Product category:
CNC lathes
News Release from: Colchester-Harrison | Subject: Two-axis Tornado A50,CNC lathe
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 09 August 2005
CNC lathe satisfies student teaching
needs
At the heart of Bristol University's newly-refurbished Faculty of Engineering workshop is a two-axis lathe chosen for its capability to satisfy the teaching needs of hundreds of students.
At the heart of Bristol University's newly-refurbished Faculty of Engineering workshop is a two-axis Colchester Tornado A50 lathe chosen for its capability to satisfy the teaching needs of hundreds of students on the wide range of MSc, Phd and degree (MEng and BEng) courses being provided by the University's six engineering departments The new Tornado sits alongside a clutch of new CNC and manual machines - supplied as a complete educational turnkey project by Colchestersales' Southern Area Technical Centre, RK International Machine Tools of Erith in Kent
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 5 Jul 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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With a new CNC milling machine already in use alongside a mixture of other ageing CNC and manual machines - including a long-bed lathe that had seen better days - workshop manager Ivan Laver and his team responsible for the refurbishment budget put together a specification document that detailed its machine tool requirements.
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In terms of the new machines' control technology: "So long as we kept to industry-standard systems such as Fanuc and Siemens, we could not foresee any problems," he said.
With tenders requested, the University purchasing department obviously considered price as a major factor but, importantly, it did not want to compromise the machining capability.
After much deliberation it was the RK International package that was considered the most appropriate on offer from the contenders for the business, and the Colchester two-axis Tornado A50, like the other machines put forward by RK, met all the CNC requirements.
Fitted with a Fanuc 21i-TC control, the A50 has a maximum swing of 410mm, maximum turned diameter of 170mm and maximum turned length of 350mm.
With a 60 degrees slant bed, the machine has a 54mm spindle bore, a bar capacity of 42mm and spindle speeds of 6,000 rev/min from a 5.5kW motor.
Importantly, the machine specification included advanced construction principles based on the patented Duo-stable polymer concrete base encapsulated in a heavy-duty steel fabrication with reinforced ribs, surmounted with a cast iron bed, that ensures high levels of thermal and dynamic stability.
These characteristics are far higher than traditional cast iron and were considered by the University as important to achieve operating temperature quickly and maintain stability when under cut.
As with all the other prime machines in the contract, the Tornado was viewed in action at a user site before the final decision was made to purchase, and the machine was installed during the summer break.
With just a two-/three-week window to complete the entire installation and commissioning process, RK International had to plan meticulously and co-ordinate the scheduled arrival of each machine, working with Colchestersales for the Tornado and utilising to the full its team of expert on-site installation engineers.
Included in the installation was the need to satisfy the stringent risk assessment procedures each time a machine was offloaded via a large crane.
In addition to the Tornado, a new vertical machining centre and a Fanuc Alpha Robocut wire electro-discharge machine from fellow 600 Group company, 600 Centre of Shepshed, were also supplied by RK International, as well as a combination manual/CNC lathe and a batch of its own Europa Milltech milling machines.
While commenting that RK International never faltered in its back-up and support during installation, commissioning and after-sales, John Byles, deputy workshop manager, also points out that the Tornado has been very well-received by the students for its ease of access and simplicity of use.
The machine is currently programmed on the shopfloor, though there is a strategy to download post-programmed programs via a network, to enable students to program off-line.
The workshop offers engineering support to aerospace, civil, electrical and electronic engineering as well as engineering mathematics and mechanical engineering students of which this year's intake is 130.
Byles explains: "There is no typical project that comes through the workshop, since most applications are single jobs or prototypes".
"That means there is a considerable amount of setting and programming that is performed by a whole host of different people." Projects include the body shell of a car (in miniature), an aeroplane fuselage, a range of testing equipment and rigs.
They have even had to machine a propeller mould that is some three metres long.
"Because of the nature of our work, we process a wide range of components in a variety of materials, which means our machine tools have to be durable, reliable and, above all, easy to use".
"The Tornado easily meets these criteria with flying colours, giving students a true picture of CNC machining and its advantages," he says.
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