Containing an emphasis on real-world industrial production, CAD, CAM and CNC programming software, designed for instructors, is available for the schools and post-school education establishments.

Tech Ed Concepts provider of 3D Academic Engineering Solutions, is now distributing a TEC Cutting Edge Mill and TEC Cutting Edge Lathe to middle-school, secondary and post-secondary CAD, CAM, CNC and Manufacturing instructors throughout the educational market.

The TEC Cutting Edge Mill and Lathe have been specifically designed for instructors who teach manufacturing, CNC, 3D and complex surfacing, CNC program writing and editing, pre-engineering programs and other objectives that contain an emphasis on real-world industrial production and manufacturing.

Richard Amarosa, President of TEC, stated, “TEC will continue to allow instructors and students to experience what is happening today in industry by providing them with programs like our new Cutting Edge Mill and Lathe that can be incorporated into current or new programs.

We expect our new programs to allow instructors to move to more advanced manufacturing levels by providing a thorough curriculum, with powerful, easy-to-use manufacturing equipment and software.” Exclusive features - the features and hardware specifications of the TEC Cutting Edge Mill and Lathe lend advantages that position them both above all other competitors in their class.

Maximum durability, adjustable zero hand wheels and a special manual override for fully hand-operated axis, incorporation of industry standard codes, hassle-free serial port connection for faster speeds, continuous machining for faster machining times and having the largest work envelope in its class are some of the distinctive features of the TEC Cutting Edge Mill and Lathe.

The TEC Cutting Edge Mill and Lathe are both completely enclosed in a Cabinet with Lexan Safety Shield and Interlock Switch, and contain emergency stop buttons for immediate shutdown.

Contents - the complete “TEC Cutting Edge Machining Center” and “TEC Cutting Edge Turning Center” include a fully-enclosed Cutting Edge Mill and/or Lathe, CNC control software, SURFCAM (2-, 3-, 4- and 5-axis Computer-Aided Machining software), vacuum, tooling accessories, user’s guide, free technical support for one year and a one year full warranty.

A separate curriculum is currently being developed for both programs.

The curriculum will range from a basic introduction to manufacturing to walking students through the manufacturing process.

Pricing - the complete “TEC Cutting Edge Machining Center” or “TEC Cutting Edge Turning Center” is available for $6,995 each.

About Tech Ed Concepts - founded in 1987, Tech Ed Concepts (TEC) provides 3D solutions needed to teach today’s young people about the fields of engineering, design, manufacturing, and architecture.

TEC, is the North American Academic Distributor of CADKEY (leading mechanical CAD software package), DataCAD (robust architectural CAD software package), SURFCAM (Computer-Aided-Manufacturing (CAM) software package), Chief Architect (3D architectural, rendering, and design software) and 3D Manufacturing Programs.

Its customers are served and supported through a network of Authorized Academic Dealers and Resellers in the U.S.

and Canada.

For over 15 years, TEC, has established itself as a trusted one-stop academic resource offering teacher training, textbooks, workbooks, reference guides, and additional classroom support materials.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/tfh/tfh100.html

Two CNC wood machining centres being used by a joinery product manufacturer has dramatically slashes the time taken as it can carry out all of the necessary window component operation.

Lake District joinery, Fallowfield Projects in the UK, has increased turnover and profitability and opened up new business opportunities after buying two Masterwood CNC machining centres.

With a Winner 3.2 machine helping to boost the business’s turnover by GBP 200,000 a year in each of the last three years, it has now bought a Masterwood Atlas KL, enabling it to re-enter the window market.

The family-run joinery, of Staveley, near Kendal, is run by brothers Jim and Ward Fallowfield.

As well as making doors, windows and staircases for building developers and staircases for loft conversion companies, it also carries out shop fitting and interior work.

Fallowfield used the Winner to make staircase components, making full use of Masterwood’s purpose-designed MasterStair software.

It also did all the panel processing for the counters and cabinets needed in its shopfitting work.

With increased demand on the Winner’s time resulting from substantial extra business, it was decided to add the larger Atlas KL, which was supplied with optional large diameter tooling, to overcome a bottleneck in the mill.

