Biesse Machining Center

Rover 20

Biesse has long been committed to producing the best quality woodworking machinery in the world. Understanding the need to have quality trained engineers, Biesse America, Inc in conjunction with the parent company Biesse allowed the FMM Center to purchase the machining center through a educational discount program. The machining center is located in Park Shops 101.

The Biesse Rover 20 numerically controlled machining center can perform a variety of different kinds of boring and routing operations. This Rover 20 is characterized by one of the largest working fields (2885 x 950 x 65 mm.). It is equipped with a boring head with 10 vertical spindles, 6 horizontal spindles, a grooving saw for cuts along "X", and a 15 hp routing unit with a three tool magazine capable of storing large tools and aggregates. The machining center is controlled by the XNC windows based numerical controller. The machining center can be parametrically programmed. It has the capability to generate the program for the mirror image of a part automatically making it useful for producing right and left parts, etc.

The machining center will be used directly in the FMM option curriculum. Furniture students enrolled in the second furniture course (IE-241) learn how to program and design parts using the machining center.

X (Windows System) Numerical Control (XNC)

 This Rover 20 is equipped with Biesse's new XNC Windows based controller. XNC consists basically of a personal computer, whose hardware and software have been specially designed for the programming and control of machine tools. The controller runs under a multitasking, real-time operating system which allows simultaneous execution in real-time of more than one application. The windows based graphical interface makes it easier to program, setup, and run the machine.