HURCO TO PRESENT MACHINING SOLUTIONS FOR SIMPLE AND COMPLEX COMPONENTS

David Waghorn, managing director of High Wycombe-based Hurco Europe states, "A modern-day subcontract engineering business must focus on the immediate order book, but at the same time has to keep an eye on the future. It is essential to be as flexible as possible and to be able to advance seamlessly to the next level of technology."

His point is that the Hurco machine tool range is designed specifically to meet this demand. The same Max5 control is fitted to the simplest 3-axis machining centre, the high specification 5-axis machines and the firm's entire lathe range.

Conversational prompts guide the user through the programming process, there are canned cycles for all of the usual routines, calc-assist to find intersection points and clear graphical representation of toolpath and component on the 9-inch colour LCD screen.

Hurco customers gain the benefit of getting new operators up to speed quickly. They have no problems in producing one-offs or small volumes and tend to make less programming mistakes. The result, says Mr Waghorn, is a first-off completed part with a minimum of fuss and effort.

Hurco will be exhibiting two of its most popular and compact, entry-level machines at the show. The VM5i 3-axis machining centre will make its Southern Manufacturing and Electronics debut. The specification provides full machining centre performance, despite the machine being able to fit into a space that is less than 2 metres in height, depth and width. 8,000 rpm and 7.5 kW of power from the spindle plus a 16-station automatic toolchanger are provided.

Additionally, the latest, updated XP version of the TM8i lathe will be shown. Already a Hurco best-seller, this new model boasts a more compact footprint and bigger spindle bore plus some innovative control system enhancements.