Critical tool breakage monitoring system takes two seconds to check critical tools thus enabling 100% critical tool monitoring to take place without adding significantly to the part cycle time.
Critical tool breakage monitoring system takes two seconds to check critical tools thus enabling 100% critical tool monitoring to take place without adding significantly to the part cycle time. Hardinge have entered an exclusive agreement with Checkmate Sensors for the sales and marketing of the revolutionary new Checkmate critical tool breakage monitoring system. This system has been proved in operation to extend the possibilities for unmanned running on bar-fed CNC lathes by as much as 100%.
The main advantages of the Checkmate system are:- It takes just two seconds to check the condition of each critical tool thus enabling 100% critical tool monitoring to take place without adding significantly to the part cycle time.
Tool breakage can be detected immediately - eliminating the possibility of subsequent tool and machine damage resulting from drill breakages, a turning, parting, or boring tool failure.
One sub-contractor has increased production by 100% using Checkmate which has enabled them to react immediately to increased Kan-Ban customer call offs without adding any labour costs to supply the increased volumes.
Checkmate is fast in operation (2 seconds per tool) and requires no setting from one part operation to the next.
The Checkmate macro is all that is needed to activate the tool monitoring routine everything else is done automatically by the plc linked to the sensor.
Checkmate can be used to monitor parting tools, drills, taps, turning tools and boring bars for most applications, whichever are critical to the particular operation.
As secondary functions, Checkmate can be set up to give audible or visual signals to indicate that a tool is broken or worn beyond a preset limit, for attracting attention to an unattended machine with a tool fault condition.
Checkmate allows for the gaps in operator attendance at the machine to be used for production with the confidence that Checkmate will stop the process safely in the event of a tool breakage.
Lunch breaks and tea breaks can become as productive as normal working hours, with after hours running generating bonus parts and profits at no extra cost.
Being environmentally friendly, Checkmate can be linked into the machine power switch to save power when a tool breakage is detected.
In the first instance, Hardinge will offer the Checkmate system on new Talent, Elite and Quest machines.
Its first public showing will be at MACH 2004, where Hardinge have come up with a truly novel way of exhibiting a Talent CNC lathe using Checkmate.
You will have to come to the Hardinge Stand No.
5340 in Hall 5 at MACH to see Checkmate in action.
MACH 2004 - April 19-23 - NEC Birmingham, UK.
Hall 5.
Stand 5340.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
CNC production lathe spurs model company growth
Instead of using 'trainer' type lathes, model steam locomotive building company purchased a CNC slant bed production lathe, which proved to be a catalyst for company growth.
Three years ago, when 46 year-old ex-toolmaker Andy Clarke gave up his 20-year career in the construction industry to return to engineering and bought Polly Model Engineering, his friends thought he'd gone off the rails! But today, the man and wife business of making miniature steam locomotives up to one metre long and able to carry up to 8 people in carriages that can travel at up to 15 miles an hour, is certainly on the right track and is about to expand by at least a third over the next 12 months. Key to this expansion plan has been the installation of a CNC slant bed production lathe from Colchester Sales of Heckmondwike. Normally, model makers go for bench-top training type machines, but not Andy Clarke.
Alongside a vertical machining centre installed last year in his small workshop in Long Eaton near Nottingham, now sits a full size Colchester Tornado A90 CNC lathe.
And, as a result of the acquisition, he now has the capability to automatically batch machine under his own control all the parts for his locomotives and driving trucks except the boilers which are purchased fully certificated from specialist subcontractors.
Says Andy Clarke: 'As an example of how the business is developing, my wife Jayne and I went to a two-day show in April and sold models equal to almost half my present year's production.
Demand is rising so fast from all over the world that I had to develop batch making techniques, and the Colchester lathe is so ideal for this.
I turn everything, even though I have never been on a CNC course in my life, and the parts include wheels, axles, motion parts, buffers, valves, piston heads and cylinders, steam chests, steam connectors, brakes, smoke box and parts for cabs, tenders and tanks.' When he took delivery of the Tornado he maintains he didn't even know where the on-button was.
'Within a week I was making bits and found the machine so easy to use.
Where I used to buy castings, I can often machine direct from bar now and so far have programmed about 250 different parts, which I can run-off as and when I need them in batches of 100 or so.' There are five easy-to-assemble steam kits in the Polly Model range aptly designated Polly 1 to Polly V.
Polly V is the latest addition and is a 5 inch gauge 2-6-0 tank locomotive some 37 inches long by 10 inches wide, weighs 54kg and is powered by 5 inch driving wheels.
Customers are as diverse as solicitors, a church organ restorer, a retired policeman and a lorry driver in Scotland who bought one for the track in his front garden! And there are currently two women who are building locomotives from kits to which Andy Clarke confirms: 'From my contact with them, they are progressing very well'.
Clarke normally links customer build to production, by selling each locomotive in 12 separate kit packages.
Customers order the engine which can cost between GBP 3,000 and GBP 5,000 and pay a 20 per cent deposit.
The remaining 80 per cent is then split over 11 months in exchange for the next monthly set of parts and build instructions.
Although he admits one young lad does get special treatment and phones him every time he has some extra money and asks 'what can I buy for this?' This 'pay as you go' purchase also helps him organise the batching of parts.
'With the Colchester Tornado, not only do I know that the tolerances, surface finish and quality will be consistent over the batch, I can press the button - make the bits while I get on with something else.
'OK if the part is a casting, I just reload the machine as I pass by but I use a bar puller and machine a batch of parts from bar in one go.' He maintains: 'I'm not after cycle times, it's all about quality.
When you are selling to South Africa, France, Germany, Denmark and very soon the USA, these keen model enthusiasts will not tolerate inferior parts.
My reputation is at stake with every engine I make because enthusiasts are very keen to talk to each other.' He then describes how the Colchester machine has proven its worth.
'Castings for cylinder covers used to cost GBP 2.50 and I always had to wait for delivery.
Today I turn them completely out of bar, along with a host of other parts such as safety valves, miniature boiler fittings and bushes.
Even crank pins are produced out of bar as well as miniature drain cocks a quarter of the size of a small finger nail.' Larger parts such as smoke boxes, which are 8 inches diameter by 4 inches long are all turned from aluminium castings and he claims to machine six months stock of wheel castings in around an hour.
'That would have taken me days before on an ageing capstan and centre lathe installed in a corner of the workshop, and it would have demanded all my skills as a toolmaker to get the parts right.' In particular, the brass dome that sits on top of the boiler is now produced from a lost wax casting.
'I programmed and turned the blank for the casting in under an hour,' and he proudly demonstrates the smoothness and finish of the blend radii of the dome.
Having recently purchased a mail order model engineering supplies company, Bruce Engineering, which is now run by wife Jayne and supplies proprietary model parts such as steam stop valves, injectors and water gauges, the Polly Model workshop is almost bursting at the seams which might mean a move to new premises.
Sales have climbed by almost 75 per cent in the three years he has been trading and Andy Clarke now plans for further growth and diversification of the business.
'Before the Tornado was installed and with just me making parts I could never have improved the business.
Skilled labour is very expensive, sub-contract machining would mean I could lose control and so decided the latest turning technology would give me what I needed.
I can't believe how right that decision was!'
