Six-Axis CNC Machine Eliminates Secondary Operations for Aerospace Landing Gear Components

Customer Background

The customer is a precision aerospace component manufacturer supplying landing gear assemblies and structural components to major airframers. Their existing process required multiple machine transfers — a deep hole drilling machine for oil passages, a milling center for structural features, and a tapping machine for threaded ports — resulting in long lead times and accumulated setup errors.

The Challenge

Aerospace landing gear components present extreme manufacturing demands:

Difficult materials. Landing gear components are typically forged from titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) or high-strength steels. Titanium’s low thermal conductivity causes heat concentration at the cutting edge, accelerating tool wear and potentially causing thermal damage to the workpiece.

Deep, angled oil passages. Landing gear struts require long oil passages drilled at compound angles. These passages must intersect with milled features and cross-holes with extreme precision — any misalignment can compromise lubrication under high-stress landing conditions.

Multiple feature types. Each component requires a combination of deep drilled holes, precision milled pockets, threaded ports, and contoured surfaces. With the existing process, each feature type required a separate machine setup.

Tight aerospace tolerances. Hole position tolerances of ±0.008mm and surface finish requirements of Ra 1.6µm are standard. Full material traceability and process documentation per AS9100 are mandatory.

Thermal management. Titanium’s sensitivity to heat means that without proper coolant management, thermal expansion during machining can cause positional errors exceeding 0.005mm — more than double the allowable tolerance.

The Solution

RuidCNC proposed the 6-Axis CNC Deep Hole Drilling Machine (RD2717-15M) with integrated milling and tapping capability:

• 6-axis control (X, Y, Z, W, A, B) — A-axis ram tilting ±65° positions angled holes, B-axis rotary table rotates 360° continuously, and the W-axis extends deep hole reach — all without workpiece repositioning
• Dual-spindle capability — a gun drilling spindle (6,000 rpm) for Ø3–50mm holes to 1,500mm and a BT50 milling spindle (5,000 rpm) for pockets and threads
• Multi-process integration — gun drilling, milling (250 cc/min), and rigid tapping (≤ M24) on one platform
• 15/18.5 kW high-torque spindles — sufficient torque for deep hole drilling in titanium and heavy milling
• FANUC 0i-MF CNC system — reliable multi-axis control with 0.001° minimum indexing
• Coolant through spindle (CTS) — effective cooling and chip evacuation in deep holes

Key Machine Specifications

Parameter	Specification
Number of axes	6 (X, Y, Z, W, A, B)
Gun drilling range	Ø3 – Ø50 mm
Max drilling depth	1,500 mm
Milling capacity	250 cc/min
Rigid tapping	≤ M24
Gun drilling spindle	6,000 rpm
Milling spindle	5,000 rpm, BT50
Spindle power	15 / 18.5 kW
A-axis / B-axis	±65° / 360° continuous
Worktable	1800 × 2200 mm, 15,000 kg
CNC control	FANUC 0i-MF

Results

Metric	Previous Process	RD2717-15M	Improvement
Number of setups	3 (drill, mill, tap)	1	67% fewer
Cycle time per part	48 minutes	22 minutes	55% reduction
Setup errors	±0.025 mm cumulative	±0.008 mm single	68% better
Tool changes	Manual, 3 machines	Automatic, 1 machine	—
Lead time (batch of 50)	10 working days	4 working days	60% faster
First-pass yield	87%	97%	10 points higher

Process Validation

The machine was validated with a full First Article Inspection (FAI) per AS9102, including:

• Dimensional inspection of all features
• CMM verification of hole positions
• Surface roughness measurement of drilled and milled surfaces
• Material certification traceability

Conclusion

The RD2717-15M demonstrates the power of multi-process integration for complex aerospace components. By combining deep hole drilling, milling, and tapping in a single 6-axis setup, the customer eliminated secondary operations, reduced lead times, and achieved superior accuracy through single-clamping manufacturing.

Figures are representative of typical applications.