Product category:
CNC turning centres, mill/turning, multi-tasking centres, horizontal and VTLs.
News Release from: Mills Manufacturing Technology | Subject: Nakamura Tome Super NTM3 mill-turning centre
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 23 March 2004
Three turrets deploy 72 tools for
mill-turn jobs
Claiming to make available more turret-mounted tooling than practically any other lathe on the market, an 11-axis, twin-opposed-spindle, mill-turn centre deploys three, 24-tool, turrets.
The Japanese lathe manufacturer, Nakamura Tome, has equipped its latest 11-axis, twin-opposed-spindle, mill-turn centre with three turrets, each of which can hold 24 turning tools, says sole UK agent, Mills Manufacturing Technology The result is a machine, called Super NTM3, which makes available more turret-mounted tooling than practically any other lathe on the market, including up to 12 driven tools per turret
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 23 May 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Machining times cut by three-quarters
It used to take Watford-based Parker Hannifin 30 minutes to machine both ends of complex cylinder rods. The same job is now done in seven minutes in a Nakamura Tome TW-20, twin-turret lathe.
Two opposing twin-turret lathes are in one
One of the most capable mill-turning machines ever built, has four turrets, two spindles and offers a total of 13 computer controlled axes.
A series of complex components may therefore be produced in quick succession without downtime up for retooling, and there is ample space for sister tools to enable uninterrupted production of long runs.
The left- and right-hand turrets above the spindle centreline work with their respective spindles while the lower turret can assist at either side, allowing extensive simultaneous machining.
It is possible, for example, to mount a steady rest in the lower turret to support slender, shaft-type components up to 640mm long so that it can be turned in overlapping sequence by the two upper turrets.
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An entirely different scenario might be simultaneous milling, drilling and tapping at both spindles using all three turrets, each of which has a 5.5/3.7kW motor to power its driven at tools at up to 6,000 rpm.
Spindle motor power is 15/11kW to the left, 11/7.5kW to the right and both have a 51mm bar capacity and a maximum rpm of 5,000.
The main spindle, however, can be specified with 4,500 rpm and 65mm bar capacity.
Synchronous transfer of a parted-off component at up to full speed allows reverse-end features to be machined without having to slow the spindles unnecessarily, ensuring high-productivity, one-hit production.
Helping further to maintain production output are rapid traverse rates of 16m/min in X, 40m/min in Z, and 6m/min in the optional Y axis.
Top machining accuracy is assisted by highly rigid, box ways and slides in X and Y as well as linear roller guideways for the Z axis.
Conversational programming is available even for complex parts.
A program thus created may be edited easily and converted into NC code, if required.
The machining cycle is simulated using a 3D solid model of the component on the screen of the CNC system, and prismatic machining operations on inclined planes may be checked.
Collision detection is a standard feature, stopping X,Z,Y,C and B motions within 8/1000ths of a second to minimise damage to the machine in the event of an error in programming or operation.
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