Three years ago, when 46 year-old ex-toolmaker Andy Clarke gave up his 20-year career in the construction industry to return to engineering and bought Polly Model Engineering, his friends thought he'd gone off the rails! But today, the man and wife business of making miniature steam locomotives up to one metre long and able to carry up to 8 people in carriages that can travel at up to 15 miles an hour, is certainly on the right track and is about to expand by at least a third over the next 12 months. Key to this expansion plan has been the installation of a CNC slant bed production lathe from Colchester Sales of Heckmondwike. Normally, model makers go for bench-top training type machines, but not Andy Clarke.
Alongside a vertical machining centre installed last year in his small workshop in Long Eaton near Nottingham, now sits a full size Colchester Tornado A90 CNC lathe.
And, as a result of the acquisition, he now has the capability to automatically batch machine under his own control all the parts for his locomotives and driving trucks except the boilers which are purchased fully certificated from specialist subcontractors.
Says Andy Clarke: 'As an example of how the business is developing, my wife Jayne and I went to a two-day show in April and sold models equal to almost half my present year's production.
Demand is rising so fast from all over the world that I had to develop batch making techniques, and the Colchester lathe is so ideal for this.
I turn everything, even though I have never been on a CNC course in my life, and the parts include wheels, axles, motion parts, buffers, valves, piston heads and cylinders, steam chests, steam connectors, brakes, smoke box and parts for cabs, tenders and tanks.' When he took delivery of the Tornado he maintains he didn't even know where the on-button was.
'Within a week I was making bits and found the machine so easy to use.
Where I used to buy castings, I can often machine direct from bar now and so far have programmed about 250 different parts, which I can run-off as and when I need them in batches of 100 or so.' There are five easy-to-assemble steam kits in the Polly Model range aptly designated Polly 1 to Polly V.
Polly V is the latest addition and is a 5 inch gauge 2-6-0 tank locomotive some 37 inches long by 10 inches wide, weighs 54kg and is powered by 5 inch driving wheels.
Customers are as diverse as solicitors, a church organ restorer, a retired policeman and a lorry driver in Scotland who bought one for the track in his front garden! And there are currently two women who are building locomotives from kits to which Andy Clarke confirms: 'From my contact with them, they are progressing very well'.
Clarke normally links customer build to production, by selling each locomotive in 12 separate kit packages.
Customers order the engine which can cost between GBP 3,000 and GBP 5,000 and pay a 20 per cent deposit.
The remaining 80 per cent is then split over 11 months in exchange for the next monthly set of parts and build instructions.
Although he admits one young lad does get special treatment and phones him every time he has some extra money and asks 'what can I buy for this?' This 'pay as you go' purchase also helps him organise the batching of parts.
'With the Colchester Tornado, not only do I know that the tolerances, surface finish and quality will be consistent over the batch, I can press the button - make the bits while I get on with something else.
'OK if the part is a casting, I just reload the machine as I pass by but I use a bar puller and machine a batch of parts from bar in one go.' He maintains: 'I'm not after cycle times, it's all about quality.
When you are selling to South Africa, France, Germany, Denmark and very soon the USA, these keen model enthusiasts will not tolerate inferior parts.
My reputation is at stake with every engine I make because enthusiasts are very keen to talk to each other.' He then describes how the Colchester machine has proven its worth.
'Castings for cylinder covers used to cost GBP 2.50 and I always had to wait for delivery.
Today I turn them completely out of bar, along with a host of other parts such as safety valves, miniature boiler fittings and bushes.
Even crank pins are produced out of bar as well as miniature drain cocks a quarter of the size of a small finger nail.' Larger parts such as smoke boxes, which are 8 inches diameter by 4 inches long are all turned from aluminium castings and he claims to machine six months stock of wheel castings in around an hour.
'That would have taken me days before on an ageing capstan and centre lathe installed in a corner of the workshop, and it would have demanded all my skills as a toolmaker to get the parts right.' In particular, the brass dome that sits on top of the boiler is now produced from a lost wax casting.
'I programmed and turned the blank for the casting in under an hour,' and he proudly demonstrates the smoothness and finish of the blend radii of the dome.
Having recently purchased a mail order model engineering supplies company, Bruce Engineering, which is now run by wife Jayne and supplies proprietary model parts such as steam stop valves, injectors and water gauges, the Polly Model workshop is almost bursting at the seams which might mean a move to new premises.
Sales have climbed by almost 75 per cent in the three years he has been trading and Andy Clarke now plans for further growth and diversification of the business.
'Before the Tornado was installed and with just me making parts I could never have improved the business.
Skilled labour is very expensive, sub-contract machining would mean I could lose control and so decided the latest turning technology would give me what I needed.
I can't believe how right that decision was!'
CNC lathe offers large bore, high torque option
The biggest through bore spindle and a high torque capacity option features the latest addition to a range of precision CNC lathes that employ a massive slantbed cast iron base construction.
The biggest through bore spindle for a Hardinge CNC lathe ever will be launched at the forthcoming MACH 2004 exhibition. With a 250mm chuck as standard and a 78mm through spindle bar capacity, the Talent 10/78 complements the other Talent machines covering the 45 and 52mm bar range with 150 and 200mm chuck sizes respectively. A massive 30deg slantbed cast iron base construction is used providing good accessibility for loading heavy parts and a clear path for chips to fall into the slat type chip conveyor supplied as standard equipment with the machine.
The 10/78 has a powerful 18.5kW spindle drive as standard with 404Nm torque rating at a base speed of 437 rpm.
For those really heavy cutting jobs on big diameters there is a high torque option with 605Nm of torque at only 292 rpm using the latest Fanuc electronic gearbox technology.
An A2-8in spindle is mounted in a combination taper and angular contact four bearing arrangement to produce optimum angular and radial stiffness producing good roundness part concentricity.
With a maximum turning length of 600mm, a VDI-40 12 station turret and No 5 MT fully programmable tailstock the Talent 10/78 takes Hardinge into the big league when it comes to turning capacity.
The carriage and crosslide are both mounted on heavy duty 6 ball contact linear guideway designs driven by 40mm ballscrews with a maximum traverse rate of 30mpm.
Ideal for OEM customers and sub-contractors alike, the Talent range now covers more than 75% of all the turned parts produced on CNC lathes by size.
From small batches to dedicated volume manufacturing the Talent has found its niche for economical part production of turned parts.
A 5.63kW 4,000 rpm driven tooling option is available for the Talent 10/78 enabling complete machining of many parts using C-Axis milling, cross and end drilling and tapping in the same operation.
The fully programmable No 5 MT hydraulic tailstock has 625mm of travel on the base and 150mm of travel on the quill for easy loading of shaft type parts.
Talent 10/78 has Fanuc model OiTB CNC control along with the latest digital Series spindle and axis drives and motors.
A full range of optional and additional equipment is offered for bar and chucking work, including Renishaw automatic tool probe/tool wear monitoring system, part probes, part catcher/conveyor, barfeeds, turret and spindle tooling.
The biggest through bore spindle for a Hardinge CNC lathe ever will be launched at the forthcoming MACH 2004 exhibition. With a 250mm chuck as standard and a 78mm through spindle bar capacity, the Talent 10/78 complements the other Talent machines covering the 45 and 52mm bar range with 150 and 200mm chuck sizes respectively. A massive 30deg slantbed cast iron base construction is used providing good accessibility for loading heavy parts and a clear path for chips to fall into the slat type chip conveyor supplied as standard equipment with the machine.
The 10/78 has a powerful 18.5kW spindle drive as standard with 404Nm torque rating at a base speed of 437 rpm.
For those really heavy cutting jobs on big diameters there is a high torque option with 605Nm of torque at only 292 rpm using the latest Fanuc electronic gearbox technology.
