Victor Taichung Machinery Works, based in Taiwan, makes a wide variety of machine tools, including turning machines and multi-purpose milling machines, but an interesting speciality application of the company are wheel machines.
In the video above, we speak with Wayne Hsueh, director of overseas marketing division at Victor Taichung Machinery Works about the difference between wheel machines and general purpose multi-axis machine tools.
“The car wheel machine is for clamping the part, because for the part to be clamped, you need a special chuck,” Hsueh explained.
“Usually for special purpose machines, the chuck is the key component to reduce setup time and for clamping efficiency. Wheel chips are also different from steel chips, so even a chip conveyor and the protection of ball screws are also somewhat different. For special purpose machines, you should pay attention to the kind of part you’re making, what kind of chips are produced, what kind of coolant you use and how you dispose of it.”
Hsueh explains that Victor Taichung’s special-purpose wheel machines are actually modified general-purpose machines – this saves costs for the company as well as its customers.
“We can mass produce all the machine parts, as 80 percent of parts are compatible (between machines),” Hsueh said. “We have some customers that want special-purpose machines only and we pay a lot of attention to them. If we increase production of our general-purpose machine, the special-purpose machine would also become cheaper. We like it cheaper for mass production. That’s why we have a special machine for wheels, but wheel machines are heavy duty for heavy cutting. You need a very reliable machine base and fortunately at Victor Taichung Machines, we build the machines this way from the beginning.”
For more information, visit the Victor Taichung Machinery Works website.
Source: ENGINEERING.com