Designed for the manufacture of single, high-precision blades for aerospace applications, the Liechti Turbomill 500g simultaneous (5-axis) machining centre is said to deliver high accuracy, power, speed and process reliability.

GF Machining Solutions, the milling, EDM and laser ablation machine tool specialist, and advanced tooling and automation solutions provider, has recently introduced, via its Liechti Engineering subsidiary, a new, high-performance simultaneous 5-axis machining dedicated to the fast and efficient processing of high-precision blades.

The Liechti Turbomill 500g, with a whole host of features that include Liechti’s g-technology and Tool Pivot Point machining capability, helps manufacturers machine high-quality, competitively-priced blade components in double-quick time.

The machine, equipped with a 20,000rpm HSK-A63 StepTec spindle and up to 2,000rpm turning capability, boasts 2g acceleration/deceleration rates and 60m/min linear feed rates, ensuring that the Turbomill 500g gets down to business fast - helping reduce part cycle times by up to 30%.

These ultra-fast processing speeds do not compromise accuracy or quality as the Turbomill 500g can achieve blade accuracies of ±0.015mm, and surface finishes of 0.4µm.

To ensure high productivity through unattended operation, the Turbomill 500g can be equipped with a bar feeder that automatically loads bar stock into the machine ensuring non-stop production.

To ensure consistent high quality part production the machine features direct-drive motors (on all five axes), and an internal bed cooling system and intelligent thermal compensation helps stabilise machining temperatures and reduce the effects of thermal drift.

The machine is also equipped with Liechti’s 100rpm Tool Pivot Point (TPP) innovation which, available on the machine’s B-axis, ensures fast and accurate contouring around blade edges: reduced movement of the linear axis delivers shorter cycle times, higher positional accuracies and less mechanical wear.

www.gfms.com/uk