Fanuc Robocut

[Rhoda Siket]

Whateveryour need, whatever your material, industry or market, FANUC has the right product for you. FANUC guarantees superior machining performance, reliability and support leading to continued, improved productivity for our customers.

Fanuc robocut wire edm CIC series machines are developed to meet the latest and upcoming demands of customer. The machine with new structure, new discharge device and new I H pro controller ensures the high accuracy, high speed, low maintenence and smart phone like userfrindly operation.

The 600 Group informs us that with the launch of A1 pulse control, feedrates can be increased by up to 40 per cent on the latest Fanuc Robocut Alpha-/C series of wire electro-discharge machines. And, when combined with the latestNano Interpolation development giving NC commands to the machine servodriveswith an ultra-fine pitch of 0.001 mm, high speed cutting up to 330 mm2/minusing 0.3mm brass wire can be performed with a high precision capability such asholding roundness to within 1.2 on a 30 mm diameter hole to a surfacefinish of 0.7 m (Figure 1).

The two new robocut machines in the C-Series from 600 Centre of Shepshed,Loughborough, UK, are available in the 0 version, having cutting strokes of 320mm 220 mm 180 mm and a 500 kg table loading or the largercapacity I variant, having cutting strokes of 550 mm 370 mm 310mm and a 1 tonne table loading.

The developments of the patent pending Al pulse control are said to enableprecise monitoring of the number of pulses applied to the cutting process andresponsive issue by the CNC control of velocity commands. This reaction enablesthe energy density and discharge gap between wire and workpiece to be optimisedand kept uniform throughout the cutting process. As a result problems such aswire breakage due to concentrated discharge are said to be eliminated and withthe increased smoothness of axis motions, accommodates initial penetration intothe workpiece by the wire and overcomes any variation at the point of cut. Thisenables feed rates to be improved by up to 40 per cent over conventional Fanucwire machines with less likelihood of wire breakage.

As Nano Interpolation software distributes positioning commands from the CNCcontrol with a pitch of 0.001 mm (1 nm) to the axis servo motors, which areequipped with ultra-high resolution 16 million pulse coder feeds, anyaccumulation of axial movement errors are eliminated by giving a very preciseand smoother feed to further enhance the machining accuracy.

When these new developments are combined with well-proven functions such ashigh speed non- electrolysis AC cutting and the latest Al active corner controlthat pre-empts a change in either the roughing or finishing cutting path andremoves any slack from the wire feed, precise corner control can be achievedwithout having to modify the programmed cutting path. A micro finish powersupply option also enables fine surface finishes as high as 0.7 m to beachieved.

The ultra-high speed AWF system thermally melts the wire which dramaticallysimplifies the wire cutting mechanism design reducing service demands andextending the reliability of the machine. According to the 600 Group theannealing effect of the heat generated in the wire improves its straightness andcreates a very sharp edge at the point of cut. It is also stated that with thethermal melting system, wire disconnection takes just 4s and wire reconnection 8s, while the sharp edge created helps automatic insertion of the wire in thewire guide and eliminates any need for a split guide. As an option, this systemcan be applied to finer wire diameters between 0.05 and 0.07 mm.

As a further addition, to help in applications involving unmanned wirecutting, when the process start hole is very small or the hole is not in thecorrect position, the control system software will automatically search for aposition where connection can be made, and, if a short-circuit occurs afterconnection, it will automatically carry out a search for a short-circuitreleased position. Should the automatic reconnection of wire be required, it canbe performed on, or very close to the breakage point in the profiled cuttinggroove without having to return to the start position.

The U and V-axis that travels on both machines is 60mm 60 mm and maximum standard taper angle is 30over 80 mm. As an option, this can be increased to 45 over 40 mm.Wire size as standard is 0.1-0.3 mm with option of 0.05-0.3 mm diameter. Maximumwire capacity is 16 kg however, an optional 20 kg supply can be provided.

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