|
The UBM-AM Vertical Mill-Drill was made in Sweden, probably by the company responsible for the Arborga miller, and marketed in the British Isles by the Meddings company - who were better known for their various types of metal-cutting saws and drills, rather than conventional machine tools. Supplied on a cast-iron cabinet, with a strong (550mm x 1015mm) supporting flange round its base, the miller had the appearance of a mini jig borer, with the head travelling up and down a wide and heavily braced pillar. The spindle was of high-tensile steel, with an ISO 30 taper, and ran in precision adjustable roller bearings; it was not bored through for a draw bar, instead (as on the Arborga) chucks and spindle fittings were retained by slotted washers and a nut on the nose. This is all well and good if the machine is carefully used and well maintained; however, any failure or damage in the nose area invariably means a new spindle and associated fittings will be required; offered one of these machines second-hand, it would be a foolish man who did not take a very careful look at the spindle nose to ensure that the locking mechanism was complete - and functioning correctly. Autolock chucks and other nose fittings used on the UBM-AM also have to be of a special type - with flats to allow the hardened steel washers to slip on and act as pads against which the spindle nut can exert pressure. Modifying standard fitting to take the washers is, however, very straightforward. Another disadvantage of this head type is the built-in motor; "built-in" anything is a usually a corollary for "added expense" and, in this case, if the motor fails, you cannot simply make up an adaptor bracket and replace it with one you happen to have on the shelf - it will need rewinding. The head was fitted with both fine-down feed and a drilling quill, with 170mm of travel, and could be swivelled 45 degrees either side of vertical. Although very useful, a 45 degrees swivel is not nearly as convenient as many other machines - whose heads will go over 90 degrees. To make up for these disappointments, two rates of pre-set, automatically-disengaged power down-feeds were fitted as well, 0.1 and 0.2mm per rev. - the feed being engaged by an electromagnetic clutch operated by a push button. The closest that the spindle nose could come to the table was 55mm (2") and the furthest away it could be taken was a useful 600mm(23.6") - the distance from the spindle centre to the rear pillar (throat) was 275mm (10.8"). A two-speed, three-phase motor drove the four speed gearbox to give a total of 8 spindle speeds from 170 to 2160 rpm. The 3 T-slot table was 650mm x 270mm (25.6" x 10.6") with a generous 450mm (17.7") of longitudinal movement and 250mm (9.8") of cross travel. An optional table power-feed motor and gearbox was available with 6 rates of feed: 19, 36, 63, 96, 179 and 315 mm per minute. The UBM-30 was a simplified version of the AM machine, with a less powerful (but still two-speed) motor, a smaller 580mm x 240mm (22.8" x 9.4") table, 75mm less head elevation, a No. 3 morse taper spindle - and no power down feed.
|
|