The Japanese manufacturer Kitagawa, represented in Britain and Ireland by Salisbury-based 1st Machine Tool Accessories (www.1mta.com), has introduced the first in a new series of general-purpose rotary tables.

Designated MK200, it has a 200mm-diameter faceplate and a greater holding torque than the MR-series table that it supersedes.

It is also more compact, thereby minimising the loss of table area and working volume in a machining centre.

Moreover, this fourth axis reflects Kitagawa’s focus on constantly improving the standard of its tables in terms
of performance, mounting, and breadth of rotary-joint availability.

At 570Nm, the clamping torque of the MK200 is 40% greater than that of the MR200.

Additionally, the drive torque (at 270Nm) is said to be the highest in this class of unit, and the spindle through-hole diameter has been increased to 70mm (from 45mm).

Furthermore, because the faceplate can be specified with either T-slots or pre-drilled holes, a chuck, trunnion or other work-holding device can be mounted directly onto the rotary table’s spindle for optimum rigidity.

At 155mm from front to back, the depth of the new table is 10% less than that of the former MR version; together with recessed bolt mounting, this has allowed the footprint of the MK200 to be reduced by 40%.

The design also reduces the accumulation of chips around the base of the rotary table — an important consideration in automated production cells.

Furthermore, the MK200 accommodates built-in ‘6+1 port’ rotary joints, compared to only 4+1 for its predecessor.

If, for example, a trunnion arrangement is in use with one end powered by the rotary table, greater flexibility of hydraulic or pneumatic work-holding actuation is provided via the rotary joint housed within the large spindle bore.

This avoids wear and interference due to the presence of tubing if work-holding actuation is brought forward of the faceplate.

1st MTA can provide a high-pressure (25MPa) four-port or six-port rotary joint instead of the standard 7MPa variety. This allows a further reduction in fixtures sizes, as well as improved clamping speeds.

A video summarising the benefits of the MK200 can be seen at the Web site (www.yotube.com/watch?v =B3AZ2dSTv1Q).