Said Jim Fallowfield: “Our positive experience with the Winner, our first machining centre, encouraged us to go back to Masterwood for the Atlas earlier this year.

It demonstrated the value of obtaining the machine and the software from a single supplier, so we knew the Atlas would be just as versatile and accurate.” It is used in conjunction with the MasterWindow software package to design and produce solid wood windows.

Fallowfield used to make them by hand, but it became too labour intensive and less profitable.

The Atlas KL is unique in that it can be fitted with up to four 320mm diameter tools for tenoning which, as far as Fallowfields is aware, no other CNC machining centre is able to offer.

It dramatically slashes the time taken by traditional window lines as it can carry out all of the necessary window component operations.

This includes cutting the timber lengths to the exact window size, tenoning, linear profiling, cutting out glass beads, storm proofing and producing the glazing bars.

It can even take care of all the air vents, key and handle holes and locks, as well as any milling operations that are needed.

Having two CNC machines has allowed Fallowfield to become more efficient and increase its output still further by splitting up the work.

The Winner is now used for the staircases’ treads and newel posts, as well as handling panel work The Atlas concentrates on making the staircase strings in addition to windows, with Fallowfield making full use of the MasterWindow software to make the main frame and sashes.

With MasterWindow, users are taken step-by-step through the design and setting-up stages prior to the machining of all the frame, sash and fascia components.

The easy-to-understand program lets you design and produce windows in a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

They include rectangular, half-round arch, sector arch, three centres arch, trapezoid, triangular, full round and, oval, plus French windows.

External fully glazed doors are also made on the Atlas, with Fallowfield carrying out the glazing work in-house The large diameter tooling is used to storm proof windows with mouldings on them, process square profiling windows as well as the ovolo and square profiling on doors.

It also makes the jointing tenons on both widow and door components.

Said Jim Fallowfield: “MasterWindow, like MasterStair, is a very good, easy to use program that gives us total accuracy on a sustained basis.

We looked at several machining centre suppliers before selecting Masterwood.

The key factor in their favour was their ability to supply the CNC machines as well as their own specialist software, which was something no-one else could offer.

We also wanted someone to take care of us as we were totally new to computer operated machines, and we have been very impressed with the high level of technical and after-sales support provided.” He said the Masterwood machines had brought a dramatic increase in output without the need for extra staff, which had made the business far more profitable.

“It is the software that is the key to their success.

It is fast, accurate and simple to use after minimal training, and we had no problems adapting to the new way of doing things.

I would not have been able to expand the business without the Masterwood machines.

It has been a real win-win experience.”.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/mtp/mtp100.html

Fanuc demonstrates equipment suitable for quick, precise and extremely reliable control of CNC machines

A series of new product applications and functions will be demonstrated by GE Fanuc at EMO in Hanover.

The demonstrations will apply to high-end CNCs as well as for less complex controllers, drives with different designs and productivity classes, automation concepts with robots as well as CO2 laser applications.

Selecting a suitable controller for a machine is already a determining factor for productivity and GE Fanuc believes it has the right product for every machine.

This starts in the low-end range with Series 0i controllers, which are being equipped with more and more functions.

In the TTC version, they can now even satisfy the high demands of two-spindle lathes.

The high-end CNC controllers of the Series 30/31/32i are a particular highlight.

They are especially suited for complex machines, such as those used more and more often in Europe.

Leopold Schenk, Vice President Europe and Managing Director of GE Fanuc Automation CNC Deutschland , underlines this: “Complex machines are suitable for lowering high wage costs”.

“With our new high-tech CNC series, machine manufacturers are perfectly equipped for quickly, precisely and extremely reliably controlling such machines”.

“They provide many functions for obtaining maximum productivity from multi-axis machines as well as combined lathe/milling centres”.

“These CNC controllers are also optimally suited for machines with multi-path machining, such as multi-spindle and transfer machines”.

In the high-end GE Fanuc CNC controllers, there are complex transfer features available for multichannel applications which support the synchronisation of spindle rotation speeds, as well as other features such as ’synchronous control’ and ‘composite control’.

GE Fanuc is currently offering more and more functions, for the booming five-axis machining sector, which allow the available controller and machine potential to be fully utilised.

These include, for example, compensation options for tool length, direction and radius (TCP, TPC and TRC).

