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Examples of successful applications in the machine tool industry
Overview of applications with igus® products in machine tools
CNC machines: Overview of applications
CNC (Computerised Numerical Control) machines have become indispensable in the industrial processing of materials. The use of computer technology in industrial processing not only increases precision and therefore manufacturing quality when processing workpieces, it also significantly increases productivity. CNC-supported machines are used today in a wide variety of applications. Our energy chain, linear guide and plain bearing systems are used in this selection of CNC milling, drilling, grinding, turning, cutting, polishing and bending machines.
Energy tubes in bending machine
Whether bending simple or complex parts - with TruBend machines from TRUMPF, a wide variety of workpieces can be bent quickly and reliably with maximum precision. For large and heavy parts, a bending aid supports the machining process. TRUMPF relies on our R4.1L series energy tubes to ensure the safe energy supply of this support.
Welding system
Suspended, upright or linear: our closed energy chains have been proving their worth in Cloos welding systems for years.
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Combination machine for milling and drilling
For the energy supply to the main spindle of this milling and drilling machine, the manufacturer relies on particularly dense RX energy tubes.
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Horizontal lathe
A guidelok e-chain® is used on this lathe over a travel of up to 20 metres. It is perfect for long, unsupported travel distances in the chip area.
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Machining centre
ROMI, market leader in the Brazilian machine and plant industry, has been supplied by us for 15 years. Our e-chain® and chainflex® cable are being used in a new machining centre.
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Multi-spindle lathe
A readychain® system with a total of eight energy chains guarantees the safe energy supply of all six spindles of this lathe from Gildemeister Italiana S.p.A.
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Compact milling machine
These compact CAD/CAM milling machines produce prototypes quickly, precisely and with high quality. 15 drylin® miniature guides and dryspin®-lead screw groove were installed here.
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Travelling column milling machine
15 e-chain® are used in a milling machine in all travel axes, the lifting cabin and in the tool changer. They guarantee long travel distances of up to 50 metres.
To the application exampleAdverse ambient conditions (use of chemicals, high levels of dirt, flying chips)
Aggressive ambient conditions usually occur when metals are being machined. Metallic grit, but also clogging oils for the lubrication of machine parts, affect elements such as the cable routing or linear guide systems. Closed energy chains or energy tubes are often used to protect the internal cables in order to operate machines with as little interruption and failure as possible.
Energy tubes in milling machines for heavy-duty machining
Large machining centres in gantry design are the speciality of machine tool manufacturer Kao Ming from Taiwan. The long travel distances of up to 13 metres place special demands on the supply of energy and media in these systems. With the guidelok, Kao Ming has opted for a system that is reliable, robust and self-supporting.
Heavy-duty lathe
Chips and dirt require a closed energy chain with a long service life in this system from lathe manufacturer FAT HACO.
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Cutting system
Particularly dirty and abrasive conditions characterise the environment in knife cutting systems. e-chain® in combination with a autoglide system are used here.
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Milling machine
This CNC machine mainly mills polystyrene, which clogs all surfaces and gaps. The customer therefore now uses drylin® linear units.
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Polishing milling machine
This polishing milling machine is used in the field of "prosthetics". During milling, a fine dust settles on the linear guide. drylin® linear units now provide a remedy.
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Milling and turning machines
The spaces between threaded rods quickly become clogged with dirt. The special dryspin®-lead screw nut maintains the performance of the machines thanks to its cleaning function.
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Flame cutting machine
Movable in all directions, multi-axis energy chains ensure endlessly swivelling axes. They prove themselves against heat, flying sparks and extreme dirt accumulation.
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Machining centre
Temperature and chemical resistance of all components had to be ensured in this CNC machining centre. Special e-chain® is used here, from which the chips simply bounce off.
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Portal milling machine
A robust high-temperature energy tube is used in this milling machine. Even chips up to a temperature of 850 °C bounce off without a trace.
To the application exampleTight installation space and minimum bend radius
When further developing machine tools, designers are looking for ways to reconcile ever more powerful systems with the endeavour to find space-saving solutions. This not only enables smaller dimensions for the entire system, but also offers considerable potential savings in terms of energy costs during operation. In this context, energy chains, for example, must enable particularly small bend radii at high traversing speeds and accelerations.
chainflex®-cable supply KESSLER-spindle with energy and signals
The "System Technology" division of the renowned spindle manufacturer FRANZ KESSLER develops and manufactures spindle swivel heads and rotary swivel tables that enable high-precision machining of metal and, increasingly, composite workpieces. For power and signal supply, KESSLER uses chainflex® cables, which fulfil very high requirements in terms of service life and reliability.
Servo punching and bending machines
Our energy chain and chainflex®-cable are used to supply energy to the world's fastest servo punching and bending machines, which run in a particularly confined space in the machine.
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High-performance turning centre
In the vertical EMAG turning centres of the VMC series, single-core cables are used for the power supply of the spindle chainflex®. The challenges: Limited space, high chip volume and oil.
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Automatic drilling machine
Up to fifty servo axes in a confined space, high dynamics, high service life requirements and a small bend radius. These are the requirements of this automatic drilling machine for our energy chain and chainflex®-cable.
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Gear grinding machine
Achieving a vertical stroke of over one metre and a swivel range of 270° in a limited installation space was possible with this application in the grinding head of a gear grinding machine.
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Multi-spindle machining centre
In this application, a two-spindle horizontal machining centre was equipped with particularly quiet and low-vibration energy supply systems.
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Press automation system
This press automation system requires an extremely space-saving energy supply at high speed.
