One-off automation makes debut at MACH

Hurco will be demonstrating its PC25 robot solution, using a Kawasaki 25kg capacity industrial robot for the first time at MACH 2026, taking place 20-24 April at the NEC, Birmingham (Hall 19, Stand 140). This solution differs substantially from Hurco’s popular ProCobot machine automation, in that either a vice or a pallet is handled. Completed work and parts still to be machined are stored in the external shelf system. Up to three cabinets can be used, each with up to 12 workholding locations.

The Kawasaki robot grips a cleat on the front of the workholding and feeds it to a zero-point location on the VC500i machine table. The benefit of this solution is that heavier parts can be handled (up to 25kg). Furthermore, since it is the vice or pallet that is handled, one-off components can be managed as easily as large batches.

The feature that makes this package so attractive to a Hurco user is that it uses the same Hurco Automation Job Manager software that is employed for the ProCobot range. This means that the complicated robot programming is done for users in advance. The operator simply needs to select the part location and the job to run. Training for the whole system can take as little as one day.

Cost-effective machine-loading solution
MACH 2026, the PC25 system will be loading parts into a Hurco VC500i, five-axis machining centre. The 500mm diameter table with 250kg load capacity is well-suited to the production of larger five-axis components in small batches as well as larger production runs. The VC500i has a 12,000rev/min 13kW direct-drive spindle as standard and includes 20bar through spindle coolant and a 40-station swing-arm tool changer to provide sufficient tooling for even the most complex of parts.

Hurco says this cost-effective machine-loading solution ideally fills the gap between the ProCobot and Erowa systems that are already well-established solutions for automating Hurco machines. One major benefit is that the user does not need to manage the upfront cost of multiple pallets. They can use existing vices such as the HWR models supplied by Thame Workholding for the demonstration at MACH 2026, or they can make their own pallets in-house as Hurco has done. Uniform spacing of the shelves mean that larger parts can be handled by straddling across two or more locations.

Proximity scanners are employed to ensure that the robot cannot run when a person is in the near vicinity of the robot. For models such as the SRTi range, robot loading will take place through the side-door of the machine, keeping the front-door access clear for preparation, set-up and machine cleaning.