Honing and More With Vertical Machining Centers

Hurco Companies, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN), has expanded the flexibility of the CNC machine to perform honing operations and eliminate the need for dedicated CNC honing machines. The VMX42i, considered a workhorse of the industry, has X/Y/Z travels of 42 in x 24 in x 24 in, a dual-wound 12,000 rpm spindle that provides more torque at a lower base speed without requiring a gearbox, a wider table that extends across the entire Y-axis and moves completely forward in the work cube for easy operator access, and a 30-station swing-arm ATC

For head porting and head machining, their VMX42SWi vertical machining center is a 5-axis machine that utilizes a swivel head for the B-axis that has travels of ± 90 deg and a rotary table for the A-axis. The VMX42SWi has X/Y/Z travels of 42 in x 24 in x 24 in, a 12,000 rpm dual-wound Yaskawa spindle motor, fast 1,378 ipm rapid traverse rates (X and Y axes), larger linear rails that are wedge locked and mounted to a machined shoulder to increase rigidity, and a 40-station swing-arm automatic tool changer (ATC).

For machining damper parts and more, their TMM8i slant-bed lathe with live tooling has a 2 in bar capacity and an 8 in chuck with a maximum turning diameter of 25 in and maximum turning length of 79.4 in. Its servo turret provides fast and accurate tool indexes with the ability to use any combination of ID and OD tool holders. The C-axis programs to .001 deg and it is standard on Hurco lathes with live tooling, unlike many competitive models. A unique advantage of all of these CNC machines is the flexibility of their control to empower the machinist to determine the most efficient way to program the part, whether it be CAD/CAM and Industry Standard NC, or Conversational Programming. This type of flexibility is especially valuable for the racing industry, where the machinist can program the part right at the control with conversational programming, then rely on sophisticated verification graphics to prove out the part before machining.

Hurco Companies, Inc., One Technology Way, PO Box 68180, Indianapolis, IN 46268-0180, 800-634-2416,[email protected], hurco.com.