Antares - Moving Bridge

Antares from the front - open and accessible

A photo of the Antares 5 axis CNC machining center from the front in which its unencumbered work envelope and full, freeform, 12 kW, 5-axis working unit can be seen. Antares' bridge moves from front to back spanning the shoulders on either side of its work envelope and on which can be seen the bellows covering it X axis guides and ways, and which also cover the Y axis. Underneath the bridge is located Antares' onboard standard 8-place tool changing rack for high speed, easily accessible tool changing within the machining cycle. Beneath the 5-axis working unit can be seen Antares’ fixed, flat, steelwork table permitting rigid anchoring of fixtures, templates or waste sheets. Beneath this can be seen 2 of Antares' waste tanks on wheels, which permits their easy cleaning at the end of work (there are also 2 additional waste tanks extractable from the back). And finally Antares' CNC controlled doors with easy view, protective lexan glass, are open giving full access to the work envelope.

Antares - doors closed

An Antares 5 axis CNC machining center is shown with its doors closed and ready for work. In this view can be seen that the design of Antares' front and back walls and CNC controlled doors makes possible the conveyance of chips and dust created during the work cycle to move easily to its waste drawers for convenient removal later. In addition the narrow slits located above the waste tanks can be seen, which are ducted to external connection points, to which the plant's vacuum dust collection system can ultimately be connected and which work in conjunction with Antares' downdraft total enclosure option.

Antares' spacious 3D work envelope

In this photo is a closer view of Antares' spacious 3D work envelope for light metals, composites and plastic CNC machining, and its fixed, steel flatwork table. On the right of this area is a set of 10 CNC controlled quick disconnects for compressed air. At the bottom can be seen the handles attached to the easily extractable waste collection drawers.

Antares - Rotating Table version, TR

The Antares 5 axis CNC machining center is shown here in its optional Rotating Table version, TR, which makes possible Antares' nonstop (pendular) work cycle in an extremely compact footprint and which comprises 2 template-carrying tables fitted on a CNC-controlled rotating platform (rotation time approximately 7 seconds). The TR table size is 1,900 mm x 1,100 mm (74.80" x 43.31"). Antares version TR is equipped with an automatic centering system to assure table positioning repeatability. In the TR version Antares also comes with a protective fence to prohibit entry to the rotating table area and light curtains to ensure against entry while the table is rotating.

Antares TR - flexibility and freedom

In this photo, the Antares version TR shows some of its flexibility and freedom during CNC high speed machining. The rotating table area is shown protected by the side fences and light barriers keeping the operator and general personnel from entry while the machine table is rotating. Antares' flexibility and freedom means that on the table inside it can trim a small composite ray dome while on the table outside a finished carbon fiber rail can be removed and replaced with the next part to be machined.

Antares - special projects and adaptations

The Antares 5 axis CNC machining center can also be adapted for special projects. In this photo Antares has been adapted for machining special ceramic rollers used in high temperature applications in the glass industry. Antares has been provided with an additional CNC controlled lathe axis and a special dust kit package to protect moving parts and electronics, along with a total dust enclosure.

Antares - total dust enclosure

Antares is shown here with its total dust enclosure, designed to provide complete control over dust emissions to the general ambient environment. The addition of the total dust enclosure also works in conjunction with Antares' downdraft dust control system, which is connected to the plant's dust collection system, and dust kit package which provides protection for Antares' moving parts and electronics during CNC high speed machining. When the total enclosure is provided it is also equipped with internal lighting and sound deadening material.

Antares - monobloc design

Antares rigid monobloc design is evident in this side view. Here can be seen Antares' solid wall structure tied together through its backplane and support table systems. The top of Antares' walls have been prepared to provide a stable, precision surface for its powerful moving bridge.

Antares' monobloc structure and bridge

Antares 5 axis CNC machining center's monobloc structure supports its robust moving bridge, which benefits from CMS' fundamental design principles:

• Finite element computation (FEM) driving structural dimensioning
• Increased stiffness with weight reduction resulting in high acceleration and superior finish quality from the applications of FEM
• High torsional stability derived from a cellular (honeycomb) style design made from folded steel plate
• First resonance frequency analysis to ensure vibration free machining
• Heat treatment normalization of all structures ensuring maximum stability
• All machined surfaces created in one machine set up so as to ensure total accuracy and alignment Large leveling supports for the machine structure to ensure ease of alignment

A view from the front of Antares shows the impact of this design upon its robust bridge and machine structure. In this photo can be seen Antares' ways, rack and bellows covering both X and Y axes. Antares' bridge is driven by a pair of servomotors in a master/slave arrangement to provide perfect, accurate, responsive and smooth movement of the entire bridge structure during CNC high speed machining.

Antares - bridge and mast

A photo of Antares' bridge structure on which is mounted the Z axis mast with Antares' 12 kW (16 hp) full 5-axis, freeform, working unit.

