The machining center can generally be divided into two parts: machine tool (mechanical part) and control system (electrical part). The machine tool is the main body of the machining center, and the control system is the core of the machining center. A machining center usually consists of basic components (bed, workbench, column), spindle components, CNC system, automatic tool change system and auxiliary devices.
(This article is selected from Chapter 2, Section 2 of the "Machining Center Selection Guide" Basic Parts and Basic Components of the Machining Center)
3. Columns and column components
The column and column components are the main basic components of the machining center. It is the main body of the spindle box support and guide, and mainly bears the influence of bending moment, torque, vibration and temperature changes from the two directions of the spindle box.
Due to the differences in structure and stress between vertical and horizontal machining centers, the cross-section of the column of the vertical machining center is usually designed to be rectangular or square. The size of the column cross-section is larger, and the inner wall is designed with higher vertical ribs and Ring rib plate with high stiffness.
The column of the horizontal machining center is a frame-type column. The spindle box is installed in the frame of the column and moves up and down along the guide rail. This type of column has less impact on accuracy than the side-mounted column. The side-mounted column acts as the spindle box. When heat is generated, the temperature of the column guide rail will be higher than the back of the column, causing the column to bend backward due to thermal deformation, affecting the accuracy of the guide rail of the machine tool. Although thermal deformation of frame-type columns is inevitable, due to the symmetry of the structure, the center position of the column does not change much. This structure is often called a thermally symmetric structure.
