API Application report Automated Precision Europe GmbH | Im Breitspiel 17 | 69126 Heidelberg | 06221 729 805 0 | [email protected] | www.apisensor.com SWIVELCHECK Portable Rotary Alignment System TM Engineering If any single construction has established itself worldwide for milling machines, it is the portal technology. In particular for large components such as wide-body aircraft or models for car bodies, portal milling machines are always the first choice when it’s a case of machining large parts from light or highly stable materials quickly and with high precision. As the global leader for milling solutions using the portal technique, Zimmermann has not only perfected this technology with 5-side, 5-axis machining, but has also opened up a new chapter in milling head technology. The process with which the company sets up and calibrates machines und milling heads is also innovative: a new measurement system that no longer has to be mounted on the centre of motion for the measurement guarantees the optimal setting and performance of the milling machines from Zimmermann. Among other things, portal milling machines have the advantage that the moving masses are extremely low, so that large workpieces, above all, can be machined with it. But even before it comes to this, the manufacturer must prove that the machine can really carry out the required tasks - in the form of a customer acceptance that will not only take place at the manufacturer’s premises, but also later after the installation at the customer’s site. The proof that the machines meet the required specifications is the precondition for a successful project management – and if the manufacturer should ultimately fail in the documentation of this proof, costly rework may be necessary, and even the failure of the complete project can no longer be excluded. Measurement technology Measurement of rotation and swivel axes Photo: Zimmermann

API Application report Automated Precision Europe GmbH | Im Breitspiel 17 | 69126 Heidelberg | 06221 729 805 0 | [email protected] | www.apisensor.com SWIVELCHECK Portable Rotary Alignment System TM Engineering The final acceptance of a portal milling machine thereby represents a very special challenge, and can easily last several weeks; the measurement of the linear and rotary axes according to VDI/ISO is as much a contractual part of the acceptance as the measurement of the geometry and the subsequent test milling. In order to carry out the check, a plug gauge is clamped in the machine...

API Application report Automated Precision Europe GmbH | Im Breitspiel 17 | 69126 Heidelberg | 06221 729 805 0 | [email protected] | www.apisensor.com SWIVELCHECK Portable Rotary Alignment System TM Engineering In the following period, the system, which was generally suitable for the assessment of the performance of rotary axes and tables, was subjected to an endurance test; it was not only used for the preacceptance in the factory, but also in the milling head assembly, as well as for final acceptances at the customers’ premises. Good is good, but better carries it But there’s nothing that...