FANUC presents ROBONANO α-NTiA - New ultraprecision machine tool for single point diamond turning applications

PRESS RELEASE | July 2019

Echternach – The steady growth of global markets for optical components in eyecare, medical, automotive and aerospace industries, offers opportunities to develop new products for the creation of new businesses. To this end, ROBONANO is FANUC’s solution in the sector of finishing quality optical surfaces. ROBONANO is an ultraprecision machine tool with 0.1 nm programming command resolution and ultimate positioning stability realizing nanometre level surface finishes and extremely accurate freeform surfaces meeting the requirements of even the most demanding applications. Some examples include spherical and aspherical lenses used in information technology (IT) applications, light modifiers for LED installations, different sizes of head-up displays in the automotive industry, micro-fluidic channels used in the development of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices, among many others. ROBONANO, designed and manufactured in Japan using the well-known and renowned FANUC quality and reliability standards, is available in two models: ROBONANO α-NMiA for 5-axis milling and scribing and the entirely new ROBONANO α-NTiA for turning applications.

At the EMO Metalworking Fair in Hanover, Germany, (16-21 September 2019), FANUC presents for the first time in Europe its new ROBONANO α NTiA ultraprecision turning machine in Hall 9, booth A50. The α-NTiA X- and Z-axes machine tool has FANUC’s linear motor drive, 200 mm stroke and maximum 1,000 mm/min feed rate. There is also a B-axis option to provide the
α-NTiA with the flexibility of an indexing table designed for the most advanced applications. All axes have hydrostatic oil bearings. The work-holding spindle runs at a speed up to 4,000 rpm. Standard accessories include the latest FANUC computer numerical control (CNC), operator’s panel with large touch screen, hydraulic power unit and active floor vibration damper. Also active water-cooling and compressed air temperature control systems are included as standard to ensure long-time stable machining.

The α-NTiA joins the ROBONANO α-NMiA 5-axis milling & scribing machining centre, which was first introduced in the European market in 2018. Both machines feature high positioning accuracy and a programming command resolution of just 0.1 nanometre (nm), that is equal to 10-10 meters or 1 Angstrom, the unit of length used to measure the size of molecules and atoms.

More than 20 years’ experience

FANUC’s α-NTiA benefits from more than 20 years of the company’s experience in developing state-of-the-art ultraprecision machine tools. Moreover, all ROBONANO machine tools employ FANUC standard Factory Automation Technology such as CNC, linear motors, torque motors, amplifiers and human-machine interfaces (HMI). Additionally, FANUC developed a proprietary work-holding spindle for single-point diamond turning and a tool-holding spindle for diamond milling of optical surfaces.

Adaptive finishing

FANUC engineers are continuously improving the ease of use of ROBONANO by adding new metrology instrumentation that can be operated via ROBONANO operator’s panel screen’s HMI to set up the process and to perform quality assessment by means of on-machine measurements. The latest addition to this set of versatile tools is the new Smart M-Form option. The unique technology in this stylus-based contact measurement system is the subject of a FANUC patent and can be employed in both ROBONANO α-NMiA and α-NTiA to measure coordinates at speeds up to 1,000 mm/min with resolution down to 0.1nm and very low contact force.

Moreover, this inherent capability is a future-oriented feature to measure complicated free form surfaces over the entire workpiece size without removing the parts from the machinery. Smart M-Form enables automatic error compensation and remachining to improve form accuracy as required in advanced optical components.

ROBONANO and ROBOSHOT, partners in the optical industry

FANUC ROBONANO ultraprecision machine tools are suitable for finishing of optical quality surfaces on different metals such as oxygen-free high-conductivity copper (OFHC), aluminium alloys and nickel phosphorus plating. Ultrasonic tooling systems enable the use of ROBONANO also for finishing of functional surfaces on injection moulding tool inserts made of steel.

With the new Smart M-Form option and FANUC work-holding spindle, the machines are eminently suitable for accurate production of high surface finish optical components without typical radial cutting marks, as illustrated by the finishing of steel-type injection mould inserts for mass production e.g. injection moulding of polymer optical components in transparent thermoplastics or liquid silicone rubber (LSR). In this respect, FANUC ROBONANO machinery provides a perfect alternative to conventional grinding requiring subsequent manual polishing processes.

This is an area where such machined moulds and inserts can be mounted on FANUC’s highly precise and highly repeatable ROBOSHOT injection moulding machines which are particularly well suited for clean environment injection moulding of e.g. smart phone lenses, on account of their all electric drive, as opposed to conventional hydraulic drives. ROBOSHOT injection moulding machines are often equipped with a FANUC Robot for moulded part removal from injection moulds, application of inserts in moulds for overmoulding, in-mould processes and downstream post-moulding operations, such as assembly, inspection and packaging. FANUC’s machine tool product portfolio is rounded off by its ROBODRILL machine centres and ROBOCUT wire-cut EDM machinery.

On show at EMO

Visitors to FANUC’s stand at EMO 2019 can see live demonstrations of the all-new ROBONANO α NTiA turning machine and the ROBONANO α-NMiA with the new Smart M-Form on-machine measuring system. The ROBONANO α-NTiA ultraprecision turning machine demonstrates high form accuracy and surface finish capability by live machining of a mould insert for an optical component.

The ROBONANO α NMiA demonstrates on-machine inspection of form accuracy of an automotive head-up display (HUD) mould insert with Smart M-Form option. Examples of different applications are also on display, such as finishing of high-precision optical-quality surfaces and processing mould steel and other materials.

An automated cell with a ROBOSHOT S130iA injection moulding machine equipped with an ROBOT LR Mate 200iD/4S for parts picking gives a live demonstration of two-component moulding with a FANUC SI-20A secondary injection unit. Here, visitors can also appreciate a process chain that exploits the natural synergy of all FANUC products and the expertise of FANUC engineers for the mass production of precision optical components.

Both the live demonstrations and the parts on display are of particular interest for trade visitors involved in the optics and photonics industries and/or ultraprecision machining operations.

Application diversity

ROBONANO ultraprecision machine tools are used in diamond finishing of high-precision optical components serving the automotive, medical device industries, information technology (IT), aerospace, semi-conductor, measurement & control, watch making and more.

More information can be acquired here:

FANUC Europe Corporation
Société Anonyme
7, rue Benedikt Zender
L-6468 Echternach
Phone : +352 (0)72 7777-0
Email : pr@fanuc.eu
Home: www.fanuc.eu