Belotti MDL and FLA high-speed machining centers have been chosen by Re Fraschini S.p.A. for composite materials and light alloys machining operations.
Technological excellence, innovation and know-how: these are the key elements underlying the fruitful collaboration between Belotti S.p.A. and Eligio Re Fraschini S.p.A., the Italian company located in Legnano (next to Milan) leader in the production of equipment and parts in composite materials and light alloys for the aerospace, automotive, navy and racing industries.
Founded in 1946 by Eligio Re Fraschini as a manufacturer of wooden molds for the foundry, over the years the company has gone from woodworking to composite materials (such as carbon fiber) and high-performance materials machining.
These processes have benefited from the introduction of numerically controlled machining centers and have allowed the company to establish itself as a partner in the design, engineering and production of equipment, opening the doors to very close collaborations with key customers in different sectors.
Today the company works for sectors that mainly deal with objects related to the world of racing and competitions. The main challenge is the achievement of an ever higher quality level in the design and implementation processes of the projects.
To meet the high quality standards required by the racing world and the automotive and aerospace sectors, Eligio Re Fraschini S.p.A. has chosen to rely on Belotti machining centers, high-speed 5-axis CNC centers dedicated to the serial production site and intended for the processing of carbon fiber, composite materials, resins and light alloys.
The two new numerically controlled machining centers, one MDL 5048 and one FLA 4018, have been designed and customized by Belotti S.p.A. to perfectly adhere to the particular needs of the customer.
In details:
- The Belotti MDL Series is composed of advanced high-speed machining centers particularly suitable for the automotive and aerospace sectors, used with great versatility for milling patterns and moulds in light alloys and for trimming large-size structural parts in composite materials.
- The FLA Series, on the other hand, consists of cnc machining centers for high-volume trimming of components in composite and thermoplastic materials and for milling resin or light alloy models.
Currently the third generation (Andrea, Tommaso and Silvia Re Fraschini) has joined the company.
Tommaso, in particular, worked together with his father Massimo to select the best technological solution on the market to meet the application needs linked to serial production factory.
“When I joined the company”, explains Tommaso, “we started to analyze the machining tools and the cnc machining centres that we should have included in our serial production factory”.
The choice fell on Belotti for having achieved the primacy in the following characteristics:
- machining tolerance;
- repeatability of this machining tolerance;
- volumes of work that can be generated;
- delivery times;
- costs.
“Delivery times especially because Belotti is a company that is geographically close to us, so in case of technical assistance requests, Belotti support and response would have been very fast. So, we have started a close collaboration with Belotti that allowed us to find new technologies and new methods to be able to work our products in an efficient, reliable and above all repetitive way”.
Massimo Re Fraschini, CEO of the company, underlines how Belotti capacity to provide a technological tailor-made solution has been the key element during the decision process and explains how this customization has generated important advantages, especially in terms of time to market.
“We have reduced the production times by 30% compared to the ones expected and estimated. So, a great engineering work has been done on the machining center, which it has been customized by Belotti to grant us excellent production performances” confirms Massimo Re Fraschini.
Belotti MDL advanced high-speed machining centers are the ideal solution for the automotive and the aerospace sectors. This Series of 5-axis CNC centers is used with great versatility and ensures its maximum productivity when milling patterns and moulds made of light alloys or when trimming large-size structural parts in composite materials.
The adoption of 5-axis heads equipped with torque motors, optical lines on linear axes and the high rigidity structures enhance the precision features and the finishing quality of the machining.
Belotti FLA high-speed machining centers are the best solution for high-volume trimming of composite and thermoplastic components and for milling resin or light alloys models, as they provide the best mix of high machining speed and rigidity of the mobile bridge system.
The wide range of models along with the special features and the high level of customization have favored the strong diffusion of this Series in different application industries: from the automotive to the aerospace, from the railway to the navy industries up to the thermoformed and patterns & moulds production sectors.
FLA machining centers guarantee the maximum production efficiency thanks to:
- the excellent dynamism of the axes;
- the customization of the operating units;
- the tool changers with modular design.
Their productivity is further increased through the integration of automatic loading / unloading systems (rotary tables and single or twin shuttles) in order to optimize the cycle times. In particular, the model with the rotary table makes possible to reduce almost to zero the set-up times, simplifying and speeding up the loading / unloading operations of the workpieces.
For more information on Re Fraschini S.p.A. company, its products and the production processes, please visit https://www.refraschini.it/