An A2-8in spindle is mounted in a combination taper and angular contact four bearing arrangement to produce optimum angular and radial stiffness producing good roundness part concentricity.
With a maximum turning length of 600mm, a VDI-40 12 station turret and No 5 MT fully programmable tailstock the Talent 10/78 takes Hardinge into the big league when it comes to turning capacity.
The carriage and crosslide are both mounted on heavy duty 6 ball contact linear guideway designs driven by 40mm ballscrews with a maximum traverse rate of 30mpm.
Ideal for OEM customers and sub-contractors alike, the Talent range now covers more than 75% of all the turned parts produced on CNC lathes by size.
From small batches to dedicated volume manufacturing the Talent has found its niche for economical part production of turned parts.
A 5.63kW 4,000 rpm driven tooling option is available for the Talent 10/78 enabling complete machining of many parts using C-Axis milling, cross and end drilling and tapping in the same operation.
The fully programmable No 5 MT hydraulic tailstock has 625mm of travel on the base and 150mm of travel on the quill for easy loading of shaft type parts.
Talent 10/78 has Fanuc model OiTB CNC control along with the latest digital Series spindle and axis drives and motors.
A full range of optional and additional equipment is offered for bar and chucking work, including Renishaw automatic tool probe/tool wear monitoring system, part probes, part catcher/conveyor, barfeeds, turret and spindle tooling.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Low cost CNC universal lathes cut idle time 25%
Low capital cost is the hallmark of universal CNC lathes that offer up-to-the-minute technology at a bargain price and ensures up to 25% idle time reduction.
Low capital cost is the hallmark of models in DMG's CTX 10-Series of universal lathes. At MACH 2004 the high end of the series is represented by the new CTX 410, and making its first appearance in the UK at the show is the smallest in the range, the new CTX 210. Compared with competitive products, these machines offer up-to-the-minute technology at a bargain price.
Also available is the existing CTX 310 and new CTX510 machines.
Thanks to efficient production and assembly methods, the CTX 410 carries a typical price tag starting at GBP 54,900 with Fanuc control.
The use of high-tech components ensures up to 25% idle time reduction, resulting in greater productivity and profitability.
Examples include the integrated spindle motor that delivers drive power of 21kW and the fast 12-tool, servo-turret with change times of just 0.1 second.
The CTX 210 has a starting price of GBP 34,900 with Fanuc control.
Its integrated electro-spindle produces 7.5kW of drive power and its 12-tool servo-turret has an indexing time of 0.49 second.
A programmable tailstock is provided in the standard configuration of this machine.
In common with the other machines in the CTX 10-Series, the CTX 210 and 410 can be configured with options such as fixed and driven tools in all stations for powerful boring and milling.
High rapid traversing speeds ensure shorter positioning times.
To suit the customer's preference and application needs, all CTX models are available with a choice of three controls.
The guide price of the CTX 410 includes the Heidenhain IT with DINPlus and the CTX 210, the Fanuc 21iTB with ManualGuide.
The third option is the Siemens 840D with the latest Shop Turn 3D programming software.
All CNC systems provide superior 3D graphics, which can be viewed on all 4 CTX 10 line machines on the tilt-out operator panel for optimal ease of operation.
Low capital cost is the hallmark of models in DMG's CTX 10-Series of universal lathes. At MACH 2004 the high end of the series is represented by the new CTX 410, and making its first appearance in the UK at the show is the smallest in the range, the new CTX 210. Compared with competitive products, these machines offer up-to-the-minute technology at a bargain price.
Also available is the existing CTX 310 and new CTX510 machines.
Thanks to efficient production and assembly methods, the CTX 410 carries a typical price tag starting at GBP 54,900 with Fanuc control.
The use of high-tech components ensures up to 25% idle time reduction, resulting in greater productivity and profitability.
Examples include the integrated spindle motor that delivers drive power of 21kW and the fast 12-tool, servo-turret with change times of just 0.1 second.
The CTX 210 has a starting price of GBP 34,900 with Fanuc control.
Its integrated electro-spindle produces 7.5kW of drive power and its 12-tool servo-turret has an indexing time of 0.49 second.
A programmable tailstock is provided in the standard configuration of this machine.
In common with the other machines in the CTX 10-Series, the CTX 210 and 410 can be configured with options such as fixed and driven tools in all stations for powerful boring and milling.
High rapid traversing speeds ensure shorter positioning times.
To suit the customer's preference and application needs, all CTX models are available with a choice of three controls.
The guide price of the CTX 410 includes the Heidenhain IT with DINPlus and the CTX 210, the Fanuc 21iTB with ManualGuide.
The third option is the Siemens 840D with the latest Shop Turn 3D programming software.
All CNC systems provide superior 3D graphics, which can be viewed on all 4 CTX 10 line machines on the tilt-out operator panel for optimal ease of operation.
Open house to show off latest CNC lathes
30 models in a complete range of CNC lathes offer a combination of quality, speed, rigidity and performance, particularly under intermittent cutting conditions.
Pollard is holding an open house from June 21-24 at its Leicester showroom, to launch the new NL Series Mori Seiki lathes. There are over 30 models in the complete range, offering a combination of quality, speed, rigidity and performance. Intermittent cutting conditions can cause surface defects.
Thanks to the rigid triangle structure of the NL Series, exceptional tool nose rigidity has been achieved, eliminating this problem.
Additionally, the motor for milling operations is built into the turret, offering levels of speed, surface quality and accuracy normally associated with machining centres.
Pollard will also be showing the new MAPPS II control, which combines the best technology from the MAPPS I and Seicos control units, providing continuity for existing customers and a step change in performance.
These are just a few of the developments that will make a trip to Pollard's showroom worthwhile.
About Pollard - formed in 1911, Fredk.
Pollard and Co is a privately owned company, and is one of Britain's premier suppliers and manufacturers of high quality, high precision machine tools and workholding equipment.
It works in partnership with its customers using its engineering expertise to cost effectively implement high precision and leading edge technology solutions.
Pollard is holding an open house from June 21-24 at its Leicester showroom, to launch the new NL Series Mori Seiki lathes. There are over 30 models in the complete range, offering a combination of quality, speed, rigidity and performance. Intermittent cutting conditions can cause surface defects.
Thanks to the rigid triangle structure of the NL Series, exceptional tool nose rigidity has been achieved, eliminating this problem.
Additionally, the motor for milling operations is built into the turret, offering levels of speed, surface quality and accuracy normally associated with machining centres.
Pollard will also be showing the new MAPPS II control, which combines the best technology from the MAPPS I and Seicos control units, providing continuity for existing customers and a step change in performance.
These are just a few of the developments that will make a trip to Pollard's showroom worthwhile.
About Pollard - formed in 1911, Fredk.
Pollard and Co is a privately owned company, and is one of Britain's premier suppliers and manufacturers of high quality, high precision machine tools and workholding equipment.
It works in partnership with its customers using its engineering expertise to cost effectively implement high precision and leading edge technology solutions.
Chinese machine tools made their debut at Shanghai
Visitors from home and abroad viewed CNC lathes, vertical turning lathes and vertical and horizontal machining centres that were shown in Shanghai, China, during April.
RIFA Precision Machinery attended the CCMT2004(China CNC machine tools Show) held in Shanghai. Four models representing respectively the RIFA CNC horizontal lathes, RIFA vertical lathes, RIFA vertical machining centers and RIFA horizontal machining centers were showed on the exhibition and attracted the attention of professionals coming from home and abroad. CCMT(China CNC Machine Tools Show ) and CIMT(China International Machine Tools Show ) are alternately held in China as the most important machine tools fairs there.
