A twin-pallet, horizontal machining centre is available in the UK for demonstration at Yuasa Warwick Machinery, sole UK agent for the Japanese manufacturer, Enshu.

A twin-pallet, horizontal machining centre, fully configured as a new standard package for high volume production of complex components within a 500 x 350 x 300 mm working envelope, is available in the UK for demonstration at Yuasa Warwick Machinery, sole UK agent for the Japanese manufacturer, Enshu. Designated JE30S, it is a high productivity machine with 1.5g acceleration in all axes, 60 m/min rapids, up to 15 m/min cutting feed rate and a BT30 13,000 rpm spindle motor (20,000 optional) which reaches full speed in just 0.38 sec from a standing start. The incorporation of an armless servo motor driven ATC and the option of broken tool detection inside the magazine contribute to the machine's reliable production capability.

Yuasa points out that for a capital investment of a little over œ110,000, a company can acquire the cell complete with full NC B-axis (as opposed to an indexing rotary table), 30-tool magazine, through-tool coolant, and a comprehensive swarf management system including bed wash, ceiling-mounted coolant nozzles and back wash coolant pumps.

There are no extras to pay for and the machine is ready to run 24/7 immediately following installation, as initial programs will usually have been written by Yuasa applications engineers as part of the sale.

The machine meets Enshu's 5,000 hours mean-time-between-failure reliability standard, as do all the manufacturer's latest models.

Measures have been taken to minimise operational power consumption, which is now 30 per cent lower than for previous machines.

The JE30S is also available in single-pallet version as well as in line-transfer format for production line applications.

xLeading British lathe manufacturer, Harrison, welcomes two exciting new arrivals to its comprehensively re-engineered 2003-product range at this year's Productivity Partnerships Exhibition. The eagerly awaited new Alpha 1350S and 350T models offer world-beating performance, technology and ease-of-use in their market sectors. The introduction of the Alpha 1350S is an important milestone, as it forms the foundation model for Harrison's all-new S1000 series of two-axis CNC/manual flat bed lathes, combining maximum power, functionality, economy and versatility in a toolroom-standard design.

The Alpha 1350S incorporates the most advanced and easy-to-use CNC/manual lathe touchscreen control in the world.

Based on the highly successful GE Fanuc 21i-T system, it features a 260mm (10.4 in) wide touch panel, alphanumeric keypad and a system selection key for effortless switching between turning options.

This allows all operators - including student engineers undergoing training - to progress with ease from simple manual turning functions to highly sophisticated CNC programming and machining.

Like all other lathes in the Harrison S1000 range, the 1350S (which offers 350mm swing) features a Manual Guide System.

This touchscreen-accessible cutting programme, allows complete generation of simple cutting profiles and complex automatic programmes directly at the machine.

A 'teach' facility allows handwheel initiated moves to be recorded as a programme and re-run automatically after completion of the first component.

All programmes generated can be stored to memory for later use or saved to AlphaLink CAD/CAM software while, additionally, all programmes generated in the comprehensive 'Cycle Cutting' mode can be converted to a full CNC programme if required.

Harrison's second important new lathe being unveiled at Productivity Partnerships 2003, is the most straightforward and easy-to-operate electronic lathe in the world, the Alpha 350T.

As with the Alpha 1350S it has an even larger swing than previous models, plus an impressive line-up of further upgrades including a 250 per cent increase in control user memory and an automatic, three-range, variable-speed headstock.

The use of an uprated drive train, running on ultra-high load-bearing capacity Gamet bearings, further increases cutting performance.

Complementing these brand new lathes, Harrison is also exhibiting an example of its flagship Alpha 'U' CNC/manual large capacity lathes range, an Alpha 400U.

Combining the speed of advanced GE Fanuc 21i-T-based touchscreen control system, with optimum simplicity, cutting performance and production flexibility, the Alpha 'U' Series is widely hailed as one of the most advanced lathes on the market.

Four modes of operation are available to the 'U' Series customer - HPG handwheel/DRO (manual) control, Alpha System, ISO programming and Fanuc's innovative Manual Guidance System.

The Alpha 'U' Series is available in four models: the Alpha 1330U (330mm swing over 0.76m bed); Alpha 1400U (400mm swing over 1.25m bed); Alpha 1460U (460mm swing over a choice of 1m, 1.5m or 2m bed); Alpha 1550U (550mm swing over a choice of 1m, 1.5m or 2m bed).

