CNC Machine | CNC Multispindle Machine

Full CNC Multispindle

The Model MS22C from Index Corp, introduced at IMTS 2006 in September, is the latest addition to the company's line of CNC multispindle machines. A fully CNC multispindle for turning and milling small workpieces from bar as large as 22-mm diam, the machine has six fully independent CNC spindles, each capable of speeds to 10,000 rpm.

Developed for the medium-complex workpiece market, which Index says has until now been dominated by cam-controlled multispindle automatics and simple sliding and fixed-headstock automatics, the machine is designed for production of precision parts with different features in one single-step operation.

Supplied as a modular system, the machine can be equipped with up to 62 axes, 12 CNC compound slides, and Y axes, plus an optional two synchronous spindles and six tools for backworking, four of which may be live tools. In every spindle position, a C, X, and Z axis is available. Backworking can also be done using three fixed tools.

Its open-front work area allows more than one tool on each of the CNC compound (X, Y, Z) slides to be engaged at once, and also provides a freely accessible work area and unrestricted chip flow.

The V-shaped arrangement of the tool carrier in every spindle position means that only the toolholder determines the type of machining, so external and internal machining can be done with fixed or driven tools at every station. Furthermore, the machine can also be configured as a double three-spindle machine. The C axis, available in all spindle positions, allows the complete machining of complex workpieces in short cycles. With the available Y axis, eccentric machining can also be performed.

The modular design permits building the machine with options that fit a wide range of requirements including polygon turning/milling/drilling/gear hobbing. A bar loader or stock reel can be used with the unit.

The machine employs the same multispindle technology seen on the rest of the Index machine range. The multispindle's centerpiece is the spindle drum, with six spindles driven by individual air-cooled AC motors. A three-ring face-tooth coupling mechanism locks the spindle drum into the headstock.

All six backworking tools, located between the cut-off position and the exit conveyor, can either be fixed or live (driven). The kinematic motion drive for the spindle automatically includes the Y axis, so that off-center features can be machined on the cutoff side of the workpiece in conjunction with the C axis on the pickup spindle. This new design allows very quick cycle times-around 2 sec, depending on the workpiece.

Olaf Tessarzyk, president and CEO of Index Corp., says the MS22C allows machine shops to transition into the company's MS CNC technology at a cost typical of a cam machine with CNC slides.

The MS22C is part of a full line of CNC multispindle machines, all based on the same design concept. The other models include the counter-spindle versions MS32P and MS42, which allow machining of longer and more complex parts, and the MS32G and MS52G with six additional opposed spindles for the most complex parts, which require extensive backworking.

According to Index, the MS22C can pay for itself with lot sizes from 5000 parts for repeat orders. Circle 180