Use a machining example to intuitively understand 5-axis
To get a feel for 5-axis machining, let's try to simulate 5-axis machining using a sample part. Let's think about what happens when we use 5-axis machining to manufacture the slider parts shown in Figures 2-1 and 2-2.
【1-1】5-axis machining example - slider drawing
【1-2】5-axis machining example - slider 3D sketch
Simplified three-axis machining plan:
1. (Surface 1) Machining preparation
2. (Surface 1) Machining, cutout, threaded hole
3. (Surface 2) Machining preparation
4. (Surface 2) Threaded hole, pin hole
5. (Surface 3) Machining preparation
6. (Surface 3) Machining, square groove
Before machining each surface, production preparation must be done first. Production preparation includes workpiece parallelism confirmation, origin setting and other delicate work that requires skills. As the production preparation work increases, the processing time also increases accordingly, and the dimensional accuracy will decrease due to the operation error.
What is the process when using a 5-axis machine tool for machining? The following is a flowchart.
【1-3】5-axis machining - production preparation, machine tool setting, parallelism check, origin alignment, workpiece installation, origin setting
【1-4】5-axis machining - 1 surface machining, cutout shape, 4 threaded holes
【1-5】5-axis machining - A-axis rotation - 2 surface machining, 2 threaded holes, reaming
【1-6】5-axis machining-C-axis rotation-surface 3 machining, pocket
First, install the machine vise on the table of the 5-axis machine. When using a 5-axis machine, a jack-up vise like this is usually used to fix the workpiece. The purpose is to ensure that the table and the spindle do not interfere when the C-axis is tilted.
Check the parallelism and set the origin of the machine vise, and then fix the workpiece. Then, set the workpiece origin, install the tool, and create the processing data. At this point, the production preparation work is completed.
Now let's move on to the processing work. After processing face 1, let the A axis rotate to process face 2, and then let the C axis rotate to complete the processing of face 3. During this period, there is no need to remove the workpiece to change the production preparation. Instead, the processing can be carried out continuously.
Simplified five-axis processing plan:
1. Processing production preparation
2. Face 1 processing
3. A axis rotation-face 2 processing
4. C axis rotation-face 3 processing
It can be seen that using a 5-axis machine for processing can save the process of changing the production preparation
