Small and medium-sized milling cutters for the mos

Small and medium-sized milling cutters for CNC gantry milling machines

Abstract: F. Zimmermann, the manufacturing expert of gantry milling machines and the two partners working together, has always put the needs of customers in the first place. The company's partner Benz company provided it with a new compact milling cutter

"made in Germany" can no longer be synonymous with reliable quality, and the opposite view is spreading everywhere. Courts continue to strictly restrict the use of this concept. In 1995, the State High Court in Stuttgart ruled that if most of the raw materials in the products did not come from Germany or were not processed in Germany, the continued use of the concept of "made in Germany" would violate the anti unfair competition law

F. Zimmermann company from denkendorf mainly produces gantry milling machines in Germany. Therefore, for this company, "made in Germany" not only refers to the origin, but also has a deeper meaning of reliable quality. The company's front-line assemblers work with other suppliers from Germany to manufacture machine tool parts

Benz company, a tool manufacturing expert from haslach in the kinzigtal area of black forest, is one of them. At present, Benz company provides two small gantry milling machines with core components: milling cutter heads. According to the needs of customers, the two milling machines are developed step by step, which reflects the cooperation strategy of the company

traditional companies can also provide high-quality machine tools

f. Zimmermann company is a manufacturing company specializing in five axis gantry milling machines, which can provide machine tools of various specifications from small to large. The company can complete orders for 30 high-quality milling machines every year, and recently the company is about to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The company does not pursue large quantities of orders, and always insists on producing according to the needs of customers as much as possible (Figure 1)

Figure 1: F. Zimmermann produces small to large five axis gantry milling machines

the company attaches great importance to the relationship with customers

ruediger SC of Zimmermann company we build products for you. Mr. hrott had better connect the power supply alone and say, "although our company is small, with only 160 employees, it is distributed all over the world and maintains good cooperation with various industrial fields. In the past, we relied on the automotive industry to a large extent, but now the aircraft industry has also brought us a large number of orders." In terms of automobile industry, they can cover many aspects such as model and large stamping die design and die manufacturing. As far as the aircraft industry is concerned, the gantry milling machine they provide is mainly used for processing large aluminum alloy parts. In addition, Zimmermann is actively expanding its business in other fields

this gantry milling machine manufacturer from denkendorf is famous for its low machining depth. Mr. Schrott said, "our machining scale is small, but we can ensure high flexibility. Our focus is on traditional assembly, and the complex lithium concentrate provided to the company will increase to half of the output of phase 2, and about 150000 tons of parts will be purchased." Of course, there are exceptions: a year ago, Zimmermann cooperated with gimbal, an independent milling cutter manufacturer, to produce key parts. Since then, gimbal has developed and produced heavy-duty milling cutters for large gantry milling machines under the leadership of Mr. ruediger Schrott. At present, Zimmermann company still does not rule out the outsourcing strategy for such parts in the future

strategic partnership ensures high-quality parts

the competition in the field of milling cutters for small CNC gantry milling machines is very fierce. Mr. Schrott stressed, "we have been facing fierce competition from foreign manufacturers in this field. With a view to the future, we have established a strategic partnership with Benz." In this way, Zimmermann's small machine tools can be equipped with the milling cutter series provided by Benz, and Zimmermann will focus on the milling cutter field of large machine tools. Konrad keck, the outsourcing service sales director of Benz company, said, "our five axis milling cutters are processed by Zimmer Technology Factory under Zimmer group, and Benz company is responsible for sales. After Benz company merged into Zimmer group in 2007, the two sides established a very effective technical exchange."

the small five axis gantry milling machines using Zimmermann's program mainly include "fz15" and "fz25" series. Its gantry structure is specially suitable for dry processing of large components and processing of light materials. Its small structure needs a compact milling cutter to match it. The main purpose is to reduce the burden of the machine tool and ensure high dynamic performance. In addition, fz15 series is very suitable for modern mold manufacturing with large cutting volume, such as processing polystyrene, plastic, bulk materials or composite materials. Fz25 series milling machine can mill polystyrene, synthetic resin and other plastic materials in the range of 6000 mm in Y direction, 3000 mm in Z direction and 40000 mm in X direction, and can ensure high machining accuracy and surface quality (Fig. 2)

