The a51 HMC is designed for performance and reliability. According to the company, the simple-to-operate machine is compact, easily maintained and quickly deployable for manufacturing applications that require maximum throughput and dependability. The machine is suited for medium- to high-volume production shops, first- and second-tier automotive parts suppliers and general-contract machining operations.

The machine has a 15.7" (400-mm) pallet and is equipped with a 14,000-rpm spindle. It also has a ring-type, 60-tool magazine, with an optional 40-tool magazine available. Other features include an automatic pallet changer with safety guard, a three-point support system, a swing operator control panel, an air filtration unit and overhead shower coolant.

High-volume chip evacuation is facilitated by a wide center trough with rear discharge lift-up chip conveyor designed for coolant leakage protection.

The company’s next generation (GI) servo control with radical mode is a standard feature on all 1-series machines. The control is said to help provide low cycle times while maintaining accuracy and meeting the customer’s Cpk requirements.

Benefits include swifter axis movement, faster spindle acceleration/deceleration and a faster table index than competitive HMCs, the company says. Quicker ATC speeds enable tool-to-tool times of 0.9 second and chip-to-chip time of 2.3 seconds. Tool search times are also minimized to diminish time out of cut. The machine is capable of simultaneous B-axis movement with tool change and X-, Y-, Z-axis travel 22" × 22" × 23.6" (560 × 560 × 600 mm).