What Is 5 Axis Machining
5 Axis machining is a mode of CNC machining. The machining centers we usually use now are generally three-axis three-linked machining centers. Three-axis refers to the X, Y and Z axes of the machining center. Of course, there are 4 axis machining centers. 4 axis machining centers refer to the X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis and A-axis. Here, the A-axis refers to the axis that rotates around the X-axis. The five-axis machining center refers to the B axis in addition to the X, Y, and Z axes, and the B axis refers to a rotation axis around the Y axis. This technology has been widely used in high-precision instrument manufacturing fields such as ships, aerospace, automobiles, light industry, and medical treatment.
3 axis machining centers and vertical machining centers are commonly used in traditional mold processing to complete the milling of workpieces. With the development of mold manufacturing and processing technology, the ball-end milling cutter commonly used in traditional mold processing has obvious benefits, but if it is applied for vertical machining centers, the bottom surface speed is zero, and the finish is poor, so the weaknesses of traditional mold processing gradually appear. The 5 axis machining can process different sides of the workpiece without changing the position of the workpiece on the machine tool, which can greatly improve the processing efficiency of prismatic parts. (CNC Machining: 3 Axis VS 4 Axis VS 5 Axis)
What are the advantages of 5 axis machining
1. Reduce Machining Time
In five-axis machining, flat-bottomed end mills are used to maintain a vertical state of the complex mold processing surface, which can greatly reduce the processing time. The principle of the five-axis machining center is also suitable for side milling with angled surfaces, which can eliminate rib-like lines caused by ball end milling, making the surface quality of the mold more ideal, and reducing the need for cleaning the mold surface The workload of manual milling and manual work.
2. Improve Machining Accuracy
Through the five-axis machining technology, the problem that the workpiece needs to be repositioned at a complex angle and needs to be debugged multiple times is solved, which not only shortens the time, but also greatly reduces the error generated. The tooling fixture required when installing the workpiece The large amount of cost has also been saved, and the machine tool has also achieved the processing of complex parts, such as the drilling, taper processing, and cavity recesses required for complex surfaces, which are not possible with traditional methods.
3. High Production Efficiency
The five-axis machining center can effectively reduce the machining time and auxiliary time of the parts. The five-axis linkage machining center has a large range of spindle speed and feed, allowing the machine tool to perform powerful cutting with a large amount of cutting. The five-axis linkage machining center is currently entering In the era of high-speed machining, the rapid movement and positioning of moving parts of the five-axis machining center and high-speed cutting processing have reduced the turnaround time between semi-finished products and improved production efficiency.
What Is The Role Of Five-axis Machining In Mold Machining
1. Machining Of Deep Cavity Molds
In the mold manufacturing process, if a three-axis machining center is used to process deep cavity molds, it is necessary to lengthen the tool holder and cutting tool to achieve this. However, when using a five-axis machining center to process relatively deep and steep cavities, you must process the mold To create better process conditions, the additional rotation and swing of the workpiece or spindle head can appropriately shorten the length of the tool, thereby preventing the collision between the tool and the tool holder and cavity wall, and reducing the impact of the tool during processing. Vibration and damage, the service life of the tool is extended, and the surface quality and processing efficiency of the mold are greatly improved.
2. Machining Of Mold Side Walls
For the processing of the side wall of the mold, the tool length of the three-axis machining center is larger than the depth of the side wall, and the tool length is determined by the depth of the side wall. If the length of the tool is increased, its strength will be significantly reduced. The phenomenon of doubling the diameter of the knife will occur, and the quality of the workpiece will be difficult to guarantee. For example, a five-axis machining center is used to process the side wall of the mold. The swing of the main shaft or the workpiece can be used to make the tool and the side wall of the mold appear vertical. When milling the side wall of the mold, a plane milling cutter can be used to improve the quality of the workpiece. And extend the life of the tool.