In addition, there are also the ongoing function expansions, such as tool cutting point compensation.

This involves the calculation of the point at which the tool should engage with the material.

Correction values, which are typically entered into the CAM software, are required for special tools.

After the tool measurement, these values can be permanently saved in the latest GE Fanuc CNC controllers where they can be called up at the press of a button.

This not only simplifies the NC programming, but also allows the option of changing the tools at short notice without changing the NC program.

An additional decisive factor, which at least indirectly influences the productivity of machines and systems, is safety for man and machine.

The ‘3D interference check’ which will be presented at EMO makes an important contribution to collision protection.

With this function, machine manufacturers - and where necessary machine operators - can define all collision-risk areas (such as the tool head, workpiece, table and clamping devices) as ‘taboo zones’ using geometric figures.

The controller takes into account the spatial information together with the current tool data during the calculation of the axis movements and thus prevents a possible collision even in the case of five-axis programs.

In addition, machine tool manufacturers can comply with the mandatory safety category 3 (EN 954-1) with the dual check safety function integrated into the series 30i/31i/32i CNC controllers without complex safety components.

It monitors the access to the work spaces and stops the machine in the case of danger.

At EMO, the new functions of Manual Guide i workshop programming software will also be presented.

The most recent version features the simultaneous and comprehensive display of data and programs in multi-channel lathe applications, more efficient cutting cycles, better tool management and new manual and automatic measurement functions including angle measurements.

There is in the meantime interactive and user-friendly programming support even for low-end lathes, which are equipped with series 0i-TC and 0i Mate-TC controllers: Turn Mate i - the name of this software - allows the operator to conveniently and, above all, quickly carry out programming.

The ‘NC Guide’ is now available for training, instruction and presentation purposes; the network-compatible version of the combined GE Fanuc CNC / Manual Guide i simulator.

With it the CNC and Manual Guide i interface of the CNC controllers can be simulated.

NC Guide is installed on a server.

Depending on the licence, several training participants can simultaneously work with the simulators, as if they were standing at the machines.

In the ‘NC Guide pro’ version, the functions are expanded by PMC programming.

Drive systems are an important part of the GE Fanuc product range.

It includes servo and spindle motors of different sizes and outputs as well as suitable amplifiers.

Particularly impressive are the large servo motors with nominal torques of up to 3000Nm.

They offer huge advantages, for example, when used in pressing machines.

They are servo-driven and prevent damage to the tools, they are also cleaner, quieter and have achieved previously unattainable degrees of flexibility.

The integrated energy charge module helps to reduce power consumption peaks.

Then it saves converted energy in an intermediate circuit from which it re-channels energy if required.

In the area of servo motors further improvements will be presented, such as the ‘learning control’ function, which is able to independently compensate for errors which the drive system makes during axis movements.

Its positive effect will be shown at the trade fair using the example of rigid tapping.

Additional interesting drive functions relate to maintenance (new back-up module) and energy consumption (power supply module).

Instead of discharging the energy via resistors, the latter returns the resulting energy to the network when there is a deceleration of the servo motor.

This thus contributes to reduced power consumption.

Using the Servo Guide drive-setting software, the user can easily minimise the backlash which occurs with ballscrews.

During the initial operation of the machine, the relevant axes are moved bi-directionally at different speeds to detect the backlash.

The servo guide software, which runs on a PC, internally determines the best compensating values and accordingly sets the CNC controller.

Where earlier up to a day was required for manual compensation, the software completes the task in 15 minutes.

Furthermore, GE Fanuc will inform visitors to the EMO about new linear and torque motors, which are suitable for a wide range of high performance machine tools.

New designs as well as improvements in the details will also be presented.

For example, the solenoids of the linear motors have been fitted with a stainless steel covering.

GE Fanuc offer the torque motors with the optional ‘Alpha i CZ sensor’ absolute encoder - ideal for rotary tables in machining centres.

Robot solutions can also be seen live at the Fanuc trade fair stand.

Specific applications on machine tools will be displayed which enable, for example, the loading and unloading as well as the deburring of workpieces.

A more complex solution is the so-called ‘robot cell’, a fully automatic production cell developed by Fanuc, which is available in different sizes and with different equipment.

