ETG partners out in style at EMO!

Key partners of the Wellesbourne based Engineering Technology Group (ETG) will be much in evidence at the forthcoming EMO Trade Fair in Hannover, (18-23 September 2017).

And an early snapshot of machines and workholding products that will be featured for the first time reveals new innovations from Chiron, Nakamura-Tome and Hardinge Bridgeport.

ETG personnel from the UK will be present at the exhibition supporting their partners on the stands and available to discuss the latest trends and machines that in many cases can become the cornerstone of turnkey and high productivity installations.  Moving forward, turnkey is a major business area for ETG and one where its project engineering teams bring together machines, automation, controls and software technology to create increasingly highly effective manufacturing solutions.

Nakamura-Tome (Hall17: Stand B40) has two brand new introductions with its SC300II multi-tasking machining centre and the heavy duty NTY3-150 GR203 High Speed machine with gantry.

The SC300II is a complete redesign of the earlier SC300 machine, not just a cosmetic make over. Featuring a totally re-configured bed casting and offering much higher cutting capabilities, the machine is a true heavyweight, offering a big bore, powerful cuts and a 10” capacity chuck.

Key features include a massive 45º slant bed for maximum rigidity, a 22/18.5kW wide range motor for powerful cuts, quicker 'non-lift' turret indexing to reduce idle time, a 71mm diameter standard bar capacity, and an all Fanuc CNC control and servo drive package with dodecagonal 12 station turret.

The NTY3-150 GR203 High Speed is the new, bigger size NTY3-150 multi-tasking machining centre but now equipped with a completely upgraded design gantry system. Nakamura claim that the new GR203 High Speed is currently the fastest standard fit gantry system on the market and will be demonstrating its full capabilities on their stand.

Key features of the NTY3-150 are the opposed twin-spindle, 3-turret construction, 72 capacity tool station, 36 driven tool stations and a 15/11kW + 11/7.5kW L/R spindle motor with 5.5/3.7kWx3 driven-tool motor (Upper/Lower).

Chiron Werke (Hall12: Stand CO4) also has an emphasis on speed with their new ‘DZ08FX Precision’ 5 axis machine, described by the manufacturer as ‘probably the fastest twin-spindle five-axis machine in the world’.

Its high-dynamic package is based on a new drive concept which, among other features, offers a change from ball screws to non-contact electromagnetic linear guides in the X/Y/Z axes, increasing the maximum speed gain factor and ensuring a noticeable increase in dynamics.

As a result, surface and control precision increases, workpieces can also be machined with a higher path velocity, structural components are optimised and machine rigidity has increased. Dynamic torque drives are used on the A and C axes

Productivity gains are also dramatic; on production tests manufacturing aluminum impellers of different sizes, cycle time reductions of between 20 and 51 percent along with improved machining accuracy were recorded.

The high performance ‘Precision’ centres are also suited to loading and unloading in parallel with manufacturing processes using the fully automated Chiron ‘Variocell’ handling robot.

At EMO Chiron will be maintaining its focus on multi-machine systems and turnkey solutions for unmanned production in various industries.

Its common automation solution "Variocell" is based on the Variocell Uno compact robot cell is used for the automation of machining centers. This brings together handling robot and a workpiece storage unit with space for twelve pallets all on a floor space of less than one square meter. The solution can be expanded by a variety of equipment options or can be individually adapted to the needs of production in the "Variocell System" version.

Hardinge Bridgeport (Hall 17: Stand 55) are also using the EMO opportunity to highlight new and recent additions to their portfolio.

Prominently featured will be the Talent P high performance turning centres – a new range due for imminent launch in the UK – and the Bridgeport XT travelling beam five axis and five face vertical machining centres.

The Talent series machines currently offer two structures (for short and standard lengths) built on a robust one-piece cast iron base with heavy duty roller linear guideways and ball screws.

As standard the machines are supplied with ANSI configured Collet Ready spindles available in a choice of 42 or 51mm capacities.  There is also a collet ready sub-spindle with a 42mm through hole capacity.

The Bridgeport XT is the first milling product realised through global engineering and the design adopts a travelling beam structure resulting in exceptional geometric accuracy.  This design incorporates the 3 linear axes with the cutting tool combined with the rotary and tilt axis table supporting the workpiece.

The innovative travelling beam design represents the first of a new generation of 5 axis machining centres from Hardinge. A large capacity Ø630mm trunnion table with capacity of 350 kg, coupled with 900mm swing diameter extends the range of Bridgeport 5 axis solutions. The design and use of twin drive tilt axis maximises the drive stiffness and resulting in high precision.

Other ETG partners at EMO include Handtmann (Hall12: StandC74)  featuring 5-axis HSC/HPC machining centres for large format applications, and Quaser (Hall12:Stand A48) featuring its horizontal, vertical and multi-face 5-axis machining centres suitable for high volume production, tool room and subcontract machining environments.

ETG is the UK’s leading supplier of high-performance CNC machine tools and precision engineering technology. More details of the manufacturing technology and solutions available from ETG are also available on the company website: www.engtechgroup.com