JAPAN'S leading manufacturer of structural steel processing equipment, Daito Seiki, has produced an all-in-one drilling and sawing unit called the DS400 CNC Drill Saw.
By combining the drill and the saw into the one unit, the DS400 is very compact, measuring 3.1m x 2.4m.
Available from Australian Bandsaw Company , the DS400 is a fully automatic machine with 3-axis drilling and a circular saw. It can drill and cut a wide range of structural steel profiles without troublesome, time-consuming tool changes associated with punching and sheering machines.
A wide range of structural steel profiles up to 400 mm wide can be cut and drilled on the machine. These include universal and welded beams, angles, channels, RHS, flat bar and even thin walled purlins.
Purlins can be drilled and cut without distortion due to Daito's unique inner vise mechanism.
Three drill heads enable instantaneous drilling of all faces of the work piece. The unit uses standard Morse Taper drills that are easy to change and inexpensive to replace. A long centre drill is also available for top and bottom drilling of RHS.
The drills use a spray lubrication system to eliminate mess.
The saw blade is a 600mm diameter segmented cold saw that can be resharpened many times. If the blade is damaged during use, replacing the damaged segments is easy and it is inexpensive to repair.
The feed system is by high-speed pinch rollers with a feed speed of 30m per minute for fast and efficient processing. Vertical vises ensure that even slightly distorted material is securely clamped.
High-speed operation does not affect accuracy; dual rotary encoders ensure an accuracy of 1mm for every 10m of material. The encoders work separately to ensure that any reading errors are eliminated.
Operation is simple with three ways of programming the DS400: manually at the machine, remote location programming on the Cardmaster DS and by linking the customers’ existing CAD program to the Cardmaster DS.
The operator at the machine may program the machine manually. This is done easily by following the on screen prompts on the control panel.
The control panel is mounted on a pendant that allows the machine to be operated from either side of the machine.
Remote programming of the machine can be carried out by the optional Cardmaster DS system. Up to 60 cutting and drilling jobs can be programmed on the Cardmaster console. These programs are then downloaded to the DS400.
If the company is already using a CAD program that produces cutting programs in DSTV format then the Cardmaster system can be linked to the CAD system. These cutting programs are then sent to the DS400 for processing.
Information from The Cardmaster DS can be transferred to the DS400 by communication cable or by memory card. The memory card can hold up to 60 cutting and drilling programs at once and is useful when access from the Cardmaster to the DS400 is impossible by cable.