Ward CNC's applications engineer Andrew Davis being trained on the TT1100GC by Mr Ota from Takisawa JapanNow available from stock from Sheffield-based
TW Ward CNC Machinery Ltd (Ward CNC), the exclusive supplier of
Takisawa Machine Tools in the UK and Ireland, is the Takisawa TT1100GC twin-spindle turning centre.
Unlike many twin-spindle machines in the marketplace, the machine is gantry loaded and has been designed to take productivity, precision and performance to a new level for manufacturers in a variety of industries including automotive, electronic and medical.
The gantry loading and unloading turning cell with an in-built component stocking system makes it ideal for lights-out machining of precision small parts. With both spindles mounted on a single-piece rigid bed casting, the machine incorporates precision-hardened and ground-box slideways and a high-speed servo turret.
Capable of loading components in 1.7sec, the loader is positioned at the front of the machining chamber to significantly reduce the loading distance and the spindle moves forward to the loading position, reducing component transition times further.
The load/unload system works in tandem with a supply and discharge station that is integrated into the machine envelope to minimise the machine footprint and the station can be configured as a three-guide bar type or as a centre pole type station with the part gripper available as a parallel or swivel type hand.
Added to this, the machine incorporates a peripheral modular unit that presents a measuring unit, washing unit, part positioning via a camera system, phase determining unit and a turnover transfer unit.
The turning centre has a compact footprint of 2.8 x 3.3m including stocker and swarf conveyor. Within the machine’s envelope is a 6in chucking machine that has a maximum turning diameter of 140mm and a turning length up to 121mm with X- and Z-axis travel of 160 and 260mm respectively.
It is driven by a 5.5/3.7kW spindle motor capable of reaching 4,500rev/min and it demonstrates impressive power and torque levels for high material removal rates on the most challenging of materials.
Flexibility for the most challenging of components, that demand one-hit machining, is derived from the two 10+10 toolholders that can accommodate square shank tools up to 20mm and round tools to 25mm. The one-hit capabilities are further enhanced by a turnover unit that allows simultaneous front and back machining.
With sustainability and the environment being a key consideration for Ward CNC, the company has introduced new energy-efficient systems within the Japanese manufactured Takisawa TT1100GC. This includes a regenerative energy system that returns power to the supply when the motor decelerates.
Additional environmentally-friendly features include an internal lighting shut-off function that reduces standby power, a control panel cooling design that takes natural radiation into account to reduce electric power.
Alongside the Takisawa TT1100GC and also available from stock is the single-spindle TCC1100GA (pictured left). With a footprint of just 1.8 x 2m and a high-speed loader, the TCC1100GA is a 6in chucking machine with a maximum turning diameter of 220mm and a turning length up to 171mm with a bar capacity of 42mm diameter.
This single-spindle single turret turning centre demonstrates exceptional flexibility and the machine has the choice of an eight-tool station turret as standard or an optional 12-tool station.
The rigid headstock has been designed for high-torque machining with excellent cutting performance. With a 5.5/3.7kW spindle motor and a continuous torque rating of 28.3Nm, the TCC1100GA demonstrates exceptional power and speed for machining the most challenging of components.
Offered with a familiar and powerful Fanuc 0
i-TF CNC interface, the multi-function software also incorporates the RAKU-RAKU loading system, tool life management, tool load monitoring, process capability and machine run information.