I have been given a project to overhaul.
The job involves a series of parts, all of which are .020" thick, formed, heat treated Titanium sheets.
The work to perform is to machine a taper on several edges of the sheets. The taper is appx 1 degree by .875" wide (±.100").
The requirement is a 32RMS finish.
The pictures referenced below show the current process; the issues are: labor-intensive, poor surface finish, and variations in the width (caused by in-tolerance fluctuations in the sheet stock.)
My intent is to spec out a 5-axis mill and a vacuum fixture for each part number, and cut the parts using the end of the endmill rather than the side.
HOWEVER: Standard 5-axis mills are typically dual axes mounted on the machine table. Given the size of the parts in question, this is a little prohibitive.
I would like to find a reasonably-priced tilting-head mill in the <$150K range.
Given the nature of the parts, I would not require more than appx 30 degrees off horizontal in the 4th/5th axes.
Does anyone know of a decent machine that would fit this project?
Pix here:
Project - a set on Flickr
The job involves a series of parts, all of which are .020" thick, formed, heat treated Titanium sheets.
The work to perform is to machine a taper on several edges of the sheets. The taper is appx 1 degree by .875" wide (±.100").
The requirement is a 32RMS finish.
The pictures referenced below show the current process; the issues are: labor-intensive, poor surface finish, and variations in the width (caused by in-tolerance fluctuations in the sheet stock.)
My intent is to spec out a 5-axis mill and a vacuum fixture for each part number, and cut the parts using the end of the endmill rather than the side.
HOWEVER: Standard 5-axis mills are typically dual axes mounted on the machine table. Given the size of the parts in question, this is a little prohibitive.
I would like to find a reasonably-priced tilting-head mill in the <$150K range.
Given the nature of the parts, I would not require more than appx 30 degrees off horizontal in the 4th/5th axes.
Does anyone know of a decent machine that would fit this project?
Pix here:
Project - a set on Flickr