Crossbeam

Brief Introduction

CNC machine tools are the foundation of modern industry and are widely used in various fields. Gantry-structured machine tools are an important structural form of CNC machine tools, and the crossbeam is a basic structural component that constitutes the movement of the machine tool.

The static and dynamic characteristics of the crossbeam itself determine the overall performance of gantry-type machine tools and have an important impact on the processing efficiency, precision, and stability of the machine tool.

Currently, most machine tool crossbeams are made of metals, mainly steel and aluminum alloys. Machine tools that do not require high movement speeds are all made of steel, which offers good stability and high precision. For machine tools that require high movement speeds and accelerations, such as laser cutting machines and robots, when the dynamic characteristic matching exceeds the limit, their performance cannot be further improved. Therefore, such high-speed moving machine tools usually use aluminum alloy crossbeams. However, the weight of aluminum alloy crossbeams is still relatively large. At the same time, aluminum alloy materials have low modulus, are relatively soft, prone to deformation, have limited improvement in high speed and acceleration, and have a large thermal expansion coefficient, so temperature changes affect precision.

Carbon fiber is an inorganic fiber material with high strength and high modulus. Its specific gravity is only 1.78, and its modulus exceeds 250GPa, which is close to that of steel, but it is much lighter than steel. Its main component is carbon, and it is an inorganic brittle material. Carbon fiber has no plastic deformation, and its elongation at break is only about 2%. Usually, to achieve the same effect, the weight of parts made of carbon fiber is 1/4 to 1/5 that of steel parts and 1/2 to 1/3 that of aluminum alloy parts. Therefore, it is very suitable for the needs of machine tools that require structural components with good rigidity, high movement speed, and good dimensional stability.

Performance Characteristics

Currently, the length of the carbon fiber beam for machine tools can be close to 8 meters. It is manufactured according to the specific requirements of users.

Section specifications : 240×185, 240×160, 200×140, 200×120, 170×90. Custom designs can be made according to user requirements.

Accuracy : The straightness can reach 0.01mm/1000mm.

1. Improve product performance at a lower cost

If the acceleration is to be increased to 3g or 4g, the cost gap between metal beams and carbon fiber beams will be even larger, and the use of metal beams will no longer be economically viable. However, carbon fiber beams can easily break through the performance limit of metal beams without increasing the overall weight of the machine tool or upgrading the rack, and can even reduce the requirements for the performance of motors such as drivers and reducers. It achieves a more significant speed improvement and shows a remarkable cost reduction effect.

II. Extend the service life of machine tools and reduce after-sales costs

Due to the lighter weight of the carbon fiber beam, it means that the wear on the guide rails and racks, which bear the main motion load, will be lighter. This can significantly increase the service life of the guide rails and racks, further extending the service life of the equipment and reducing the cost for users to replace related accessories. Theoretically, the material wear rate has a cubic relationship with the load factor.

Since the rigidity of the carbon fiber beam is close to that of the steel beam, much higher than that of the aluminum beam, and the material has no creep characteristics, it will not cause a decrease in accuracy due to deformation during long-term use. This can eliminate the need for beam adjustment work every 3-6 months, saving a lot of after-sales labor and time costs.

The carbon fiber beam has no plastic deformation. When the machine tool encounters irresistible factors such as control system failures or external impacts, as long as the carbon fiber beam is not internally damaged, it can quickly rebound to its original shape once the external force is removed without deformation.

III. Energy Conservation and Efficiency Enhancement

Due to the increased acceleration, when cutting parts with relatively complex dimensions, the proportion of time occupied by acceleration and deceleration required for curves and corners is lower than that of equipment using metal beams. This significantly improves the cutting speed. With the same laser power and the same energy consumption, more parts can be processed, which is equivalent to reducing the energy consumption per unit product while increasing efficiency. This brings tangible profits to end customers.

IV.comprehensively improve equipment performance and achieve higher economic benefits

Relying on the properties of carbon fiber materials, carbon fiber crossbeams can significantly enhance the motion performance of machine tools. With the same configuration, they can easily increase the acceleration of machine tools to 4g, and the comprehensive processing speed can be increased by 50-60%, achieving a substantial leap in production efficiency. At the same time, carbon fiber crossbeams also show significant advantages in terms of control accuracy, matching with advanced linear motor drive technology. Their repeat positioning accuracy can reach the micron level, and due to their physical characteristics of high strength, they can maintain high precision stably for a long time, providing users with a more reliable processing solution.

In today's increasingly fierce market competition, product homogeneity is serious, and machine tools with carbon fiber crossbeams will undoubtedly become the leaders in the market. Their dynamic performance and control accuracy will bring significant advantages to users in terms of production efficiency, production capacity, and competitiveness in high-value-added orders, helping enterprises stand out in the fierce market competition and achieve higher economic benefits.