Micro Metalsmiths saw productivity increase by so much after installing four Fanuc Alpha T21i (FL) vertical machining centres (VMC) they quickly ordered two more.

The Fanuc almost immediately achieved a 50 per cent improvement in productivity at Micro Metalsmiths, a manufacturer of microwave assemblies and components All six VMCs are now in full production, machining multiple loads of up to 32 microwave components in machining cycles that can vary between one minute and six hours Of the six Fanuc long bed machines installed, one is configured for 5-axis machining using a Nikken 5AX 130FA unit with 1,000 block advanced look ahead and an expanded data server.

Two machines are configured for four-axis machining with Nikken CNC 202FA rotary tables and all have the high speed 24,000 rev/min spindle options to accommodate drilling and tapping of holes as small as M1.5.

Each machine table is also fitted with granite riser blocks in order to accommodate the various fixtures required.

All machines have Renishaw OMP40 probing and are integrated to CADCAM for program generation.

Most cycles include extensive milling, drilling and tapping, where the 54m/min rapid positioning with 1.5G acceleration and ultra-quick 1.6s cut-to-cut toolchange contribute to the high productivity and reduction of cycle time.

Production also benefits from more consistent machining cycles with typical tolerances within 0.05mm.

With extended machine cycles of up to 6h, involving multiple part loadings, the Fanuc VMCs can be set and left to run unmanned overnight.

The Fanuc T21iF has a 700mm X-axis, 400mm in Y and a 330mm travel in Z.

With the fourth-axis unit installed on two machines with a backlash-free servomotor drive, the rotational speed is 150 rev/min and takes just 0.4s to index 180 deg. 

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