HURCO REPORTS RECORD NUMBER OF ENQUIRIES AT MACH 2010

It was partly due to the company exhibiting a wider product range, which now encompasses twin-column, bridge-type machines and a greater diversity of 5-axis machining centres. Additionally, the high level of interest was no doubt a consequence of the sheer volume of innovations on show, including six new machining centres and a new turning centre with driven tooling.

Eleven machine orders were secured during the exhibition. On the first day, Halifax-based CLB Precision Engineers ordered a VM30 vertical machining centre to supplement its smaller VM1 model purchased in 2006.

The subcontractor specialises in work for the scientific and medical sectors in batches of typically 50-off, but has recently won contracts for manufacturing larger, tight-tolerance parts from stainless steel and exotic alloys for the offshore industry.

Managing director Chris Berrett commented, “The things we like most about Hurco machines are the high power for their size and the ease of programming using the conversational Max control.”

During the exhibition, tenth-size replicas of the FIFA World Cup were machined in brass (rather than solid gold) on the VM30, which was fitted with a Hurco H200 rotary indexer. The demonstration proved very popular with visitors to the stand. Each trophy was personalised using the conversational rotary lettering feature in Hurco's proprietary WinMax software.

The blank and base were turned in a single operation a Hurco TM6 lathe, purchased during the show by Bedford Engineering, Stockport. Roughing on the VM30 was performed dry using an SGS 6 mm Z Carb cutter at 6,000 rpm. The finishing pass involved a 3mm Z Carb cutter rotating at 8,000 rpm, with 0.1 mm step-over. Total cycle time was a little over 40 minutes.

Later in the week, Machining Techniques, a subcontractor in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, placed an order for a VMX42U 5-axis machining centre, its first Hurco machine.

Established in 2004, the company adopted 5-axis prismatic machining a few years ago, albeit in 3+2 mode. Managing director Dave Ditchburn Snr said that he intends to progress to fully interpolative 5-axis work on the Hurco, which has a larger working envelope than his existing machine.

The technology allows parts to be made in one or two set-ups that previously required four or five. It allows Machining Techniques to quote more competitive prices and win new business as a result, despite the hourly rate for 5-axis machines being higher. A further benefit is a reduction in the potential for human error through repeated resetting, while tolerance build-up is lowered or eliminated.

Medical work from prosthetic limbs to structural parts for X-ray machines accounts for about half of the subcontractors business. Mr Ditchburn reviewed 5-axis machines from five potential suppliers but homed in on the Hurco for two reasons.

First, it was keenly priced. Second, the Ultimax twin-screen control with Windows-based WinMax software will allow his setter-operators to program 3+2-axis work at the machine, leaving the company’s CAD/CAM system free to concentrate on preparing cutting cycles for
4- and 5-axis simultaneous applications.

Mindful that it intends to exploit both programming routes, the subcontractor has opted for Hurco’s ‘Conversational NC Merge’ software that allows parts of a cycle written conversationally to be combined with G-code elements produced off-line. The latter will be downloaded via Ethernet to the VMX42U – the first machine on the shop floor to have a DNC link.