The availability in the UK and Ireland of a large portal five-axis machining centre — built by Italian company Mecof — has been announced by sole UK agent NCMT Ltd (www.ncmt.co.uk), which has facilities in Coventry, Thames Ditton and Bury.

Called UMill 1800, the machine offers a working volume of 1,800 x 2,150 x 1,250mm and does not require special foundations. It is suitable for five-axis and five-sided metal-cutting applications in industries such as aerospace, oil and gas, power generation and automotive.

The machine can be supplied with: an HSK 100-A/T 58kW 12,000rev/min spindle delivering up to 372Nm of torque; an HSK 63-A 63kW 20,000rev/min spindle with 125Nm of torque; or an ISO 50 48kW 6,000rev/min geared spindle with 750Nm of torque.

A-axis head positioning is in a plane at an angle to the table, allowing movement of the spindle from horizontal to vertical as well as under-cutting at up to 15deg.

There is a choice of two torque-motor-driven rotary tables for workpieces weighing up to 10 tonnes. The 1,700 x 1,400mm milling table has a 10rev/min drive with a maximum torque of 6,000Nm, while the 1,800mm-diameter mill-turn table offers 250rev/min and 4,000Nm of torque.

The machine provides feed rates up to 60m/min in the linear axes, while the tool magazine can have 80, 120 or 200 pockets. Controlis by either a Heidenhain 640HSCI or Siemens 840D sl CNC system.