The router head is attached to a gantry system over a large flatbed
Infinite by design
When we are looking for point of sale, advertising, and three-dimensional signage, materials of robust construction and durability is needed. Therefore, it is necessary to use materials such as metal, wood, and plastics. There was a time when the production of these materials would have required the services of very skilled carpenters or other complex and expensive production processes such as casting or machining.
However, given the advances in equipment and the ever-increasing use of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) in production processes such as woodworking, the need for artisans to complete intricate work in wood for example is a thing of the past. You can use a computer file such as a PDF of the shape required and software can produce the relevant program to produce the shape.
For the uninitiated, routing comes from the word rout which can be best explained as the high-speed process of cutting, trimming, and shaping of wood, metal, plastic, and a variety of other materials. The routing (or cutting) head has a rotating blade that extends down from the base of the electrically driven cutter head. By lowering the cutter into the substrate you can profile the shape you need by moving the blade in predetermined directions.
The blades themselves can have profiles and shapes on them which, depending on the profile, give a corresponding but mirrored shape of the blade in the material.
A large number of traditional routers are handheld and replace the use of the chisels and gouges a carpenter would use. For the purpose of using the router in a production environment in the graphics industry, the router head is attached to a gantry system over a large flatbed and the router head itself is moved by a CNC controller and software system.
Now the graphic industry covers such a large range of substrates and products, a CNC router is a useful addition to a number of markets”
The two main reasons for the addition of a CNC system is to allow for accurate reproduction of shapes or profiles from a digital design and the speed as to which the product can be produced. Now the graphic industry covers such a large range of substrates and products, a CNC router is a useful addition to a number of markets.
Infinite Choices
The AXYZ Infinite is a router from AAG that completes all of the tasks described in general terms above. It is also extremely well named as whilst it is described as a router, the choices you have with this machine are in fact infinite, so you can easily see why it was christened such.
The scope of this class of router from AAG is determined by a number of key aspects which can be selected and combined to suit your needs. First and possibly most importantly is the size of the substrate that can be held or processed.
The models start at the 2000 model with a 711mm table width rising through six different models with increasingly larger tables culminating in the 10000 model with a table width of 3270mm. That is not the end of the choice however, the table length can be up to and over 15,240mm which makes the capacity of the Infinite series considerable.
The models start at the 2000 model with a 711mm table width rising through six different models with increasingly larger tables
Once you have selected the table size you need, the retention of whatever substrate you are choosing to machine is done via a fully zoned aluminium vacuum table. To be able to control the vacuum when it is applied, the table can be adjusted so the vacuum is only applied to where it is needed, thus increasing the draw-down pressure on the substrate and leading to much less wasted air.
Another key choice when finalising your specification for your Infinite router is the gantry height. The Infinite comes with a standard gantry height of 150mm (6") but should you need to, AAG can provide a number of gantry heights up to 455mm in six different steps.
Should you be at the larger end of the AXYZ Infinite specification, there is a final option of a heavy-duty steel gantry which will provide greater stability should your product require it.
Regardless of the solution you have selected, at the heart of the production of high-quality products is the method to drive and position the cutting head. AAG uses a helical rack and pinion for the X and Y axis and the Z axis has a precision ball screw drive which allows the placing of the head accurately and when the drive requires it, the helical gearing means it can use more power to drive the cutters through the material.
Cutting Options
Whilst your head may be spinning getting to grips with substrate size, the next selection of options you could consider is that of the spindle. AAG provides this router with a choice of four spindle options: manual, quick release, high power, and high speed. You do need to commit to what you think a core market is likely to be but changes can be made should your market change.
The application-specific spindle runs at 40,000rpm and this makes it very useful for producing good surface finishes and general purpose cutting on woods, plastics, and non-ferrous materials. The quick-release spindles come in 5, 10, or 15HP options and this can be used with the Automatic Tool Changer (ATC) and a large range of tool holders.
Collect spindles are another option should you require it with the same range of horsepower motors for fast clean cutting. Should you want to consider cutting knives, the AXYZ Infinite can come with kiss cutting, oscillating, or multi-purpose tangential knives are all available to cope with any substrate you consider processing.
The AXYZ Infinite can come with kiss cutting, oscillating, or multi-purpose tangential knives
The list of other configuration options is expansive and it would be very likely that AAG can provide solutions such as multiple cutting heads, long-stroke carriage, and an ATC carousel for 7, 10, 14, or 21 tools.
Regardless of where you end up with the specification of your AXYZ Infinite router, they are not like printers and other graphic equipment. The AXYZ Infinite needs to be able to communicate with file manipulation software known as Computer Aided Design or CAM software.
It does this with the use of the A2MC machine controller which is able to link up with virtually all of the common software packages such as Vectric, Artcam, Type 3, Enroute, Mastercam, and Alphacam to name but a few.
There are plenty of other standard pieces of equipment such as SmartConsole which gives fully flexible machine control on a small handheld panel. Other options such as dust collection, camera registration, spray misters, and spindle options are all part of a large range of upgrade equipment that AAG can supply for the AXYZ Innovator.
Brian Sims Principal Consultant, Metis Print Consultancy, www.metis-uk.eu
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