- Technology Reports 2016/04/29 UP
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Author | Makoto Fujishima,Executive Director, Dr. Eng. |
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Date of release | July,2007 |
The latest technological development in machine tools is introduced in this paper. High speed and high precision multi axis machine tools, reconfigurable machine tools and a new service method with network system have been developed. To achieve highly stable and accurate machine tool operation over long operating hours, the complicated motion mechanism of such a versatile machine tool system should be simplified, avoiding indirect driving schemes as much as possible. The Direct Drive motor has been developed to realize high speed and high precision rotary axes. Special purpose machine tools have been mainly used for mass production such as automotive parts production lines. As the life time of products becomes shorter, the demands for reconfigurable systems increase. To realize these demands, horizontal machining centers, vertical machining centers and vertical lathes have been developed. These machines all have the same foot print. The reason for this is production line re-configurability. For example, a horizontal machining center can be easily replaced with a vertical one to suit a design change in the part. Moreover, to minimize the downtime, a new maintenance system with network technology has been developed.
*The division and title of the author are those used at the time of writing.