EMAG's New Ball Pin Machine Completes a Workpiece Every 7 Seconds
Whether in the steering system or in the chassis, ball joints are indispensable in cars. They not only act as a kind of pivot point between different elements, but they are also usually in constant motion and exposed to high physical loads. In this context, ball pins and ball sleeves are among the safety-critical car components that must leave production with a high surface quality and micrometer precision without exception -- despite high quantities and general cost pressure.
EMAG has addressed this situation with a new machine -- the VST 50. With this machine, a finished ball pin leaves every seven seconds with each component undergoing an exceptionally comprehensive measurement.
EMAG's VST 50 has highly automated processes, including the use of three robots. It is easy to operate using the EDNA apps, which also include various measurements and the robots.
For the actual turning of the ball and neck of the ball pin (only these areas are involved here), there are two suspended workpiece spindles that can be moved irrespective of each other. As a result, one spindle is always loaded and unloaded while the other is in use during the machining process. The associated tool compound slides are split in two: the tools on the left-hand side are mounted on a rotary B-axis, which enables the ball to be turned and smoothed with precision.
In addition, the ball diameter and shape can be adjusted using a linear U-axis. Special tools for neck machining are mounted on the right-hand side.
High-Productivity Loading
Loading and unloading are in turn carried out by the three robots, which are arranged in parallel in front of the machine. Each is responsible for a different sub-process. The various movements are sometimes carried out simultaneously. This ensures that a finished workpiece leaves the machine every seven seconds, and the chip-to-chip time is less than two seconds.
The robots are also used for tool changes, leading to a rapid and precise process. If the operator wants to change a tool, he simply presses a button, and the tool magazine swivels outwards for the change. It is important to note that the production process is not interrupted during this process. After the exchange, the magazine swivels back to its starting position.
The manual process is now complete and an automated process follows in the second step. To do this, the left-hand robot first puts down its workpiece gripper and picks up a tool gripper. It then removes the worn tool from the interior of the machine and replaces it with a new one, which it takes from the magazine. To further increase process capability, each tool is coded with an RFID chip so that the tool data can be transferred accordingly. The entire tool change takes less than 90 seconds.
The VST 50 is suitable for both short ball pins (ball diameter 16 to 40 mm, component length 50 to 150 mm) and long ball pins (ball diameter 22 to 35 mm, component length 150 to 455 mm). It can also be used for machining ball sleeves -- and all at the enormous speed mentioned above.
According to EMAG estimates, the VST 50 is around twice as fast as other production solutions for this component, which of course also reduces unit production costs. A perfectly measured component leaves the machine at breakneck speed.
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