Americanmachinist 575 Techtrnds0400jp00000003043
Americanmachinist 575 Techtrnds0400jp00000003043
Americanmachinist 575 Techtrnds0400jp00000003043
Americanmachinist 575 Techtrnds0400jp00000003043
Americanmachinist 575 Techtrnds0400jp00000003043

A head for high-speed work

Feb. 1, 2004
Shops can quickly modify large gantries, boring machines, and mills for high-speed, 5-axis work with a new milling head from French company CMW. The Hexapode CMW 380 features a 40-kW, 24,000-rpm spindle as standard and delivers a maximum speed of 164 ft/m

Modifying a large gantry with the Hexapode CMW 380 milling head lets it handle 5-axis work.

The Hexapode CMW 380's six legs operate in traction and compression modes, ensuring rigidity and eliminating bending stresses.

Shops can quickly modify large gantries, boring machines, and mills for high-speed, 5-axis work with a new milling head from French company CMW. The Hexapode CMW 380 features a 40-kW, 24,000-rpm spindle as standard and delivers a maximum speed of 164 ft/min.

The 380 automatically corrects geometrical errors of the support machine, including problems with roll, pitch, and yaw. And programming is simple, requiring no post-processors. In addition, the 380's six legs are never subjected to bending stress. They operate only in "traction" and "compression" modes, which, according to CMW, make the system more rigid than other machine tools.

When milling successive meshes, only the head of the 380 moves, and the support machine remains fixed. After milling the entire working volume, the support machine moves one step and stops. Then the 380 begins milling again. As for milling successive strips, the head moves at the same time as the support machine, tackling strips as wide as 3.3 ft.

CMW says it is currently seeking North American distributors, importers, and business contacts for the 380 head.