Such a robot cell is equipped with different machines and intelligent robot systems which can act accurately and sensitively with a camera and servo grippers.

One robot cell is capable of uninterrupted production for 720 hours without human intervention - not only large-scale production but also different products in small batches.

In addition, Fanuc will also exhibit its wide range of CO2 lasers at EMO and demonstrate how flexibly they can be used for demanding applications.

The presentation of diverse services for end customers completes the GE Fanuc trade fair appearance.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/geb/geb178.html

A new, easy-to-customise, machine tool operator’s panel, suitable for use with Fanuc Series 16i, 18i and 21i CNC systems, has been developed by GE Fanuc.

A new, easy-to-customise, machine tool operator’s panel, suitable for use with Fanuc Series 16i, 18i and 21i CNC systems, has been developed by GE Fanuc.

Offering a really neat design for the overwhelmingly successful i Series CNCs is a pair of machine operator’s panels using detachable key tops, instead of the previous type of panel, where all keys are covered by a rubber sheet.

Until now, any machine tool builder requiring a bespoke panel, had to request GE Fanuc to develop a customised key sheet and possibly incurred a time delay in receiving it.

Now the machine tool builder can customise its own keys and produce an original key layout in-house.

Two types of unit are available: an integrated type incorporated into the full alphabet key Machine Data Interface (MDI) and a stand-alone type.

The new pads can be laid out in either horizontal format or vertical format to suit the overall panel design and different matching versions of separate panels for mechanical switches, such as an emergency stop switch, can be added.

Sufficient interface for a pendant box is provided and incorporates the following features: * 55 operation keys plus LEDs for status display.

* General purpose DI: 32 points for rotary and other switches.

* General purpose DO: eight points.

* Manual pulse generator interface: three units.

The machine operator’s panel is easy to customise because all key tops are detachable.

By using the pre-marked key tops any desired layout can be arranged and the additionally supplied blank key tops can be marked with any special inscription peculiar to the customer’s own application.

Transparent key tops can be overlaid to provide protection to the markings on the key labels themselves.

This is yet another example of how GE Fanuc strive to afford machine builders the greatest possible freedom of choice in customising their own products.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/geb/geb150.html

A Birmingham-based company is producing 3D busts using CNC equipment. The busts can be made in 3D half head, a silhouette style, or the full head, at 50% to 70% actual scale size.

A Birmingham-based company is producing 3D busts using CNC equipment.

The process starts with a visit from the client to the studio where the client is scanned, this being a scanner which projects a laser line onto the client’s face/head and the reflected light is captured by a high speed camera.

The information captured of the client’s face/head is now converted into a CNC program which is used to control a CNC milling machine.

The machine now cuts an over size blank to the clients face/head features, the machined bust is then hand finished and painted, the finished bust is available for collection in approximately one week from scanning.

The busts can be made in 3D half head, a silhouette style, or the full head, at 50% to 70% actual scale size, with a choice of bases and finished to any colour you require, in cast stone (plaster) ceramic or cast bronze.

http://www.engineeringtalk.com/news/ink/ink100.html

Computer-controlled equipment achieves a high degree of accuracy and finish in a short time and gives the students a greater sense of satisfaction with their work at all levels of competence.

Over the past ten years or so, there has been an increase in the range of equipment offered to students and teachers involved in design and technology.

Much of this is computer controlled and requires a significant investment in new equipment and software, together with the associated training.

Computer-controlled equipment achieves a high degree of accuracy and finish in a remarkable short period of time, compared with more traditional approaches, such as a manually controlled lathe or milling machine.

This gives the students a greater sense of satisfaction with their work at all levels of competence.

It allows students to design and manufacture items which would have been beyond their ability or impossible because of time restrictions, just a few years ago.

As industry has also adopted this equipment in the workplace, it allows students to gain hands-on experience of how design and manufacture works today and can provide them with career aspirations, which they might not otherwise have had.

This is especially important in the UK at a time when there is a chronic shortage of engineers and technicians of all disciplines.

There are three main different types of computer-controlled equipment currently available to education.

They are as follows.

CNC machine tools.

Laser cutters and engravers.

Rapid prototyping.

