Robb Hudson, chief executive officer of Mitsui Seiki USA, Inc., took time during IMTS 2018 to reflect on the company's 90th anniversary and discuss the industry factors that led to the development of its new family of Vertex 5-axis hybrid vertical machining/grinding centers.
Speaking with Cutting Tool Engineering Publisher Dennis Spaeth for an on-camera interview, Hudson said Mitsui Seiki's Vertex Hybrid G 55-5X, 75-5X and 100-5X machines provide CMM-level precision in critical highspeed milling and grinding applications. The machines are said to be capable of 0.0003" or better precision in 3+2 or fully simultaneous 5-axis machining, and reportedly can perform highspeed milling and grinding with a 25,000 rpm main spindle and ATC changeable air spindles of 40,000 rpm to 90,000 rpm.
Key features include automatic in-process grinding wheel dressing and size measurement and wheel calibration. AE sensors and software guided application strategies monitor milling and grinding process finishes.
Related Glossary Terms
- calibration
calibration
Checking measuring instruments and devices against a master set to ensure that, over time, they have remained dimensionally stable and nominally accurate.
- centers
centers
Cone-shaped pins that support a workpiece by one or two ends during machining. The centers fit into holes drilled in the workpiece ends. Centers that turn with the workpiece are called “live” centers; those that do not are called “dead” centers.
- dressing
dressing
Removal of undesirable materials from “loaded” grinding wheels using a single- or multi-point diamond or other tool. The process also exposes unused, sharp abrasive points. See loading; truing.
- gang cutting ( milling)
gang cutting ( milling)
Machining with several cutters mounted on a single arbor, generally for simultaneous cutting.
- grinding
grinding
Machining operation in which material is removed from the workpiece by a powered abrasive wheel, stone, belt, paste, sheet, compound, slurry, etc. Takes various forms: surface grinding (creates flat and/or squared surfaces); cylindrical grinding (for external cylindrical and tapered shapes, fillets, undercuts, etc.); centerless grinding; chamfering; thread and form grinding; tool and cutter grinding; offhand grinding; lapping and polishing (grinding with extremely fine grits to create ultrasmooth surfaces); honing; and disc grinding.
- grinding wheel
grinding wheel
Wheel formed from abrasive material mixed in a suitable matrix. Takes a variety of shapes but falls into two basic categories: one that cuts on its periphery, as in reciprocating grinding, and one that cuts on its side or face, as in tool and cutter grinding.
- milling
milling
Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.
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