The Davenport Hybrid Machine was developed to address many challenges faced by the precision machined parts industry. In terms of labor shortages and the necessity of technological advancement, the Hybrid Machine helps American manufacturers stay competitive in today’s marketplace.
The Davenport Hybrid also provides manufacturers greater flexibility, reduced set-up time, and superior accuracy over older mechanical-style multi-spindle machines. The Hybrid Machine’s intuitive CNC interface accommodates a new generation of operators who can now find success in high-production settings.
Reduced Maintenance Downtime
Optimizing efficiency is paramount for any production facility and reducing downtime is key. Mechanical multi-spindles can be difficult to adjust in production, and general wear adjustments can be time-consuming – it requires the machine to be shut down to adjust turnbuckles, tool post stops, and more. The longer your equipment is down, the more production time you lose. Minimizing unplanned downtime is essential to maintaining production demands. This is a key benefit of the Hybrid Machine.
The Davenport Hybrid utilizes a High Precision (HP) revolving head with outstanding service life and rigidity. In fact, 80% of the first heads installed over 20 years ago are still running today without any maintenance whatsoever. The HP head and spindles inside ride on sets of angular contact bearings. The traditional 8-SA head was metal-to-metal contact with oil film lube, with spindles riding in bronze boxes. The Hybrid’s use of angular contact bearings significantly improves the rigidity of the revolving head, allowing users to tackle much tougher materials and hold tighter tolerances than ever before.
The Davenport Hybrid Machine also provides Swiss level tolerances with production levels you expect from a Davenport. The ability to profile turn, contour, mill, cross-drill, rigid tap, and more, provide a level of flexibility that older machines don’t provide.
Faster Setup
The Davenport Hybrid incorporates the best of mechanical versatility with the flexibility, precision and accuracy of CNC technology. This combination of mechanical and CNC technology allows the Hybrid to reduce set-up and changeover times by up to 50%.
Davenport’s re-vamped modular tooling system provides Hybrid users many benefits for machine setup and changeover. The form tool holders and almost all attachments utilize a new dovetail interface that can be changed out much quicker than traditional circular form tools and bolt-on attachments. 1st and 2nd position forms have features built-in to easily adjust for center height and taper, providing superior adjustability. Paired with the highest quality linear rails and ball screws on the market, the Hybrid’s ability to hold tolerances is unparalleled. This improvement has allowed Hybrid users to entirely eliminate shave tools from their operations. There has never been a shave tool used on a Hybrid Machine in the field, saving valuable setup time.
End-working tooling has gone almost entirely to our QCT (Quick-Change) holders. QCTs can be set outside the machine using our specialized tool setting blocks, allowing set up and in-production tooling swaps to be significantly faster.
Many customers have leveraged the faster set-up time to consolidate traditional machines or take on more complex jobs with less volume, as changeovers can be reduced to as a little as a few minutes.
Skilled Worker Supply
It’s a fact of life in this industry: highly-skilled set-up people are in short supply. Precision machining continues to see a shortage of skilled factory workers, and many argue that automation is driving this shortage.
Many employees with the technical know-how to operate, control, and maintain equipment are now reaching retirement age, and the knowledge is being handed down to a progressively smaller group of specialists. General operators have different skillsets that, while essential, leave the floor understaffed. This problem is underscored by reduced budgets for in-house training programs and a growing trend of younger employees changing jobs more frequently.
Changing to machinery that’s easier to operate and requires less skill specialization allows facilities to stay competitive in the face of a growing skills gap.
Davenport has designed a user-friendly interface by consulting with mechanical operators and experienced CNC users to design a system that best communicates with all users. Operators with a wide range of experience levels and backgrounds can effectively use the interface to make common, difficult, and complex adjustments. This makes the machinery more approachable, productive, and accurate.
Meet Industry Challenges With the Davenport Hybrid
The easier your machinery is to operate, the faster your team can continue to create consistent, high-quality products. At Davenport Machine, we work hard to bring you the best machine tools to get the job done. Our precision machining equipment is built to accommodate operators with different experience levels and tiers of specialization, while simultaneously increasing ROI and production speed.
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–> Contact us to learn about how the Hybrid can solve your toughest manufacturing challenges.