Figure 2: "fz25" is a five axis gantry milling machine with a large processing range

its gantry structure is specially suitable for dry processing of large parts and processing of light materials

zimmermann company provides different parameter configurations for the two series. The difference between the two is not only reflected in the different processing range, but also the different milling cutters used. Machine tool manufacturers must overcome many difficulties to provide a rich product range. Mr. Schrott said, "in the past, we equipped fz15 series with milling cutters produced by an Italian company, whose price was very attractive; but from the perspective of technology and service, it could not satisfy us. In particular, the lack of high-level field engineers in this company forced us to send the milling cutters to the Italian headquarters, which wasted a lot of time. Therefore, our customers may face the risk of long-term downtime." In addition, the structure of the milling cutter provided by this Italian company is too simple and prone to failure: due to the low rigidity of the milling cutter, the machining accuracy will be affected in the machining process

when Zimmermann encountered the above difficulties, some of their employees were visiting the Zimmermann Technology Factory - according to the original plan, they did not intend to consult the relevant information of milling cutters. Therefore, many people were shocked when Zimmermann decided to produce milling cutters in Rheinau. The firm structure of the milling cutter produced by Zimmer group and the high processing depth of the group convinced the denkendorf people. Mr. Schrott firmly believes in this: "finally, we decided to choose the high-quality products provided by Zimmer group and their attractive prices. The super strength of Zimmer group played a decisive role in our decision-making process. In the future, we will work together to defend the slogan 'made in Germany'."

the cooperation relationship at the technical level will be gradually deepened

the first step of cooperation between the two sides is to integrate "VH1" series milling cutters on FZ "but for us, 15 series milling machines. Today, this series of milling cutters has become the most compact milling cutter under the Zimmermann system, which can maintain high dynamic performance in a long processing period (Fig. 3). At the same time, because the weight of the gantry structure is only 140 kg, the torsional force and bending moment are small. Combined with the higher accuracy of the machine tool itself, higher surface quality can be obtained. The small interference area of the milling cutter enables it to process long and narrow deep hole contours and complete the surface processing of deep holes. The clamping of VH1 series milling cutters is powerful, which exceeds the accuracy range required in this processing field

Figure 3: "VH1" five axis milling head has become the most compact milling cutter series under Zimmermann company

by virtue of its small weight, it can maintain high dynamic performance for a long time

while implementing VH1 series milling cutters on fz15 series milling machines, customers continue to order machine tools with greater processing space from Zimmermann. Mr. Schrott recalled, "the customer's demand is the direction we are going forward. We need to develop machine tools with greater rigidity. Then we started the development of fz25 series machine tools." This series of machine tools was launched in December, 2006, with VH1 series milling cutters as standard. Mr. Schrott described: "soon, the customer put forward the demand, hoping to choose other types of milling cutters. With such requirements, we joined hands with Benz and Zimmer again."

since Zimmermann does not block the technical details, it has gradually aroused the interest of other customers in these milling cutters. Mr. Schrott stressed, "ultimately, only by increasing the processing batch can we provide competitive products. Since then, we have undertaken an order for a famous machine tool manufacturer to provide new milling cutters." Zimmermann overturned the whole process through this project: in the past, a customer always selected VH1 series milling cutter first, and then Zimmermann entered the project process; In the "vh12" series milling cutter project, this process was completely overturned - denkendorf was responsible for compiling the demand information, and then looking for subsequent machine tool manufacturers. Mr. Keck recalled: "next, Zimmermann company determined the technical framework conditions and target price in November last year. We found that under the technical requirements of Zimmermann company, our company can give full play to its own advantages." Clemens Kimmig, the design director of Zimmer group, and Stephan hoell, the project manager, are generally responsible for the innovative milling cutter head project (Figure 4)

Figure 4: when the "vh12" series milling cutter is in progress, and the calm Zimmer group's design director

clemenskimmig (left) and project manager Stephan hoell

now, the vh12 series milling cutters, the result of this project, have been applied to the milling processing field with quite stringent requirements. Vh12 milling cutter can cooperate with large-size bearings under the condition of large traction in synchronous motion, and make the spindle move under the characteristic curve which is more conducive to machining. Mr. Schrott said, "in an experiment conducted by fz25, we were able to use vh12 milling cutter head to roughen aluminum alloy materials or finish cast parts (Fig. 5)." Due to the unidirectional introduction of vh12 milling cutter head, it has good accessibility; At the same time, the built-in direct measurement system can also ensure high positioning accuracy. Finally, Mr. Keck emphasized that "there is no need to change the structure of VH1 or vh12 integrated in fz25 series milling machine. It only needs to match the electrical control cabinet and wiring on a small scale."

Figure 5: vh12 series milling cutter can meet the stringent requirements now. Fz25 series milling machine combined with vh12 milling cutter can process aluminum alloy and castings

as Mr. Keck continued to emphasize, the technical cooperation between the two companies has reached an unprecedented level and can promote the further development of both sides. He said, "our competitiveness is reflected in high-quality machine tool components, such as five axis technology. We can provide products with excellent technology and reasonable price, so we can maintain good project competitiveness and innovation competitiveness." Zimmermann is willing to provide customized "made in Germany" solutions to customers. All projects have provided Mr. ruediger Schrott with proof that through innovative partnerships, he can maintain competitiveness in comparison with foreign products (Figure 6). This year's EUROMOLD