine.

The strain produced by accelerations can also lead to increased clearances or even transmission failure. For this reason, in high-dynamic machines it is worth favoring linear motors in which the movement is carried out without any mechanical transmission.

Mass

The large mass causes problems in fast movements in the form of, among other things, high power requirements and additional stress on the frame and components.

It is therefore advisable to reduce the moving mass to a minimum. For example, by using lighter materials instead of steel in the body parts.

Rigidness

However, as a manufacturer we can not use every material to reduce weight.

The machine must maintain its rigid structure to ensure the final quality of machining. Meeting the requirements that intersect with each other therefore requires special skills and care from mechanical design.

Case: A state-of-the-art CNC machine implemented by Metecno Oy

We recently built a state-of-the-art 3-axis CNC machine to meet the needs of a customer company. It is capable of delivering up to 1.5 G acceleration to the axes without significantly compromising accuracy.

Here are the most interesting details about the machine:

Super fast. The machine is capable of rapid movements at 100 m / min. top speeds and up to 2 G accelerations.
We made the moving body pieces innovatively of carbon fiber, which made the moving mass light.
The movements were performed with linear motors, as they minimised the mechanical clearances in the transmission that in general should be kept to a minimum in dynamic machines.

“The fast movements produced by a state-of-the-art CNC machine are spectacular when the machine does not vibrate. In addition, the work process remains unchanged including the end result.”

Unknown machine designer

Metecno Oy

State-of-the-art CNC Machine – Metecno Oy