Milling without any downtime: guidelok increases quality and reduces maintenance

By OEM Update Editorial April 10, 2020 12:35 pm IST

Large machining centre gantries are the speciality of machine tool builder Kao Ming in Taiwan. The long travel lengths of up to 13 metres provide challenging requirements for the supply of energy and media. The guidelok chosen by Kao Ming and supplied by motion plastics specialist igus and chosen by Kao Ming is a system that leads to improved machining results due to the low level of vibration caused by operation of the e-chains.

Kao Ming is a pioneer in Asia in the development and manufacture of heavy-duty robotic milling machines. The KMC-G series is one of the Taiwanese company’s largest gantry machining centres. The system is designed around a gantry, i.e., the machining table with the workpiece remains stationary. With travel lengths of 13 metres, this design is especially useful for large-volume, heavy workpieces and is mainly used for workpiece machining in the aviation and machine tool industry. In the KMC-G series, Kao Ming uses the guidelok energy supply system for high unsupported lengths, in combination with an E4.80 energy chain.

Horizontal guidelok system guides upper run reliably and safely

The gantry machining centre is equipped with a changing device for the machining spindle so that
milling heads can be used at different angles. Due to the large number of spindles which have to be guided from the central control cabinet through the plant to the milling unit, there are a large number of cables and hoses for energy, media and data. “For longer travels, no energy chain can be used without support. This is especially true when you consider the extra weight of the hoses and cables inside the chain,” explains Kao Ming General Manager Tim Chang. The guidelok system fulfils all these requirements. The supporting rollers guide the upper run of the E4.80. Each roller can move out of the way when the chain radius moves past it. Moreover, the design allows the option to have two opposite chains move within the same trough system. Due to the design of the guidelok, the e-chain can move quickly and with little vibration. This has a positive effect on the machining result. At the same time, machine downtimes and maintenance intervals are reduced as swarf is unable to settle between the upper and lower run. The guidelok travel distance can even extend to 50 metres long.

For more information, visit:
www.igus.in