CNC HORIZONTAL BAR MILLING FOR SIMULTANEOUS MACHINING

Tornos has introduced a brand new type of machine tool - a milling machine - to its line up this year. The Tornos/Almac FB 1005, designed for medical and dental applications, will be the first Tornos/Almac machine offered to the U.S. market.

Says Scott Kowalski, president of Tornos US, "The Almac line is very well respected in Switzerland and will enhance the Tornos product portfolio here in the U.S. These machines are the high speed, ultra- or nano-precision solutions that many of our customers have been seeking for years. Here in the U.S. the Almac machines have little competition - so we are filling a gap. They have different capabilities, but the same customers. And we will be backing the Almac line with our first-class Tornos service and support." The Tornos/Almac FB 1005 is a CNC horizontal bar milling machine capable of simultaneous machining on three, four, five or six axes with up to 19 live spindles - eight in the front, four vertical, four lateral and three in the back. Three axes (X, Y and Z) are standard, but the FB 1005 can also be equipped with additional axes for indexing (C), tilting (B) and feeding (W) of the bar. In addition, the barfeed system - the sixth axis (W) - significantly reduces raw material waste for greater manufacturing economies.

With repeatability of 0.002µm (0.00008") and fast chip-to-chip times of 2.5 seconds, the machine is ideal for high production runs and small batch, just-in-time manufacturing.

The machine will produce high precision parts from either raw material (profile bar) or semifinished products. High precision HSK 32 toolholders, 32mm capacity bushing, 45° B-axis bar angle capability, and travels of 11" x 9" x 4.7" give this machine a wide range of applications including medical and dental parts, optical instruments, connectors, electronics and more.

12,000rpm spindles are standard, and optional 35,000rpm spindle can be equipped on all positions.

The FB 1005 was designed for maximum operating convenience - from optimum security and operating comfort to easy access to the mechanical parts during setup.

The machine is also optimized for easy programming and includes builtin technical data and Fanuc G code control.

The Almac product line, manufactured in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, features a modular design that allows a wide range of optional equipment to be added to suit the type and complexity of workpieces over time. Additionally, a small footprint makes it easy to fit the Tornos/ Almac FB 1005 into any shop environment.

The complete Tornos/ Almac product range includes horizontal milling machines with three or more axes, vertical milling machines, high speed machining centers and drilling machines.