* CNC machine tools - CNC stands for ‘computer numerical control’ and such machines are controlled directly by a PC running the controlling software.

There are three types of CNC machine in common use.

The CNC lathe is used for turning intricate shapes and for batch production of items.

Schools, however, generally require more complex machining capabilities.

CNC milling machines are robust, heavy and expensive pieces of machinery designed primarily to cut metal.

However, the time it would take to cut out an item would typically be about 10 times longer than the time taken on a CNC router.

This is one of reasons why the router is the most commonly bought machine in schools for cutting 3D models.

The router is much cheaper than the milling machine and there are models large enough to cope with machining components for full-size furniture; they have the added advantage of enabling several smaller designs to be cut at one setting, thus freeing up technician/teacher time.

This has significant benefits at times where there is heavy demand on the machine - course-work preparation or batch production of items for whole class use, for example.

Routers of course are also able to mill, though are restricted to softer metals, plastics, wood and similar materials.

With the addition of a rotary 4th axis, CNC routers can cut full 3D shapes, as well as perform most of the tasks of a lathe.

Some machines also offer the ability to cut PCB tracks.

* Laser cutters and engravers - these dual-purpose machines are particularly favoured in education because of their ease of use and speed of operation for both cutting and engraving, primarily for smaller articles.

This can be done on a variety of materials including acrylic, wood, paper and cloth.

They are not suitable for cutting metal (though they can engrave metals) and, although they can engrave glass, they cannot cut through it.

They also allow students to burn a design onto the surface of textile materials, as an alternative to embroidery or thermal transfers.

Laser cutting/engraving machines are the fastest technology available for creating 2D shapes, and are therefore often a good starting point for schools investing in DandT equipment for the first time.

They are also the easiest to use, as they are similar in use to desktop printers running off a PC.

* Rapid prototyping (RP) machines - an RP machine is used to build up a 3D model by depositing material in layers.

These include thin sheet materials such as plastics (bricklayer) and also used for powders, resins, waxes and plastic filaments.

A good analogy for RP is that of building a house brick by brick, layer by layer, although the ‘brickie’ is replaced by an automatic computer-controlled process.

RP manufacture is generally slower and more expensive than CNC machining but has the added benefit of producing more intricate designs.

It is a key tool in modern day manufacturing, enabling designs to be modelled and/or tested, and to speed products to the marketplace.

Although it was previously a very expensive technology, restricted to large industries such as automotive and aerospace, dramatically falling prices, new technologies and improved reliability have all made RP machines accessible to small companies and to schools alike.

* Points to consider when purchasing - although it is important to consider each type of machine’s specifications individually to ensure that it is tailored to meet a school’s needs, there are many general considerations to take into account, which would apply to all three technologies.

Here are a few.

Is the machine robust? Is it used in industry as well as in education? It will be far more appropriate and beneficial to the students if the machine has been designed and built for industrial markets.

Is it ’state of the art’ and does it represent the future of manufacturing technology? Is it user friendly for both staff and students in terms of software and hardware? Is it reliable and accurate? What is the likely lifetime cost of the equipment in terms of capital outlay for the machine and software and its maintenance? Does it conform to health and safety requirements and does it have CE approval? Can the teacher control access to the equipment so that it can only be used by the students under supervision? Will the equipment fit into the available space and are all access doorways large enough to allow the machine to pass through? Are there enough mains sockets and a convenient network point nearby if computer network access is required? Is dust extraction being provided? Will the noise levels be too intense? This should be assessed so that the students are still able to work whilst the machine is running.

Will there be adequate space around the equipment for its safe and easy use and can it be transported safely? (For smaller pieces of machinery if they are being used in different locations).

Does the supplier provide on site demonstrations, hands on training and what is the level of after sales support? Does the supplier have an in depth knowledge of the educational market in addition to the industrial applications of the equipment? The detailed capability of any machine must be assessed in its own right and there are many variations between manufacturers, even for the same type of machine.

For example, US manufactured laser tubes typically are more effective and have a longer life than a Chinese tube of the same wattage.

Software capability and compatibility can also vary quite widely and, again, this must be assessed for each specific machine and manufacturer.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/une/une157.html

A complex mild steel gearbox casing, which features external contour machining, several offset bores, an external offset threaded boss and multiple holes, is machined in ‘one hit’.

