What Are The Commonly Used CNC Machining Equipment in Automobile Manufacturing?

1. The CNC lathe is the "main force" behind making shaft parts.
The numerical control lathe is one of the most common tools used to make cars. It makes the workpiece spin by spinning the spindle, and it finishes turning machining by moving the tool in a straight or curved line. There are two types of CNC lathes based on how they are built: vertical and horizontal.
CNC lathe that is vertical
The spindle is at right angles to the horizontal plane, and the worktable is a round platform that can handle items with big radial dimensions and small axial dimensions, such vehicle wheels and brake discs. Its strong structure can handle heavy cutting. For example, a certain brand of vertical lathe can machine parts with a maximum diameter of 1200mm and a spindle speed of up to 1500rpm. This is enough to satisfy the needs of large disc parts.
CNC lathe that is horizontal
The spindle is parallel to the horizontal plane, has a small size, and is easy to use. It is extensively used to machine shaft parts. A horizontal lathe can do several things with just one clamp, including machining the outer circle, end face, and thread of an automotive gearbox shaft. The machining accuracy can reach IT6 level. Some high-end models have a dual tool holder design that lets them work on two workstations at the same time, which boosts productivity by more than 40%.
Turning machine centre
By combining a power tool holder with a tool magazine on a regular CNC lathe, you can do turning, milling, and drilling all at once. For instance, a certain brand of turning centre has a 12-station tool magazine that can automatically switch out milling cutters, drill bits, and other tools to finish complicated tasks like drilling crankshaft oil holes and milling flange surfaces. This cuts down on the number of times the workpiece needs to be clamped and increases the stability of machining accuracy by 30%.
2. CNC milling machines and machining centres are "versatile" for machining surfaces with a lot of detail.
Numerical control milling machines employ revolving cutting tools to carve forms including flat surfaces, grooves, gears, and more. The machining centre also has an automatic tool changing device that lets it do numerous processes at once, making it the most important piece of equipment for making complicated parts in the automotive industry.
Centre for vertical machining
The main shaft is arranged vertically, which is good for machining flat objects like gearbox housings, automotive engine cylinder blocks and more. For example, a certain brand of five-axis linkage machining centre uses high-rigidity bed and linear motor driving technology, with a positioning accuracy of ± 0.005mm. It can drill and bore holes in essential sections like the crankshaft holes and camshaft holes all at once, and the machining cycle is cut down to a third of what it used to be.
Centre for horizontal machining
The spindle is set up horizontally and has a rotating worktable. This allows for cutting on many sides and is commonly used for machining box-shaped objects. For instance, the differential housing of an automobile needs to have bearing holes and threaded holes cut into it on several surfaces. With just one clamping, the horizontal machining centre can do all of its work, which cuts down on mistakes when placing and raises the machining qualification rate to 99.5%.
Longmen machining centre
It is made for big items and has a wide span and strong rigidity. It is often used to work on automotive moulds, body coverings, and other things. The Longmen machining centre from a certain company has a worktable that is 6000mm × 2500mm and can hold 10 tonnes of hefty workpieces. It has a high-speed electric spindle and an automatic tool changing system that make it easy to work with big moulds.
3. The CNC Grinding Machine is the best tool for making precise parts.
The CNC grinder grinds workpieces by spinning the grinding wheel at a fast speed. This is good for parts that need to be very precise and have a smooth surface, including camshafts, crankshafts, gears, and other sections of an engine.
CNC cylindrical grinding machine
Used to machine the outside of shaft parts, including automotive half shafts, gearbox shafts and so forth. One type of CNC cylindrical grinder has a closed-loop control system and can achieve IT5 level precision machining with a grinding wheel feed accuracy of 0.1 μm and a surface roughness Ra < 0.4 μm. This meets the strict standards for high-end automobile parts.
CNC Internal Grinding Machine
The focus is on machining hole-type items, like cylinder liners for car engines and inner holes for gearbox gears. By using an online measurement device, you can keep an eye on the size of the aperture in real time and automatically adjust it to keep machining precision stable. For instance, while cutting the inner hole of the cylinder liner of a given model, the roundness error is kept to within 1 μm, which greatly improves the engine's ability to seal.
CNC coordinate grinder
Used to make high-precision hole systems and shapes, such mould cavities for cars, precision connecting rods, and so on. It uses an optical projector and a CNC system link to accomplish micrometer-level precision machining, which is the ultimate goal for parts accuracy in automobile lightweighting.
4. Special CNC tools that can handle a wide range of processing needs
To deal with the processing problems that come up with unusual materials or complicated structures, car makers utilise both standard cutting tools and sophisticated CNC tools like laser cutting and electrical discharge machining.
machine for cutting with lasers
Using high-energy laser beams to cut metal sheets is a good way to quickly make prototypes of car body covers, chassis braces, and other elements. A certain model of fibre laser cutting machine can cut at a speed of 100m/min with a gap of only 0.1mm. It doesn't need any further processing, which cuts down on the time it takes to make something.
Machine for making electric sparks
Pulse discharge between electrodes and workpieces can cause metals to corrode. This method is good for working with hard alloys and mould steels that are hard to machine. For instance, electrical discharge machining is widely used to make the fine structure of automotive mould cavities, with a surface roughness of up to Ra0.2 μ m, which is what is needed for a long mould life.