Flexible productivity: General Industry Coverage

A mechanically controlled rotary transfer machine can produce parts faster than a CNC one because there is no inversion of a stepping motor like on an NC axis. However, a CNC one—where all axes are programmable—significantly reduces the downtime that occurs when switching from one part to another because changeover is done primarily through software programming. “You can freely program your speeds and feeds to use other tools,” said Oskar Weder, general manager and CEO of Mikron Corp. Monroe. “Programming on the CNC machine is much simpler than making a cam and mounting it on a machine.”

To more closely bridge the mechanical/CNC gap in output capability while offering the flexibility to do part volumes of even a few hundred, including parts as small as 0.8mm, the machine tool builder and toolmaker introduced the Multistar NX-24 CNC rotary machining system. According to Mikron, the machine is slightly less productive than a mechanical one but the control’s operator interface simplifies rapid programming and changeovers. For instance, it might take 12 hours to change from one part to a significantly different one on a mechanical machine, Weder noted, but only 4 hours on the Multistar.

Courtesy of Mikron SA Agno

A blank is fed into the Multistar NX-24 CNC rotary transfer machine’s first workstation and clamped in the collet (above), and the completed part is unloaded from the machine in the last station. Below: End users can produce a variety of parts on the machine.