5 Axis CNC Milling Machining Center

First, let’s learn something about “axis”:

X-axis: front to back.

Y-axis: left to right.

Z-axis: up and down.

A, B or C axis is corresponding to the rotation axis of X, Y and Z axes.

Five axis: X-Y-Z-A-B, X-Y-Z-A-C, X-Y-Z-B-C (The spindle can be rotated left and right with 180 degrees around.)

Five axis CNC machines move a part or tool on five different axis at the same time via CNC programming. 3 axis CNC machines move a part in two directions with X axis and Y axis, and the tool moves up and down with Z axis. Five axis CNC machines can rotate on two additional rotary axis (A aixs and B axis) which will help the tool to approach the part from all directions.

Five-axis linkage machining technology refers to the processing technology that a complex shape surface needs to use 5 independent axes to perform numerical control interpolation movement together to obtain a smooth and smooth surface. The number of axes for five-axis simultaneous machining refers to the number of axes that need to move independently when processing the same surface, rather than the number of controllable axes owned by the CNC. Although theoretically any complex surface can be expressed by X, Y, Z three-axis coordinates, the actual machining tool is not a point, but an entity with a certain size, in order to avoid the occurrence of tool and processing when processing the space distorted surface The interference between the surfaces and to ensure the consistency of the cutting conditions at each point on the surface require adjustment of the angle between the tool axis and the surface normal in the 2D direction. Compared with the three-axis linkage, the five-axis linkage can reduce the machining error and surface roughness to 1/3~1/6.

According to the machine structure, the CNC five axis processing center mainly falls into three types. They are the head/head type, table/head type, and table/table type.

As the name suggests, the head/head type machine has two rotary axes on the head. It has a rotating head, which can rotate by 360 degrees around the Z axis. And it also has an A axis that rotates around the X axis in more than 90 degrees. Features of this type machine include flexible spindle working, large working area, and good milling surface quality.

The table/head type refers to the machines whose rotary axes locate respectively in the table and the head. This type of 5 axis CNC milling machine has the largest flexibility. Because it can be the combination of any two axes among the A, B, and C axes. But most table/head type 5 axis machines adopt the combination of B and C axes. Such structure is simple and flexible. It can realize 5-sided machining with low manufacturing costs.

The table/table type has two rotary axes located on the table. The worktable mounded on the machine bed can rotate around the X axis, which is the A axis. Its general working angle of the A axis is from +30° to -120°. There is also another rotary table in the middle of the worktable. It rotates around the Z axis and is called the C axis. This type of 5 axis machine usually has a small-sized worktable with a small loading ability.

The five-axis machining center can process planes, curved and inclined surfaces, oblique holes, 2D and 3D curved surfaces, and 3D lines. Besides, a 5 axis CNC machine can realize continuous milling, engraving, drilling, and sawing in all directions with one fixing and positioning of the workpiece.

The high-precision 5 axis machining centers have extensive applications in the furniture, molding, construction, machine manufacturing, civil and military industries.It can be used to produce:

Box-type parts, like automobile engine cylinder heads, clutch and gearbox housing, pumps

Complex curved surfaces, like bevel gear wheels, pinions, impellers

Irregular parts, including drilling, milling, boring, expanding, reaming, and rigid tapping processes

Molds, such as ship molds, automotive molds, construction molds

Statues and sculptures Large-sized wood furniture Styrofoam or gypsum models.

Improved surface finish

Configurations of a 5 axis CNC machine helps create surfaces with a high-quality finish. The CNC router bits can keep closer to the workpieces. And the additional two axes allow the 5 axis CNC machine to use short tools. So the tools will not vibrate too much, which results in good surface quality.

Cut complex shapes

The additional two rotary axes allow you to realize the design and machining of intricate shapes. All five axes require various parts. The extra movement of this structure gives space for the manufacturing angels and arcs. This can only be done with multiple settings and specific fixtures in the past. But with 5 axis machining, you can complete the whole cutting and milling process with only one set. This also saves much production time and increases working efficiency.

Improved accuracy and tool life

The 5 axis machining process improves product accuracy by reducing settings. More settings mean more potential space for errors. So one setting can greatly reduce the risks of making errors. The shorter the CNC router tools, the longer their service life. 5 axis machines allow the machine head to be closer to the tool surface. So this guarantees higher cutting speed and less vibration, which will eventually result in longer tool life.

High efficiency

When using the 5 axis CNC machine, we can always make the mill ends of the tool contact with the workpiece at a perfect, effective point. The 5 axis machining can effectively reduce the production time and auxiliary time of parts. Besides, the 5 axis CNC machine has a large spindle speed and feeds range, which enables the machine to have a powerful cutting capacity. The five axis machining has rapid movement and positioning ability, and can cut and mill products at a high speed. This reduces the turnaround time of semi-finished products and improves production efficiency and accuracy.