Applications of BIG DAISHOWA in the Aerospace Field
BIG DAISHOWA Applications in the Aerospace Field
In the machining of aerospace components, the most significant issues are related to workpiece materials. Titanium alloys, superalloys, and creep-resistant steels are all difficult-to-machine materials that present challenges throughout the supply chain. These materials have poor machinability, leading to reduced cutting speeds, significantly decreased production efficiency, and shortened tool life.
Therefore, in the machining of such parts, three important problems must be solved: tool holders must provide powerful clamping force, high precision, and vibration control. In the aerospace field, workpiece costs are enormous, and any failure caused by the tool holder at any stage would be a catastrophic loss in terms of both time and money.
To avoid the problems mentioned above, tool holders need to possess the following characteristics:
1. Powerful Clamping Force
To handle large depths of cut and difficult-to-machine parts.
2. Guaranteed Rigidity and Excellent Clamping Precision
Ensures stability and accuracy during machining.
3. Strong Anti-Interference Capability
To handle various non-standard and complex machining tasks.
Pocket Milling Example
First, let's take pocket milling as an example. Aerospace-grade aluminum is the most commonly used material for fuselages and wings. To balance rigidity and lightweight requirements, monolithic plates are typically used, with many pockets milled into them. During roughing, to ensure machining efficiency, a strategy with a large depth of cut and high feed rates is used for rapid material removal. This places strict demands on the tool holder.
Whether it's a large depth of cut or high feed rate, the milling cutter experiences a significant axial pulling force during machining, making the tool holder's clamping force a crucial parameter. Furthermore, this "aggressive" machining method can lead to another problem: chatter. The root cause of chatter is insufficient rigidity to suppress the radial component of force generated by the tool during cutting. When the spindle and tool are confirmed to be sound, the inherent rigidity of the tool holder itself becomes particularly important.
BIG's Heavy-Duty Milling Chucks combine the advantages of high clamping force, high rigidity, and high clamping accuracy, effectively avoiding the above problems. When tightening the locknut, the nut and the chuck body are in complete contact. Combined with BIG-PLUS dual contact spindle interface, the spindle and tool holder achieve near-monolithic rigidity. Coupled with powerful clamping force and precision, machining efficiency and yield rates can be effectively improved.
Complex Component Machining
Aerospace machining also involves many complex parts, such as narrow slots, deep cavities, or wing sidewall machining. These parts are mostly large components, and the machines used are large 3-axis gantry machines. To ensure precision and machining efficiency, it's common practice to complete all necessary machining surfaces in a single setup. When machining sidewalls, using an angle head allows for side surface machining in that single setup.
BIG Angle Heads come in various models to choose from. Whether it's extended angle heads for deep cavity sidewalls or slender angle heads for narrow gaps, they are all powerful tools for improving machining efficiency.
Jet Engine Component Machining
The turbofan engine, as the heart of an aircraft, has very high requirements for its materials and precision. The materials are mostly:
These materials themselves are difficult to machine, and precision requirements are high. Since most parts are non-standard shapes, there are high demands for anti-interference capability and the tool holder's own precision. For this type of machining, hydraulic tool holders are well-suited.
BIG Slim Hydraulic Tool Holders feature a slender body with good anti-interference capability and runout accuracy below 1μm. They can be installed and removed with a single wrench. More importantly, they solve the operational safety risks associated with heat-shrink holders requiring high-temperature heating for tool changes, as well as risks like accuracy degradation after repeated heating and difficulty removing tools due to internal carbon buildup.
