MAG Cincinnati's E Mill is a unique solution for economical machining of long, small-cross-section parts used in aerospace, construction, shipbuilding and wind power. It is ideal for titanium, aluminum and composite work on stringers, spars, beams and similar parts. The E Mill performs contour machining, routing, drilling and tapping to produce finished, complex, 3D-geometry parts up to 12 m (39.4 ft) long in a single setup, reducing processing costs compared to vertical-platform machines. The innovative, economical design combines a production-proven 500 mm 3-axis horizontal machining center (HMC) with headstock and tailstock adapted from horizontal lathes to provide fourth and fifth axes of motion. The part manipulation system allows A-axis programmable rotation and 360° infinite positioning, while supplying V-axis linear travel for pull-through part feed. Work stock is loaded and unloaded from infeed and outfeed tubes.            

The E Mill can be ordered with a choice of a 16,000 or 24,000 rpm HSK63A spindle. Supporting single setup processing, a drum-style automatic tool changer accommodates 12 tools up to 8 kg (17.6 lb) in weight, 200 mm (7.9 in) long, and 125 mm (4.9 in) diameter. The E Mill comes standard with full enclosure guarding, vacuum filtration and mist/dust extraction for CE and OSHA compliance – especially important for machining composite materials. A pressurized way system protects against wear from abrasive composite dust.            

The headstock/tailstock system features through-hole chucks with powered jaws, allowing the work stock to be advanced incrementally through the jaws. The "live" headstock travels on V-axis linear slides, letting it move next to the stationary tailstock, lock on the workpiece, then slide back, pulling the work stock along. The system provides 1089 mm (42.9 in) of travel for incremental part indexing. The fully programmable feed system can accommodate work stock from 300 mm (12 in) to 12 m (39.4 ft) in length and up to 304.8 mm (12 in) square in cross section.             The headstock moves on parallel guideways 775 mm (30 in) apart, while the fixed tailstock offers a similar broad base. This gives excellent stability for coordinated A-axis part rotation.            

Made from a tough industrial plastic, the infeed and out-feed tubes are clamshell designs. The in-feed opens from the top for loading work stock, with the outfeed bottom opening for ease of part removal. The tubes are seamless extrusions to prevent abrasion and delamination of composite materials, while the enclosed design provides additional containment of cutting fluids, part chips and dust.            

The E Mill machine design can be adapted to larger machining centers with more powerful spindles for processing of harder materials. Besides cost savings over machining platforms with 12 m (39.4 ft) travel or more, the compact E Mill design saves valuable plant floor space, avoids fixture costs, and enables faster set-up for reduced WIP.