CCMT is held for the China manufacturers to show their newest products, and CIMT is held not only for the China manufacturers also for the foreign manufacturers who are interested in the Chinese market.
About 60 companies attended CCMT2004 and they represent the most important of the Chinese machine tools industry.
In 2005, CIMT2005 will be held in Beijing.
RIFA Precision Machinery will show its machines built to a higher standard.
RIFA Precision Machinery attended the CCMT2004(China CNC machine tools Show) held in Shanghai. Four models representing respectively the RIFA CNC horizontal lathes, RIFA vertical lathes, RIFA vertical machining centers and RIFA horizontal machining centers were showed on the exhibition and attracted the attention of professionals coming from home and abroad. CCMT(China CNC Machine Tools Show ) and CIMT(China International Machine Tools Show ) are alternately held in China as the most important machine tools fairs there.
CCMT is held for the China manufacturers to show their newest products, and CIMT is held not only for the China manufacturers also for the foreign manufacturers who are interested in the Chinese market.
About 60 companies attended CCMT2004 and they represent the most important of the Chinese machine tools industry.
In 2005, CIMT2005 will be held in Beijing.
RIFA Precision Machinery will show its machines built to a higher standard.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Subby let-down led to in-house CNC investment
When one of its principal subcontractors started to become unreliable, a toolmaking company quickly installed an electronic lathe, eliminated grinding and brought work back in-house.
With cost and reliability, two of the key elements in any precision toolmaking business, Redditch-based KFC Engineering knew it had to act fast when one of its principal subcontractors started to become unreliable. To bring control of its production back in-house and also cut the expenditure of subcontracting, KFC selected a DMT 400 electronic lathe from StarragHeckert UK of Brackley. Serving the needs of the automotive, medical and electronic industries for the past 23 years, KFC Engineering is a small but efficient precision toolmaking company.
As managing director, Kevin Creighton explains: 'We are a small firm, and we tended to subcontract a lot of what I would call our 'clever turning' to another company, unfortunately, they started to let us down and in toolmaking there is a low tolerance for any lapse in lead times.
We can't afford to let our customers down so we decided it was time to invest in our own CNC turning facility.' To add weight to the decision, some of KFC's components were being sent outside for grinding as a secondary operation, but as Creighton explains: 'We knew if we could meet the drawing demands from turning we would be able to eliminate grinding from the equation.' The search began, encompassing the full spectrum of new and CNC electronic lathes available.
'We looked very closely at a number of machines, but the DMT 400 definitely proved to be the best option for us.
Its accuracy combined with the tooling package and its ease of programming made it the clear favourite' he maintains.
In fact, the ease of programming became the most important factor behind the decision to purchase because the standard canned cycles it contains are extremely easy to apply and adapt.
He says: 'The combination of teach/repeat and canned cycles on the DMT 400 include threading, rough and finish profiling, undercutting, grooving, tapers and spiral groove type forming, which are just what we needed.' He has found the control provided as much or as little CNC assistance as the operator needed in a well-proven operator friendly style developed by Heidenhain in its 'Manual Plus' control system.
'With a memory capacity for 96 programs, a 96-tool inventory, a good range of macros and terminology that is very familiar to an operator, this means we have seamless program generation - which is ideal,' he says.
KFC produce components out of tool steel in batch sizes no larger than six and here, the DMT 400 is testament to the argument that it is no longer necessary to make a straight choice between CNC or conventional machines, by offering CNC capability on a conventionally configured lathe.
The machine can be used in CNC mode with typical high resolution of the Heidenhain dynamic graphics support, or as a conventional centre lathe with electronic handwheels making it ideally suited for single part followed by automatic repeat cycle turning operations.
The DMT 'electronic' turning machine range has a swing over bed up to 800mm and can be specified with up to 4000mm between centres.
In CNC mode, constant surface speed ensures high and consistent surface finish, while spindle speed and feed rates can be adjusted during machine cycles via the simple apron mounted travelling control panel.
Rapid traverse rates are 5m/min in X and 10m/min in Z.
'Since installation in December 2003 the machine has run perfectly,' says Creighton, 'in fact we haven't had to contact StarragHeckert UK since, as there simply hasn't been any problems.
As a small company we always have to keep one eye on the future and the accuracy and surface finish capabilities of the DMT 400 mean that we have saved both on the cost of subcontract work and especially the problems and costs associated with secondary operations such as grinding.
But what is most important, is that we are in control of our own destiny in terms of what we give and when we deliver to our customers.
With cost and reliability, two of the key elements in any precision toolmaking business, Redditch-based KFC Engineering knew it had to act fast when one of its principal subcontractors started to become unreliable. To bring control of its production back in-house and also cut the expenditure of subcontracting, KFC selected a DMT 400 electronic lathe from StarragHeckert UK of Brackley. Serving the needs of the automotive, medical and electronic industries for the past 23 years, KFC Engineering is a small but efficient precision toolmaking company.
As managing director, Kevin Creighton explains: 'We are a small firm, and we tended to subcontract a lot of what I would call our 'clever turning' to another company, unfortunately, they started to let us down and in toolmaking there is a low tolerance for any lapse in lead times.
We can't afford to let our customers down so we decided it was time to invest in our own CNC turning facility.' To add weight to the decision, some of KFC's components were being sent outside for grinding as a secondary operation, but as Creighton explains: 'We knew if we could meet the drawing demands from turning we would be able to eliminate grinding from the equation.' The search began, encompassing the full spectrum of new and CNC electronic lathes available.
'We looked very closely at a number of machines, but the DMT 400 definitely proved to be the best option for us.
Its accuracy combined with the tooling package and its ease of programming made it the clear favourite' he maintains.
In fact, the ease of programming became the most important factor behind the decision to purchase because the standard canned cycles it contains are extremely easy to apply and adapt.
He says: 'The combination of teach/repeat and canned cycles on the DMT 400 include threading, rough and finish profiling, undercutting, grooving, tapers and spiral groove type forming, which are just what we needed.' He has found the control provided as much or as little CNC assistance as the operator needed in a well-proven operator friendly style developed by Heidenhain in its 'Manual Plus' control system.
'With a memory capacity for 96 programs, a 96-tool inventory, a good range of macros and terminology that is very familiar to an operator, this means we have seamless program generation - which is ideal,' he says.
KFC produce components out of tool steel in batch sizes no larger than six and here, the DMT 400 is testament to the argument that it is no longer necessary to make a straight choice between CNC or conventional machines, by offering CNC capability on a conventionally configured lathe.
The machine can be used in CNC mode with typical high resolution of the Heidenhain dynamic graphics support, or as a conventional centre lathe with electronic handwheels making it ideally suited for single part followed by automatic repeat cycle turning operations.
The DMT 'electronic' turning machine range has a swing over bed up to 800mm and can be specified with up to 4000mm between centres.
In CNC mode, constant surface speed ensures high and consistent surface finish, while spindle speed and feed rates can be adjusted during machine cycles via the simple apron mounted travelling control panel.
Rapid traverse rates are 5m/min in X and 10m/min in Z.
'Since installation in December 2003 the machine has run perfectly,' says Creighton, 'in fact we haven't had to contact StarragHeckert UK since, as there simply hasn't been any problems.
As a small company we always have to keep one eye on the future and the accuracy and surface finish capabilities of the DMT 400 mean that we have saved both on the cost of subcontract work and especially the problems and costs associated with secondary operations such as grinding.
