Meeting your requirements
CNC machines for industry-specific applications
When you procure a new CNC machine for machining metal products, you naturally look at the operations you want to perform on it. And it goes without saying that you want to process your product as accurately, quickly and as efficiently as possible. Depending on your specifications and requirements, you will select a specific type of CNC machining centre. But there are also situations in which your product requires a CNC machine to be developed from scratch. We start with a clean drawing board to create a CNC machine specific to your product and industry. At Unisign we have considerable experience building dedicated CNC machining centres for the aerospace industry and for the truck industry.At Unisign, we don’t allow ourselves to be limited by the CNC machines we already have as ‘standard’ in our product range. If the machining challenge you face cannot be solved with a machine from our existing range, such as a CNC milling machine with gantry, CNC machine with moving column or multitasking CNC machine, then we will develop a unique new machine to meet your requirements. Together with you we will design what you need, and build it for you.
CNC machine built to your specifications
If you look at the specifications of our various types of CNC machining centres, you will get a good impression of what we can build for you and of the product dimensions our CNC machines can handle. Please note that these are by no means maximum dimensions. For example, where you read that our Uniport 6000-HV can handle a height of almost 2 metres, in practice we can build a machine for products up to 3 metres.
And if we need to modify the construction of one of our CNC machines so your production process runs more efficiently, we will certainly do that. We don’t like to push our clients towards one specific CNC machining centre, we would rather create the ideal configuration. Don’t be tempted into a standard solution if it means you have to compromise: tailor-made solutions based on our standard machines is precisely Unisign’s strength.
CNC machines specially for truck manufacturing
A good example of our client-oriented thinking is our Unitwin 6000 CNC machine. This is a dedicated machine on which our international clients process forged front axles for trucks. We first came up with the idea for this machine in 1996 when a client asked us to help improve their front axle manufacturing process. Our concept caught on.
We are now the market leader in this segment. Of the approximately 3.5 million front axles of all the trucks manufactured worldwide every year, about 2 million are machined on Unisign CNC machines. Previously, the machining time for one front axle was 12 to 15 minutes, this processing time has been reduced to less than 6 minutes with the Unitwin.
In October 2021 we have launched a revolutionary new CNC machine for machining truck rear axles: the UNIAXLE. This is a dedicated CNC machining centre for machining welded and cast rear axles in a single setup. It will improve the accuracy and quality of rear axles. Production processes will be quicker and more cost-effective. The cycle time is 30 minutes/rear axle. Learn more about this unique development! Download our interesting UNIAXLE webinar.
CNC machines specially for the aerospace industry
Over the years, we have developed two specific CNC machines for machining aluminium products for the aerospace industry: the Unipent 4000 and the Unipro 5000. Our starting point was the specific requirements of suppliers in this sector. Their production process is centred around the high uptime of machines with a high milling capacity, and on processing, often complex, elongated aluminium components.
Our specially developed CNC machines have proven their added value for this sector. The Unipro 5000 is unique with its combination of a compact design with a large working area coupled with high machining volume. The Unipent 4000 was specially developed for products up to 1 metre. Its capacity of 100 kW and more than 10 000 cm3 of aluminium per minute is exceptional for this type of machine.
What our customers say
Everything possible in a single setup – that’s what Voith were looking for – so the UNICOM6000 was proposed. “The UNISIGN would be our first machine with a HSK1OO interface,” said Richard Schmidt, project engineer at Voith. In particular, they were looking for stability and rigidity in the machine concept, since accuracy was important on the heavy parts being produced. In the end though the choice was made not just for the combination of turning and milling; it was also the possibility to do lateral drilling, the availability of good service and particularly UNISIGN’s willingness to think with us. And the payback? In practice, Voith found they could shave an entire day off the usual one week production time for some parts!
project engineer at Voith
As a manufacturer of railway bogies in Switzerland, a productivity increase of around 50% was hugely significant for Stadler. And it’s all down to the UNIPORT7000. Supporting the customer’s aims of manufacturing flexibility and productivity, this Unisign portal machine halved the usual milling and drilling time. According to Mayer, “It’s all down to the extremely high dynamics and the very powerful machine capabilities.” Reliability was another aspect where the machine excelled said Meyer, another but a crucial differentiator for this particular machine was the simpler and hence much cheaper foundation for the installation.
