Floor space is often at a premium in North American manufacturing facilities, and Makino’s latest CNC horizontal machining centers, the N2 and N2-5XA, were designed with this in mind. The machines are four times smaller than the average 400-mm equipment but are big on rapid production capabilities, with a spindle that can hit 20,000 rpm in 0.8 seconds. The 5-axis N2-5XA configuration pushes throughput further with five-sided part accessibility and opportunities to consolidate operations, bringing nonstop performance to small part production operations.
The N2 platform provides a sizable work zone for its compact design, which features an overall footprint of 45.3 inches wide by 83.7 inches long by 84.6 inches high (1,150 mm by 2,125 mm by 2,150 mm). It consumes less than 26 square feet of floor space (including coolant tank and standard chip management). Despite the weight reduction resulting from this design, these machines maintain a highly rigid structure for enhanced accuracy and reliability.
The 4-axis N2 offers a 400-mm high, 400-mm-diameter cylindrical work envelope with X-, Y- and Z-axis travels of 300 mm by 300 mm by 230 mm, and a 300-mm diameter direct-drive rotary table. The 5-axis N2-5XA shares the same linear axes and includes twin, trunnion-style direct-drive A and B rotary axes for the production of complex, contoured parts. The N2-5XA can hold 300-mm cylindrical workpieces that are up to 270-mm high (11.8 inches by 10.6 inches), with a maximum payload of 66 lbs (30 kg).
Built with speed and quality in mind, the N2 and N2-5XA are equipped with a 20,000-rpm HSK-40 spindle and include four spindle nozzles that provide coolant directly to the cutting zone for efficient cooling and improved precision and finish. Both machines feature simple efficient chip and coolant flow out of the work zone. The standard coolant tank with chip pan provides effective chip removal for near-net-shape machining. A rear lift-up chip conveyor with filtration is an available option for higher chip-volume applications.
Direct-drive rotary axes of the N2 and N2-5XA offer an impressive peak B-axis speed of 150 rpm and a 90-degree rotation time of just 0.65 seconds. These systems work in concert with a responsive 1.4G Z-axis to reduce common drill-and-tap operations by as much as 40 percent compared to traditional 400-mm horizontal machining centers.
Both machines feature a stacked axis design, placing all linear motion on the spindle side of the machine and limiting workpiece movement to rotary table motion. This configuration creates an automation-friendly design with options for auto-loading doors, advanced robot interface, Erowa chuck interface and tool-monitoring options to support unattended operation.
The N2 platform is powered by Makino’s Professional-F control running on a reliable Fanuc platform. Key control features on the 5-axis N2-5XA include tilted work plane and AI Contour Control (AICC). AICC reduces cycle times in complex 3-D programs while delivering the high levels of accuracy and surface finish expected in complex medical machining applications.