Founded in 1957 in Legnano, Italy, Remo Speroni specialized in the design and construction of squares for foundries and steel mills. At first these pieces were intended for manual molding facilities, but since the 90s, automatic plants were introduced.

They soon began to manufacture the first squares for automatic plants, welded with a robotic system and then expand their services and undertake the construction of finished semi-heavy and heavy metal carpentry products, both activities notable for their high precision. They made this leap thanks to having a modern machine tool park, an efficient quality system and a highly specialized human team.

Since then, the main processes carried out at Remo Speroni can be summarized as: thick sheet metal cutting, bending, welding, milling, boring and also related thermal, stabilization and surface treatments.

ACTIVITY

As Beniamino Speroni, current CEO of the company, tells us,”We have operated in a territorial context rich in foundries since the 70s, developing and manufacturing modular squares, which are the flagship of Remo Speroni”. These are custom- designed solutions that offer our customers various advantages and considerable savings, as they adapt to different dimensions, are quickly assembled and dismantled, and are easier to transport.

On the other hand, and contrary to what one might think, squares for the steel sector are robust and complex pieces, so a high precision machine is necessary for their manufacture, which can also carry out large roughing, since they are large parta, ones made of carbon steel and carbon steel mixed with cast iron. Thus, Remo Speroni specialized in the design and manufacture of cast parts of all sizes, but above all large parts intended for large structures, which maintain the characteristics of lightness, constructive resistance, solidity and functionality.

INVESTMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION PLANT

To this end, over the years Remo Speroni has made numerous investments to maximize the efficiency of its production plant and strengthen its competitiveness. Always evolving, the race to reduce costs and production times, as well as increase quality, is permanent in this market. Thanks to the strong commitment to advanced technologies, the brand has been able to increase its production and productivity, adapt to market demands and register a continuous and significant expansion of its customer portfolio throughout the country, in Europe and Central America.

ARES W, ITS LATEST INCORPORATION

The firm has recently added to its range of machines a bridge type milling machine with a moving cross beam and moving table, the ARES-W model, which for the first time has been installed in an Italian factory.

“Esta fresadora ZAYER, la primera máquina pórtico de nuestra planta, es capaz de procesar más del 90% de nuestra producción”

The traditional cast iron frame and bridge machine architecture give robustness and precision across the entire work volume, even for large parts. The particular technical option is that it has a moving cross beam (W axis) that together with the displacement of the ram (Z axis) increases the versatility of use, allowing even very complex geometries to be machined.

“ZAYER was one of the three companies we selected when we were convinced that the time had come to replace a machine that could no longer efficiently machine such high-precision, morphologically complex parts. So we decided to take the step and invest in a technology most advanced. We operate in an area that can be considered the cradle of machine tools in Italy, which allows us to always find a manufacturer geographically close. Among all the proposals, the ARES W from ZAYER seemed to us the most suitable: its bridge type configuration with moving cross beam and moving table and the latest version of the high-performance MITSUBISHI numerical control guarantee its maximum functionality, versatility and precision”.

Indeed, the extreme versatility of the ARES W machine allows them to machine parts. on 5 sides with clear advantages such as increased precision and reduced cycle times, in addition to safety aspects by reducing or even eliminating part repositioning. in the machine.

“The ARES W stands out in ZAYER’s offer, equipped with a mobile crossbar with a travel of 900 mm (W axis) combined with a ram displacement of 1,200 mm (Z axis)”

CARACTERÍSTICAS FUNCIONALES

The new ARES W milling machine was presented for the first time at the last EMO in Milan in 2021 and was subsequently installed at the customer’s facilities. We are talking about a bridge type milling machine but with displacement of the cross beam.

• This additional innovative feature, standard for this model, allows for greater flexibility
  and machining capability.
• It stands out in the most demanding machining operations, for those areas in which
  precision and rigidity are required, without losing flexibility.
• Thanks to a symmetrical pearlitic cast structure that uses ZAYER’s Thermal Digital Twin’ technology, thermal stability is guaranteed, which allows the plant space to be reduced.

• The wide visibility of the work area allows a comfortable position for the
  operator, being a factor that ZAYER pays attention to in its machines.

“When defining the configuration of the machine” concludes the general director of the
Legnano company, “we asked ZAYER that the moving table be at ground level. A request that we made even knowing that it would entail an additional cost for the
different type of foundation, but with the certainty that we would obtain greater ergonomics in the machining.”

