VIPER VT-40 / VT-50 HEAVY CUTTING CNC LATHE
The editorial (As featured on ''Southeast/Southwest Manufacturing News')
By: Kediy
The heavy-duty VT-40 / VT-50 CNC Turning Centers have big spindle bores of 5.12”, 7.28”, 9.25”, 14.37” and 17.13” that allow heavy cutting on big parts. The rigid Meehanite cast-iron bed construction provides ultimate machine tool accuracy and reliability, as the heat treatment provides release of residual stress. This guarantees the longevity of the operation. The 45° slant-bed design with integrated ribbing tube structure gives the machine exceptional stability in heavy-cutting operation and optimal chip removal. The cutting forces are increased, resulting a high degree of precision. Z-axis travels are available in 40”, 80” and 120”. Both X and Z Axes are supported by oversized, hardened ground box-type ways with rapid rates of 787 IPM on the X axis and 945 IPM on Z axis.
The headstock has thermal deformation prevention design for higher accuracy. The spindle is located on the headstock, with a drive capacity of 50HP that provides different feed rates and speeds needed when cutting a variety of materials. Made of SCM21 alloy steel, the spindle gives excellent speed on surface finishing and metal removal. The high-accuracy P4 grade angular contact thrust spindle bearings from NSK, SKF or FAG ensures precision turning during long-term operations.
The turret is designed with 12 stations, 1 second station index time that allow 1.25” shank height square tooling and Ø2.36” shank diameter for boring tool with
minimum tool interference. The curvic coupler, hydraulic actuator and position encoder are to enhance reliability and durability.
The powerful, robust ball screws generate slide-way movement in both X and Z axes. Using only the finest materials, both axes are driven by an ultra-precise ball screw that is pre-loaded and double-anchored for optimum drive conditions.
The hydraulic tailstock has a 4.33” diameter quill, a No. 5 Morse Taper and a generous stroke of 3.94”. A programmable tow-along tailstock is available as an option. The tailstock is box type way system, seated on the same 45° angle surface as the X-Axis turret movement. The hydraulic motor & rack / pinion assembly with movable stopping limit switches is an alternative option to positioning the tailstock to increase efficiency.
Slide-ways and ball screws are lubricated by a centralized volumetric lubrication system. The automatic supply of slide-way lubrication is constantly monitored to ensure the amount of lubricant in circulation. The sophisticated lubrication monitoring system ensures complete lubrication by detecting any oil leakage or oil pressure reduction to avoid any potential downtime problem.
The optional tool pre-setting system reduces the time for set-up and tool changing, as well as insuring the accurate measurement of tool offsets. It also allows various checkpoints throughout the program to obtain optimal part accuracy and finish. These tool offsets are quickly and accurately measured by the tool pre-setter probe system.