But what is most important, is that we are in control of our own destiny in terms of what we give and when we deliver to our customers.
Frequent changeovers determined CNC lathe choice
General engineering company needs as much flexibility in its machine tools as it can get, which is why it sought a CNC lathe to change over quickly and frequently between bar and chuck work.
South Wales based general engineering company D'Arcy Engineering Co needs as much flexibility in its machine tools as it can get and certainly pushes the capacity right to, and often beyond, the limit. As a prime example, its Colchester Tornado 220 two-axis CNC slant bed lathe is used for both bar work up to 65mm diameter and chucking applications to which the proprietor Nigel Allsop maintains: 'We frequently change the machine over from bar feed to chuck or back again inside 10 minutes and we have even stretched its turning capacity from the specified 260mm to 300mm diameter and that's on steel components.' D'Arcy which is a very successful machinist company has its premises on one of the largest business parks in Europe at Llansamlet, just north of Swansea. That said, it still has to work hard to meet its customers demands for quality and delivery in the medical, construction, automotive and general machining sectors which means choosing the right machine for its needs is critical in its success.
Here, the installation of the Colchester Tornado 220 with its integrated MBF 1000 bar feed package bought from Erith, Kent, the new Colchester Sales Technical Centre partner RK International, was seen as important in the plans for future growth.
With a slightly different operation to most subcontract machinists, Allsop has his feet in two camps.
Not only is his general machining operation very successful in supporting locally based international names such as Sony, Bosch and Morganite it has strong links with a prolific local scientific research and development company where it provides a highly successful design for production service.
Set up some 12 years ago D'Arcy employs six people and moved to its current site six years ago when it outgrew its original premises.
At the time of the move, Allsop invested in several CNC machines.
However, to meet the growing production machining requirements for batches that vary between one and 500 parts and especially the fast turnaround the company has to make to customers.
'We then decided to purchase the newly launched Tornado 220,' he says.
Materials now turned on the Tornado 220 include brass, PTFE, engineering plastics and both mild and high tensile steels and while its regular customer base places scheduled orders giving the 'bread and butter' to the business, they tend to be at the top end of the quality spectrum in terms of tolerances and finish.
Allsop describes a recent automotive schedule for aluminium mounting components to be used on high end audio systems in the executive/luxury car market sector.
'These parts had to be machined for the first tier automotive systems manufacturer and had to be totally compliant with their strict drawing and quality demands.
The Tornado met all the requirements for the job and the project was completed with great success,' he says.
D'Arcy's business involvement with the research and development company has placed significant demands on the machine shop on the back of the burgeoning success of a number of products being brought to market.
Here, Allsop' s experience in machining has led to an important boost to this side of the business especially influencing the design for manufacture element, where he can advise and prove the benefit of cost reduction and simplification.
He is also able to help develop features on a design based on the practicality and advantages gained from a particular machine tool, tooling and control system A prime example, which led to gas nozzels, brass pins and mechanical handling equipment for the medical sector being very efficiently produced on the Tornado came out of the design for production development programme.
One particular project, code named Predator, is a gas scavenging system which is currently under development for high quality manual or automatic MIG or TIG welding.
Predator detects the presence of shield gas allowing welding to continue right up to the point when the gas bottles are empty rather than the normal procedure which requires pre-emptive changing of bottles.' The Tornado 220 is powered by a 22kW AC spindle motor which Nigel Allsops' machine setters use to the full explaining that when over capacity turning the 300mm steel billet, the power meter never even moved from its normal position.
The machine was specified with the 3,500 revs/min lower speed option spindle with rapid traverse rates for the VDI 40, 12 station turret being 25m/min in X and 30m/min in Z.
While swing over the bed is 510mm, the maximum turned length is 540mm which is described by D'Arcy's setter as 'very handy' for the exceptional larger part they sometimes have to turn.
According to Allsop, features of the Tornado 220 that have proven to be an excellent bonus is the basic stability of the machine which he puts down to the Duo-stable engineered polymer concrete filled base.
'Even when we put oversize work or really push the machine it is inherently stable,' he says.
And following on to conclude he maintains: 'The thermal properties of the machine are such that it is able to reach operational stability within 10 minutes of start up.'
South Wales based general engineering company D'Arcy Engineering Co needs as much flexibility in its machine tools as it can get and certainly pushes the capacity right to, and often beyond, the limit. As a prime example, its Colchester Tornado 220 two-axis CNC slant bed lathe is used for both bar work up to 65mm diameter and chucking applications to which the proprietor Nigel Allsop maintains: 'We frequently change the machine over from bar feed to chuck or back again inside 10 minutes and we have even stretched its turning capacity from the specified 260mm to 300mm diameter and that's on steel components.' D'Arcy which is a very successful machinist company has its premises on one of the largest business parks in Europe at Llansamlet, just north of Swansea. That said, it still has to work hard to meet its customers demands for quality and delivery in the medical, construction, automotive and general machining sectors which means choosing the right machine for its needs is critical in its success.
Here, the installation of the Colchester Tornado 220 with its integrated MBF 1000 bar feed package bought from Erith, Kent, the new Colchester Sales Technical Centre partner RK International, was seen as important in the plans for future growth.
With a slightly different operation to most subcontract machinists, Allsop has his feet in two camps.
Not only is his general machining operation very successful in supporting locally based international names such as Sony, Bosch and Morganite it has strong links with a prolific local scientific research and development company where it provides a highly successful design for production service.
Set up some 12 years ago D'Arcy employs six people and moved to its current site six years ago when it outgrew its original premises.
At the time of the move, Allsop invested in several CNC machines.
However, to meet the growing production machining requirements for batches that vary between one and 500 parts and especially the fast turnaround the company has to make to customers.
'We then decided to purchase the newly launched Tornado 220,' he says.
Materials now turned on the Tornado 220 include brass, PTFE, engineering plastics and both mild and high tensile steels and while its regular customer base places scheduled orders giving the 'bread and butter' to the business, they tend to be at the top end of the quality spectrum in terms of tolerances and finish.
Allsop describes a recent automotive schedule for aluminium mounting components to be used on high end audio systems in the executive/luxury car market sector.
'These parts had to be machined for the first tier automotive systems manufacturer and had to be totally compliant with their strict drawing and quality demands.
The Tornado met all the requirements for the job and the project was completed with great success,' he says.
D'Arcy's business involvement with the research and development company has placed significant demands on the machine shop on the back of the burgeoning success of a number of products being brought to market.
Here, Allsop' s experience in machining has led to an important boost to this side of the business especially influencing the design for manufacture element, where he can advise and prove the benefit of cost reduction and simplification.
He is also able to help develop features on a design based on the practicality and advantages gained from a particular machine tool, tooling and control system A prime example, which led to gas nozzels, brass pins and mechanical handling equipment for the medical sector being very efficiently produced on the Tornado came out of the design for production development programme.
One particular project, code named Predator, is a gas scavenging system which is currently under development for high quality manual or automatic MIG or TIG welding.
Predator detects the presence of shield gas allowing welding to continue right up to the point when the gas bottles are empty rather than the normal procedure which requires pre-emptive changing of bottles.' The Tornado 220 is powered by a 22kW AC spindle motor which Nigel Allsops' machine setters use to the full explaining that when over capacity turning the 300mm steel billet, the power meter never even moved from its normal position.
The machine was specified with the 3,500 revs/min lower speed option spindle with rapid traverse rates for the VDI 40, 12 station turret being 25m/min in X and 30m/min in Z.
