German company Exeron has announced that its HSC MP7 high-speed milling machine sets new standards for linear drives. The company had previously offered only screw ball drives and reported that a great deal of research and development went into its new product, which complements its existing HSC line. It claimed that development efforts have minimised set-up times, making it suitable to use the unit “from the first day”.

Exeron said it has combined the established linear drive characteristics of low-maintenance and high-productivity with other developments to provide a complete, high-precision package.

The MP7 is available with or without a pallet changer in 3- or 5-axis versions. Spindle speed is around 42,000 rpm, with S1/S6 -40 per cent performance at 10 or 13kW. While the unit has the capacity for fast traverses of up to 100m/min, they are limited to 40m/min for safety reasons.

The machine management system includes a Heidenhain I-TNC 530, a new-generation CNC control unit, which, for example, completely integrates position- and weight-dependant control parameters, the supplier explained.

The MP7 also has a tuned cooling system with nine circuits. The stiff axis bending boards are highly damped and have small mass; their tubular part construction utilised extensive modal- and FEM-analysis.

High-resolution position encoders and low-friction, very stiff linear slides are combined with a virtually friction-free counterbalance adjustment. The MP7 has a large Z-travel range, along with optimal automation capabilities. A P-version incorporates an integrated pallet changer.

The Heidenhain control, optimised motion control, short block processing times, control system strategies and an integrated digital drive control inverter are said to deliver high processing speeds and optimal precision.