Published 11/29/2017

DMG MORI Presents Davis Technology Days

Attendees saw the U.S. premier of two five-axis machining centers. They also saw vertical machining centers and the company’s advanced machine tool factory.

Mark Albert

Editor Emeritus, Modern Machine Shop

New to the U.S. market is the DMU 75 MonoBlock, a five-axis machining center that balances a relatively compact footprint (less than 86 square feet) with a relatively large work envelope for parts measuring as large as 33 inches in diameter and weighing as much as 1,322 pounds. The demo at Davis emphasized the accessibility of the configuration (it enables loading with a crane) and the flexibility of the swiveling rotary table. The machine was shown with a FANUC control unit using the Celos interface and Mapps digital operating system.

The cubic fixture in the demo on the DMU 75 had five-sided workholding with multiple parts on some sides.

Also making its debut was the DMU 90 P DuoBlock, a five-axis machine configured with a rotary head over a rotary table. The “P” designation indicates that it is powered for heavy-duty machining of large workpieces as heavy as 3,970 pounds. Its stated positioning accuracy is 4 microns. X-axis travel measures 35.4 inches. This machine is described as “an economical entry into machining of die/mold work and aerospace structural components.”

The demo on the DMU 90 P, however, showed the maneuverability of the machine working around a rock drilling head that featured complex contours, holes at odd angles and deep recesses.

The DMU 50 shown here is built in Davis. The demonstration of this universal machining center featured a prototype steering knuckle for a sports car. The machine has full five-axis capability, but the point of this demo was to show how the 3+2 mode enables a complex part to be completed in only two operations.

By positioning the workpiece for access by the highly flexible orientation of the cutting tool on the DMU 50, this steering knuckle needs only one refixturing to be machined completely. As many as five setups might be needed without the five-axis positioning of this machine.

Three versions of the CMX 1100 V machine were on display to show how this platform can be “packaged” for the various needs of job shops looking for a boost in their vertical machining capability. The CMX 1100 V is the largest of the machines in this series and the best-selling size (the CMX 600 V and the CMX 800 V have smaller tables). The version shown here represents the “value” package with the basic features included to give an entry-level machine with 55 inches of X-axis travel and a 12,000-rpm spindle. The “performance” package displayed nearby looked nearly identical, but features a 15,000-rpm spindle and is prepped for on-board probing, coolant and filtration options plus automation. The CNC has more advanced features as well.

This CMX 1100 V definitely has a distinctive appearance because it is equipped with a VersaBuilt roboticized part loader/unloader.

The self-contained VersaBuilt unit is designed to easily swing away from the machine. This enables the machine to be operated manually without obstruction and the unit to be served easily.

The key to this unit’s success is the robot’s ability to load and unload vise jaws along with loading and unloading workpieces, all automatically. The robot can switch from loading and unloading one type of workpiece to another by quickly exchanging the jaws needed for the new part. Developers say this flexible, automated system can out-produce an HMC with a pallet changer when part mix is high and batch sizes are on the low to medium size.

DMG MORI’s Messenger software is a complete data-collection and machine-monitoring system. Although it is designed to leverage the copious data generated by the company’s machine tool products, the system can accept data from any machine in the MTConnect format.

The tour of DMG MORI’s North American manufacturing facility was a bonus for Davis Technology Days attendees. This picture was provided by the company to illustrate the capability of this factory. It manufactures and assembles different models of the NHX horizontal machining centers as well as the CMX 1100 V vertical machining center. Castings for these machines await processing in the facility.

The facility employs automated production methods such as production cells, palletized systems and robotics. DMG MORI’s cell control software manages all of the machining programs, production schedules and provides control of production. Monitoring and reporting of machine status is performed by DMG MORI’s Messenger software. (Photo courtesy of DMG MORI.)

Davis, California, is a satellite community of Sacramento, the state’s capital, and the location of the University of California’s Davis campus. Davis is also home to DMG MORI’s Digital Technology Laboratory and its North American manufacturing plant. During the company’s Technology Days event Nov. 13-16, customers and journalists had the opportunity to see the U.S. premier of two five-axis machining centers, a variety of vertical machining centers, and the company’s advanced machine tool factory.

One theme that connected all of these sights was an emphasis on “digital connectedness”—the ability to organize and manage production with current, detailed data, which is the essence of the Industry 4.0 concept.