CMZ has announced that sales of its TA Series lathes have surpassed 3,000 units, marking a significant milestone for the manufacturer and underlining sustained market confidence in the slant bed machine. Designed for precision, durability and long service life, the TA Series has built a strong reputation in demanding production environments worldwide.
The success of the range reflects more than two decades of development and refinement, during which the TA Series has become a mainstay for manufacturers seeking consistent performance and reliability. CMZ attributes the achievement to a combination of precision engineering, robustness and productive capability that aligns closely with the requirements of modern machining operations. Thousands of customers have adopted the prismatic bed lathe in applications where repeatability and long-term stability are essential.
Central to the platform is a high degree of configuration flexibility, including a choice of bed lengths offering Z-axis travels of 400mm, 600mm and 1,100mm. The prismatic bed itself is stabilised, milled and ground in a single set-up at the company’s own facilities, a process intended to maximise geometric accuracy. Each machine is also hand-scraped during assembly, improving stick-slip behaviour and contributing to smoother, more consistent motion during machining.
CMZ has opted for direct metal-to-metal contact within the slideways, foregoing the use of Turcite. According to the company, this design choice helps maintain long-term geometric accuracy and extends the service life of the lathe, reinforcing its suitability for intensive production environments. Automation capability is another key element, with the TA Series fully compatible with the GL20 II gantry loader, enabling straightforward loading and unloading across both short and long production runs.
A further distinguishing feature of the TA Series is the integration of both spindle and turret systems to enhance accuracy and performance. Each machine is equipped with a turret featuring an integrated motor rated at 75Nm, 11kW and 12,000rpm, with oil cooling to manage thermal stability. The turret incorporates three curvic couplings that carry out clamping and unclamping without disc movement, allowing unclamping on withdrawal and clamping on approach. This mechanism enables rapid tool change times of just 0.2 seconds while contributing to greater thermal stability and minimising temperature-related deviations.
The machines also feature oil-cooled integrated spindles without belts or pulleys, a design that reduces vibration and runout to improve roundness and surface finish. Additional benefits include enhanced accuracy on the C axis, reduced machining times and increased structural rigidity due to the greater distance between front and rear bearings.
CMZ continues to emphasise its European manufacturing model as a core differentiator. More than 80 per cent of lathe components are produced in-house at the company’s facilities, allowing tight control over quality and processes. This vertically integrated approach, combined with supply chain efficiencies, enables the company to invest in high-quality components from leading suppliers while maintaining competitive pricing.
With machines designed to deliver service lives exceeding 20 years, CMZ sees the TA Series milestone as both a reflection of past success and a foundation for future growth. The company is encouraging manufacturers to explore the latest configurations through its sales network as demand for reliable, high-performance turning solutions remains strong.
For more information contact CMZ UK.