August 2008 Edition
SPOTLIGHT: TURNING CENTERS
Turning into a Faster Shop
Customer demands for faster cycle times prompted a shop to buy a new machine; now it’s saving days of production time on single jobs
The 10-station tool turret on the Hurco TM8 slant-bed lathe has a 0.7 second index time for adjacent stations, speeding up cycle times
When a shop’s machines are not keeping up with its workload
due to customer demand, a change is in order. Oftentimes, a new purchase is
needed to speed-up the shop.
Lanese Quality Tool, Centerville, OH, which began as a
start-up, has been producing parts using bed mills and lathes for customers in
various industries including robotics, printing equipment, automotive,
aerospace, and motor manufacturing.
The level of automation in the slant-bed lathe with full auto turret reduced cycle times and has freed Lanese for work on other jobs or to generate new ones
Owner Mark Lanese’s livelihood depends on precision and quick
turnover because his customers are relying on Lean Manufacturing demands.
The lack of the ability of the company’s existing two-axis
flat-bed lathe with a manual four-position tool post to keep up with
productivity demands made it hard to compete because of slow cycle times.
That’s why Lanese bought a TM8 slant-bed CNC turning center
from Hurco Co., Inc., Indianapolis, IN.
Lanese was able to pick up the conversational programming the
first day and was producing parts the next. Now, he runs 100 to 500 piece jobs
with the company saving days – not just hours – of production time on single
jobs.
Dramatic Differences
The level of automation in the TM8 slant-bed lathe with full
auto turret reduced the company’s cycle times and has freed Lanese for work on
other jobs or to generate new ones.
Lanese Quality Tool’s turning center has a manual hydraulic tailstock for stabilizing long, narrow parts
In his third job run on the new turning center, Lanese
reduced cycle times. On a 20-piece job that would have normally required
programming and reprogramming, as well as Lanese having to stay with the machine
through the entire process to make sure the cuts were consistent on each piece
and to change tools or fix broken pieces, Lanese spent 20 minutes programming
and each piece took just three minutes to complete with the TM8. There was no
need to tweak the program.
With the older lathes, programming might
be the same, but each piece would take 10 to 15 minutes to
complete and he’d have to inspect each piece for variations.
Another part required multiple inside
diameters, two grooves, and five different outside diameters
using 304 stainless bar stock with a total run of 250
pieces. Using his existing flat-bed lathe, the cycle time
was 40 minutes for each piece since every tool change was
manual. The total job time was 150 hours. Using the TM8, the
job took 40 minutes to program and eight minutes to process
each part – a total of 33 hours, and a time savings of 78
percent. The TM8 saved the shop almost five days of
machining time – time that can be spent working on other
projects. Hurco Co., Inc.
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Multi-task Turning Centers with Increased Throughput and Reduced Cycle Time
The GS 200 MSY and GS 250 MSY Performance multitasking turning centers offer expanded levels of functionality to address complex parts resulting in increased throughput and reduced cycle time in a single setup, according to the manufacturer. The multi-axis machines include dual-wound spindle motors featuring 30 hp on the main spindle and 20 hp on the subspindle, 10 hp live tooling with C-axis, Y-axis, and spindle orient as standard equipment for complex multi-tasking operations. Both the main and subspindles feature wrap-around high-torque motors for thermal stability. An oil jacket around both main and subspindles maintains temperature control through the use of a chiller unit. The machines feature a 30° one-piece cast iron slant-bed base, heavy-duty linear roller guideways, and heavy-duty fixed pre-tensioned double-nut ball screws. Other standard features include: spindle speeds up to 4,500 rpm, spindle torque up to 518 ft-lb, 8" or 10" 3-jaw chuck, bar capacity up to 3.07", 12-station universal VDI 40 top plate, 50 psi through-tool and headwall coolant, chip conveyor interface, and a swing-out Fanuc 18i control with Manual Guide shop floor programming.
Hardinge, Inc., Elmira, NY
Built for the Flexibility of a Job Shop
The Sigma 20 Pursuit, a sliding headstock turning center, is a high-speed, turning center designed for the flexibility required of today’s job shop, according to the manufacturer. The machine comes pre-loaded with attachments and accessories, and has three double-live spindles for a total of 6-axes for cross milling front or back. It can machine parts to completion in one setup, without requiring deburring or secondary finishing operations. An arrangement of tools can be loaded in a single setup. The machine accommodates eight to 16 front tools and eight backworking tools, all of which can be used in any combination. The machine offers Swiss stability through its one-piece core motor direct-drive spindles, 5/8" tool shanks, a seven hp drive, synchronous rotary guide bushing, and one-piece cast iron base with built-in pre-cast cooling channels. Simultaneous machining on front and back spindles, high cutting speeds, and 1" stock capability.
Tornos US, Lombard, IL
Lathe Offers 66 Option Variations
The LB3000EX SpaceTurn CNC Lathe offers 66 option variations. It is built on a box slant-bed, and is able to achieve machining dimensional changeover time of less than 5µm. The machine is equipped with a PREX motor, and offers a max machining diameter of 16.14", and max machining length of 19.69". Up to 10 pairs of NC tailstock positions can be set, enabling continuous machining of workpieces with 10 different lengths without setup, along with X and Z rapid traverse rates of 984 ipm and 1,181 ipm, respectively. It can also be equipped with milling capability, a subspindle, Y-axis, two bed sizes – 500mm and 1,000mm – and two spindle sizes. The lathe features THINC-OSP control – a PC, Windows-based platform with open architecture, plug and play USB capability, and 40 Gb of memory.
Okuma America Corp., Charlotte, NC
Small-parts Turning in Compact Package
The SL-10 CNC lathe takes up 6.5'×4.5' of floor space, yet provides an 11" turning diameter, 14" turning length, and a 16.25" swing over the front apron. It comes standard with a 6.5" hydraulic chuck and a 12-position bolt-on tool turret. A 15 hp vector dual-drive spindle provides speeds to 6,000 rpm for high surface feedrates, and an A2-5 spindle nose accepts bar stock up to 1.75". High-productivity options, such as a tool presetter, parts catcher, automatic chip auger, and tailstock, are available, and the Servo Bar 300 bar feeder may be added for unattended operation.
Haas Automation, Inc., Oxnard, CA