Versatility is the key issue for manufacturers of multi-axis milling machines and vertical turning lathes. The same machine must be able to perform various milling and lathing operations so that machining operations can be carried out with the highest accuracy (without part disassembly) and the highest productivity.

Until now, these heavy constraints meant that manufacturers had to use drives that were generally complex and did not necessarily meet every technical requirement. Redex offers two complementary integrated drives for tables used on milling machines and vertical lathes. They allow designers to choose the right drive for each application and based on their priorities of speed, power, accuracy and rigidity.

Redex's high-speed versions of its DRP, KRP and KRPX ranges complement the features of its MSR range of drives. They simplify the design of the mechanical transmission systems of both large rotary tables used on vertical lathes (over 2000 m) and smaller tables used on milling machines. They also improve machine accuracy and allow for smaller machine footprints.

When meshed with a drive gear, the two reducers on Redex TwinDrive and DualDrive solutions cancel 100% of backlash. These high-speed reducers have been hardened to allow continuous operating cycles and meet the specific requirements of rotary tables. As a result, Redex high-speed TwinDrive and DualDrive units can achieve rotational speeds of up to 28 rpm-1.

Although the Redex MSR range offers higher rotational speeds, the high-speed versions of its DRP, KRP and KRPX drives offer far greater accuracy, rigidity and momentum. They are the standard drives with the highest positioning accuracy (a few arc-minutes).

The complementarity of both solutions allows manufacturers to design the right rotary-table drives for specific applications and thus their priorities of speed, power, accuracy and rigidity.

Redex solutions make it possible to execute additional functions on the C-axis without any additional mechanical devices or the use of position locking. This maximum accuracy is maintained during milling and/or positioning operations particularly by the electrical or mechanical preload system, which continuously manages the counter-torque between the pinions.

Solutions that use two reducers, and thus two motors, are more cost effective and easier to manage in most cases. Compared to heavy-duty rotary tables used in conventional configurations that require a 160-kW motor, the TwinDrive solution uses two 80-kW motors, which are more standard and often less expensive (even accounting for the cost of both units). Maintenance and spare-parts management is also simplified by the use of the smaller, standard motors. This simplifies rotary-table design because it eliminates the need for machine-tool manufacturers to design and build their own gearboxes with all the necessary components.