Turning Center and Lathe Win Excellence Awards

Absolute Machine Tools (Lorain, OH), the sole North American importer and distributor of Tongtai and You Ji machine tools, has received prestigious 2017 Taiwan Excellence Awards from the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taiwan External Trade Development Council, which established the Excellence Awards program to encourage Taiwan industries to upgrade their products and incorporate innovation and value.

An international panel of judges chooses winners based on consistent high scores in four criteria: research and development, design, quality, and marketing. These judges recognized the Tongtai iTD 2000 YBC CNC Turning Center (which was debuted by Absolute Machine Tools at IMTS 2016) for its combination of new technologies and efficient machining processes. Among the innovative features of the iTD 2000 YBC is a 75 deg slant bed design that allows chips to flow directly into the chip conveyor and also provides easy access to the spindles and turret. The machine’s 45 mm roller-type ways permit high rapid traverse rates, and high-torque 20 hp main spindle and 10 hp subspindle motors assure high productivity. With a full C-axis featuring live tools and X-axis cross travel of 9.05 in (226.3 mm), Z-axis longitudinal travel of 23.6 in (590 mm), and B-axis sub-spindle travel of 24.8 in (620 mm), the iTD 2000 YBC can efficiently process a wide range of workpiece sizes.

The base of the ergonomically-designed iTD 2000 YBC is a tough meehanite iron casting. The machine is engineered for production of high quality parts to exact specifications and therefore is an ideal choice for use in the aerospace, automotive, biomedical and other critical industries.

The panel of judges also honored the You Ji VHL-1200ATC series of vertical turning lathes. Known as a world leader in the production of large VTL machines, You Ji developed the VHL series to facilitate machining of workpieces with challenging shapes, such as those common in the aerospace industry. In addition to a vertical ram, each VHL machine also has a horizontal ram, simplifying access to difficult-to-reach machining areas and enabling use of shorter cutting tools that maximize rigidity and accuracy.

In many cases the horizontal RAM eliminates the need to move large parts from machine to machine, saving time and money by reducing steps in the machining process. Further, machines in the VHL series feature rigid vertical columns and bases cast from meehanite, heavily ribbed for vibration dampening and reduced thermal distortion. Overall, the machines are designed to handle large parts and heavy table loads.

The two-axis side head permits heavy side cutting on tall parts, and it can perform simultaneous turning with the vertical ram. C-axis and live tools are optional for both rams. Machines that were recognized included the VHL-1200ATC+C, VHL-1600ATC+C, and VHL-2000ATC+C, each model addressing progressively larger parts. Maximum turning diameters range from 63 in (1575 mm) to 98.4 in (2460 mm), with 60-100 main spindle horsepower (44.7 – 75 kW) and torque from 9,220 ft/lb (12,500 Nm) to 41,143 ft/lb (55,780 Nm).

Yu Ji was the first Taiwanese machine tool manufacturer to obtain CE and EMC certification for overseas sales. Absolute Machine Tools has sold, installed and serviced more than 2,000 You Ji vertical lathes in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Romania, China, India and other countries.

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