Vertical Drilling Solution for Long Shaft Components
The customer is a leading manufacturer of automotive drivetrain axle components with a strong focus on precision machining. They handle high-volume production of critical shaft-type components requiring consistent accuracy and process reliability. With growing production demands, they were seeking a more efficient and operator-friendly machining solution for long components.
The requirement involved drilling and chamfering operations on shaft-type components with :
- Length : 600 mm to 1300 mm
- Flange Diameter : 120 mm to 210 mm
Customer Challenge
The customer was earlier performing this operation on an HMC. However, due to the long component length, horizontal loading was difficult and impacted handling efficiency.
BFW Solution
Since machining was required on the top face, the component needed to be positioned inside the machine base and processed from above. The solution was designed without a conventional working table, with the component directly mounted on a fixture. Bed-integrated slots and a front guard cut-out with auto door enabled easy loading. Considering the component loading either side of the machine machine was with two separate individual fixture to ensure one machine will be at machining zone and other will be loading and unloading zone to increase the machine productivity.
Operations :
Drilling, Front chamfering, and back chamfering performed using a special single tool.
Total Cycle Time :
Less than 1 minute (60 seconds considering the 8 holes) .
BFW provided a customised VMC-based solution enabling vertical loading through gantry automation, which resulted in :
- Reduced cycle time
- Easier component handling
- Improved ergonomics
- A more cost-effective solution compared to the existing HMC setup
- Chip zone is protected by a x axis lamella in front of the fixture
Machine Highlights
- Component Capacity : Up to 1300 mm length
- Floor Area : 2300 x 3600 mm
- Loading Height : 1000 mm from operator platform
- Ground Clearance : 110 mm
- Rapid Traverse (X/Y/Z) : 24,000 mm/min
- Tool Magazine : 20 tools
- Tool Change Time : 2.5 sec
- Spindle Motor : 5.5 / 7.5 / or 7.5 / 11 kW
- Spindle Taper : BT 40
- Integrated Tool Breakage Sensor
This solution addressed the customer’s loading challenges and enabled efficient machining of long shaft components through a vertical handling approach.