The worldwide popularity of Harrison's variable-speed centre lathes has led the company to develop special editions of its renowned 'V' Series models, including the world-class V390, which is also being exhibited at Productivity Partnerships 2003.

The V390 offers customers maximum cost saving in a top specification lathe, with infinitely variable spindle speeds up to 3250 rpm (with digital display) for optimum cutting performance.

Three gear ranges are incorporated for maximum metal removal rates, as well as a powerful 7.5kW (10HP) spindle motor with AC inverter drive and 33:1 constant power range.

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.

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.'

Combining 3-D animation of component and toolpath simulation in CAM-based turning and milling software has initiated a major upgrade to CNC control and programming of 2- and 3-axis lathes.

By combining 3-D animation of component and toolpath simulation in its CAM-based turning and milling software Colchester Lathe has initiated a major upgrade to the CNC control and programming of its Tornado two and three-axis lathe range. Now available across the Tornado range from Colchester Sales of Heckmondwike, W Yorks, the new GE-Fanuc Manual Guide 21i-T control with its larger 10.4 inch LCD colour monitor, makes programming quicker and easier, especially when three-axis mill/turning is involved. It also reduces the likelihood of error and operational cycles can be readily optimised without compromise or sacrificing machine availability for production.

Data input and machine operation now take place on a single screen and with the addition of soft key, menu-based symbol selection for turning, drilling, milling and threading, the operator simply adds the appropriate cycle elements such as speeds, feeds and coolant.

In total, 16 tool offsets can now be stored.

As the part is created on the screen the program is automatically defined and the various operational elements can be quickly and easily moved at anytime by the operator to suit any changes of machining strategy.

Cycles included as standard are turning and grooving of outer, inner and faces, threading, centre drilling, drilling, boring, reaming and tapping.

On the three-axis 120M and 220M versions of Tornado C-axis drilling and tapping, notching and cylindrical machining, including polar co-ordinate interpolations, are included.

Four lathes are assisting the Machining Research Centre at South Bank University in research into understanding the behaviour of high temperature alloy materials during machining.

The Machining Research Centre at South Bank University is one of the UK's leading specialists in research into understanding the behaviour of high temperature alloy materials during machining and the interaction between the machine tool, tooling and materials. Based at the South Bank University Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology in Southwark, it has become an international 'centre of excellence' which has recently been awarded European Community funding for a 2.1/2 year project investigating high speed steel/ceramic composite tooling under interrupted cutting conditions. The Centre under Professor Emmanuel Ezugwu, Director Machining Research is also pursuing dry machining, high pressure coolants, high speed cutting and is even developing its own self-propelled rotary turning tool.

Central to its research and machining trials are four (Colchester) lathes (supplied by Colchester Sales' Southern Technical Centre, RK International of Erith, Kent) which include a two-axis Tornado 310 CNC lathe, an electronic Mastiff and two centre lathes.

Says Professor Ezugwu: 'These machines definitely help in the way we do business and combine the rigidity, power, swing and speed range we need for our trials.' Originally formed in 1993, the Centre began providing research services into high temperature alloy machining in 1995.

Since then it has provided consultancy, worked in collaboration and become an unbiased development arm of leading aerospace, tooling and steel stockholding companies.

It has also been closely involved with sectors of industry that manufacture components produced from difficult materials such as those used in gas turbines and jet engines.

Collaboration with leading American universities on the high speed machining of aerospace alloys is currently being pursued and the Centre is carrying out research for the US joint strike fighter project.

In order to obtain meaningful results, the rigidity and capability to deliver a consistent cutting condition were important elements in the selection of the machine tools being used.

Following turning trials, which often involved monitoring to obtain tangential, radial and axial force data through a Kistler Piezoelectric dynamometer, test pieces are often subjected to analytical study using scanning electron microscopy to examine surface integrity, look for cracks, folds in materials, material substrate and evaluation of micro-hardening.

'Any variation in the performance of the machine would therefore influence the critical results of the turning operation,' maintains Professor Ezugwu.

Typical research projects involving turning on the Colchester machines include the effects of cutting tool geometry on tool performance as well as the mechanisms responsible for tool failure when using single and multi-coated PVD carbide grades at high cutting speeds on C263 super alloys.

From the study, the best machining parameters were identified to ensure minimum damage to the machined surface and the data gathered was used to populate software for determining acceptable cutting conditions involving the minimal use of energy, cutting force/power consumption and cutting speed.

