Full house for latest development in metalworking technology

Every year, the metal industry gathers in Leuven at the end of the year. After all, Mazak's Open House brings together both machinists and sheet metal workers to marvel at what is 'hot' in their discipline. Even the matches of Oranje (on Tuesday) and the Red Devils (on Thursday) did not change that this year. With a full house, Mazak showed how it sees metalworking evolving today and in the future.

With a striking newcomer on the floor, Mazak immediately set the tone. The VCN 700, still only a prototype and only available starting this spring, was developed specifically at the request of customers. They wanted to find their familiar Mazak technology back in a compact machine that could still accommodate relatively large pieces. As a result, the Y axis goes up to 800 mm, a big improvement over its smaller brother, which stuck at 500 mm. The machine was also equipped with a 15,000 rpm spindle and has all the technology needed for rapid tool changes. In short, everything one expects from modern machining machines in order to achieve as little downtime and as many spindle hours as possible.

Other eye-catchers were undoubtedly the two Integrex machines that make machinists salivate at all the possibilities for simultaneous five-axis machining. The i-250H ST is one built to work extremely precisely. The machine is equipped with special glass rulers for this purpose. This allows this Integrex to deliver gears to perfection, without the need for special tools. Something that is increasingly in demand. Many machine builders want the ability to quickly produce a prototype gear for extensive testing. A second feature that catches the eye with this machine is the presence of a second spindle and the ability to work with counterpoints.Right next to it was the Integrex i-250 H S. The same machine, but for those who do not need accuracy in tenths of micrometers.

In machining, Mazak is sailing a resolutely open course. The solutions of the Japanese machine manufacturer are easily linked with those of other specialists with only one goal in mind: to help the customer in the best possible way. There's that common thread again. To highlight some of these collaborations, Mazak invited several partners to Leuven. This year BMO, Jan Van Dam Group, Kennametal, Kumatech, Precitool, Radan, RoboJob and Schunk signed up. Important point of attention: what opportunities are there in automation today? Because that goes beyond the classic robot that loads and unloads pieces. Tools, chucks and chucks can also be replaced automatically today, to keep machines working autonomously for even longer. Among other things, Schunk showed its Rapido clamping quick-change system and its KSP clamping force blocks, both designed to enable quick changes. But Mazak wouldn't be Mazak if it didn't also look further afield at what's on the horizon. With the demonstration of the Kumatech AGV, visitors were tantalized about new ways to organize the shop floor. Multiple machines can then be supplied from one central stock point. Given the interest at the Kumatech booth, something for many metalworkers to think about.

And finally, let's not forget the sheet metal workers. For they were presented with a first from EuroBLECH: the new Optiplex 3015 NEO. The only laser cutting machine in the market that features Mazak's Beam mode shaping technology. By automatically adjusting the width of the cutting joint and the power density of the beam according to the material and the thickness of the material, Mazak now gets even hard-to-cut pieces out of the skeleton flawlessly. A new step forward toward fully automatic sorting. A second new feature is the steering. It received a complete makeover and is now grafted onto the Mazatrol Smooth control from the machining world. An intuitive, user-friendly control. We also worked hard on features to further improve quality. For example, there is now a camera at the nozzle so that the laser beam is always perfectly positioned.