CNC machines - Datron M8

DATRON M8Cube: A Compact All-rounder Providing High-Speed Milling Performance

Whether in the electronics, printing, aerospace or any other industry, job shops and manufacturers are challenged to produce a wide range of high quality components from aluminum and other lightweight materials within shortest manufacturing cycles. Time and cost pressure often increases along with the complexity of more and more individualized workpieces. In order to survive in a highly competitive environment, the modern production business requires modular machine concepts that can be adapted to the specific production environment and to individual customer requirements. These machines should also stand for attractive price-performance ratios.

Wherever high demands are placed on machining performance and surface quality - especially in the tools and mold construction industries - milling machines specifically geared to high-speed cutting applications (HSC) are the one and only choice. The special benefits of HSC machining are an up to 30% higher chip removal rate, 5 to 10 times higher feed speeds and up to 30 times lower cutting forces. This enables the high quality machining of even extremely thin-walled workpieces. At the same time the surface quality increases, so that hardly any reworking is required after the machining process. Moreover, despite an increase in temperature during the cutting process a distortion of the workpiece is prevented, since the cutting speed is greater than the heat conductance speed and thus the heat stays with the chips, which are directly led away from the tool. Due to a precisely dispensed cooling-lubrication technology – for example DATRON’s ethanol-based minimum quantity cooling lubrication – workpieces are instantly clean can be immediately used or further processed in subsequent production steps.

The German based mechanical engineering business DATRON has been specialized in developing and manufacturing very compact lightweight design of HSC milling machines for more than 30 years and with the DATRON M8Cube provides a universal high-speed milling solution, that is unparalleled in size and performance rates on the market. The M8Cube helps manufacturing companies expand their business by producing components widely varying in sizes and materials for manifold industries in quick succession. Its diverse module and vacuum clamping technology has companies save valuable tool-setting and change over times. The lightning-fast adjustment of clamping modules and the high reproducibility of the clamping position of a few hundredths of a millimeter make every manufacturing shop quickly ready for new customers with individual requirements. Of course, depending on the material and machining requirements, other clamping systems are usable as well.

Diverse machining requirements regarding milling, drilling and engraving at high speeds with small tools - which depending on milling strategy are provided by a superbly equipped automatic tool changer – become with the high-speed milling machine DATRON M8Cube especially when processing high-tech materials a guarantee for success. For instance, precision holes in electronic housings, highly complex geometries for 3D aluminum molds, fragile graphite electrodes or sensitive test adapters are machined accurately and burr-free. In most cases, no further post-processing is necessary. These outstanding results can be achieved with the DATRON M8Cube due to its long-life high-frequency precision spindles with up to 60,000 1/min, available with performance rates from 0.6 kW to 4.0 kW, depending on the individual production requirements. The rigid and low-vibration design of the machine also contributes to the excellent surface quality of the workpieces. The top-performance M8Cube collects further points with its inexpensive price and low operating cost that make even small batch productions worthwhile and lucrative. Furthermore, the compact footprint saves space in the production environment. With less than two square meters in total it provides an optimal size compared to its quite large machining area of 1,020 x 720 mm.

Especially manufacturing businesses that aim for sustained growth and an increase in productivity while staying open to opportunities to adapt to future, changing customer requirements should consider a precise industrial machine as the DATRON M8Cube. Big savings over conventional manufacturing technologies are in this pioneering HSC portal milling machine both due to its high speeds and small tools during roughing (high cutting) as well as smoothing (high surface quality) cycles.