A range of easy-to-use toolroom standard flat bed lathes now includes a landmark two-axis CNC/manual lathe design with the production capabilities and flexibility of a CNC machine.

Harrison has extended its 'Alpha'range with the introduction of a landmark two-axis CNC/manual lathe design, the Alpha S1000 series. Extremely easy-to-use, the Alpha S1000 series is a toolroom-standard, flat bed lathe with the production capabilities and flexibility of a CNC machine. Available in four models: 1330S (330mm swing), 1400S (400mm swing), 1460S (460mm swing) and 1550S (550 swing), the Alpha S1000 series incorporates a highly advanced, yet extremely simple-to-use touchscreen control, based on the highly successful and tried and tested GE Fanuc 21i-T.

Possibly the easiest-to-use controller on the market yet, the Fanuc Colour Touchscreen control features a 10.4 inch-wide touch panel, Alphanumeric keypad and system selection key to give operators a wide range of machining permutations ranging from effortlessly easy manual turning through to sophisticated semi-automatic and full CNC machining.

A major new feature of the control is its Manual Guide System, a welcome addition to the comprehensive range of operating modes already available on the Alpha range.

The Manual Guide System is a touchscreen accessible cutting program enabling the full generation of simple cutting profiles and complex automatic programs directly at the machine.

A teach facility is available, allowing hand wheel initiated moves to be recorded as a program and rerun automatically after completion of the first component, while all programs generated can be stored to memory for later use or saved to the supplied AlphaLink software.

Additionally, all programs generated in the comprehensive 'Cycle Cutting' mode may be converted to a full CNC program if required.

The Manual Guide System complements the industry proven AlphaSystem which has gained wide popularity through its flexibility and ease-of-use.

The AlphaSystem provides a semi-automatic machining capability for stops, taper turning and automatic thread cutting; and an offline CAD/CAM machining facility.

One of the heaviest and most powerful lathes in its class, the Alpha S1000 series punches its weight in terms of supreme cutting performance and ultra rigidity, while its highly productive blend of advanced engineering design, precision manufacture and the finest in quality components assure excellent repeatability and long life.

The Alpha_s high precision machine beds are hardened to 450 Brinnel prior to precision grinding while a PTFE-based (moglice) material is used in key areas to ensure low friction and reduced wear on slides.

All Alpha S1000 series lathes use high precision ballscrews, ground and pre-loaded to achieve high accuracy with minimum friction.

The use of such ballscrews in conjunction with Fanuc servo drives ensure low maintenance, extremely high levels of accuracy and long life expectancy.

Equally important, high specification Gamet 'Class 9' rated tapered roller spindle bearings are used in the headstock, offering superior radial run-outs of 1.5 microns or less.

This translates to precise and consistent component quality, rigidity and high metal removal rates.

The Alpha S1000 series completes the comprehensive and extremely popular Alpha ranges, and should find a unique market to complement the already well-established Alpha U and Alpha T lathes.

The Alpha U is a highly advanced, slant-bed CNC/manual lathe designed to carry out manual, sequential or full CNC operation for small-to-medium batch production, while the Alpha T is a sophisticated, yet very affordable flat-bed electronic lathe, ideal for toolroom standard 'one-offs' and small batches.