Why Do High-quality Machining Require Five-axis Equipment?

Why do high-quality machining require five-axis equipment?

Five-axis machining centers are moving from high-end exclusive to popular. Many business owners have discovered that while their peers are still using three-axis machine tools to compete on price, manufacturers that switch to five-axis equipment have already taken orders that have doubled their profits. Behind this change in processing methods are the rigid requirements of the manufacturing industry's survival rules.

The realistic logic of the five-axis existence

The update cycle of new products continues to be compressed, and the time from project establishment to launch of consumer electronics products often does not exceed three months. Traditional technology requires the design and manufacture of more than ten sets of tooling fixtures. By the time the fixtures are completed, half of the market window period has passed. Five-axis työstö can quickly respond to design changes, and there is no need to wait for the production of new fixtures to be completed.

The proportion of labor costs has been rising year by year. In coastal areas, the monthly salary of CNC technicians with skilled operating capabilities has exceeded the limit of 15,000. Five-axis machining combines multiple different processes, and one operator can oversee four to five pieces of equipment at the same time. The quality of the product no longer depends on the technical level possessed by the individual, but is fixed in the program and machine tool performance.

The inevitable replacement of electrical discharge machining

During electrical discharge machining, electrodes must be made first. For a complex cavity, more than a dozen copper pins are often needed. The electrode processing itself requires precision equipment, plus discharge gap adjustment and loss compensation. This process chain is very long. Five-axis machining directly relies on tool cutting, thus eliminating electrode materials and production time.

After discharge, a deteriorated layer will appear on the surface of the workpiece, which needs to be removed by subsequent polishing. Five-axis machining uses a ball cutter side edge for cutting, and its surface roughness can be within Ra0.4, which directly meets the requirements for mold use. A certain mold factory reduced the processing steps related to sliders from thirteen to two, and its delivery time was shortened from ten days to two days.

Breaking through the dilemma of homogeneous competition

Three-axis machining technology, which has been widely popularized for 30 years, has almost transparent programming methods and process parameters. For example, if you quote a price of ten yuan for a workpiece, but your neighbor dares to quote eight yuan, in the end no one will make a profit. The technology of five-axis machining requires mastering the technologies of rotary axis linkage and tool axis control. The entry threshold set by it has blocked most people participating in the competition.

A master who can perform five-axis programming. The salary they receive each month. Compared with the three-axis programming master. Eight thousand more. However, after the business owner has calculated the accounts. I still think this is a good deal. Special-shaped parts that no one else can do. You can handle it. Others require five clamping operations. You can complete these clamping and processing in one go. Technical barriers give it pricing power. Single price for processing. It can be more than three times higher than others.

Structural features of five-axis equipment

The five-axis machining center adds two rotating axes to the basic conditions of the three linear axes of X, Y, and Z. The common double turntable structure allows the workpiece to be tilted at will, and the tool can always contact the cutting surface at the best angle. The support rigidity of the cradle-type worktable is much better than that of the cantilever structure, and it will not vibrate during heavy cutting.

The rotating shaft used is a large-size crossed roller bearing. Its radial load-bearing capacity is 30% higher than that of ordinary bearings, and its axial load-bearing capacity is also 30% higher than that of ordinary bearings. The C-axis can bear the weight of a workpiece weighing 2,000 kilograms and can complete a 90-degree flip within five seconds. The importance of five-axis machining simulation in this structural design ensures accuracy maintenance during long-term operation.

Specific paths to improve accuracy

When processing delicate and complex parts, the most feared thing is the positioning error caused by multiple clampings. Five-axis machining can achieve five-face machining operations in one clamping situation, and the coordinate system only needs to be constructed once. There is an aerospace parts manufacturing factory that processes impellers. In the past, three-axis machining required eight times of alignment. Now, with the help of five-axis clamping, the dimensional consistency has been significantly improved.

The short tool used in machining is the key to ensuring accuracy. When three-axis machining of deep cavities, a long-edged tool must be used. However, the long overhang of the tool can easily lead to the phenomenon of tool collapse. The five-axis can tilt the workpiece and use the side edge of the short-edged tool to process the importance of five-axis machining simulation . For the processing of certain medical device parts, the tool aspect ratio is reduced from ten to one to three to one, and the dimensional fluctuation is reduced by 70%.

Surface quality meets efficiency

When traditional three-axis machining of curved surfaces uses ball cutters for point contact, once the step distance is slightly increased, there will be residual height. Five-axis machining can promote the side edge of the ball cutter to participate in the cutting process, thereby transforming into line contact. Under the same step distance, the surface roughness can be increased by one level. For a certain optical mold processing, after five-axis side milling, manual polishing is no longer needed.

Five-axis machining allows for efficient cutting using multi-edged tools. When used to machine hardened steel, the five-axis linkage can maintain a constant contact angle, thereby extending tool life by 40 percent. An auto parts factory applied five-axis hard milling to replace electric discharge machining, reducing the cost of a single piece by 62%, and there were no white layer defects on the surface.

After reading this article, why do we need to use five-axis equipment for high-quality machining? , do you think that some of the three-axis machining tasks in your factory have actually been adapted to five-axis operations? You are welcome to leave a message in the comment area and share your insights. If you think the article is valuable, please like and forward it so that more peers can see it.