DS Technology (UK) Ltd

A new vertical turning lathe (VTL) has been introduced by DS Technology, Birmingham, that can be configured with milling and grinding capability, robotic tool exchange, automatic pallet change and other features to bring the benefits of unattended, single-hit machining to the production of very large workpieces.

Linear motor technology has come to large machining centres with the introduction of a new model called LinearMill from Mecof, Italy. Of moving cross rail, vertical spindle design, the machine has a huge working envelope of 2,500 to 10,000 mm in the X-axis by up to 2,200 mm in Y and 1,000 mm in Z.

Top accuracy and high dynamic performance are claimed for a new moving-crossrail, vertical-spindle machining centre called MEGAMILL from DS Technology. Despite the machine’s large size, characterised by a choice of ten X-axis travels from 7.5 to 30 metres and a Y-axis of either 4 or 5 metres, linear rapid traverse rates of 30 m/min are achieved.

Compared with using older production equipment, the high-speed cutting capabilities of modern machine tools can increase productivity considerably. A good example is the latest Ecospeed F 5-axis machining centre from DS Technology (UK). Since the first one was installed at BAE Systems Samlesbury, it has been working around the clock manufacturing components for the Eurofighter Typhoon much more quickly and economically than other machines on site.