Taking turns

From its 478m² stand, Yamazaki Mazak's presence at MACH 2010 will focus on new manufacturing technology with a total of seven machine tools on display – all making their show debuts.

While details of two completely new machines will be unveiled closer to the exhibition, the three turning machines making their debuts are the Slant Turn Nexus 550M, the Megaturn Nexus 900 and the UK-built Quick Turn Smart 350.

Slant Turn Nexus is a new series of turning centres for the heavy-duty machining of large diameter shaft and chucking work up to a 1m in diameter by 3.2m in length. Powerful driven tool spindles complement the new standard servo-driven tailstock and optional NC steady rest and provide faster set-up, reduced cycle times and greater work support capacity for a wide variety of large turning applications. The Slant Turn Nexus 550M comes with a 21 inch chuck and the choice of 2m or 3m bed (an optional 24 inch chuck is also available as well as 18 inch chuck models).

The main spindle is a 1,000rpm (1,600rpm 500/500M), 45kW, gear driven unit with two gear ranges providing 7,000Nm of torque. The result is a machine tool capable of taking depths of cut up to 10mm at feedrates of 0.8mm/revolution in SCM chromium molybdenum steel. The addition of a 7.5kW rotary tool spindle, with 95Nm of torque provides high efficiency machining from high power face milling to high speed drilling.

Greater versatility was central to the design brief of the new Mazak Megaturn Nexus 900 vertical turning centre. The result is a VTL with a wide application area covering sectors such as energy, agricultural machinery, aero engine, offshore and construction equipment markets.

Megaturn Nexus 900 is a 30kW gear driven, 3,655Nm torque spindle, heavy-duty VTL capable of taking large depths of cut at low speeds. It features a moving column design and large machining capacity making it ideal for tall (up to 800mm), large diameter (up to 920mm) workpieces weighing up to 3,000kg (including the chuck).

This design also creates a much more rigid machining platform, evidenced by its ability to machine an 8mm wide groove at a position 370mm away from the chuck face without chatter. The moving column design also reduces the load on the Z-axis servo drive as the centre of gravity of the turret is no longer affected by the position of the Z-axis.

Another issue that has been addressed is that of interference between the workpiece and long boring bars. The Megaturn Nexus 900's optional automatic tool changer system not only increases the number of available tools from 12 to 23, but also removes long boring bars from the machining area.

The machine also benefits from the latest Mazatrol Matrix Nexus CNC system, which, in addition to providing the conventional Mazatrol conversational programming system, also has features that improve the machine's performance and profitability. These include Intelligent Thermal Shield and Intelligent Safety Shield.

The Mazak Quick Turn lathe was first seen in 1981 and now, with the introduction of the Quick Turn Smart series Mazak is providing a range of high quality 2- and 3-axis turning centres. The series includes four models, with the Quick Turn Smart 200 and 250 offering 350mm in machining diameter and the Quick Turn Smart 300 and 350 with 420mm maximum machining diameter and up to 102mm in bar diameter. On show at MACH will be the UK-built Quick Turn Smart 350 with standard features including high rigidity built-in spindle units, NC tailstock with No.5 Morse taper spindle, 12 position drum turret, and rapid traverse rates of 30m/minute and 33m/minute in the X and Z axes.

At the heart of Quick Turn Smart is the new Windows-based Mazatrol Smart control system, which has been designed specifically for 2-axis turning and 3-axis milling operations. Additional features include an NC controlled tailstock and Mazak's Intelligent Thermal Shield system which monitors the variation in key elements of the machine, as well as alterations in the ambient temperature of the environment and uses this information to automatically adjust the machine's offsets and maintain component accuracy.

“Mazak has continued to innovate during the economic crisis and developed new and more productive solutions to today's manufacturing challenges,” says Tony Saunders, Yamazaki Mazak's UK sales director. “2010 will see many more new machine introductions and core to these new machines are the themes of value, innovation and performance, with Quick Turn Smart being a prime example of how Mazak is delivering even greater productivity for 2- and 3-axis turning applications.”

Yamazaki Mazak
www.mazak.eu
Hall 5, Stand 5348