Complex Parts Up to 40 Feet in One Setup

Cincinnati Machine's solution to long-part machining, particularly of elongated, small cross-section, composite, and aluminum parts, is the MAG Cincinnati E Mill. E Mill performs contour machining, routing, drilling, and tapping to produce finished, complex 3D geometry parts up to 12m (40ft) long in a single setup, reducing processing costs compared to machines with larger vertical platforms.

The design combines a production-proven 500mm 3-axis horizontal machining center (HMC) with headstock and tailstock adapted from horizontal lathes to provide fourth and fifth axis of motion. The part manipulation system allows Aaxis programmable rotation and 360° infinite positioning, while supplying V-axis linear travel pull-through for part feed. Work stock is loaded and unloaded from infeed and outfeed tubes. The E Mill can be ordered with a choice of a 16,000rpm or 24,000rpm HSK63A spindle. Supporting single setup processing, a drum-style automatic tool changer accommodates 12 tools up to 8kg (17.6 lb) in weight, 200mm (7.8740") long, and 125mm (4.913") diameter.

The E Mill comes standard with full enclosure guarding, vacuum filtration, and mist/dust extraction for CE and OSHA compliance – especially important for machining composite materials. A pressurized way system protects against wear from abrasive composite dust.

The headstock/tailstock system features through-hole chucks with powered jaws, allowing the work stock to be advanced incrementally through the jaws.

The "live" headstock travels on V-axis linear slides, letting it move next to the stationary tailstock, lock on the workpiece, then slide back, pulling the work stock along. The system provides 1,089mm (42.9") of travel for incremental part indexing. The fully programmable feed system can accommodate work stock from 300mm (14") to 12m (40ft) in length and up to 304.8mm (12") square in cross section.

View inside the MAG Cincinnati E Mill work area. The part manipulation system allows A-axis programmable rotation and 360° infinite positioning, while supplying V-axis linear travel pull-through for part feed.

The headstock moves on parallel guideways 775mm (30") apart, while the fixed tailstock offers a similar broad base. This gives excellent stability for coordinated A-axis part rotation.

Made from a tough industrial plastic, the infeed and outfeed tubes are clam-shell designs. The infeed opens from the top for loading work stock, with the outfeed bottom-opening for ease of part removal. The tubes are seamless extrusions to prevent abrasion and delamination of composite materials, while the enclosed design provides additional containment of cutting fluids, part chips, and dust.

The E Mill machine design can be adapted to larger machining centers with more powerful spindles for processing of harder materials. Besides cost savings over machining platforms with 12m (40ft) travel or more, the compact E Mill design saves valuable plant floor space, avoids fixture costs, and enables faster setup for reduced WIP.

MAG Cincinnati's E Mill is particularly well-suited for long aerospace components such as stringers, spars and floor beams in a variety of materials including composites, aluminum and titanium. Capabilities expand beyond aerospace to include other industries such as construction, ship building, and wind power that utilize long parts.