In today’s machines you will find an unlimited number of sensors compensating for this and that. But at Makino we don’t believe in compensating for every mechanical weakness. We think that our machines have to be well designed mechanically right from the beginning. In mechanical terms our machines are already precise.
The heart of a machine – the spindle
The heart of every machine tool is quite obviously the spindle. That's why Makino builds its own spindles. We build them with more care and precision and with better technology than any other machine tool manufacturer in the world. Every machine design starts from the spindle and the job that has to be done. The rest of machine is built around it, incorporating all the construction requirements to support and enhance its performance.
The Makino integral spindle is constructed with the finest and most rigid components. The shafts are turned from a steel, chrome and molybdenum alloy blank, providing superior rigidity and thermal control. Thanks to core and jacket cooling the spindle design is thermally symmetric and the core and jacket always have the same temperature. The core cooling system enables a defined bearing preload and thanks to our patented Under Race Lubrication the inner bearing ring is greased and cooled, which enables larger bearing diameters as well as increasing the stiffness and life time of the spindle. That means our spindles are stiff in all situations.
The stability and power of the spindle is a core technology of Makino.
Strong and rigid
All of our machines have to be strong and robust in their market segment. Irrespective of whether you are making high-precision micro machining parts on an iQ, high-volume production automotive parts on an a61nx or Inconel and titanium aerospace parts on a T1, all of our machines are stronger and more robust than competitors’ machines.
If the housing is removed, it is easy to see how strongly a Makino machine is built, and how they are built to last for a long period of time. The hardened and ground ways are integral to the castings, which creates an even more robust and rigid platform for the other assembly components of the machine tool. A plastic coating of Turcite is applied to the hardened and ground ways. Oil holes are also placed along these ways so that a thin film of oil can provide very good dampening and a good slip for the bed and column movement during heavy cuts. Direct-drive motors for rotation axes and roller guides are standard on a Makino machine. The larger contact surface at the roller guides enhances higher load acceptance, rigidity and lifetime.
Thermal control
Makino is known for its ability to control thermal growth. Tremendous care needs to be taken in designing a machine to ensure all heat sources are kept away from the castings. Such attention to detail is one more reason why Makino machines are so strong and accurate.
Spindle jacket cooling, ball screw core cooling, ball screw nut and flange cooling, cooling the servo motors and cooling coil and casting at linear motors on an iQ machine – every heat-generating part is cooled and the heat directly removed at the point of generation. Besides, all of our machines are designed in a thermally symmetric manner. All of these systems give Makino machines temperature stability during machining operations, even over a long period of time.
Perfect in detail
Last but not least, it’s the small details that make a Makino machine so outstanding. If you have the chance to visit a Makino factory in Japan, you will see skilled Makino craftsmen hand-scraping the ways. This is a time-consuming process, but one that is paramount to creating the perfect fit between the moving components along the bed and column.
While manufacturing the components for a new machine, Makino employees take a great deal of care about how each component is placed and later mounted on the machine. For example, guides are mounted in the same way in manufacturing as they are in assembling. Dummy parts are used to achieve the same weight conditions as when final assembly of the machine has been completed.