While swing over the bed is 510mm, the maximum turned length is 540mm which is described by D'Arcy's setter as 'very handy' for the exceptional larger part they sometimes have to turn.
According to Allsop, features of the Tornado 220 that have proven to be an excellent bonus is the basic stability of the machine which he puts down to the Duo-stable engineered polymer concrete filled base.
'Even when we put oversize work or really push the machine it is inherently stable,' he says.
And following on to conclude he maintains: 'The thermal properties of the machine are such that it is able to reach operational stability within 10 minutes of start up.'
'Lights out' turning package starts at GBP 53,000
A 'lights-out' unmanned turning package enables highly automated production across a range of two-axis and three-axis machines at a very competitive price starting at under GBP 53,000.
The 'Lights-out' unmanned turning package developed by Colchester Lathe is the flagship for its Tornado range of lathes. It enables highly automated production across the range of two-axis and three-axis machines at a very competitive price which starts at under GBP 53,000. The new livery and ergonomic guard design of the Lights-out package comprises the Colchester developed MBF 1000 integrated barfeed, parts-catcher, swarf conveyor, tool monitoring and sister tool replacement.
In-process gauging and production scheduling software are also included in the purpose-developed, competitively priced unit.
The T2 two-axis 60 (degrees) slant bed machine package using Colchester's Duo-stable construction that provides thermal and dynamic stability up to 300 per cent greater than cast iron, has a 42mm bar capacity and 5.5kW, 6,000 rev/min spindle with 12 position VDI 30 turret.
The MBF 1000 bar magazine is fully integrated with the Fanuc control and as a result has no mechanical stops, takes minutes to change over from, say, hexagon to round bar and programming is quick by using dialogue input.
As each bar is measured, the onboard machine software computes the number of pieces from each bar and recalculates when to stop the automatic production cycle.
The production schedule software enables direct on-machine control over workpiece batches while the tool monitoring, based on axis torque loading, will initiate sister tool replacement from the 12 station VDI turret or stop the machine if the problem is deemed more serious.
To help with program generation, on-board Colchester develop COLCAM software gives fast and simple machining cycles.
Automatic alarm generation and call out is included in the event of cycle stoppage from the Fanuc 21i-TB Series control with 10.4 inch colour LCD display.
Through Renishaw's LT02 optical transmission probing technology for comparison against drawing limits and feed-back to control, any deviation for automatic tool offset correction can be made.
The 'Lights-out' unmanned turning package developed by Colchester Lathe is the flagship for its Tornado range of lathes. It enables highly automated production across the range of two-axis and three-axis machines at a very competitive price which starts at under GBP 53,000. The new livery and ergonomic guard design of the Lights-out package comprises the Colchester developed MBF 1000 integrated barfeed, parts-catcher, swarf conveyor, tool monitoring and sister tool replacement.
In-process gauging and production scheduling software are also included in the purpose-developed, competitively priced unit.
The T2 two-axis 60 (degrees) slant bed machine package using Colchester's Duo-stable construction that provides thermal and dynamic stability up to 300 per cent greater than cast iron, has a 42mm bar capacity and 5.5kW, 6,000 rev/min spindle with 12 position VDI 30 turret.
The MBF 1000 bar magazine is fully integrated with the Fanuc control and as a result has no mechanical stops, takes minutes to change over from, say, hexagon to round bar and programming is quick by using dialogue input.
As each bar is measured, the onboard machine software computes the number of pieces from each bar and recalculates when to stop the automatic production cycle.
The production schedule software enables direct on-machine control over workpiece batches while the tool monitoring, based on axis torque loading, will initiate sister tool replacement from the 12 station VDI turret or stop the machine if the problem is deemed more serious.
To help with program generation, on-board Colchester develop COLCAM software gives fast and simple machining cycles.
Automatic alarm generation and call out is included in the event of cycle stoppage from the Fanuc 21i-TB Series control with 10.4 inch colour LCD display.
Through Renishaw's LT02 optical transmission probing technology for comparison against drawing limits and feed-back to control, any deviation for automatic tool offset correction can be made.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Manual/CNC lathe reduces hours' work to minutes
One of the main factors for choosing a manual/CNC lathe was that it is very easy to learn to use and also very much quicker than manual lathes, says a subcontractor.
The speed, extra capability and performance of its Harrison Alpha 1400S manual/CNC lathe have powered Wolverhampton company, Shinton Engineering, into new market sectors, just weeks after acquiring the brand new machine from Harrisons main distributor, Datamach of Coventry. Formerly using entirely manual-type lathes, the firm in Ettingshall Road - established around 40 years ago by the current proprietor Tommy Shinton - became highly specialized in producing one-off replacement machine parts, especially for presses and other industrial machine tools. Now, Shinton Engineering, which has a staff of 12 people, is rapidly building on this core business by manufacturing medium-volume batches of small components, such as quality-finished castings for motor engines and other applications.
The company says the Alpha 1400S is perfectly suited to producing 50-100 items with very fast turnaround times and high precision results.
Shinton Engineering manager, Neil Whitaker said: 'One of the main factors for choosing the new machine was that it is very easy to learn to use and also very much quicker than manual lathes.
It will do things in a few minutes that would have taken us a couple of hours of heavy work to complete.
It is a lot quicker and we achieve much better finishes.' Shinton said the Alpha 1400S, which has a 400mm swing and 1.250cm between centres, has much more flexibility than traditional lathes and opens up new niche market areas: 'We are now realizing that there was a lot of work available for our company which we could not have taken on, from customers with a requirement for quantities of 50 or 100 items produced quickly and precisely.
We can now price these jobs competitively.' The 1400S is one of five Harrison Alpha models making up the Harrison S1000 lathe series: 1350S (350mm swing), 1400S (400mm swing), 1460S (460mm swing), 1550S (550mm swing) and 1800S (800mm swing).
All lathes incorporate the most advanced and easiest to use manual/CNC lathe control in the world - the Fanuc Colour Touchscreen control system, with a 10.4 inch wide touch panel with clear, colour step-by-step graphics, Alphanumeric keypad and system selection key to give operators the widest possible range of machining permutations.
From effortless manual turning to sophisticated semi-automatic and full CNC machining, the Alpha S1000 series delivers maximum flexibility to perfectly match the machining requirement, while a major new feature of the S1000's control capability is its Manual Guide System - a touchscreen accessible cutting programme enabling the full generation of simple cutting profiles and complex automatic programmes to be carried out directly at the machine.
The Alpha lathe's integral teach facility allows hand wheel-initiated moves to be recorded as a programme and re-run automatically after completion of the first component, while all new programmes generated can be stored to memory for later use or saved to the integral AlphaLink software.
Additionally, all programmes generated in this comprehensive 'Cycle Cutting' mode can be converted to a full CNC programme.
The Alpha range also incorporates a semi-automatic machining capability for stops, taper turning and automatic thread cutting, plus an off-line CAD/CAM machining facility.
Harrison's sales director, David Smith, said: 'The success being achieved by Shinton Engineering perfectly illustrates how the speed, ease-of-use and flexibility of Harrison Alpha lathes can exceed the expectations of customers and open doors to increased business in new market sectors.
'The latest generation of Alpha lathes are extremely technically advanced, highly equipped and superbly designed and constructed for maximum performance, excellent machining results time after time, very low maintenance and a long, trouble-free operating life.'
