AMB 2014: VT 4-4 Vertical Turning Machine

The market is growing and competition intensifies. According to a study by Roland-Berger, this is how future prospects of the suppliers to the automotive industry can be summarised. The study further concludes that a market growth rate of approximately 6 percent within the next two years is achievable. However, the supply industry is facing increased competition from new players on the emerging markets. What can be done to counteract this? First and foremost, a closer look at the profitability of production sites might help. Component production must become faster, deliver greater precision and show a greater degree of economic viability. What the relevant production solutions should be like, becomes apparent with a closer look at the new vertical turning machine VT 4-4 developed by the turning specialists at EMAG. This machine delivers top efficiency levels in large volume gearbox production.

For a number of reasons, the production of drive and gear shafts represents a very specific key task in the manufacture of automobiles. For one, many of their components are of a very detailed and highly complex geometry, on which so much depends. For instance, high-precision gearings ensure a highly effective torque transmission within the gearbox, whilst high-precision shoulders and grooves guarantee the safe connectivity of components. The efficiency of the powertrain as a whole depends to a large degree on the functionality of their shafts. And these highly complex components must be produced in their millions – quickly and at the greatest precision. On completion of the central turning work the shaft should ideally display a geometry that is as close to its final contour as possible. The tolerances production planners are looking for in this respect are in the micrometre range.

How can these high-performance requirements be reconciled? The turning specialists at EMAG have been focusing on this particular question for decades. The machine builder''s development team creates tailor-made, highly innovative manufacturing solutions for the production of shaft-type components. Their vertical, 4-axis shaft turning machine VT 4-4 in particular follows this tradition. It opens up new potentials in the machining of components of a maximum length of 1,050 mm and a maximum diameter of 200 mm.