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Citizen L20X Maximises Influence of Streamline Technology

Story added 02 June 2011.

Citizen L20X - Series CNC sliding head turn-mill centre

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Introducing the added flexibility created from a second Y-axis feed, an increased ability for simultaneous machining and the flexibility of having up to 39 tools available to meet the growing demand for competitively producing more complex components moves the latest addition to Citizen’s most popular L-Series CNC sliding head turn-mill centre into a different sphere of achieving significant gains in productivity.

Launched by Citizen Machinery UK of Bushey near Watford, the Citizen L20X is the first model in Citizen’s ‘Innovation’ series of new machines that maximises the advantage gained from the company’s development of its ‘Streamline’ dynamic control and software. Streamline technology is able to independently manage, overlap or simultaneously perform front and back operational elements on a component during single cycle machining sequences. The new machine capitalises on its increased back machining capability, two Y-axis motions and the ability to balance turn and mill through combined movements of its independent toolposts.

The use of three independent toolpost configurations of the back toolpost, opposite or front toolpost and gang toolposts increase the viability of making notable savings in cycle times. The back tool post (Z2) now carries eight tools in two rows of four with the upper row powered by a 0.75 kW, 5,000 revs/min drive.

The opposite or front, three-axis X2, Y2 and Z2 toolpost is now able to carry six tools in two rows of three with options for the upper row of tools to be driven at 7,500 revs/min by a 0.75 kW motor. In addition, it has the ability to accommodate deep hole drilling operations using tools up to 10 mm diameter to a depth of 100 mm.

Meanwhile, the gang tool post with its X1 and Y1 axis movements has the ability to carry up to 25 tools of which 15 can be driven having a 1 kW motor delivering up to 5,000 revs/min.

The main spindle, which has a maximum turning diameter of 20 mm by 200 mm in a single chucking, is powered by a 3.7 kW, 10,000 revs/min motor while the back spindle which has the same capacity, is powered by a 1.5 kW motor having a maximum speed of 8,000 revs/min. Rapid feed rates and acceleration/deceleration are quick to 32 m/min maximum rate on all axes except the crossfeed Y2 which is 8 m/min.

The Citizen L20X incorporates many of the advances recently introduced in the L20E (E for Evolution) such as high speed CNC processing with fast start up and screen switching, improved on-machine program checking and simple to understand visual displays. Now the new L20X Innovation elevates the capability of the L20 model to produce significantly more complex components having increased numbers of features due to further additions to the portfolio of toolholders. These provide combinations for end face and cross rotary tools and include multiple head units where the spindle arrangement can be easily switched between the two approaches to a component.

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