head of the railway bogie center at Stadler Winterthur AG
We are a full service provider in aerospace, machining as well as plant, tool and wind-tunnel model engineering. Whether prototyping or series manufacturing, our machinery and expertise make short processing times possible, even for the most demanding, highest precision machined parts! Unisign Unipro 5000 with a working range of 5.000 x 800 x 500 mm is an important resource to machine also large parts at high accuracy to the satisfaction of our customers.
Head of Sales and Marketing at Deharde
“No-nonsense and a service that continues, also after the purchase. They understand what we do.” That is how Mark Das, SafanDarley, describes the relationship with UNISIGN. “Furthermore, just like us, it is a Dutch machine tool builder. This meets with our vision. We know what we get.”
For the production of machine parts, Unisign supplied a new milling machine, also suitable for grinding; the UNIVERS 6000, which replaced two existing machines.
The UNIVERS 6000 creates flexibility in the production process, being able to perform multiple tasks, such as milling as well as grinding. “It may not be the cheapest machine but UNISIGN offers robust quality and good service”, concludes Das. “The UNIVERS 6000 is a big hit in our company.”
Production Manager SafanDarley
“When considering a new machine for replacement of our aging Unisign CNC machine the basic condition was that all – 1000 NC programs of our active parts portfolio can continue to be used on a new machine. Unisign presented an innovative solution based on a Unicom 7000 which meets the challenging project requirement. In combination with a Fastems pallet loading system, our existing portfolio can be managed even more efficient.
With the Unisign Unicom 7000, we have an extremely efficient system in connection with the Fastems pallet loading systems, which is tailored to our parts portfolio and is ready to operate without a long ramp up period. A successful project in which we have proven that very complex systems can be replaced smoothly with the right partner.”
Head of Supply & Production Network
applications
- Aerospace
- General machining
- Oil & gas
- Energy
- Truck
- Train
Requiring one of the highest chip removal rates in the market, the aerospace industry needs high dynamic machines. The Unipent4000 and Unipro5000 for example are ideal for volume production in this demanding environment and can remove 10 litres per minute of aluminium while maintaining the highest accuracy. For extra large parts or engine components, the Uniport6000-HV, Uniport7000, Unicom6000 and Unicom7000 machines offer the best solutions.
applications for aerospace
At Unisign we understand that our customers don’t just buy a CNC machine, they buy a process. And price per part is key. So for general applications we offer high torque machines with high material removal rates, including 5-axis and 5-sided machining and a choice of moving table or palletized, depending on the footprint available.
applications for general machining
Pumps and valves for the oil & gas industry can be highly complex parts to produce with seals, gaskets, flanges and requirements like spiral grooves and elliptical conical eccentric turning. The machining centres from Unisign, with their high degree of automation and specially designed software, are a unique solution capable of milling parts that others cannot.
applications for oil & gas -+
Heavy duty turning, milling and drilling characterises the production of components for energy-producing equipment like (wind) turbines. So you need a CNC machine that can take the load. A mill-turn machining centre like the Unicom6000, Unicom7000 and the Uniport7000-MTC or a multi-functional Uniport6000 and Uniport7000 are the ideal solution for producing these demanding parts.
applications for energy
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We have established a world leading position in front axle machining. Truck manufacturers and suppliers use our UNITWIN6000 CNC machine to produce more than 2 million front axles every year.
For the complex rear axle machining we also have a dedicated solution: our UNIAXLE. With this new CNC machine you can machine cast iron as well as steel welded rear axles to the greatest precision, in the shortest possible time, all in a single setup.
applications for truck
For everything from bogies to wheels and weld preparation to wheel carrier machining, Unisign has highly versatile machines like the Univers6000, Uniport6000 and Uniport7000. These moving column and gantry style machining centres are part of the machine tool program that have been designed to deliver extremely high capacity, dynamics, rapid acceleration and offer a generous working area.
applications for train
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