Motors & Drives Information

A quick scan of the want ads in any manufacturing town usually reveals a number of openings for Bridgeport operators. Think Bridgeport and think knee mills, right?

Not exactly, says the company. Yes, the company is a leader in manufacturing standard milling machines, but it also provides a line of vertical machining centers (VMCs) characterized by digitally driven motors and drives for high-speed contouring of a variety of parts.

Introduced in March, the company's new XP series of VMCs is designed using finite-element analysis techniques to maximize structural strength. FEA shows how the VMC performs under the impacting cutter loads and structural stiffness of each component, revealing how the machine tool builder can use lighter components so the user gets faster acceleration and deceleration without unacceptable forces.

Each machine features hardened and ground tool steel ways matted to the rigid cast-iron frame in the X, Y, and Z axes. Slideway surfaces are coated with Turcite and hand-scraped for good retention of lubricating oil, essential for long life. Cast-iron frame castings meet international standards for providing effective vibration-dampening characteristics, in addition to excellent mechanical and thermal stability. The Bridgeport line of VMCs is a best-seller in England, where it is manufactured in an ISO 9001-certified production plant in Leicester.

On the controls side, the Bridgeport-enhanced Fanuc control brings a digital dimension to running data through the machine. Bridgeport's FastOP software simplifies setup routines, often compressing multiple functions into a single keystroke. A more flexible PCMCIA (personal computer memory card) slot adds the potential for unlimited memory along with high-speed DNC drip feed. Complex production programs such as those used for moldmaking can be run without data starvation. And high-speed machining software (advanced integrated contour control) is standard.

Patented technology on the Bridgeport line of VMCs includes a dynamic thermal-compensation strip. Attached to the spindle head, this thermistor strip interfaces directly with the CNC, and dynamically updates machine axes in response to real-time monitoring and feedback of temperature data.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:54 AM