Zone: Large-Part Machining

Big Inspection With Little Difficulty

bond tool A portable laser tracker let this shop increase not only its machining range, but also the range of its services to customers.

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The Basics Of Producing Big Parts
10/16/2008 Modern Machine Shop: This Florence, Kentucky-based machine tool builder uses its own equipment to produce machine tools. Here’s how they succeed at big-part machining on a large five-axis machining center.
Composites Keep A Big Machine Busy
8/10/2008 Modern Machine Shop: On-machine inspection is part of the way this shop machines large composite structures efficiently.
Abrasive Waterjet Helps Make Composites Affordable for Boeing
8/5/2008 Modern Machine Shop: Boeing overcame fixture costs and other challenges of machining large composite parts by opting for waterjet instead of milling.
More Than Big Machines
6/17/2008 Modern Machine Shop: This shop specializes in very large components such as rotor hubs and support bases for wind turbines. Its lineup of large horizontal boring mills can handle parts weighing 40,000 pounds and 12 feet on a side. However, the shop’s success also lies in other manufacturing resources and strategies. These include material handling equipment, customized tooling, special fixtures and wireless, portable measuring systems.
Attracted To A Better Way
5/29/2008 Modern Machine Shop: Modular, magnetic workholding blocks have changed the way this shop approaches the machining of both large and small workpieces. The blocks’ portability allows them to be used on a variety of different machines. Their flexibility often eliminates the need to create custom fixtures.

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Overview Of:
Large-Part Machining

Large-Part Machining is here defined as the challenge of machining any part that is too heavy or bulky for a single human being to move the part to another location quickly, or too large to fit within the work zone of the most commonly available CNC machine tools. Parts such as these could apply to almost any industry, though aircraft, construction, power generation, and oil drilling are ready examples of industries that commonly have a need for very large machined parts.

In large-part machining, much of the challenge has to do with performing as much of the work as possible in a single setup. Five-axis or 3+2 machining is often required to let a machining center reach many of the features of the part in a single setup. On-machine probing is another important resource, because the machine is often required to precisely locate the part prior to machining and may even inspect the part after machining is done.