The speed, extra capability and performance of its Harrison Alpha 1400S manual/CNC lathe have powered Wolverhampton company, Shinton Engineering, into new market sectors, just weeks after acquiring the brand new machine from Harrisons main distributor, Datamach of Coventry. Formerly using entirely manual-type lathes, the firm in Ettingshall Road - established around 40 years ago by the current proprietor Tommy Shinton - became highly specialized in producing one-off replacement machine parts, especially for presses and other industrial machine tools. Now, Shinton Engineering, which has a staff of 12 people, is rapidly building on this core business by manufacturing medium-volume batches of small components, such as quality-finished castings for motor engines and other applications.
The company says the Alpha 1400S is perfectly suited to producing 50-100 items with very fast turnaround times and high precision results.
Shinton Engineering manager, Neil Whitaker said: 'One of the main factors for choosing the new machine was that it is very easy to learn to use and also very much quicker than manual lathes.
It will do things in a few minutes that would have taken us a couple of hours of heavy work to complete.
It is a lot quicker and we achieve much better finishes.' Shinton said the Alpha 1400S, which has a 400mm swing and 1.250cm between centres, has much more flexibility than traditional lathes and opens up new niche market areas: 'We are now realizing that there was a lot of work available for our company which we could not have taken on, from customers with a requirement for quantities of 50 or 100 items produced quickly and precisely.
We can now price these jobs competitively.' The 1400S is one of five Harrison Alpha models making up the Harrison S1000 lathe series: 1350S (350mm swing), 1400S (400mm swing), 1460S (460mm swing), 1550S (550mm swing) and 1800S (800mm swing).
All lathes incorporate the most advanced and easiest to use manual/CNC lathe control in the world - the Fanuc Colour Touchscreen control system, with a 10.4 inch wide touch panel with clear, colour step-by-step graphics, Alphanumeric keypad and system selection key to give operators the widest possible range of machining permutations.
From effortless manual turning to sophisticated semi-automatic and full CNC machining, the Alpha S1000 series delivers maximum flexibility to perfectly match the machining requirement, while a major new feature of the S1000's control capability is its Manual Guide System - a touchscreen accessible cutting programme enabling the full generation of simple cutting profiles and complex automatic programmes to be carried out directly at the machine.
The Alpha lathe's integral teach facility allows hand wheel-initiated moves to be recorded as a programme and re-run automatically after completion of the first component, while all new programmes generated can be stored to memory for later use or saved to the integral AlphaLink software.
Additionally, all programmes generated in this comprehensive 'Cycle Cutting' mode can be converted to a full CNC programme.
The Alpha range also incorporates a semi-automatic machining capability for stops, taper turning and automatic thread cutting, plus an off-line CAD/CAM machining facility.
Harrison's sales director, David Smith, said: 'The success being achieved by Shinton Engineering perfectly illustrates how the speed, ease-of-use and flexibility of Harrison Alpha lathes can exceed the expectations of customers and open doors to increased business in new market sectors.
'The latest generation of Alpha lathes are extremely technically advanced, highly equipped and superbly designed and constructed for maximum performance, excellent machining results time after time, very low maintenance and a long, trouble-free operating life.'
High speed manual/CNC lathe turns smaller parts
In direct response for turning small-diameter components to the highest levels of accuracy and finish quality, a lathe builder has developed a 5000 rev/min version of its manual/CNC lathes.
In direct response to customers requiring the capability to turn small-diameter components to the highest levels of accuracy and finish quality, British lathe specialist Harrison has introduced a high speed version of its Alpha 1330U manual/CNC machine with a maximum operating speed of 5,000 rev/min. The new high-speed Alpha 1330U-HS provides a 40% increase in spindle speed over the established Alpha 1330U. Demand for the new lathe - which incorporates a revised bearing configuration of five high-precision, angular contact bearings providing low noise levels and optimum surface finishes at high rotational speeds - is growing steadily across European markets following its announcement by Harrison at the MACH 2004 machine tool exhibition held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, earlier this year.
The new 5,000 rev/min spindle assembly incorporates five ABEC 7 Precision angular contact bearings which are arranged with three at the front and two at the rear of the 54mm bore spindle.
These bearings enhance the machine's smooth running and low heat generation, which in turn contribute significantly to low-tolerance rotational accuracy.
The bearings are pre-greased for life for continuous operation and the 'pre-load' is set by the bearing manufacturer to simplify maintenance procedures.
The A2-5 spindle nose is designed to accommodate specialised high-speed workholding equipment, specified at the time of order.
Optional workholding equipment includes: specialised manual high speed three-jaw chuck; Pratt Burnerd power operated three-jaw chuck and power operated collet chucking for either Crawfords Multibore or 5C collet systems.
In other technical respects, the new version of the 1330U, with 360mm swing over bed (206mm swing over cross-slide) and 7.5kW motor, incorporates the same advanced features as Harrison's flagship U1000 lathe series, launched last year.
Its composite base assembly provides optimum stability and rigidity, while the operator-friendly 30 degree box-section slant-bed design makes for easier loading of the workpiece, better access for tool-setting, increased visibility and greatly reduced swarf clearing compared with a traditional flat-bed format.
Like other Harrison U1000 series lathes, it also benefits from Harrison's world-famous Alpha 1000 control system, which offers the widest choice of turning options ever offered on a manual/CNC lathe.
Effectively, all U1000 lathes can be operated from the colour touchscreen control console in four separate selectable modes: manual handwheels with digital positional display; sequential (Alpha) semi-automatic; manual guide (Teach); and ISO (CNC) to produce simple and complex components in one-off and small-medium batch sizes.
The mode of operation can be selected to match the complexity of the workpiece, operator skill level and batch size.
This selection offers the ultimate versatility and flexibility to the customer.
Harrison is confident that the new Alpha 1330U-HS with 5,000 rev/min represents an important new asset in its product line-up, which will attract significant sales from both existing and new customer sectors.
In Finland, for example, one of the first 5,000 rev/min machines was supplied by Harrison's distributor, Cron Tek Oy, to a company specialising in surgical equipment, while its Swiss distributor, Josef Binkert AG, is supplying to manufacturers of electrodes and other high-precision parts.
David Smith, Harrison's Sales Director, said: 'This new 5,000 rev/min lathe represents an important step forward both for ourselves and for many Harrison customers around the world.
It underlines Harrison's commitment to meeting its customers' exact requirements and expectations in the ever-changing marketplace for turning equipment.
It also demonstrates the in-built flexibility and technical excellence of our products to match our customers' needs.
'For new and existing customers requiring an advanced manual/CNC machine which produces the highest quality results on small-diameter items where accuracy, low tolerances and high precision are crucial factors, this machine represents an exciting opportunity to boost their businesses and achieve the excellent turning standards associated with Harrison's world-famous lathes.'
In direct response to customers requiring the capability to turn small-diameter components to the highest levels of accuracy and finish quality, British lathe specialist Harrison has introduced a high speed version of its Alpha 1330U manual/CNC machine with a maximum operating speed of 5,000 rev/min. The new high-speed Alpha 1330U-HS provides a 40% increase in spindle speed over the established Alpha 1330U. Demand for the new lathe - which incorporates a revised bearing configuration of five high-precision, angular contact bearings providing low noise levels and optimum surface finishes at high rotational speeds - is growing steadily across European markets following its announcement by Harrison at the MACH 2004 machine tool exhibition held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, earlier this year.
The new 5,000 rev/min spindle assembly incorporates five ABEC 7 Precision angular contact bearings which are arranged with three at the front and two at the rear of the 54mm bore spindle.
These bearings enhance the machine's smooth running and low heat generation, which in turn contribute significantly to low-tolerance rotational accuracy.
