Published 9/10/2012

New Machines Are Only Part of the Story

Mark Albert

Editor Emeritus, Modern Machine Shop

Haas Automation has sixteen machines on display in its booth (S-8119), but those tell only part of the story for a machine tool builder that markets its products globally. “Building the brand” is a consistent effort that goes well beyond introducing new models at every major manufacturing show. For example, Haas completely revamped its website earlier this year, with the goal of making product information more accessible and easier to navigate, says Scott Rathburn, marketing product manager. “We’ve propagated the new look to our international website as well, with 11 languages supported,” he says.

“Our big push for the past few years has been continuous improvement in the quality and reliability of our machines,” he says. The results are added value to buyers across the board—a sign of technology leadership that can be overlooked if one only judges from the number of new machines on display. That said, Haas is showing a number of machines that have been introduced since the last IMTS.

One of these is completely new: the UMC-750 universal machining center. This versatile five-axis, 40-taper VMC has axis travel of 30 by 22 by 20 inches and an integrated dual-axis trunnion table. The show machine is equipped with a 12,000-rpm inline direct-drive spindle, and comes standard with a 40+1 tool side-mount tool changer. The dual-axis trunnion can position parts to nearly any angle for five-sided (3+2) machining, or provide full simultaneous five-axis motion for contouring and complex machining.

Also new is the ST-10Y compact Y-axis turning center. This small-footprint machine provides 4 inches of Y-axis travel (±2 inches from the centerline) for off-center milling, drilling, and tapping, and comes standard with high-torque live tooling and a servo-driven C axis for flexible, four-axis capability. The machine provides a maximum cutting capacity of 9 by 14 inches, with a swing of 16.25 inches over the cross slide.

A “big brother” to this machine is the new ST-20SSY high-speed Y-axis turning center. It provides 4 inches of Y-axis travel, and includes high-torque live tooling and a servo-driven C axis to perform secondary machining operations. The machine has a maximum cutting capacity of 10 by 21 inches, and is equipped with a 24-station hybrid BOT/VDI turret.

On the milling side, Haas Automation has increased the speed and performance of the standard spindle on its expansive line of 40-taper VMCs, and introduced several new optional spindles. All Haas VF-1 through VF-12 40-taper VMCs are now equipped with an 8,100-rpm inline direct-drive spindle that is driven by a 30-hp vector drive system. An optional 10,000-rpm inline direct-drive spindle is available for shops that want higher spindle speeds. Both spindles yield 90 ft-lb of cutting torque.

For shops that need higher low-speed torque yet want the flexibility of a gearbox, two gear-drive spindles are available for standard Haas 40-taper VMCs. The optional spindles provide either 8,100-rpm or 10,000-rpm top speed, and feature a Haas-built, high-precision two-speed gearbox. Both geared spindles yield 250 ft-lb of torque.

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