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"Heavy duty" gantry machine
Here, a space problem was solved with a simple trick: Only 20 cm installation height was available, too low for a conventional solution with e-chain®.
Machine tool for metalworking
Two e-chain® run side by side in a machine tool from machine manufacturer Yamazaki Mazak Corp. and enable energy to be supplied in a very small installation space.
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Stretch-bending machine
Due to the limited installation space, forced guidance of the energy tubes was necessary in this CNC slant-bed lathe. Energy tubes ensure 3-dimensional media guidance here.
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Milling centre
The application is the swivel head of a milling centre. Energy chains guide a large number of media to a milling head in a very small installation space.
To the application exampleHigh service life under continuous operation
When developing machine tools, a particular focus is placed on the high availability of the solution. The aim is to reduce downtimes and thus enable the most economical operation possible for the customer. The high-quality systems often have to be able to cope with three-shift operations seven days a week without any problems. In the following application examples, the customer focussed on energy chains, linear guides or plain bearings that work reliably under the high and continuous stress of movement.
energy chain and abrasion monitoring in engine plant
In hardly any other industry is reliability as important as in the automotive industry. Because production downtimes are expensive, it is important for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to be able to rely on dependable components. An Austrian engine manufacturer therefore relies on 'smart plastic' from igus®. Sensors detect wear during operation and raise the alarm in good time as soon as a repair or replacement is required.
Turning and grinding machines
Top condition even after 9 years - Pre-assembled energy supply systems are used in these precision machines under aggressive environmental conditions.
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Friction stir welding machine
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, a type R4 closed energy tube is in operation in a friction stir welding machine from Grenzebach Maschinenbau GmbH.
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Milling machine
The DMF 200|8 milling machine from DMG Mori achieves milling speeds of up to 20,000 rpm. The E4Q series energy chains reduce vibrations in the machine.
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CNC multi-spindle automatic lathe
Every spindle in this automatic lathe from Schütte has to be supplied with energy, signals and coolant. And that with more than 4.5 million cycles per year.
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Large machining centre
These machine tools for processing large components are often in use for 20-30 years with a required availability of at least 95%. energy chain and chainflex® cable are used here.
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Cutting machine
An e-chain® of type E6 is used in this cutting machine. This must guarantee a planned machine service life of 7 to 10 years, even under high workloads in continuous operation.
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Positioning systems in electronics production
Readychain® systems are used in this positioning unit to safely guide the drive, measuring system and compressed air lines - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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Concrete pipe milling machine
This milling machine produces aluminium chips, wood shavings and fine dust from composite materials. Energy chain and storage technology are used here, which must always work reliably.
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Machines for micro-assembly
These micro-assembly machines manage several million work cycles per year. energy chain and chainflex®-cable are reliable system components that stand up to this constant load.
To the application exampleQuick and easy assembly
Nowadays, modern machine tools can take several months from assembly to commissioning. However, in order to ensure ongoing operation at an earlier stage, highly complex systems should ideally be ready for operation after just a few weeks. Sophisticated modular products, expert advice and the reduction of the supplier base were able to contribute to this goal in the following applications.
readychain® Chains reduce process costs in CNC systems
Machine tool manufacturer Hartford from Taiwan relies on completely pre-assembled energy chain systems in its portal machining centres. This saves many work steps, reducing the assembly time required from several weeks to just half a day. At the same time, customers can always rely on readychains to provide them with a reliable solution from a single source.
Machine tool series
DVS Universal Grinding GmbH relies on pre-assembled energy chains to save space, weight and time in the production of its machine tools.
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Grinding machine
An extremely smooth-running chain enables this CNC machine to work precisely. A simple design minimises installation and maintenance costs.
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Portal milling machine
With preassembled readychain® energy supply, the company receives everything from a single source and directly from the manufacturer. This saves installation time and costs.
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Machining centre
The energy chain E4/4 light offers compact external dimensions and has a particularly robust design. The readychain® system saved the customer assembly time and costs and made installation considerably easier.
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Portal machining centre
The energy supply system for this machining centre has been designed to minimise the number of interfaces. A pre-assembled complete solution ensures cost- and time-saving assembly.
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Sanding machine
The linear guide and plastic plain bearings used in this sanding machine are characterised by their freedom from maintenance and lubricants and guarantee a particularly long machine service life.
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Machine tools in general
By replacing metallic bearings with iglidur® plastic plain bearings, lid Maho Gildemeister was able to achieve cost savings of over 50 per cent on its machine tools.
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Waterjet cutting system
At 32 x 5 metres, this XXL waterjet cutting system has impressive dimensions. Energy supply supports the precise movement of the two 3D cutting heads.
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Timing belt unit with guide system
Parker EME relies on the drylin® guide system in its linear actuator "LCB". They are extremely robust, have optimum wear and friction properties and require no lubrication.
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Wire bending machine
The SPEEDMAX bending machine series combines an extremely high cycle performance with minimal stroke. Due to the particularly high load, the customer today relies on robust iglidur® plain bearings.
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Machining centre
Today, lightweight, robust and lubrication-free polymer bearings are installed in a wide variety of places in machine tools and machining centres. They always work reliably despite the many movement cycles of the machines.
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Laser cutting machine
This laser cutting machine is characterised by high traversing speeds and accelerations. energy chains work just as dynamically here as robust.
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Woodworking machine
Trima Triebeser Maschinenbau GmbH has installed a bow chain for the 300 mm thick suction hose for a woodworking machine. The aim was to realise a cable-friendly and robust guidance system for long journeys.
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