The bearings are pre-greased for life for continuous operation and the 'pre-load' is set by the bearing manufacturer to simplify maintenance procedures.
The A2-5 spindle nose is designed to accommodate specialised high-speed workholding equipment, specified at the time of order.
Optional workholding equipment includes: specialised manual high speed three-jaw chuck; Pratt Burnerd power operated three-jaw chuck and power operated collet chucking for either Crawfords Multibore or 5C collet systems.
In other technical respects, the new version of the 1330U, with 360mm swing over bed (206mm swing over cross-slide) and 7.5kW motor, incorporates the same advanced features as Harrison's flagship U1000 lathe series, launched last year.
Its composite base assembly provides optimum stability and rigidity, while the operator-friendly 30 degree box-section slant-bed design makes for easier loading of the workpiece, better access for tool-setting, increased visibility and greatly reduced swarf clearing compared with a traditional flat-bed format.
Like other Harrison U1000 series lathes, it also benefits from Harrison's world-famous Alpha 1000 control system, which offers the widest choice of turning options ever offered on a manual/CNC lathe.
Effectively, all U1000 lathes can be operated from the colour touchscreen control console in four separate selectable modes: manual handwheels with digital positional display; sequential (Alpha) semi-automatic; manual guide (Teach); and ISO (CNC) to produce simple and complex components in one-off and small-medium batch sizes.
The mode of operation can be selected to match the complexity of the workpiece, operator skill level and batch size.
This selection offers the ultimate versatility and flexibility to the customer.
Harrison is confident that the new Alpha 1330U-HS with 5,000 rev/min represents an important new asset in its product line-up, which will attract significant sales from both existing and new customer sectors.
In Finland, for example, one of the first 5,000 rev/min machines was supplied by Harrison's distributor, Cron Tek Oy, to a company specialising in surgical equipment, while its Swiss distributor, Josef Binkert AG, is supplying to manufacturers of electrodes and other high-precision parts.
David Smith, Harrison's Sales Director, said: 'This new 5,000 rev/min lathe represents an important step forward both for ourselves and for many Harrison customers around the world.
It underlines Harrison's commitment to meeting its customers' exact requirements and expectations in the ever-changing marketplace for turning equipment.
It also demonstrates the in-built flexibility and technical excellence of our products to match our customers' needs.
'For new and existing customers requiring an advanced manual/CNC machine which produces the highest quality results on small-diameter items where accuracy, low tolerances and high precision are crucial factors, this machine represents an exciting opportunity to boost their businesses and achieve the excellent turning standards associated with Harrison's world-famous lathes.'
Flat bed CNC lathe has large gap for big parts
Flat bed CNC lathe enables parts up to 554mm diameter by 2000mm long to be swung over the bed or up to a massive 830mm by 216mm within the gap bed.
The Colchester MultiTurn 4000 flat bed CNC lathe enables parts up to 554mm diameter by 2000mm long to be swung over the bed or up to a massive 830mm by 216mm within the gap bed. The machine provides the full advantage of the latest Fanuc control that is equally useable for single part manual cycles or under full CNC control for repeat batches of parts. Now available from Colchester Lathe of Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, the 3.6 tonne, larger capacity MultiTurn embodies all the features and advantages of the highly successful 1000 and 2000 versions launched last year.
However, with more powerful spindle and servo drives fitted to the machine, this enables effortless cutting cycles to be performed on larger part sizes.
The MultiTurn CNC lathe is very competitively priced and provides high levels of functionality that takes full advantage of the 11kW spindle drive.
The spindle is carried on a cast iron flat bed with an eight-station 360mm diameter, electrically indexing turret capable of holding 25 mm by 25mm tool section size and 40mm diameter boring bars.
Quick-change toolposts from Parat, Multifix or Dickson are available on request.
The success of the smaller MultiTurn versions has been from the ability to combine the versatility of full CNC, electronic and manual operation through Fanuc's latest Series OiTB CNC TFT contouring control with Manual Guide Oi conversational programming.
The machine uses twin electronic handwheels to manipulate the Fanuc digital drives package and, with the simple and quick conversational programming, is directed at users requiring additional large CNC capacity or small batch size component turning solutions.
In addition, it will be equally productive as a universal turning machine to the workshop requiring a solution to the wide range of turning operations faced by a general machinist.
Prime considerations are high flexibility to replace or upgrade existing machining capacity with a reliable and modern, high quality, metal cutting machine without compromising the investment budget.
Three-jaw geared scroll or four-jaw independent chucks up to 405mm with a 104mm bore define the capacity of the machine which can also be supplied with travelling or stationary steadies up to 308mm capacity.
The tailstock is No 6 MT with 145mm travel and is available with heavy duty or general purpose centres.
The ergonomically positioned travelling Fanuc OiTB control has an 8.4in TFT flat colour screen with a 10 GByte hard disk and electronic handwheels for manual operation.
These can be used in conjunction with Manual Guide Oi programming with combinations of advanced canned cycles such as stock removal, threading and grooving to create a fully integrated operation.
Automatic cycling direct from memory gives a full CNC capability from within the fully interlocked enclosure with twin slide-aside guard doors.
The Colchester MultiTurn 4000 flat bed CNC lathe enables parts up to 554mm diameter by 2000mm long to be swung over the bed or up to a massive 830mm by 216mm within the gap bed. The machine provides the full advantage of the latest Fanuc control that is equally useable for single part manual cycles or under full CNC control for repeat batches of parts. Now available from Colchester Lathe of Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, the 3.6 tonne, larger capacity MultiTurn embodies all the features and advantages of the highly successful 1000 and 2000 versions launched last year.
However, with more powerful spindle and servo drives fitted to the machine, this enables effortless cutting cycles to be performed on larger part sizes.
The MultiTurn CNC lathe is very competitively priced and provides high levels of functionality that takes full advantage of the 11kW spindle drive.
The spindle is carried on a cast iron flat bed with an eight-station 360mm diameter, electrically indexing turret capable of holding 25 mm by 25mm tool section size and 40mm diameter boring bars.
Quick-change toolposts from Parat, Multifix or Dickson are available on request.
The success of the smaller MultiTurn versions has been from the ability to combine the versatility of full CNC, electronic and manual operation through Fanuc's latest Series OiTB CNC TFT contouring control with Manual Guide Oi conversational programming.
The machine uses twin electronic handwheels to manipulate the Fanuc digital drives package and, with the simple and quick conversational programming, is directed at users requiring additional large CNC capacity or small batch size component turning solutions.
In addition, it will be equally productive as a universal turning machine to the workshop requiring a solution to the wide range of turning operations faced by a general machinist.
Prime considerations are high flexibility to replace or upgrade existing machining capacity with a reliable and modern, high quality, metal cutting machine without compromising the investment budget.
Three-jaw geared scroll or four-jaw independent chucks up to 405mm with a 104mm bore define the capacity of the machine which can also be supplied with travelling or stationary steadies up to 308mm capacity.
The tailstock is No 6 MT with 145mm travel and is available with heavy duty or general purpose centres.
The ergonomically positioned travelling Fanuc OiTB control has an 8.4in TFT flat colour screen with a 10 GByte hard disk and electronic handwheels for manual operation.
These can be used in conjunction with Manual Guide Oi programming with combinations of advanced canned cycles such as stock removal, threading and grooving to create a fully integrated operation.
Automatic cycling direct from memory gives a full CNC capability from within the fully interlocked enclosure with twin slide-aside guard doors.
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