How to choose a five-axis machining center?

    With the increase and application of indexing heads, four-axis and five-axis machining centers are increasingly finding their way into workshops. Many friends have questions about whether a 3+2-axis machine is considered a five-axis machining center and how to choose processing conditions. To address this issue, one must first understand the structure of the machining center.

A machine equipped with 3+2-axis technology is not a true five-axis machining center.

Many people believe that a five-axis machining center is simply a three-axis machining center with two additional rotary axes. The two rotary axes first fix the tool in a tilted position, and then processing is carried out by the feed axes X, Y, and Z. However, because the fourth and fifth axes are used to determine the orientation of the tool in a fixed position, rather than for intermittent operations during processing, this is not true five-axis simultaneous technology. A 3+2-axis machining center can perform machining operations that cannot be completed by a conventional machining center, but it is not a true five-axis machining center.

Although five-axis machining centers offer advantages such as high precision and efficiency, processing complex non-planar workpieces can be challenging. Due to the excessive length of the tool, the need for repeated clamping is eliminated, as is the repetition of tool setting. At the same time, repeated tool setting can lead to cumulative tolerances, and easy cutting can also result in unqualified workpieces. Therefore, multi-axis simultaneous machining has become the go-to method for processing more complex workpieces.

    Currently, the most commonly used machining centers on the market are vertical machining centers, with three-axis being the most frequently employed processing method. A five-axis machining center consists of the X, Y, and Z axes for linear feed. Under normal circumstances, the orientation of the tool remains unchanged along the entire cutting path. Different machine models have been trained to handle various processing routes.