ZX5 Improvements and Upgrades

This document is intended for existing users and owners of Stuga Flowlines to help explain the improvements and enhancements made to the flowline / ZX3 / ZX4 range of machines into out latest flagship product - the ZX5

ZX5, Improvement, Enhancement

A video of the machine in production can be seen here https://vimeo.com/279288374

Mechanical Enhancements

Twin V Notch Heads

Four dedicated, direct drive motors are used to power 4 V notch blades. The arrangement allows a front or rear V notch to be cut in one pass, as opposed to two passes (as on older Stuga machines). This reduces the cycle time of all V notch operations. Y notches are now carried out on the saw side of the machine (see Y Drive)

Tru-loc Gripper System

A dual-tooth fixed gripper design accurately and reliably locates into the profile

• Tapered pins on both sides of machine ensure an accurate and reliable datum
• 2 holes and pins are used to cover all profile types - this eliminates the need for a "G" axis sideways movement on the gripper
• Elininates gripper slip
• Allows a more dynamic acceleration and deceleration on all x axis movements, therefore improving cycle time
  

Roller beds

• All profile slideways on both sides of machine consist of roller beds
• Simple and inexpensive to replace if worn

• Profile slides with negligible friction
• No marking of profile on base
• Rollers lift and place profile onto transfer conveyors, reducing both profile marking and possibility of profile "tipping"
• Allows a more dynamic acceleration and deceleration on all x axis movements, therefore improving cycle time

Y Drive for Y notching

Y notching on Stuga flowline has always been a particularly difficult operation to maintain a necessary high accuracy due to many factors,. often outside of the machine's control

• Profile Extrusion Tolerances in profile width
• Profile length expansion in the time between machining and sawing (a 6 metre length expands by 1.2mm with just a 2 degree temperature rise)
• Linearity and accuracy of one side to the other
• Operator care and attention to detail
• Wear / backlash on linear axes

The Y drive system overcomes these issues by producing the entire Y cut in one operation in a similar way to an arrowhead.

• The saw centralising feature, widely recognised as a ideal way to overcome profile width tolerances when cutting arrow heads, now has an "offsetting" axis.
• This allows the saw to cut a square then mitre and vary the position of this to create Y notches of various depths
• Because this is done in one operation, there is no opportunity for a "line up" error between the machining side and the sawing side
• The toothed gripper is very important because allows the bar to be pulled back out of the way when creating the Y notch. This prevents the opposite prep getting created on the following piece on the bar
• The centralising feature means that any profile width inaccuracies are eliminated

Drive Obsolescence

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