ProCut Technology, out of Aurora IL, is a continuation of Share Machine Inc. who has been in the market for more than 20 years. Share Machine manufactures custom machines as well as custom precision parts for its customers.
Recognizing a need for a true high performance CNC machine, ProCut worked with some of the top engineers from around the world to produce the first ever fully polished natural granite structure CNC machine with linear motors coupled with the Fagor 8055 CNC. The entire machine philosophy was dedicated to producing a high end machine that address’s the challenges in providing exceptional accuracy without compromising speed.
Due to utilizing a granite structure and linear motors, ProCut was able to deliver exceptional accuracy at much higher speeds than conventional machines are able to achieve. ProCut’s Tony Ibraimi stated “Making a fast, high-accuracy CNC machine requires a rigid and stable structure. In this capacity, granite outperforms casting iron. A cast-iron body provides challenges to a CNC machine’s stability and rigidity. Relieving casting’s internal stresses are always a source of unexpected changes in the geometry of the machine. In contrast, because granite has been formed by nature over hundreds of millions of years, it will never change its form over time.”
Tony further states “Granite’s thermal expansion also is 25% lower than cast iron, meaning it maintains its accuracy much better in different temperatures. Granite further dampens any vibration almost 10 times faster than steel or cast iron does. This lets the machine operate more smoothly at high speeds or during spindle-cutting force.”
The final result, the granite structure greatly reduces machine vibration, thus contributing significantly to improved accuracy and a superior surface finish. Additionally, the Granite structure allows exceptional machine stability as the geometry does not change over time. Thermal expansion is minimal with a Granite structure as well.
The Linear motors allow high acceleration which is essential in cutting small parts with higher accuracy. They also eliminate all machine backlash considering there ae no rotating parts moving within the axes such as a ball screw. In addition, Linear motors typically have less maintenance compared to their ball screw counterparts
Tony concludes “We believe that our CNC machine is the most accurate and fastest in the entire industry. We manufactured a machine for a customer who is making jewelry. The challenge is having accurate corners, great surface finish and high productivity. They used to have a regular high-speed CNC with casting iron body and ball screws. Their biggest problem was a combination of backlash, high inertia and vibration. It was not possible to have high acceleration on the corners that was required to cut the intricate designs, fast and accurate enough. Our solution of a high speed spindle, granite structure and linear motor with the Fagor 8055 Power CNC on a rigid gantry design allowed their production to literally increase by 3x, yet maintained the same accuracy.”
Art Gugulski, Fagor Regional Sales Mgr, added “What really helped bring this entire package together was the 8055 CNC ability for customization to bring the application together for Procut and was a big part of their decision making in choosing the Fagor 8055 CNC as their solution.”
For additional information, please visit www.procuttech.com