Tornos Gives UK Premiere to New Single Spindle Lathes at MACH

20 February 2012

Tornos UK will be giving its Sigma 32 CNC sliding head turning centre its UK exhibition debut at MACH 2012 on Stand 5659. The exceptional new 32mm capacity turning centre will appear alongside the extremely successful Gamma 20 turning centre and the new MultiSwiss multi-spindle turning centre at the Birmingham NEC from 16 to 20th April.

Specified for the machining of bar stock up to 22mm diameter, the Gamma 20 Series of CNC sliding head turning centres from Tornos has proven a resounding success in the marketplace. This is credit to its capabilities and specification far outweighing the benefits of competitor machines in a similar price bracket. Since its UK lauch, the new Gamma series has already been well received by numerous turned parts manufacturers that have historically been advocates of Japanese sliding head centres.

This turnaround in machine tool suppliers by renowned subcontractors is because the Gamma has been developed for machining relatively complex components; perfectly combining productivity and flexibility into a cost effective solution. The new Gamma is available with either 5 or 6 linear axes and two C-axis. The Gamma 20/6 on show at MACH permits the installation of 39 tools with 15 driven, significantly more than competitor offerings in the same price bracket.

The mid-range Gamma Series offers end users all the Tornos benefits of expertise, build quality, service, capability and productivity in a machine that is competitively priced with lower specification machines from alternate manufacturers of Swiss type machines. For example, on the counter operation alone, the Gamma has vertical Y-axis, vertical numerical setting and machining movement for cross drilling or milling and simultaneous cross drilling or milling operations at the bushing. Equipped with the latest Fanuc 31i control with hand wheel prove out, these benefits make the Gamma model very user friendly.

Since being introduced to the marketplace, the Guide Bush-less system on the Gamma has proven a major selling point. With material costs continually rising, the guide bush-less system minimises remnants to reduce waste material and the associated costs and gives Tornos customers the option to run the machine as a conventional slider or bush-less.

Complementing the Gamma at MACH will be the market leading Sigma 32/6 sliding head CNC turning centre. The Sigma 32/6 is a 6 linear axis turning centre that has a perfect synergy between main and counter spindles with mirror image kinematics and identical rigidity and spindles in main and counter operations. This design ensures it is no longer necessary to favour machining operations on the main spindle, this optimises the quality and machining autonomy of the machine. With counter-operations having over 3 times more rigidity than competitor machines, profitability is 30% higher for parts where the machining operations are well balanced between main and counter operations.

The heavy duty machine construction provides both spindles with impeccable surface finishes, accuracy and consistency. With tool wear and machining quality directly linked to machine rigidity, the Sigma 32 improves tool life and performance for the end user whilst offering high power for large depths of cut with high chip removal rates.

These attributes make the Sigma 32 the only Swiss type sliding headstock machine capable of producing parts with the machining parameters of a fixed headstock machine. To further enhance productivity, the Sigma has an independent roughing tool that makes it possible to have up to 3 tools cutting simultaneously. With up to 28 tool positions, the Sigma 32 offers the end user an unprecedented level of flexibility. This flexibility is matched by Tornos' ergonomic new design that gives the operator excellent access to the work envelope for tool changeovers and set-ups.

Alongside Tornos' single spindle options at MACH will be the new MultiSwiss 6x14 turning centre. Globally launched at EMO 2011, the MultiSwiss will receive its UK exhibition debut. This new machine is Tornos' first numerical sliding headstock multi-spindle machine. Based on a ‘fully integrated’ concept, this new machine is aimed at users of multi-spindle turning machines, cam-operated machines and users of single-spindle turning machines.