Air Turbine Spindles

The company says its AMS air turbine spindles with a built-in air bearing effectively machine and produce superior surface finishes during heavy milling. According to the company, heavy milling applications with excellent surface roughness results are possible when using the AMS-1600 and a 3 mm diameter coated end mill. Tests performed on an aluminum block (A5052) generated surface roughness as low as 0.57 µm, says the company. These findings were based on a cutting depth of 0.05 × 2.5 mm and a feed rate of 2,500 mm/min. The high speed air turbine-type spindle uses an air bearing that is said to contribute to a longer service life because of lack of friction, wear and heat generation. The spindle and the bearing are finished with a high-accuracy precision process, virtually eliminating vibration and providing high rotating accuracy, according to the company. Therefore, the spindles are useful for operations requiring extreme precision. The company offers the AMS-400, the AMS-800 and the AMS-1600 with speeds of 57,000, rpm, 80,000 rpm and 160,000 rpm respectively.