Process-Secure and Flexible with High-Performance Horizontal Milling Machines
With their robust design and high versatility, these horizontal milling machines are indispensable tools for machining demanding materials. This is why they have always been essential for demanding industries such as aerospace and automotive manufacturing. Large, complex workpieces such as cylinder heads and engine blocks can be manufactured just as efficiently and precisely as small series components on clamping towers. With decades of experience in the diverse applications of horizontal milling machines, DMG MORI designs application-specific manufacturing solutions. The portfolio includes a total of seven series, ensuring users can find the right model for almost any industry.
Overview
Optimal Design for High Precision and Excellent Surface Quality
A horizontal milling machine is defined by its horizontally positioned spindle, which machines the workpiece from the side. A major advantage of this design is the optimal chip removal. This means that even complex components can be manufactured reliably and consistently. Since the tools used in horizontal milling are typically shorter and wider than those in vertical milling, and the distance between the spindle and workpiece is smaller, deeper cuts can be made more quickly. The stable machining with minimized vibrations also results in better surface quality.
Equipment Options for Maximum Machining Flexibility
Horizontal milling machines with a rotary table significantly reduce the cycle time of complex workpieces, as they can machine all four sides in a single setup. A swivel rotary table further enhances this flexibility, enabling productive five-axis milling in a single setup. Equipped with a rotary table, horizontal CNC milling machines are also powerful tools at your side for series production on Tombstones. When combined with pallet handling and setup stations, downtime can be reduced to a minimum. Intelligent controls, such as DMG MORI’s app-based CELOS X, simplify the operation of such highly automated manufacturing systems.
Horizontal Milling Machines for Heavy-Duty Machining and Series Production
With a wide-ranging portfolio in horizontal milling, DMG MORI has proven, decades-long expertise in this field. A large part of this success is due to the dynamic precision machines in the NHX and NH series. They integrate seamlessly with linear pallet systems (LPP) and Rotary Pallet Systems (RPS), allowing for efficient production of both small series parts and large housing components, depending on the machine size. The NHX 10000 offers travel distances of 1,700 mm along the X-axis, 1,400 mm along the Y-axis, and 1,510 mm along the Z-axis. In the production of cylinder heads and blocks, the i 50 stands out for its extremely compact design. DMG MORI achieves five-axis horizontal machining of even more complex workpieces with the INH models, as well as the DMC H linear and DMU H monoBLOCK series.
Important questions about horizontal milling
What Is Horizontal Milling?
In horizontal milling, the spindle is positioned horizontally to the table, allowing milling operations on the workpiece to be carried out from the side. If the horizontal milling machine is equipped with a rotary table, the component can be machined on all four sides without the need for re-clamping.
What Are the Advantages of Horizontal Milling?
A key advantage of the horizontal orientation is the unobstructed chip removal, which enables process-secure manufacturing. The short distance between the spindle and workpiece, along with short tools, also allows for faster machining of deep cuts. The design also minimizes vibrations, which improves the surface quality of the components.
What Applications Are Horizontal Milling Machines Suitable For?
Horizontal milling machines showcase their strengths in machining complex workpieces with high chip volumes, such as engine blocks and cylinder heads in automotive manufacturing. They are also highly productive in series production of small parts, as the pallets can be equipped with clamping towers. This means the machines are fully utilized while additional pallets are prepared at setup stations