5-Axis Roundup: Machining Complex Parts With One Setup

There’s good money to be made machining complex parts for industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical, firearms and others. If you’re thinking about grabbing a piece of the action, chances are you’re thinking about investing in 5-axis machines. That’s the only way to handle complex parts without switching to different equipment for each step of the process.

You may have a bit of 5-axis experience from a previous job or it’s just as possible this is a brand new direction for you. Knowing where to start can be a bit confusing. Not to worry. No matter what your level of experience, Doosan's lineup of 5-axis machines has enough variety to provide a perfect match between our equipment and your application.

Life Before 5-Axis
Many machine shops are accustomed to cobbling together contraptions in an attempt to add a little boost in productivity. For example, retrofitting a 4th axis table with a tailstock onto a 3-axis mill, or putting a 4/5th axis trunnion table onto a 3-axis mill to give the operator access to more of the component faces. In this incremental approach to 5-axis capability, you likely experienced more than a few headaches such as maxing out your table weight, limited tool lengths because the retrofit table has eaten away your stroke, the accumulated error from stacked axes, etc. If you’re tired of dealing with improvised solutions, maybe it’s time to step up to the real deal. Let’s take a look.

The DNM/VC/5AX Series: A Good Start
The DNM 200/5AX Series is a step up from your standard C-frame, 3-axis vertical machining center with a factory-fitted 4/5th axis trunnion table. These machines are based off of the DNM platform, with the same reliability, stability and direct drive 12,000 r/min, 25hp spindle you might be familiar with. But included with the 5-axis model is a ø7.87" or trunnion table that has been specifically designed from the beginning to work with the machine. In addition, you have ample stroke to use the correct tool lengths for your operation. You're not throwing away any table space on the sides of the trunnion table. The DNM/5AX Series comes with a FANUC 0iM control for 5-face or 5-axis work.

The VC630/5AX machine offers a more integrated solution. Equipped with a 24.8" trunnion style table, the spindle outputs 30HP at 12,000rpm to tackle all your complex machining requirements. The 81-tool magazine (optional 121) gives you more flexibility beyond the DNM 5AX machines.

The DVF Series: All the Angles
Want even more versatility? The DVF Series is fully loaded to handle diverse 5-sided or simultaneous 5-axis applications to meet a variety of customer needs.

The machine table is now an integrated cantilever style full 5-axis table allowing you to tackle your parts from angles you couldn't on the DNM. We are presently offering a machine with a table diameter of 19.7" (DVF 5000); other table diameters slated for a Q3 launch will include 26” (DVF 6500) and 31.5" (DVF 8000). With this range of table diameters, you will be able to choose the size you need for your type of work. The DVF 5000 features a built-in 25/29.5hp (continual/short-term) 18,000 r/min spindle, allowing for high speed metal removal. It also comes standard with a 60-tool magazine, with options of up to 120 tools, to tackle your complex parts without having to re-tool your machine each time.

Another advantage of the DVF 5000 is the optional Automatic Work Changer which gives you lights-out capability. It can be ordered in numerous pallet configurations: 4/6/8/10/16, etc.

The VCF Series: Multi-Purpose Productivity
The VCF 850LSR is a large, multi-purpose, vertical machining center that is equipped with a 18,000 r/min CAT40 B-axis swiveling spindle head that has X-axis travel of 118". With this machine, you have two choices in the type of C-axis available: a mounted ø19.7” rotary table, or a built-in ø31.5” rotary table. With a 138”-long table, plus a standard center dividing partition (which can be easily removed for extra-long work pieces), you can create multiple work zones and keep the spindle removing metal in one zone, while the other is being loaded. For example, you can have an area equipped with the C-axis table for 5-axis work, and another area of the table dedicated to 3- or 4-axis work – maximizing the uptime potential. If flexibility is what you need in a 5-axis machine, this would be a great choice.

The DHF 8000: For BIG Parts
It's not only verticals and 40 tapers that offer Doosan 5-axis technology. Built off of our NHP high performance horizontal machining center series is the DHF 8000, a 50 taper nodding spindle 5-axis machine. In addition to the full B-axis (360,000 positions) in the 800mm pallet, the A-axis in the spindle has a tilting range of +60 to -100 degrees, allowing 5-axis accessibility to your part. Dual ballscrews in the Y- and Z-axis in an already robust base give it even more rigidity, with a geared 6,000 r/min spindle, you can tackle all of your hard metal aerospace parts. Linear and rotary scales on all axes are standard!

HFP 1540: Aerospace Awesome
Our latest offering is the HFP 1540, a horizontal 5-axis profiler made for the high-speed machining of aerospace structural components like ribs and wings. The integrated unibody frame structure houses all XYZ axes, optimizing synchronicity at rapids as fast as 2,362ipm. The profiler is equipped with a large 157.5" x 59" table with a servo driven pallet changer for added productivity. The 30,000 r/min HSK63A universal spindle gives this machine the A and C axes to make it a game-changing 5-axis machine.

That’s our 5-axis lineup. It’s kind of like the menu at your favorite restaurant. Everything looks so good, it’s hard to choose. That’s okay. Just give your local Doosan distributor a call. We’ll be happy to serve up the model that’s the best match for your machine tool appetite.