XYZ Machine Tools (www.xyzmachinetools.com) (stand B24) will focus attention on its UMC-5X simultaneous five-axis machining centre at the Advanced Manufacturing Show being held 6-8 June at the Birmingham NEC.

The show is co-located with Subcon and The Engineer Design & Innovation Show. The three shows — being held at the NEC, near Birmingham, 6-8 June — have attracted some 500 exhibitors and will cover the complete manufacturing cycle from concept to finished part, bringing together design engineering, product development, in-house production and out-sourced supply chains.

The addition of a full simultaneous five-axis gantry-style machining centre with a trunnion table to the XYZ range is another example of how the company is not only expanding its selection of machines, but also continuing to deliver exceptional functionality and performance at a very competitive price.

Indeed, the company says the UMC-5X offers standard features that would be expected on machines costing considerably more; these include high-accuracy high-performance A and C axes and a Siemens 840DSL Shopmill control (Heidenhain iTNC 640 HSCI is an option).

The machine is targeted at users in the aerospace, medical, automotive, and mould-and-die sectors — plus general engineering and received very positive feedback at its recent launch.

The major advantage of the UMC-5X is provided by the configuration of its trunnion table; when this is tilted 90deg towards the rear (component facing forward), there remains 500mm of Y-axis travel forward of the table surface. This is much greater than many competitor machines, including those that quote the same axis travels, and it allows larger workpieces to be machined.

Other key machine features include: a gantry-type design; a high-torque direct-drive C axis that can rotate at 90rev/min; ±120deg tilting A axis (2.5 sec for full indexing movement); front loading for ease of access; high-accuracy Heidenhain linear scales on the X, Y and Z axes; high precision rotary encoders mounted on rotation pivot points on the A and C axes; 36m/min feed rates for the X, Y and Z axes; and a work envelope of 600 x 600 x 500mm.

The CNC systems offer Tool Centre Point control and ‘kinematic functions’ during simultaneous five-axis machining for
improved surface finish and accuracy.

XYZ managing director Nigel Atherton says: “We took our time in sourcing the UMC-5X in order to be confident that we had the right five-axis machining solution to meet the needs of a wide variety of customers, from those just starting out in the five-axis arena, to those already well-versed in this technology.”