3. Machining Of Flat Surface Of Mold
When machining the flat surface of the mold, the three-axis machining center needs to use a ball cutter to finish milling to obtain a good surface quality. In this case, it is necessary to increase the tool path, but the center rotation speed of the ball cutter tool is almost zero. In the mold processing, the degree of tool damage is greater, the service life of the tool will be shortened, and the surface quality of the mold will also deteriorate. The five-axis machining center is used to process relatively flat curved surfaces. The tool can be placed on the workpiece at a certain angle and then the workpiece can be processed. This can increase the relative linear velocity between the workpiece and the ball nose tool, and not only can the tool life be improved Improve, the surface quality of the workpiece will also be greatly improved.
4. Processing The Irregular Surface Of The Mold
For the machining of molds with irregular curved surfaces, it was generally done by a three-axis machining center in the past. The direction of the tool cutting mold is to move along the entire path of the cutting. The cutting process will not change. At this time, the cutting state of the tool tip The perfect quality of each part of the mold cannot be guaranteed. For example, molds with frequent curvature changes and molds with deep grooves can be processed by a five-axis machining center. The cutting tool can always optimize the cutting state, and the tool can maximize the direction of the entire processing path. , While the tool can also move in a straight line at the same time, every part of the surface of the mold will be more perfect.
5. Machining Of Different Geometric Shapes Of Molds
When using a five-axis machining center to process a mold with a three-dimensional curve plane, the cutting of the mold is always protected in the best working state. The angle of the tool can be changed in any area of the machine tool to complete the geometric mold processing.
6. Machining Of Inclined Holes On The Inclined Surface Of The Mold
When processing the inclined hole on the inclined surface of the mold, the five-axis machining center can be used to place the spindle on the vertical side of the inclined surface of the workpiece through the swinging movement of the swing head machine tool, and position it at the accurate hole position. To accurately process oblique holes on the mold, at least two linear axis interpolation motions are needed, and the accuracy of the hole positions is significantly reduced in this process. For processing oblique holes, such as using a five-axis machining center with a pendulum table, the action is to place the oblique surface of the mold at a position perpendicular to the spindle through the pendulum table of the machine tool. The processing of the oblique hole of one of the linear axes of the spindle can be completed, which is obvious Improve the accuracy of the hole.
7. Milling Of Straight Lines Without Direction Change Of Mold
If you want to mill a straight line with no change in direction, you only need to draw a straight line on the tip of the tool. If the direction needs to be changed, the tip of the tool will draw a curve. The direction of the tip of the tool is changed. It is extremely important to use a five-axis machining center to compensate the curve. If the control system does not consider the length of the tool, the tool rotates around the center of the axis, and the tip of the tool cannot be fixed, and it is very likely to move out of the current working position. However, the system of the five-axis machining center has five-axis control. Function. In the operation of processing molds, although the direction of the tool is changed using the five-axis control system, the position of the tool tip can remain unchanged. In this process, the necessary compensation movement of the xyz axis is also automatically calculated. At this time, the machining accuracy is significantly improved.
To Sum Up
In mold processing, the use of a five-axis machining center can avoid tool interference, and can process complex parts that are difficult to process by ordinary three-axis machine tools. For the processing of ruled surface molds, side milling one-cut molding technology can be used for processing. The quality is good and the efficiency is high. For three-dimensional profiles, especially large-scale flat surfaces, the large-diameter end milling cutter can be used to approach the large-scale surface. The number of passes will be reduced, the residual height will be small, and the processing efficiency and surface quality can be effectively improved . The multiple space surfaces of the mold can be clamped at one time to perform multi-process and multi-face processing, which improves the processing efficiency and can effectively improve the accuracy of the mutual position of each surface.
When the five-axis machining center is used for mold processing, the tool can always be in the most effective cutting state for the workpiece. In some processing fields, large-size tools can be used to avoid mutual interference. This kind of tool rigidity Better, the processing accuracy and processing efficiency can be improved. The five-axis machining center is a high-tech method. It can not only complete the tasks of mechanized processing of complex workpieces, but also quickly improve processing efficiency and shorten processing procedures.