NEW, ENTRY-LEVEL, 5-AXIS MACHINING CENTRE

Manufacturers looking to progress from 3-axis or 4-axis CNC prismatic metalcutting and invest in a 5-axis facility may now consider a new, affordable, vertical-spindle machining centre from WELE, Taiwan, whose machine tools have been offered in the UK and Ireland since mid-2018 under a sole agency agreement with Whitehouse Machine Tools.

Managing director Tim Whitehouse commented that neither performance nor longevity has been compromised in the manufacture of the UQ400, despite the machine's competitive price, as WELE maintains a high level of build quality as befits a company that is part owned by Japanese machine tool producer, Toyoda.

The machine has an installed weight of 6.5 tonnes and occupies a compact footprint of 2.95 x 2.35 metres. Capable of interpolating four of the five axes simultaneously, it is intended for 5-face machining of workpieces weighing up to 200 kg with fixture. A Fanuc 0iMF control allows an easy gateway into 5-axis operation for users more familiar with this CNC system than others on the market.

The working envelope is defined by 400 x 650 x 485 mm ballscrew-driven travels in X, Y and Z together with two rotary, hydraulically clamped axes, which are provided by a 360 degree C-axis table and a +30 / -120 degree A-axis swivelling trunnion.

The BT40 direct-drive spindle, served with cutters exchanged from a 24-station tool magazine, offers 11 kW of continuous power (15 kW for 30 mins) and speeds up to 12,000 rpm, or optionally 15,000 or 20,000 rpm (HSK-A63). High production output is assured by a cutting feed rate of 10 m/min and rapids of 36 m/min in X, 24 m/min in Y and 10 m/min in Z.

Standard equipment includes chip wash-down for the table and twin augers in the Y-axis plus one in the X-axis to evacuate the swarf, while bed wash-down and different styles of chip conveyor are available.

So also are an interface on the table for a hydraulic fixture, 32- or 40-pocket chain-type tool magazines, through-spindle coolant, roller bearing guideways, linear encoder position feedback, and automatic tool length and workpiece measuring using either Blum or Renishaw sensors. Additionally, a Mitsubishi M830 control can be specified instead of Fanuc.

Whitehouse Machine Tools has a WELE UQ400 vertical machining centre in stock for inspection and cutting trials at its Kenilworth showroom and technical centre.