The name Autoy may be a legacy of the past - the company began by making ‘automatic toys’ some 60 years ago - but this 14-employee subcontractor is very much a business with a future.

And the reason? A continuing investment in new equipment, says managing director Chris Hart, who remembers the company’s first CNC machine being installed in the 1980s when he was serving his apprenticeship.

“Operating manual machines is a good way to learn the fundamentals of metalcutting,” he adds, “but CNC is the only way to go.

We have a flexible, highly skilled workforce but every year makes it harder to find comparable skills.

Most of our CNC machines are Mazaks and if I could go back and do it all again they would all be Mazaks - because they are as easy to program and as easy to use as any CNC machine could be.

This is important, not just because of the skills issue but because customers are very broadly based in terms of location and the type of work we do for them.

However, we are still expected to respond quickly and to satisfy ever more demanding delivery dates.

At one time Autoy’s customers would all have been within a 10-mile radius.

That’s no longer the case and many of the bigger companies who placed regular orders have disappeared.

Where once we would have had a three-month order book, these days it is more likely to be three weeks.

The consolation is that there is a definite lack of subcontractors able to match our capability in terms of value-added machining and fast response, and that is where we concentrate our sales effort.

We invest in new equipment because it helps us get business in the first place, while the quality of our work ensures that we get repeat orders.” Autoy’s latest acquisition is a five-axis 26kW Mazak Integrex 300-IIY turning centre equipped with a tailstock and a high-performance 18.5kW milling spindle.

This milling spindle has X/Z axis travels of 630mm/1.5m and a Y axis travel of 160mm, and is serviced by a 20-tool magazine.

This makes it a genuine multi-tasking machine tool, and one that with its 250mm chuck is ideally suited to the variety of components and materials the Preston, Lancashire subcontractor is called upon to machine.

“We don’t do volume work as such,” says Hart.

“Batches are usually up to 100-off, which means speed is less important than consistency, reliability and ease of setup.

That said, the Integrex is fast - its main spindle speed is 4000 rev/min and it has X and Z axis rapid traverses of 38m/min - and once you get a machine like this you realise what you have been missing.” As with the other CNC machines, programming is undertaken on the shopfloor and the Mazatrol Fusion 640 control’s conversational format is a firm favourite with individual operators.

One reason is that the programming time and length for a complex component such as a gearbox casing for the world’s smallest air tool, used in the assembly of the multi-role Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft, are demonstrably less than would be required using EIA/ISO code and programs are easily modified.

And when it comes to repeat business, it’s simply a case of retrieving the cutting conditions stored in the control’s memory and, as Hart describes it, “loading up the tools according to the tool sheet, putting in the offsets and pressing the start button”.

The mild steel gearbox casing, which features external contour machining, several offset bores, an external offset threaded boss and multiple drilled and tapped holes on various faces, is machined in one hit, within a positioning tolerance of 0.0005in.

“We have wiped out all the costs of fixturing for these parts using the Integrex,” says Hart, “and, unlike the previous production sequence, which involved multiple operations and stress relieving, we know parts are sure to be ‘right first time’.” While on a training course at Yamazaki Mazak U K’s Worcester HQ, he says he was like a child with a new toy and couldn’t wait to put the new machine through its paces.

“The Integrex is a big investment for Autoy but it has worked out fine and we have now placed an order for a smaller, one metre z axis travel machine complete with bar feed.” Incidentally, Yamazaki Mazak U K offers an alternative specification machine, the Integrex 300-IISY, with a second spindle in place of the programmable tailstock.

When fitted with a bar feeder and a workpiece puller, shaft workpieces can be produced from raw material to finished part without any manual intervention.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/yma/yma173.html

This vertical Nd:YAG laser drilling machine for 12” cube parts (300 × 300 × 300 mm in X, Y, Z), the model VLD-300, was developed by Mitsui Seiki (Franklin Lakes, NJ) in collaboration with several aerospace engine component manufacturers who expressed a need for a higher-speed, more accurate laser-drilling machine than was currently available.

