Machine tool design involves designing and constructing machines for industrial use, such as lathes, drills, and milling machines. Key components include the frame, slides and rails, electric motors, controls, and software. The industry is expected to grow globally, with a focus on replacing outdated machines.
Machine tool design involves the design, construction and construction of machine tools used for a variety of industrial purposes. The types of machine tools commonly used in today’s industries include lathes, drills, and milling machines, as well as transfer, grinding, and sanding machines. The design of any machine tool must take into account the load the machine will have to handle, who will be using the machine tool and the stresses on key components, as well as its power requirements and how much of its function will be automated.
Several key aspects of various types of machine tools need to be focused on by the machine tool designer. The first of these is the frame, or frame, upon which the instrument is built. It can be a cast, fabricated, or built frame that will house all of the motors, tables, and controls required by the instrument. Often these frames are constructed of steel or cast iron, but a modern machine tool design can also use a plastic composite frame. The key function of the frame is that it must be able to withstand and dampen the effects of long-term vibration, heat and sound to make the instrument more effective and reliable.
Other components often included in a machine tool design are slides and rails, which are guides that allow tables and spindles to move. There are two main forms for these. The cassette slide, or rail, is the standard and easiest to build, with good damping ability and impact resistance, although it is often difficult to repair and replace. The roller way design incorporates a bearing between the carriage and the rail, making it more versatile and easier to position. However, rollerway designs take up more floor space and, because of their greater complexity, are generally more expensive to build.
Electric motors in machine tool design come in one of three varieties. Spindle motors are the most common and are shaft driven. Feed motors provide power to the slides that move the worktables and are often referred to as servo motors. Linear motors provide motion in a linear direction via a rotor attached to the slide and are usually small and light in weight.
The design of a machine tool must also have controls, which can be manual or based on various microprocessors, such as programmable logic controller (PLC). Software that works with the PLC generates a machine tool part using computer aided manufacturing (CAM) programs and computer numerical control (CNC) software to run the CAM and run the tool. This software controls the removable tools and hardened tungsten carbide tips which are the focal point of the machine tool design.
The machine tool market is expected to continue to grow, fueling an ever-present need for machine tool design graduates. Estimates indicate that in the year 2015 it will be an $80.7 billion US Dollar (USD) global industry, supplying nations across Europe and Asia in sectors such as aerospace, wind generation and automotive. The North American market is seen as mature, while outdated machine tools for cutting, grinding, sanding, as well as lathes, milling machines and more will be replaced by newer models in high demand elsewhere.
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