Products and solutions Mar 20, 2000 1:00 AM
Production Systems segment: Giddings & Lewis machining centers for large parts
The North American companies Verson Corporation and AC Compressor have purchased horizontal and vertical machining centers from Giddings & Lewis Machine Tools of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin/USA. Verson?s machine will be handling parts weighing about 136 tons for transfer presses while AC Compressor will be using theirs in the production of compressor components weighing over 18 tons.
Located in Chicago, Illinois, Verson Corporation is the largest producer of transfer presses in the USA. As from April 2000, the company will be producing the beds, slides and crowns for its 3,000 to 4,000 ton presses on the Giddings & Lewis 800-RFX horizontal machining center. This machining center is one of the largest machines in the Giddings & Lewis range and can handle parts weighing up to 181.5 tons.
The steel parts manufactured by Verson weigh around 136 tons and measure 18 to 21.5 meters long, approximately 4 meters high and 5 to 6 meters wide. For the machining of these parts, the 800-RFX has 26.8 meters of column or runway travel and vertical or headstock travel of 4.8 meters, among other features. Equipped with two auxiliary slides which operate simultaneously, the machining center can either be loaded with two parts at the same time or with one long steel part. These two auxiliary slides allow W-axis movement of the part without moving the machine?s column. This ensures constant machine alignment and part accuracy. The 800-RX is powered by an 80 kW motor and provides traverse rates of 10 m/min for both the X and Y-axes. "This machine is two to three times more effective than anything we currently use," says John Moore, Director of Manufacturing for Verson.
Located in Appleton, Wisconsin, AC Compressor has already been using a 2.4 meter Giddings & Lewis vertical machining center since December '99. The company employs it for machining parts weighing over 18 tons, with diameters of up to 2.3 meters. For this purpose, the VTC (Vertical Turning Center) offers a 2.4 meter clearance beneath the crossrail, and the ram can be extended up to 1.37 meters below the rail. Besides compressor components, AC Compressor will also be using the VTC to produce impellers, casings, inlet nozzles, diaphragms and back plates.