The D500 was initially used for machining stainless steel, particularly for mould components. Thanks to its powerful direct-drive motors in the A and C axes and its rigid construction, the
D500 allows Prodrive to perform heavy-duty machining while achieving high productivity. Heijlighen: “Our positive experience with stability and precision led us to gradually expand the machine park with additional horizontal and vertical machining centres from Makino.”
Prodrive carefully selected specific models from the Makino portfolio to match its production needs. In addition to the D500s for mould production, Prodrive has also added several
a61nx machines to its line-up. These 4-axis horizontal machining centres are the workhorses of production: extremely stable, ideally suited for medium-to-large production runs and known for their high reliability and precision. “The stability of the a61nx machines is impressive,” says Heijlighen. “We work with tolerances in the range of 7 to 8 microns, but these machines are capable of much tighter tolerances. That brings a major advantage, especially for positional tolerances between different features on a single part.”
Although the a61nx already offers a considerable working range of 730 × 650 × 800 mm (X×Y×Z), this proved insufficient for some applications. For that reason, Prodrive also commissioned an a81nx with an HSK-A100 spindle. With a range of 900 × 900 × 1,020 mm (X×Y×Z), this horizontal 4-axis machine is used for machining large cold plates for cooling systems.
