Product category:
CNC turning centres, mill/turning, multi-tasking centres, horizontal and VTLs.
News Release from: Colchester-Harrison | Subject: Tornado TBM slant bed CNC lathe
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 02 June 2004
Three-axis CNC lathe has six driven tool
stations
The three-axis version of a slant bed CNC lathe has six driven tool positions on its 12 station turret and fetures new ergonomically designed guarding system and layout.
Colchester Lathe's top-selling Tornado slant bed CNC lathe in its three-axis 'M' version has six driven tool positions on its 12 station turret and now sports totally new ergonomically designed guarding and livery being redesignated as the Tornado T8M The Tornado T8 signifies the largest machine in the range with M relating to a driven tool capability
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 5 Jul 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Solid base on which to turn one-offs
Colchester has combined the stability of a solid base and an advanced control and software package into the Combi K-Series CNC lathe for one-off components or batch production.
The chucking variant has options of a 254mm or 210mm chuck size with fully programmable 0.001deg C-axis and disc brake positioning fitted to the spindle to ensure maximum productivity can be achieved when heavy duty cycles are demanded.
The machine is also available with 66mm bar capacity and in the highly sought after unmanned running 'Lights-out' package.
Central to T8M performance is its patented 'Duo-stable' construction that provides a highly stable, true 60 (Degrees) slant bed turning platform.
Further reading
Toolroom made thorough evaluation of 3-axis lathes
An extensive search of three-axis lathes led to three UK suppliers of CNC mill/turn centres facing in-depth evaluation of machine, control, software and running economics before a choice was made.
Turning cells play central role in SME initiative
Two two-axis 'lights-out' turning cells have very quickly taken a central role in a GBP 500,000 automated machining initiative designed to present cost-effective manufacturing techniques to SMEs.
The base foundation with its engineered polymer concrete fill, strategic reinforcement and integral cast iron bed, reflects the over 4.5 tonne weight and 25 per cent improvement in damping over previous models.
Larger headstock and a stiffer, five-bearing spindle design, wider, lower and heavier slideways and improved thermal characteristics set the stability factor for high performance two- and three-axis machining cycles.
The use of a VDI 40 driven turret sets the credibility standard for the T8M which has a 3.7 kW, 4,000 revs/min tool drive with a torque rating of 9.55Nm.
As standard, a Heidenhain linear scale is fitted to the X-axis to ensure high accuracy tool positioning in conjunction with the Fanuc 21i-TB flat screen control and a 360,000 position integral Heidenhain encoder on the spindle giving a full C-axis capability.
Once a fixed C-axis position is determined, the high power disc brake on the spindle locks the programmed position to provide a rigid workholding datum for operation of the third-axis tooling.
Furthering the specification of the T8M is the inclusion of a CAM package within the control software to help on-machine programming.
This can also be supplied as an off-line system option to support higher productivity requirements of customers wishing to minimise changeover times.
Swing over the bed of the Tornado T8 M is 510mm with a maximum turned diameter of 290mm by 540mm long.
The 22kW Fanuc spindle is available in 3,500 revs/min or 5,000 revs/min specifications and rapid traverse rates are 25m/min in X and 30m/min in Z.
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