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SOLID FOUNDATIONS:

The ARES W milling machine overall fits among the latest generation machines in our portfolio, and brings with it the right combination of innovative technical options combined with solutions such as the cast iron structure.
STRUCTURE MATERIAL / ACCURACY:
These construction characteristics of the machine, combined with adequate sizing, allow the ARES-W bridge type milling machine to undertake machining operations, being able to machine a greater diversity of parts and therefore precision in machining. Furthermore, the cast iron dampens the vibrations that occur during machining, which are as harmful to the part as it is to the tool, preventing the tool from seeing its useful life reduced due to increased wear.

LARGE ROUGHS:

Despite being identified as a suitable machine for precision machining, the ARES W machine demonstrates optimal performance in roughing operations on large pieces.

TECHNICAL DATA OF THE MACHINE

WORKING DIMENSIONS

• Longitudinal travel (X axis): 5,000 mm
• Crosss travel (Y axis): 3,850 mm
• Vertical travel (Z axis): 1,200 mm
• Cross beam travel (W axis): 900 mm
• Distance between columns: 3,250 mm
• Max. distance from table to spindle nose: 1,465 mm

CAPACIDAD DE EJES LINEALES

• Rapid feed: 41,000 mm/min
• Working feed: 35,000 mm/min
• Drives:
  • Longitudinal axis: rack and double motor and pinion
  • Cross axis: ball screw
  • Vertical axis: ball screw

TABLE

• Table surface: 5,000 x 2,500 mm
• Allowed weight on the table: 20,000 kg

CABEZAL:

• 45º head, 360,000 positions
• Power: 43 kW
• Speed: 8.000 rpm

TOOL MAGAZINE: 

• Tool magazine: 60 tools

IN DEPTH ANALYSIS

TRAVELS

In detail, the Z axis represented by the vertical movement of the ram on the cross beam has a travel of 1,200 mm, while the W axis allows the cross beam to move vertically along the columns with a travel of 900 mm.

• The movements of the two axes do not occur simultaneously, to guarantee even greater machining precision.
• On one hand, the movement of the cross beam increases the versatility of the machine, which can boast a greater work capacity and therefore work on pieces with significant lengths in all three dimensions, or pieces that require locking in a vertical position.
• And on the other hand, the W axis allows the entire cross beam to be brought closer to the piece and, consequently, reduce the extension of the ram, guaranteeing greater structural rigidity during the work phase and greater precision in machining.

AXES MOVEMENT

The movement of the ram and cross beam is carried out using ball screws. The
movement of both is managed by the CNC counting both axes with absolute rules to
determine their position.

• The longitudinal movement is controlled by a rack and double motor and pinion
  system.
• All axes move on linear guides, whose low friction allows smoother movements,
  higher speeds and high dynamics despite the large forces and masses
  involved.

“This solution represented a competitive advance for us, which gave us a different vision of machining, a bet that we won with the already amazing performance of the machine” concludes Beniamino Speroni.

AD HOC CONFIGURATIONS

• AUTOMATION MODULES:
  ARES-W is completed with automation systems that increase continuity of operation and work versatility. For example, automatic head change and the tool change is also automatic.
• PLANT CONFIGURATION: Configuring the plant adapting it to different customer requests is part of ZAYER’s nature.

• NUMERICAL CONTROL: Another aspect related to the customization of the
  machine refers to numerical control: ZAYER has selected three suppliers for this technology, to contain the development activities and facilitate the integration of the various technologies: Siemens, Heidenhain and Mitsubishi Electric. They are the ones who provide the solutions most in line with this approach. CNCs are completed with HMI and specific functions that allow operators to operate the machine intuitively. Even the “physical” operations on the system have been simplified thanks to careful study of ergonomics, with the parts most subject to ordinary maintenance having been repositioned in areas easily accessible to the operator.

A QUESTION OF HEAD

It is our philosophy to manufacture our heads ourselves, strategic elements, they are a key element to certify our reliability and quality. They can be “power” for large roughing operations or “finishing” for precision machining.

The mechanical heads can reach up to 8,000 rpm rotation speed, they are birotary,
with millesimal positioning or even continuous rotation.

From an architectural point of view, our ZAYER heads are simple and quick to position, since the traditional mechanical locking using a Hirth coupling gives way to a hydraulic system that generates a force of 25 tons at the rear and 18 tons at the front. One of the reasons for this technical choice is the simplicity of readjusting the head after a collision. With a traditional mechanical clamping, a collision requires at a minimum a check of the components and, if necessary, the replacement of any damaged elements, while the hydraulic solution simply requires a realignment of the head itself using NC control.

Source: Courtesy of “TECNOLOGIE MECCANICHE”