Thomas Lomoth and Andreas Maier love a challenge, and they enjoy doing things differently than is typically done in the machining industry. In 2017, they became self-employed with their metalworking shop Metaxon AG in Herzogenrath. With innovative solutions for small series and prototypes, whose processing poses particularly complex requirements for machines and tools, the company has built a good reputation. Since its founding, Metaxon AG has been accompanied by David Willing and his company ZE, an official Walter distribution partner. The machining expert supplies the workshop with precision tools for milling, turning, and drilling – and with solutions for new machining challenges. The machining tools from Walter play an important role in this.
Innovative Machining Solutions are Teamwork
Metaxon started in 2017 with a CNC machining center. Today, a team of ten machining specialists works on six machining machines. Additionally, there is a climate-controlled measuring room. This dynamic growth has been achieved by Maier and Lomoth with a certain fearlessness when it comes to implementing complex machining tasks. Thomas Lomoth explains: 'As a start-up, we are of course eager to utilize our machines. But we also strategically position ourselves as the machinists who find a solution that no one has thought of or tried before. However, without a technically savvy consultant like David, who knows the machining business from the ground up, some projects would have been much more difficult.'
One of these projects with increased difficulty, where David Willing helped the Metaxon AG team, is the development and implementation of a new processing strategy for machining a measurement technology component. The particular challenge that the component presents for processing lies less in the material than in the amount of material that needs to be removed, and in the shape of the component. Depending on the design, about 20 kilograms of material must be machined.
Which makes up about 50 percent of the component made of stainless steel. The largest portion is accounted for by a contour with a radial machining depth of 90 millimeters.
Challenge of Process Stability
Initially, the shaft was manufactured using a radial turning process. However, the process did not run satisfactorily stable: Due to the high mechanical load over the length and width of the turning tool, vibrations built up. The machining was very loud, and the indexable cutting inserts wore out extremely quickly. Thomas Lomoth explains: 'I had long had the ambition to develop a machining strategy for this component that runs significantly more stable than the conventional one. Radial turning can achieve that. However, you have to work in five individual steps and change the tools multiple times. Many sources of error and time wasters. Furthermore, the process wears out a lot of indexable cutting inserts per component. It needs to be more sustainable and less costly, which I have always been convinced of.'
In this project, the machining expertise of David Willing was also an important success factor. To achieve a process-safe and sustainable result, the team met with David Willing and discussed several solution approaches. The result: The team decided to move completely away from turning to a milling cutter that was specifically developed for high machining volumes in deep cavities: the High-Feed Milling Cutter Walter Xtra·tec XT M5008. David Willing explains how he came up with the idea:
'It quickly became clear that we could not solve the fundamental instability of the process with individual changes. Therefore, we tried to rethink the whole thing from the ground up. And that's where the Walter High-Feed Cutter comes into play almost by itself. After all, it was developed for very similar application situations as for our measurement technology component.' Josef Schmidt, Technical Consulting and Sales at Walter Germany, adds: 'Consultants with expertise like David Willing are almost as important to us as manufacturers as they are to customers like Metaxon AG. Walter tool solutions contain a tremendous amount of machining knowledge, and that is also needed to explain what potential lies in a tool.'
High Machining Volume and Process Safety
In fact, Walter addresses the central problem that arises when machining the component with the Xtra·tec XT M5008: The High-Feed Milling Cutter is designed to prevent or absorb vibrations that occur in deep pockets and large recesses as much as possible. Therefore, the M5008 is also widely used in tool and mold making. While Metaxon AG is not focused on mold making, the problem is essentially the same. And the cutter also fits optimally with the machine setup: The 5-axis turning-milling center used at Metaxon has the corresponding performance characteristics to allow the Walter Xtra·tec XT M5008 to showcase its capabilities.
By combining low cutting depth with high feed rates, the cutter achieves a very high machining volume. With its low setting angle of 10°, axial cutting forces dominate, enabling a stable machining process. Walter offers a comprehensive range of double-sided, rhombic indexable cutting inserts with 4 cutting edges for the M5008, allowing for compact tool diameters and high tooth counts. Stable cutting edges with easily cutting geometries and the innovative Tiger·tec cutting materials enable machining with high cutting data and a long tool life.
The fact that the cutter comes from the Walter standard program is another significant advantage for Metaxon: Order times are short, the tool data is accurate, and setting up and preparing the tool and machine requires little time. Thomas Lomoth says: 'With the Walter Xtra·tec XT M5008, the process now runs very stably and also in fewer steps. This allows us to let each part simply run through without someone constantly keeping an eye on the machine. So, it's the optimal condition we wanted to achieve.'
Contact:
