So, you’ve decided to invest in a big machine, and that can come with a high price Tag. Choosing the right machine is not easy, but we can help with these tips.
1. Size Matters
Whether you have a horizontal milling/boring application or a vertical turning/boring application, choose the right machine by looking at travels, rotary table size and capacity (HBMs) or swing, table capacity, and height under rail (VBMs/VTLs).
The summit can customize these for you to offer the best fit for your application(s)
2. Quality Of Structural Parts & Components
To go a long way, look for a good quality, Meehanite certified, closed-grain cast iron when it comes to structural parts. And always check for the best available components: Bearings, Ball Screws, Scales & Encoders, UL/CSA Electrics and electronics, motors, hydraulics, lube and pumps.
3. Ease of Operation
A machine operator has to feel the machine as an extension of his hands and brain.
Summit offers this unique concept - MANUAL 2 CNC – where the operator has 4 ways of running the machine:
- Pure Manual, using Joysticks & P/Bs (but selecting/programming a Federate & Speed rate and using the overrides)
- Basic Conversational, using the Soft Keys with Canned Cycles in JOG screen
- Advanced Conversational, using ShopMill or ShopTurn (VBMs) built-in software
- Full ISO programming
4. Available Options For More Versatility
On a Horizontal Boring Mill, one can use a variety of attachments to fit specific applications:
- Tailstock & Boring Bar for Line Boring
- Vertical Attachment for 900 Milling
- Spindle Support for extended quill use
- Facing Head for facing or boring large diameters
- Tool Changers for full CNC machines
- Flood Coolant and/or High
- Pressure Thru Spindle Coolant
On a Vertical Turning/Boring Machine, one could choose from:
- Customized Configuration of Vertical Heads (Turret Type, Ram Type, or combination of both)
- Adding a Side Head
- For Full CNC, one can choose Live Spindle Ram and active “C” Axis and/or add Tool Changer
- Flood Coolant and Thru Spindle Coolant of Live Spindle Ram models
- Angular Milling Head on Live Spindle Ram
