Automatic Lubrication

It is sometimes said that a machine is as good as its lubrication. This is quite true as far as accuracy of machine tool cutting and feed drives are concerned. It is desirable that bearings, guide ways of CNC be kept well lubricated to avoid sticking and consequent wear. Manual lubrication systems are usually unsatisfactory because of human errors and so several designs of automatic lubrication systems are in use.

Minimal Lubrication Systems:

The Minimal Lubrication System consists of two sub-systems that optimize the amount of lubrication to the machine components. The system supplies lubrication only when it is needed, thus reducing the amount of lube required for the machine, and limiting the chance of excess lube contaminating the coolant. The lube system for the linear guides and ball screws is based on the distance the axes travel, rather than on time. Lubricant is injected once any of the axes has traveled the distance specified in the control. The lube system for the spindle is based on the number of actual revolutions of the spindle. During low-speed spindle operation, a timed injection cycle is also used to ensure adequate lubrication is delivered. One fill of each system should last a minimum of 1 year of continuous operation.

Chip Conveyor
Need of Chip Removal
One of the main problems of CNC machine tools is the amount of chips generated. Since these machines are designed to be operated 24 hours a day and also have considerable amount of metal-removal capability, the working area of the machine tool gets clogged by the amount of chips if they are not removed quickly. Most of the machines, therefore, are provided with chip removal facilities like the chip conveyor. With the help of these conveyors the chips are transported to the bins.

Types of Chip Removal Systems

Single Auger Type: Single auger style chip conveyor automatically removes chips from the machine, while simultaneously compressing them and extracting the coolant. For added reliability, the system reverses automatically if a jam occurs.

Triple Auger Type: They are high-volume chip-removal system comprising dual side augers to transport chips to the front of the pan, and a primary chip auger to discharge the chips from the machine.

Quad Auger Type: They are high-volume chip-removal system comprising four side augers to transport chips to the front of the pan, and a belt-type chip conveyor to discharge chips from the machine at barrel height. The belt conveyor may be installed on either side of the machine.

A typical chip removal system

Coolant Systems
Coolants are often used in machining operations to extend the tool life, flush chips away and improve the surface finish. CNC machine tools are equipped with a flood coolant system that sprays a continuous stream of liquid coolant into the cutting zone through flexible hoses. Normally high pressure coolant systems are used in CNC. A high pressure coolant system offers a number of advantages to workshops that are looking to improve efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. These devices allow heat to be easily moved away from the cutting area to increase the life of your machine. There are a number of excellent reasons to use this kind of a system, but No. 1 on the list is reduced downtime for repairs. Along with this comes another big bonus: Because tools will break at much lower frequencies, people can also expect to save considerable amounts of money over the long run in lost work time or machine maintenance. High pressure coolant systems are especially useful in drilling projects. When a drill bit is penetrates hard metallic services, an incredibly high amount of heat is generated. To keep the drill bit from overheating and breaking, youll need an effective cooling mechanism in place. A high pressure coolant system will be useful in a wide variety of applications. Whether machinists are cutting metal slabs or drilling through hard surfaces, they will need a way to remove heat from the equation.

Micro- jet Coolant System The Micro-jet coolant system is an upgrade to the existing coolant system. This upgrade replaces the standard venturi coolant configuration with a high pressure mist system. This high pressure mist is best suited in applications where heavy machining occurs or deep channels and pockets are milled. It is also recommended when machining steel. The Micro-jet system allows for misting various coolant types such as: oil-based and water-soluble coolants.

Immersion Pumps These are suitable for CNC machine tools featuring coolant supply through the tool holder or driving spindle. They are also used for machines equipped with internally cooled tools. These pumps are equipped with a peripheral impeller to achieve a compact high pressure unit.

High Pressure Pumps Screw-spindle type immersion pumps attain high pressures and are provided with highly wear-resistant silicon carbide bearing housings and highly rugged spindles. They are suited extremely well for delivering filtered lubricating media like cooling lubricants (oils and emulsions). High-pressure pumps must only run with liquid never dry.

Doors & Safety Windows

Need of safety doors & windows
It protects the operator against flying swarf and from any accident by hitting against the moving components when the machine is working. The access to the machine is provided through large sliding doors for setting up the machine and for loading/unloading of the work piece. The doors have various types of inter-lock switches fitted on them. If the door is opened when the machine is working, the control unit will flash a warning signal, or activate a auditory signal like a buzzer. On some machines the power to the machine may be cut off if the doors are kept open beyond a certain period of time. During set-up periods, the warning signal can be cancelled by the operator. The guards are fitted with transparent windows so that machining area is visible from the operator side.

Newer Technologies
Auto Servo Door: This option opens and closes the machine doors automatically via the part program. This reduces operator fatigue during repetitive machining operations, or allows for unattended operation when used with a robotic loader. Door Activated High- Intensity Lighting: Halogen lights provide bright, even illumination of the work area for part inspection, job set up, and changeovers. Lights turn on and off automatically when doors open and close, or can be activated manually via a switch.

Dust Extraction
CNC routers make dust, and a lot of it. This can wreak havoc on even the heartiest machine components if not controlled properly, so installing a form of dust collection at the source is highly recommended. Inadequate dust collection on CNC routers, resulting in chips left on the tables surface along with airborne dust particles. The dust extraction system creates a vacuum in which dust and particulate matter is extracted through the existing dust collection system. The benefits are increased tool life, reduced dust on the machined surface while promoting a healthier, greener working environment.

Mist Control
Need of Mist Control
Reduced Accident Risks Oil mist creates slippery surfaces which increase accident rates. Reduced Fire Hazards Oil deposits create a serious fire risk by allowing fires to spread quickly. Improved Employee Attendance A contaminated shop environment often results in higher worker absenteeism and lower morale. Less Machine Downtime Fouled contacts in electronic equipment cause expensive downtime. Higher Speeds and Feeds Machining operations can run at higher speeds and feeds without the negative effects of increased mist and smoke production.

Common Mist Collection Methods

Media type Filtration Systems
Media-type filtration systems typically consist of a blower and several filters of varying efficiencies. The contaminated air first passes through a coarse pre-filter where the largest particles are filtered out. It then moves through one or two medium-range filters before reaching the final filter, which is usually made from a high-efficiency HEPA material. Media-type systems are good at collecting dry contaminants such as welding smoke and graphite dust. However, they are often not suitable for metalworking applications where coolant mist is the primary contaminant

Electrostatic Precipitators
Electrostatic precipitators use a blower to draw mist and smoke particles past an ionizer, which imparts a positive charge to them. They then pass across a series of alternately like-charged and grounded collection plates. The particles are repelled by the like-charged plates and forced towards the grounded plates where they collect. The filtered air is returned to the shop.

Based on Principle of Impaction

1. A three-phase motor rotates the internal drum at high speed, creating a vacuum which draws mist particles into the center of the drum. 2. The mist particles then collide with the rotating drums vanes and are forced together with other particles, causing them to coalesce and form larger, dropletsized particles. 3. As the particles grow into droplets, they pass through the perforations in the rotating drum and centrifugal force causes them to be thrown onto the inner wall of the housing. 4. The particles are then forced, under pressure, up the walls of the housing to the oil return channel, where they are subsequently drained back to the machines coolant tank. 5. Clean, oil-free air blows past the motor and is returned to the shop.