Starrag Heckert Centers Simplify Agricultural Manufacturing

Although Starrag is not a dedicated farming equipment manufacturer, it says its Heckert line of machining centers for steel and cast-iron workpieces have enhanced product quality and improved production efficiencies for farmers.

Agricultural vehicles cannot use the same lightweighting strategies as passenger vehicles, instead requiring robust steel and cast-iron solutions with challenging contours and stark differences in dimensions and mass from their passenger counterparts. Starrag says the sturdy machine design and flexible configuration options of its four- and five-axis Heckert machines and automated production line fulfill this need for engines, gearbox housings, axes and other heavy, bulky components.

These components require a rigid, high-performance machining system for best results, and Starrag says it meets this demand with compact Heckert centers with pallet sizes 16” to 32” (400 mm to 800 mm). For large-volume and heavy components, the company offers its Heckert Large Athletic series with pallet sizes starting at 39” x 32” (1,000 mm x 800 mm).

These machines feature rigid, thermo-symmetrically designed major components and digital AC feed drives, a high-torque spindle and elaborate profile rail guides and ball screw spindles in all linear axes. They also include an integrated turning function.

Starrag can equip its Heckert machines with an NC quill to machine half-axes and axes drives or bearing seats and other interior molded elements. This quill, a versatile and cost-effective alternative to vibration-damped standard tools that require extensions, can extend up to 20” (500 mm) in the Z-direction on compact models. It measures 5” (125 mm) in diameter and offers a maximum speed of 4,000 rpm. For larger machining centers with a pallet size starting from 39” (1,000 mm), there is an additional quill measuring 6” (150 mm) in diameter with a traverse path of 30” (760 mm).