Sep 6,2000 --- Compumachine's HMC-410 Horizontal Machine Center was demonstrated for the first time at IMTS with a new 20 hp, 20-8,000 rpm CAT-40 spindle.

Chicago, Illinois, September 6, 2000 --- Compumachine, Inc., demonstrated its popular high-speed Compumill HMC-410 horizontal machining center with a new 20 hp spindle at the recent International Manufacturing Technology Show held in McCormick Place here.

Manufactured at Compumachine's plant in sanjo city, Niigata, Japan, to specifications refined by Compumachine's experience as a U.S. machine tool distributor and CNC/CAM systems integrator, the HMC-410 is priced to compete with entry-level horizontals, yet built with the craftsmanship and attention to detail that are the hallmarks of Japanese machines. In fact, the HMC-410 was designed to put the ability to machine multiple faces of multiple parts within the reach of smaller shops, a competitive requirement paced by the ever-increasing use of near-net-shape parts.

Above all, the new HMC-410 is a heavy duty metal cutting platform, with both bed and column constructed of thick-walled, multiple-ribbed castings. The new 20 hp spindle, rigidly mounted in the counterbalanced spindle head, provides long service life and vibration free operation, and delivers speeds from 40 to 8,000 rpm with high torque across the entire speed spectrum. Optionally available is a 12,000 rpm spindle.

The HMC-410 standard spindle nose accepts CAT-40 tools (BT-40 optional), provides automatic spindle orientation, and uses Belleville springs for positive tool retention. Additionally, a through-spindle air curtain prevents contamination from chips and coolant, further ensuring long spindle life. Tools are changed via a fast-acting, double arm toolchanger in 1.8 seconds from the side-mounted, chip and coolant-protected 40-position tool magazine.

Travels of 24.01"(X), 20.08"(Y), and 19.7"(Z) are via premium antifriction guideways and over-size, 40mm, hardened and ground preloaded ballscrews fully supported at both ends. Coupled with FANUC digital brushless servo drives, this enables rapid traverses in 1,200 ipm in three primary axes as well as high-speed contouring while positioning within 0.0002", and maintaining +/-0.0001" repeatability.

The 16.14" square pallets support 825 lbs each and are exchanged in 8 seconds by a single rotary double-ended arm providing extremely positive and vibration-free shuttles. The inactive pallet can be manually rotated to provide access to all four sides for part load/unload with the operator fully protected by a door that swings with the pallet, completely segregating the loading area from the work environment. Of course, the machine is fully guarded and enclosed.

Within the work station, the pallet rests on a rotary index table providing 20 rpm, 1 degree indexs, positively positioned and clamped within +/-3 seconds of arc by a curvic coupling. Optionally available is a full contouring NC rotary index fourth-axis table providing 360,000 index positions.

Standard equipment on the Compumill HMC-410 is the Fanuc 18M CNC, and Fanuc absolute position encoders-based intelligent servo axis drives.

Compumachine can further provide the fullest range of options on the new HMC-410 including 1,000 psi through-spindle coolant, rigid tapping, 60 and 120 tool magazines, chip conveyor, and hydraulic workpiece clamping. Additionally available of servicing both single and multi-machine configurations.

Compumachine, Inc., is a major Northeast machine tool distributor, through it's plant in Japan. It is also a manufacturer and importer of horizontal spindle machining centers and ultra-high-speed vertical machining centers for hard milling and graphite machining.