In addition to the use of hand tools, the processing of metal workpieces is mainly achieved by the machine tools, such as lathes, planers, milling machines, grinders, boring machines, drilling machines, etc. These machines have different performances to match the job requirements. In recent years, various industrial advanced countries have used machines to replace manpower, making the application of machine tools more extensive and important. Although the processing precision of milling machines and grinding machines is superior to that of planers, the price is more expensive than that of planers. Generally, planers are still used for many initial processing jobs in small and medium-sized factories. So, what exactly is a planer?
The Definition of a Planer
A planer is a linear motion machine tool that uses a planer to plan the plane, groove or forming surface of a workpiece. Using planer processing, the tool is simpler, but the productivity is low (except for processing long and narrow planes), so it is mainly used for single-piece, small batch production and machine repair workshops, and is often replaced by milling machines in mass production.
The Classification of Planers
There are many types and models of planers. According to its structural characteristics, it can be roughly divided into:
Shaper
The bull head planer is a planer used for planning medium and small workpieces, and the working length is generally not more than 1 m. The workpiece is clamped on the adjustable worktable or in the flat-nose pliers on the worktable, and the planning process is carried out by the linear reciprocating motion (cutting motion) of the planer and the intermittent movement (feeding motion) of the worktable.
According to the length of the workpiece that can be processed, the planer can be divided into three types: large, medium and small: the small planer can process workpieces with a length of less than 400mm, such as the B635-1 planer; the medium-sized planer can process the length of 400~600mm. The workpiece, such as the B650 type planer; the large-scale planer can process workpieces with a length of 400~1000mm, such as the B665 and B69O type planers.
Gantry Planer
It is a planer used to plan large workpieces. Some gantry planers can process workpieces with a length of tens of meters or even more than tens of meters. For example, the B2063 gantry planer has a worktable area of 6.3m×20m. Several planers can be clamped on the workbench at a time, and several planning knives can be used for planning at the same time, so the productivity is relatively high. The gantry planer uses the direct reciprocating motion (cutting) of the worktable and the intermittent movement (feeding motion) of the planer to carry out planning processing.
The gantry planer mainly processes large workpieces or multiple workpieces at the same time. Compared with the bull head planer, from the structural point of view, its shape is large, the structure is complex, and the rigidity is good. From the point of view of the machine tool movement, the main motion of the gantry planer is the linear reciprocating motion of the worktable, and the feed motion is the horizontal direction of the planer. Or vertical interval motion, which is the exact opposite of the motion of a planer. The gantry planer is driven by a DC motor, with stepless speed regulation and smooth movement. All tool holders of the planer can be translated horizontally and vertically. The gantry planer is mainly used to process large planes, especially long and narrow planes. Generally, the width of the workpiece that can be planed is 1 meter and the length is more than 3 meters. The main parameter of the gantry planer is the maximum planning width.
The tool holder on the beam of the gantry planer can perform lateral feed movement on the beam guide to plan the horizontal surface of the workpiece; the side tool holder on the column can perform vertical feed movement along the column guide to plan the vertical surface. The tool holder can also be deflected at an angle to plan bevels. The beam can be lifted up and down along the column guide to adjust the relative position of the tool and the workpiece. The gantry planer is mainly used to process planes or grooves on large parts, or to process multiple medium-sized parts at the same time, especially suitable for the processing of narrow and long planes. The workpieces on the gantry planer are generally pressed with platen bolts. On the gantry planer, there is a complex electrical equipment and routing system, and the movement of the worktable can be adjusted stepless. The company can manufacture and process various non-standard models of gantry planers, CNC floor boring and milling machines, heavy-duty horizontal milling machines, ordinary double-column vertical lathes, heavy-duty horizontal lathes, CNC fixed beam gantry boring and milling machines, and gantry moving beam boring machines according to customer requirements. Milling machine, precision gantry boring and milling machine, single-arm planer, single-arm planer and milling machine, the equipment configuration can be arbitrarily matched, and the planer head, milling head, grinding head and horizontal grinding head can be configured according to user needs.
Slotting Machine
Slotting machine, also known as vertical planer, is mainly used to machine the inner surface of the workpiece. Its structure is almost exactly the same as that of a bull head planer. The main difference is that the slotting tool of the slotting machine performs linear reciprocating motion (cutting motion) in the vertical direction. Do intermittent rotary feed motions on the circular room.
According to the different transmission modes, planers have two types: mechanical transmission and hydraulic transmission: planers, gantry planers and slotting machines with mechanical transmission; planers and slotting machines with hydraulic transmission.
Processing Characteristics of Planers
According to the cutting motion and specific processing requirements, the structure of the planer is simpler than that of the lathe and the milling machine, the price is lower, and the adjustment and the operation is also more convenient. The single-edged planer used is basically the same as the turning tool, with a simple shape and convenient manufacturing, sharpening and installation. The main motion of planning is reciprocating linear motion, and it is affected by inertial force when it is reversed. In addition, there is impact when the tool cuts in and out, which limits the increase of cutting speed. The length of the cutting edge that the single-edged planer actually participates in cutting is limited, and a surface often needs to be processed through multiple strokes, and the basic process time is long. When the planer returns to the stroke, no cutting is performed, and the processing is discontinuous, which increases the auxiliary time.
Therefore, planning is less productive than milling. However, for the machining of long and narrow surfaces (such as rails, long grooves, etc.), and for multi-piece or multi-cut machining on a planer, planning can be more productive than milling. The planning accuracy can reach IT9~IT8, and the surface roughness Ra value is 3.2 μm~1.6 μm. When using wide-blade fine planning, that is, on a gantry planer, a wide-blade fine planer is used to cut a very thin layer of metal from the surface of the part at a very low cutting speed, large feed rate and small cutting depth, due to the cutting force. Therefore, the surface roughness Ra value of the parts can reach 1.6 μm~0.4 μm, and the straightness can reach 0.02 mm/m. Wide-blade fine planning can replace scraping, which is an advanced and effective method of finishing flat surfaces.