Antares also comes with a 6 kW working unit which increases the B axis movement from +/- 120° to +/- 135° and changes its characteristics as follows:

• from 12 kW (16 hp) at 12,000 rpm S1 rating with maximum rpm of 24,000 to 6 kW (8 hp) at 18,000 rpm S1 rating with maximum rpm of 27,000

Antares - additional tool storage

Antares can also be equipped with an additional, optional 8-place tool holding rack under the bridge as shown in this photo, or a CNC controlled 16-place tool carousel disc located to the side of the work envelop and behind doors, which are opened and closed for tool changing via the CNC program.

Antares - table versions

Antares 5 axis CNC machining center comes with a rigid, fixed, steel flatwork table with threaded hole grid on 600 x 300 mm pitch and additional optional versions such as the machined rexilon table shown in this photo. This can be used for machining sheet stock held by vacuum, or utilized with CMS' advanced pod system with flexible vacuum modules, alignment stops and holding devices, or gridded aluminum table, or gridded aluminum table with T-slots for rigid anchoring of fixtures.

Antares - Rotating Table version, TR

Antares 5 axis CNC machining center's optional Rotating Table version, TR, is shown here, dramatically reducing floor space, while at the same time providing a fast nonstop work cycle. This photo shows Antares' rigid heavy rotating table structure on which can be mounted, in this case, a range of large molds and fixtures for CNC high speed machining. At the side of the rotating table is shown a set of quick disconnects for compressed air and vacuum controlled by the CNC program. Between the tables is seen Antares' protective viewing window, making it possible to easily see the production cycle while in complete safety. Antares TR version has a quick rotational speed of 7 seconds, making it essentially a 2 zone machine in a 1 zone footprint.

Antares - high speed aluminum mold machining

Antares machines a complete mold from a thick aluminum alloy block which will be used in a vacuum forming line for shower bases. Antares' compact size along with its high speed processing capability and accuracy make it the right choice for this application.

Antares - flexibility

This top end shower and bath manufacturer's line changes frequently to keep up with current taste and style and Antares provides them CNC machining flexibility and speed to do that.

Antares - Composites & Lola Group's Formula 1 race cars

Antares 5 axis CNC machining center displays one of Lola Group's Formula 1 race cars. Lola Group, world famous race car constructor and supplier of advanced composites, announced its purchase of CMS' CNC machining center technology and its desire to expand its technology base at an international show in England several years ago.

Antares is a solid choice for the CNC high speed machining of advanced composite materials, carbon fiber and fiberglass components thanks to its downdraft dust collection system, total enclosure and dust kit package. In addition, due to its solidly designed structure, Antares can be provided with optional enhanced linear drive capabilities resulting in higher speeds, with increased acceleration/deceleration performance and enhanced linear scales and rotary direct encoders resulting in even higher levels of precision.

In the picture to the right one of Lola's prized Formula 1 cars is seen. Lola designs and builds racing cars for series throughout the world and is a globally recognized supplier of specialist vehicles and technology services to the motorsport, automotive, aerospace, defense, communications, and marine sectors.

Antares - highly finished mold surfaces

Antares completes a precision mold with high end finish. Here is a significant example of the Antares 5 axis machining center's work and a reason why it’s the choice for serious high end mold and model makers.

In the top left and right corners Antares begins with a block of aluminum alloy and machines its initial end connection and joint work. In the lower left corner Antares is carrying out the finish milling passes on the surface. And in the lower right corner the precision mold with its highly finished surface is shown.

Antares - adapted for machining fused silica ceramic rollers

In this project, the Antares high speed CNC machining unit has been adapted for the special requirements of a large world group specializing in solutions for the primary and secondary glass industry. For this project, Antares takes fused silica ceramic rollers used to convey hot glass through tempering processes and machines the roller's surface and end connection joints. The process uses Antares' 5-axis capability along with a 6th axis CNC controlled lathe device so that the roller can be completed manipulated as required for a range of machining processes. The dust created by this process is completely contained within Antares' total enclosure and is extracted via its downdraft dust collection system and Antares moving parts and electronics are protected with its dust kit package.

Antares - precision processing of fused silica ceramic rollers

In this photo Antares is shown with the fused silica ceramic roller held in its 6th axis lathe device. In the background a range of special tools for machining, drilling and cleaning can be seen. The Antares 5 axis CNC machining center's high level of precision and control throughout the machining processes is essential - encompassing the roller's surface to its mechanical connection in the system in which it is installed.

From the manufacturer's point of view its rollers, which convey glass through extremely high temperatures during tempering operations, must be able to provide the finest surface finish, the tightest dimensional tolerances, and the best hot total indicator roller runout, otherwise the result will be detrimental to the quality of the tempered product.