Integration Planning
5 axis CNC machining center
A 5 axis CNC machining center quote is not interchangeable with a 3-axis travel chart. Decide whether the job needs indexed 3+2 positioning or simultaneous motion, and whether the part and fixture clear the machine throughout the required tilt and rotation, before treating two bids as the same cell. Cycle-time columns must name cutting, probing and loading; a rapid-rate number is not that list.
Decision dossier
Questions to resolve
| Decision point | Evidence or question |
|---|---|
| Questions to resolve: Upstream | Name stock condition, features that need tilt, fixture concept and whether a trunnion or swivelling head is assumed. If the part must stay clamped for five-sided work, say so. Missing tilt range is an open line, not a copied brochure angle. |
| Control boundary | Ask which operations sit inside the quoted cycle: cutting, tool changes, probing, operator or robot loading. A simulation is not a demonstrated cut unless the quote says so. Postprocessor compatibility and collision-check software licenses belong in commercial scope so the demonstrated path can move into the buyer’s CAM. |
| Downstream | After SAT, who owns the program, macros and spare probes? If the cell later adds a robot, the original work envelope and PLC interface should be re-read. FAT may use a similar part; SAT should repeat the agreed features on the buyer’s fixture at the destination plant. |