Normally, a CNC machining center is made of cast iron bodies, a controller, a spindle, a servo, and other components. The main structure consists of the five cast icon bodies – Base, column, head, table, and saddle.
The CNC machining center is assembled by bodies that connect basic assemblies and mechanisms into a whole structure. Their role is to keep all different assemblies and parts of a CNC machining center in a specific mutual position. Most of the CNC machining center bodies are made of cast iron.
Advantage of gray cast iron
Cast iron is a high-carbon alloy of iron with carbon. It usually contains alloy additives such as silicon, manganese, phosphorus, and copper. One of the types of cast iron is gray cast iron where in carbon is present as graphite.
Gray cast iron has many advantages in the CNC machining center industry listed below.
- Higher quality and more ductile
- easily treatable and cheaper to cast into different complex shapes because of the good fluidity
- A smaller shrinkage makes the casting easier to control the size and structure
- Low toughness and high rigidity
- resistant to abrasion and indentation
- Good stability and tremendous vibration-damping capability
Gray cast iron or steel
As pointed out that steel has more tensile strength and toughness compared with cast iron, but cast iron has more vibration-damping properties than steel or most other materials. Machining bodies require more vibration-damping ability than toughness or tensile strength. When doing the metalworking process, it can absorb and dissipates vibration, which ensures the quality and accuracy of machining parts.
Additional alloys of Biyoun’s machine bodies
- Copper
- Copper has been known for their moderate hardness, ductility and machinability, and corrosion resistance. Cast iron-copper alloy offers more resistance to wear as the speed increases.
- Chromium
- Chromium increases response to heat treatment. It also increases the depth of hardness penetration and possesses increased resistance to oxidation and corrosion.
- Other alloys
Many machining center makers don’t add alloys to the bodies iron cast due to the high cost and casting difficulty. However, in Biyoun, to perform a better structure and property of machining center bodies, all necessary alloys are added during the casting process. We have a strict control percentage of different alloys based on our research and experience.
Conclusion
The material of Machining Center bodies in Biyoun uses gray iron cast due to its high quality, smaller shrinkage, high rigidity, and most importantly tremendous vibration damping capability. We also add other alloys such as copper to enhance the property and structure of the gray cast iron.
Need to more information about the machining center body’s material, contact us via email or give us a call.