MACH 2024 Review
FumeGuard range: a FumeGuard, which comes with a specially designed hood and options for disposable filter cassettes or cleanable cartridges; and a portable FumeGuard Mini for on-torch welding applications. EDM was another popular technology area at MACH. Sodick, for instance, committed to its largest-ever MACH stand and reported its most successful show with double-digit machine sales. New models on display included the VN600Q precision wire-cut EDM machine and ALC600G iG+E wire EDM with iGroove+ technology. While FANUC was among others to shine the spotlight on EDM machines, the company is known for its wide portfolio of automation solutions, including robots, CNC systems and machining centres. Regarding the latter, the centrepiece of the stand was a RoboDrill D21LiB5ADV Plus machining centre which now offers turning capabilities thanks to the addition of a Nikken two-axis high-speed rotary table. The machine spent the entire event producing scroll compressor housings from aluminium, showcasing live to visitors the cost-saving and performance benefits available from combining machining and turning in a single platform. “FANUC and Nikken have created a combined milling/turning cell at a fraction of the cost of machines with similar capabilities,” said Oliver Selby, Head of UK Sales at FANUC UK.
DC. A shoulder mill that provides direct cooling to the cutting edge in the flank of the insert, the new MaxiMill-211-DC (with 3D-printed body) is for the high-performance machining of aerospace alloys. Indeed, Ceratizit recently tested the cutter on a landing gear component made from titanium 555. At 9-10 mm depth-of-cut, the MaxiMill-211- DC doubled productivity for customer. Another cutting tool specialist, Mapal, used MACH to showcase live tooling demonstrations with various machine tool builders, including the machining of an aerospace component on a Mazak machine featuring the PowerSpeed PCD face mill and newly released OptiMill-Alu-Wave. The solid-carbide OptiMill-Alu-Wave roughing cutter for aluminium workpieces can achieve staggering metal removal rates of up to 21 litres per minute on structural parts such as wing ribs and wing skins. Of course, MACH is about far more than machines and tooling. The focus on the stand of Oemeta, for example, was helping manufacturers understand common coolant-related problems – such as bad smells, foaming, residue, skin irritation, sump life, corrosion, poor lubricity and sludge – and pairing them with solutions. On the stand of mist/fume extraction expert Filtermist, visitors could discover two new welding fume units from its new Dustcheck
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