Sonaca Montréal, which manufactures large aluminum aerostructure components for commercial and business aviation, has expanded capacity by partnering with Fives Liné Machines for a five-axis gantry mill.
The company chose Fives Liné Machines, located in Granby, Québec, as a partner to develop a five-axis gantry mill that is high speed, technologically advanced and maintenance-friendly.
The speed and power of the Liné Machines Powermill V spindle and axes drive systems provide substantial metal removal capabilities. The milling head is manufactured at the Granby facility and introduces a 125 / 156 kW, 30,000 rpm spindle with a HSK A63/F80 tool taper. Linear motors produce a 76 m/min (3000 ipm) traverse rate which greatly reduces cycle time. The rails of the high-rail Liné Machines Powermill V are installed on an elevated concrete foundation providing a natural enclosure.
“Working with the customer, Fives Liné Machines engineered a superior solution that places a high priority on accuracy, quality, reliability and in-process systems.” said Brian Kilpatrick, regional sales manager at Fives Liné Machines. “The solution we developed with Sonaca Montréal integrated vacuum table work holding, programmable high-pressure coolant that facilitates removal of the high chip load, mist collection including a full-length machine roof system, thermal compensation, chip extraction, automated tool changing and tool/part probing systems.’’
Maintenance and operator-friendly features were design priorities in the development of the Liné Machines Powermill V for Sonaca Montréal. The operator station area includes a monitor of remote gauges with real-time feedback for machine utilities and critical components. HD cameras allow the operator to easily view cutting operations from a safe and remote position. For periodic QA verifications and reporting, a machine health-check system examines machine geometry and the head check cycle assesses the geometry of the milling head.
Sonaca Montréal will be showing the capabilities of the Liné Machines Powermill V to their customers at an open house on December 11th, 2017. The Canadian/Québec governments supported the purchase of the high-performance machine through long-term loans.
“The amazing capabilities of this machine are a testament to the team effort that went into this project. We’re proud to be able to offer our customers the highest quality parts machined on this state-of-the-art machine’’ said Sylvain Bédard, CEO, Sonaca Montréal.
