#ukmfg #mfg #manufacturing #engineering Okuma has introduced an automatic ‘tuning’ system for its proprietary OSP control to replace the manual process typically used on the shopfloor to maintain the motion accuracy of five-axis CNC machining centres. The automated system — available from Okuma’s UK agent NCMT Ltd, Thames Ditton
(www.ncmt.co.uk) — is 30-times faster than manual processes. Moreover, tuning can be done by the machine operator and requires no special skills.
Okuma’s 5-Axis Auto Tuning System option for its horizontal-spindle MU-H and vertical-spindle MU-V series of five-axis machining centres performs measurements and compensation automatically, reducing the tuning time from 5hr to just 10min. Moreover, the system is completely reliable and not prone to human error; auto tuning is also more comprehensive, as it analyses 11 types of error (just four error types can normally be detected manually), leading to higher machining accuracy because the system compensates for all geometric errors, as well as volumetric accuracy.
A five-axis machine has three linear axes (X, Y and Z) and two rotational axes (A and C) for machining complex parts. The more axes a machine has, the greater the potential for geometric errors, which can change over time due to — for example — movement of the floor surface. Errors include displacement of the centre position of the rotary axis, tilt of the rotary axis with respect to the orthogonal axes, thermal deformation, changes in the installation environment over time, and many more. The errors can cause steps when machining a slope, shape defects when profile-milling a curve and other problems.
Okuma’s 5-Axis Auto Tuning System measures geometric errors using a touch probe and datum sphere, the operational procedure being displayed on the Okuma OSP control screen. Tuning is performed for movement accuracy by means of compensation offsets fed to the control, based on the measured results. Moreover, auto tuning improves accuracy by a factor of four compared with manual tuning, to achieve accuracies to within 3µm.
A video showing automatic five-axis tuning can be seen on MachineryMarket’s Web site in the video gallery
(http://www.machinery-market.co.uk/video-archive.aspx).