Research into future tooling development is also being carried out at the Centre on the Colchester machines involving European funding to monitor the results of a new tool material which combines the fracture characteristic of high speed steel with engineered microstructural modifications of ceramics.

The objective of the new tool material is to increase hot hardness and significantly improve abrasive wear resistance when machining difficult to cut alloys under higher speed conditions.

As an example of the levels of success, Professor Ezugwu refers to research into the use of high pressure (200 bar) coolant when machining inconel 718 super alloy with carbide tooling.

As a result of the trials, tool life capability was raised by around 700 per cent.

The research and monitoring involved investigation of tool performance, failure modes, chip breakability, surface finish and surface integrity on the material machined.

A new series of turning machines and vertical machining centres, as well as a new pick-up spindle vertical turning lathe, were introduced at a recent Open Day event in Worcester.

Yamazaki Machinery UK introduced its new Mazak Nexus series of turning machines and vertical machining centres as well as a new Integrex 200-III series multi-tasking machine tool and the IVS-200 inverted spindle CNC lathe at its recent Open House event at Worcester. In total, 17 Mazak machine tools were running on live demonstrations throughout the 4 day event which also gave visitors the opportunity to tour the completely upgraded plant which has, in the past 12 months, undergone a GBP 10m investment. This programme includes the installation of two new FMS machining lines, increasing capacity and efficiency while reducing the numbers of machine tools utilised.

In addition there has been a significant investment in customer support facilities including a new training academy.

The new Mazak Nexus range is very competitively priced while providing the high machining capabilities familiar to users of Mazak products.

The Quickturn Nexus turning machines incorporate all the features of the acclaimed Mazak Quickturn 2 axis lathes but their higher specification includes faster tool change (in under 3 seconds chip-to-chip) and rapid traverse rates of 36 m/min.

In addition, the machines feature larger spindle bores - 61mm, 76mm or 88mm - for applications involving large capacity bar machining.

From the range of 4 models, the Nexus 100 and 200 models were demonstrated.

The new vertical centre Nexus range joins the highly successful VTC 200C and 300C by replacing the VTC 200B but with a greater range of capacities.

The VTC Nexus 410A was demonstrated.

The Mazak Integrex 200-III series is the latest development to the world's most advanced range of multi-tasking machine tools, providing improved single set-up turning and milling performance.

The new model incorporates the same 5 axis capability but now with more power to the milling spindle (15kW) along with higher speeds (15,000rev/min) permitting efficient machining in both steels and aluminium alloys.

There is the additional option of a lower turret which provides for simultaneous machining from top and bottom tooling.

Four axis turning can be carried out using both tool holders or alternatively, both tool stations can operate simultaneously on each of the main and second spindles.

Finally, on demonstration for the first time was the new Mazak IVS-200 inverted spindle CNC lathe which is particularly suited to the manufacture of high volume components.

The Mazak IVS-200 CNC lathe offers the combination of high speed and precision in a very compact machine layout which is designed with a vertical 'hanging' spindle to enable auto-loading and un-loading and simplify transfer between first and second operation machining.

Demonstration machines - among other machines demonstrated at the Open House were the recently introduced Integrex e-410 and e-650 multi-tasking machine tools with their unique e-tower control and operators station, a Variaxis 630 twin pallet 5 axis double column machining centre and an Integrex-200 SY which was demonstrating simultaneous 5-axis machining of turbine blades.

'Even though market conditions have remained tough, Mazak has continued to invest in both its manufacturing infrastructure, new machine tool developments and improvements to its customer support facilities,' explains Tony Saunders, sales director of Yamazaki Machinery UK.

'When the upturn in manufacturing occurs, customers wishing to invest in the latest state-of-the-art high precision machine tools will find that Mazak has a substantially increased range of machine options including the new Nexus range which offer significantly improved production capabilities with a very competitive pricing structure,' he concludes.

A powerful C-axis spindle drive provides a CNC production lathe with outstanding performance for contour milling as well as fast spindle positioning for drilling.

The US built Elite provides a collet ready 20C spindle with all of the quick change spindle tooling options associated with the previous Hardinge US built Conquest and Quest line up of CNC lathes.

Bar and chucking flexibility and adaptability is the name of the Elite game, with the added benefit of a 12 station VDI-30 turret with standard 5,000 rpm driven tooling available on all stations.

The powerful C-axis spindle drive provides the machine with outstanding performance for contour milling as well as fast spindle positioning for drilling and tapping with the main spindle stopped at a very competitive price.