{"id":11071,"date":"2019-03-11T07:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T07:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=11071"},"modified":"2019-03-06T11:34:28","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T11:34:28","slug":"size-without-compromise-overcoming-the-challenges-of-machine-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/size-without-compromise-overcoming-the-challenges-of-machine-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Size without compromise: overcoming the challenges of machine tools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Graham Mackrell explains how machine manufacturers can overcome the challenges of developing compact and cost-effective machines and systems without compromising performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a human freehand toolpath has great potential, especially for art and sculpting, in manufacturing a great amount of accuracy is needed at every stage of production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The skills possessed by artists, such as Claude Monet and Michelangelo, are just some of the more impressive examples of how talented a human\u2019s freehand movements can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a machine tool, however, toolpaths have the skill to execute an action repeatedly, at great speed and with ease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More importantly, they can cover even the most unsteady of areas, precisely and effectively, without compromising quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to widespread perceptions, manufacturing in the UK is thriving and currently contributes \u00a36.7 trillion to the global economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current challenge in the industry, particularly for machine manufacturers, is developing smaller and more compact machines so that manufacturers can increase production and reduce costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create the next generation of machines, gear manufacturers are also under significant pressure. This is because drive and control technology typically make up a considerable proportion of construction costs for newer machines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, these core components are crucial to the machine\u2019s overall performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the fourth and fifth axes of milling heads that are commonly featured on machine tools require robust drives with a large hollow shaft, high protection ratings and a precise gear system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Harmonic Drive, creating a series of servo actuators that had a large hollow shaft as the core feature was essential when designing the CanisDrive 50 and CanisDrive 58 Series. This is because by having a larger hollow shaft, manufacturers are able to plunge into new design opportunities that would have previously been impractical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The market requirement for a large hollow shaft has been addressed by Harmonic Drive UK as a result of developing more advanced gear and motor concepts. To explain, for this particular servo actuator, we have created it with a servo motor as the core of the component, which is based on a single tooth winding technology with a segmented stator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have designed the motor to have an optimised lamination with insulation system, in addition to a high copper slot fill factor because of the motors orthocyclic winding. Together this increases the power density of the motor, giving a significant increase in performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there is undoubtedly a growing pressure in the global market for machine manufacturers to develop more compact systems, there no longer needs to be concern over this pressure reducing quality and accuracy as a result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drive systems like those offered by Harmonic Drive UK can not only simplify machine design considerably, but also prove cost effective to many manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham Mackrell is managing director of precision gear specialist Harmonic Drive<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graham Mackrell explains how machine manufacturers can overcome the challenges of developing compact and cost-effective machines and systems without compromising performance While a human freehand toolpath has great potential, especially for art and sculpting, in manufacturing a great amount of accuracy is needed at every stage of production.  The skills possessed by artists, such as …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[5762,449,5761],"class_list":["post-11071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-design","tag-harmonic-drive","tag-machine-tools","tag-precision-gears"],"yoast_head":"\nSize without compromise: overcoming the challenges of machine tools - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Graham Mackrell explains how machine manufacturers can overcome the challenges of developing compact and cost-effective machines and systems without compromising performance\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/size-without-compromise-overcoming-the-challenges-of-machine-tools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Size without compromise: overcoming the challenges of machine tools - 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