A space machine tool for space plans
14 июня 2024
The manufacturing complex "VZOR" has received new equipment — a longitudinal turning machine. This is the most modern and high-tech machinery with unique capabilities for processing needle-type parts (L/D ratio greater than 10). The machine allows producing complex items with high precision and quality while featuring quick retooling for new product lines and high productivity.
The need for such a lathe arose primarily due to the task of making complex parts (such as throttles, shafts, needles, etc.) with high accuracy that is difficult to achieve using existing equipment. Additionally, given the shortage of skilled workers, automation is intended to provide additional resources to the production process.
The new longitudinal turning machine enables the manufacture of parts up to 240 mm long with very high speed and precision. At the core of the machine's operation lies unique Swiss technology: it features a counter-spindle (a second spindle located opposite the main one) and a mobile tool magazine, allowing simultaneous machining of two parts simultaneously from both sides—something impossible to do on conventional CNC machines.
As a result, significant improvements have been achieved within a short time frame:
1. Labor intensity for part fabrication decreased dramatically—by a factor of ten or more, particularly for especially complex components like shafts and needles, where labor reduction reached fifteenfold. This improvement became possible thanks to the implemented cutting-edge machining techniques, enabling the machine to perform turning, fitting, and milling operations concurrently, reducing time spent transferring blanks between different machines, and minimizing setup changes.
2. High-precision results were obtained—measurements taken at five to ten points along each component showed uniform dimensions accurate to hundredths when measured with micrometers.
3. Typically, switching to highly productive equipment leads to compromises in quality. However, in this case, the quality improved even further.
Notably, equipment of this caliber operates predominantly in Russia’s aerospace, electronics, and medical industries. There is reason to believe that this new state-of-the-art machine will make a substantial contribution to the production processes at the VZOR factory.
The new longitudinal turning machine enables the manufacture of parts up to 240 mm long with very high speed and precision. At the core of the machine's operation lies unique Swiss technology: it features a counter-spindle (a second spindle located opposite the main one) and a mobile tool magazine, allowing simultaneous machining of two parts simultaneously from both sides—something impossible to do on conventional CNC machines.
As a result, significant improvements have been achieved within a short time frame:
1. Labor intensity for part fabrication decreased dramatically—by a factor of ten or more, particularly for especially complex components like shafts and needles, where labor reduction reached fifteenfold. This improvement became possible thanks to the implemented cutting-edge machining techniques, enabling the machine to perform turning, fitting, and milling operations concurrently, reducing time spent transferring blanks between different machines, and minimizing setup changes.
2. High-precision results were obtained—measurements taken at five to ten points along each component showed uniform dimensions accurate to hundredths when measured with micrometers.
3. Typically, switching to highly productive equipment leads to compromises in quality. However, in this case, the quality improved even further.
Notably, equipment of this caliber operates predominantly in Russia’s aerospace, electronics, and medical industries. There is reason to believe that this new state-of-the-art machine will make a substantial contribution to the production processes at the VZOR factory.