CHIRON
VMC HELPS REDLINE CNC MEET QUICK-THROUGHPUT DEMANDS
The complementary demands presented by a steadily rising order book and the need to get more parts out of the door much more quickly have spurred Redline CNC to invest in a Chiron high-speed FZ08W vertical machining centre from Southam-based Chiron Werke UK.
According to partner Dave Gorsuch, the decision to purchase the FZ08W was very straightforward: “On a price, specification and build quality basis, we couldn’t find anything to beat the Chiron,” he says
Based at Horley near Gatwick Airport, Redline CNC has been established three years. During this time Redline CNC has created a niche role as a precision sub-contract machinist serving major UK first-tier suppliers to manufacturers involved in, for example, missile launch system controls, print industry components and medical instruments.
In addition, the company produces components for a variety of flight simulation and electronics products that are exported throughout the world.
Processing mainly aluminium (plus some brass and mild steel), batches vary from one-off to 1,000 - and it is the demands of such high-variety wor that the Chiron is set to satisfy.
Co-partner Andy Armstrong comments: “With four VMCs already in place, our increasing order book across a spectrum of short-run components meant we needed extra capacity - and a machine that would be suited to multi-tasking. The Chiron fitted the bill ideally.”
With super-fast tool changing and positioning times, and high-speed spindle speeds, the Chiron FZ08W offers unrivalled cycle times and the lowest piece part costs for any machine in its class.
Tool change is carried out in 0.5 sec and chip-to-chip time is just 1.5 sec, while spindle speed is up to 27,000 revs/min (optional) and axis traverse rates are 60 m/min in Z and 40 m/min in X and Y.
Such performance characteristics on a machine with X, Y and Z axes travels of 300 mm by 250 mm by 250 mm often equate to average production increases of 78 per cent and cost per part savings of 38 per cent.
Of travelling column design, the Chiron FZ08W with workpiece changer has a 7.4 kW spindle motor that produces spindle speeds from 20 to 15,000 revs/min. Its 12-position magazine provides tooling for drilling up to 16 mm diameter, tapping to M12, rigid tapping at up to 6,000 revs/min and milling to 200 mm3/min.