A demonstration on a five-axis high speed machining centre with the latest CAM software generated significant interest amongst large numbers of visitors to the recent UK MACH 2006 exhibition.

High-speed machining and five-axis machining specialist Mikron generated significant interest amongst large numbers of visitors to the recent MACH exhibition in Birmingham, UK, with a demonstration of the manufacture of a model aluminium plane. The demonstration, which was jointly developed by applications engineers at Mikron and at Delcam, was so popular that Mikron is to repeat it on the AgieCharmilles stand at the METAV exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany, this week. The demonstration, carried out on a Mikron HSM 600U high-speed five-axis machining centre, provided clear evidence of the performance advances and benefits that can be achieved by fully embracing simultaneous five-axis machining.

The plane is a complex, prismatic part that was machined in approximately 60 min to Ra 0.3 micron surface finish and 20 micron (0.02mm) accuracy.

Seven different operations were required to complete the part - from roughing-out the initial form using a 32mm diameter Pokolm cutting tool at 16,000 rev/min and 6,000mm/min feeds, right through super-fine finishing operations using 3mm diameter ball nose cutters at 22,000 rev/min and 3,000mm/min feeds.

All of the operations were programmed with Delcam's PowerMILL CAM system.

Tony Steels, managing director at Agie Charmilles, commented, 'Both the machine and the demonstration seem to have captured the imagination of visitors to the exhibition - and this further demonstrates the interest that true simultaneous five-axis machining now has with precision engineers.

The finished product is a truly impressive example of the performance in terms of speed, contour accuracy and finish that can be delivered with the Mikron machine, equipped with our unique SMART technology.

The results can only be done justice by seeing the machine in action.' Peter Dickin, marketing manager at Delcam added, 'Working with Mikron for the MACH exhibition has enabled us to demonstrate the extensive range of five-axis machining strategies within PowerMILL for both roughing and finishing.

The response to the plane demonstration has provided further confirmation of the high level of interest that now exists in boosting productivity and quality with five-axis machining.