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CNC turning parts are all around us wherever we go. Turned car wheel disks, turned door handles, airplane axles, medical equipment parts, the list can go on forever but the tendency is like that: If you are designing something serious, you will most probably require a CNC lathe with a capable machinist or CNC turning services. What we design must correlate with what can be manufactured, so it’s very important to keep updated on the recent technology developments.
CNC Turning Service
At WayKen, we can offer the most capable and affordable sources including high quality and wide varieties of materials selection, state-of-the-art machines, and experienced teams, if you need online CNC turning services for your metal or metal or plastic turned parts. Also, we will combine with our other CNC aluminum machining, low volume production, rapid prototyping services, and prototype finish, you can get CNC turned prototypes and production parts less than 50% time in comparison to our competitors while keeping the expected quality you deserve.
What Modern CNC Turning is all about
Modern CNC turning scheme is similar to conventional manual methods, however, some hints have been upgraded with modern devices. The part is usually fixed in a horizontal or vertical chuck (mostly hydraulic clamping for CNC machine tools, instead of manual one) and its revolution axis is verified to be coincident with the axis of the spindle. The cutting tool is set into the revolver head and is changed automatically according to the CNC program. The program controls the movements of the tool according to the specified coordinates. Some CNC lathes are equipped with automatic loading/unloading devices and some have an automatic blank feed.
Those are the basic capabilities that turned parts manufacturers have in their arsenal. However, if you want to be successful, basic is not enough, you have to be the pioneer in something. So, here are some very special perks that the best CNC turning services have if they want to stay at the top of the market.
Results of CNC Precision Turning
Conventional turning could yield high-quality parts but it had a lot of limitations. For example, if you wanted some holes of the revolution axis, you’d have to use the drilling machine as an addition to the lathe. If you required some planes to be made or a key seat, you’d have to use milling as well. Modern top-notch CNC turning centers not only provide the best quality precision manufacturing but combine CNC turning and milling operations as well as boring for maximum efficiency. Currently, you can get the IT7 tolerance with the surface finish of Ra 1,25 mcrn efficiently, if you want higher precision turned components, I recommend using abrasive methods.
- Two Spindles
Some precision turned components manufacturers have this feature in order to minimize setup error. Now, what is this about? This is because a typical CNC lathe has a spindle equipped with a chuck that cannot machine the area of the part that is clamped in the chuck. And, if you choose to stop the machine and manually reposition the part, it can be a waste of time in producing multiple parts. So, a lathe with two spindles on the opposite sides was developed. Basically, once the first side of the part is complete, the second spindle mounted with a chuck moves toward the first spindle and takes the part from it. That way, there is no need to stop the program, open the safety door, reset the part manually. In conjunction with an automatic blank feed, when the blank is a long cylinder stock that is fed from the hole in the spindle, you could get a whole batch of precision turned components without any help from the machinist.
- Milling while Turning
Another innovation for CNC turning services is the capability to mill while turning. The efficiency of CNC techniques is always progressing. The line between different processing methods is being erased. So, it was decided to make some slots of the revolver head that contains the cutting tools, with the ability to have an auxiliary spindle. The spindle itself is small and has little power in comparison but enough to be mounted with end mills and drills. Those tools can be mounted both parallel and perpendicularly toward the revolution axis. As a result, you can get a lot of additional side features processed on the same machine tool without the necessity to reset the part. This has two advantages. It saves time and the custom machined parts precision is higher.
- Boring on a CNC Lathe
CNC lathes can even provide efficient boring operations as part of CNC turning services. You can mount the boring head with one, two, or multiple cutters into the tailstock or the revolver head and process deep or large diameter holes with the same precision and rigidity parameters as if you were working on a boring machine tool. In addition, you can mount the threading cuter and get some big diameter threads machined for your CNC turning parts. Boring operations on a lathe practically make a large group of machine tools obsolete. They increase the flexibility of the CNC turning services and save a lot of machining shop space.
- 3D-Printing and Turning
One of the topmost CNC turning services available in the market is a technique on the edge of additive manufacturing and turning. Actually, I know only of one company that offers such commercial equipment: DMG Mori. The process is unique. First, the blank is sintered from powder on the special base and once that is done, this newly sintered part is machined for better tolerance and surface finish. This process can create parts from nothing and it has an astounding material usage rate: meaning almost no waste at all. Currently, the cost of this technique is quite high but it can manufacture truly unique complex aerospace custom turned parts.
- Smart Turning
Another feature that defines modern advanced CNC systems is smart turning. This is really efficient for prototyping or small-batch manufacturing when the optimal cutting parameters are unknown. Smart turning systems have a lot of measuring probes and sensors. As the lathe processes the part, the sensors estimate the processes area and adjust the cutting parameters to get the required precision while cutting at maximum possible feeds. That way, even the first part of the batch of CNC components can be machined with maximum efficiency while keeping the technical requirements of the part. The price of each part is quite high due to all the sensors but if you are working with expensive materials or where making mistakes is not an option, smart turning may be a good way out.