It’s common for some workpieces, primarily jet engine high-temperature-alloy parts, to require about 3000 smalldiam cooling-airflow holes-each at a different angle-to be drilled in a noncontact manner. Laser drilling is often the best option for speed, and to minimize material stress. Inconel, Waspalloy, Hastalloy, and nickel-based titanium alloys are the typical materials.

After three years in R&D, the VLD-300 offers positioning accuracy and repeatability in X, Y, Z axes of 0.00004” (0.001 mm). The A axis positioning accuracy is ±6 arc-sec; repeatability is ±3 arc-sec. On the C axis, accuracy is ±4 arc-sec, and repeatability is ±2 arc-sec. Cutting feed rate in X, Y, and Z is 0.004-787” (0.1-20,000 mm), and acceleration rate on the X, Y, and Z-axes is 1.5 g.

The company says the machine’s design uses Mitsui Seiki’s traditional machine tool building methodology, applying a laser rather than mechanical drilling tools. It reportedly incorporates a fairly simple, effective beam delivery system. The optic system has just one axis of motion, Z, and one bending mirror for easier maintenance and simple beam alignment.

Mitsui Seiki partnered with a European laser company to produce the Nd:YAG version of this new machine. The VLD-300 is designed to also work with CO2, diode-pump, and fiber lasers for different aerospace and other industry applications, such as certain electronics, medical, and automotive parts.

The VLD-300 has a cast-iron bed and linear motor drives. Combined with an interior work area of smooth, highly sloped surfaces, a dust collection system prevents cutting debris from contaminating the work zone and equipment. The Nd:YAG system offers a focal length of 200 or 300 mm with a height sensor for scanning and work-offset probing. The machine is described as “automation ready” for devices such as pallets and robotic loading/ unloading equipment. Circle 200

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3618/is_200806/ai_n27900803?tag=content;col1

Twin turret CNC vertical spindle lathe - with a smaller ‘footprint’ - designed for the automotive industry - machines shafts and minimises the influence of heat and during continuous machining.

Mori Seiki is proud to announce the release of its new two-turret shaft lathe, the NZ-S1500.

Created specifically to machine shafts, the footprint of the NZ-S1500 is less than half the previous models, providing dramatic space reductions for production lines.

To increase productivity, the NZ-S1500 employs a symmetrical design in which the two turrets are aligned with the spindle, which is mounted on the vertical bed.

This layout also serves to reduce the influence of heat and improve accuracy during continuous machining, holding thermal displacement to under +/-10 micron.

The unique arrangement of the NZ-S1500’s components also improves accessibility and chip disposal.

Chips fall directly into the chip pan, avoiding accumulation, and a vertical protector prevents chips from reaching the linear guide or ball screws.

The NZ-S1500 can accommodate workpieces with a machining diameter of 120mm diameter and a standard machining diameter of 60?20mm diameter.

A high-speed loader with a rotary hand function increases the efficiency of the machine.

In addition to its small footprint, the NZ-S1500 also measures just 5ft in height, allowing the operator an easier line of sight of the surrounding production environment.

Mori Seiki produces extremely reliable machine tools and distributes worldwide.

The US headquarters is in Chicago with offices in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/mxv/mxv108.html

DUBLIN, Ireland — Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/07af93/china_cnc_compute) has announced the addition of the “China CNC (Computerized Numerical Controlled) Machine Tool Market Report, 2007-2008″ report to their offering.

The output of CNC machine tools in China was 126,000 units in 2007, up by 47% compared to 2006, and China-produced CNC machine tools having gradually replaced imported CNC machine tools, taking 30% shares in domestic market in 2007, up by 2% compared to 2006.

According to China Custom, China has imported 5,700 metal machine tools during Jan-Aug 2007, decreased by 4% compare to the same period of 2006, with an import value of US $ 4.35 billion, up by 11.5%.

During Jan-Aug 2007, china has imported 10,000 CNC machines tools, decreased by 17.6% compared to the same period of 2006, with an average import price of US $164,000, up by 25.3%.

In terms of CNC machine tool output in china during Jan.-Oct. 2007, the provinces of Liaoning, Zhejiang and Jiangsu were the top three, especially the overall output percentage of Liaoning province was 25%.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2008_Dec_5/ai_n31122730?tag=content;col1