Published 4/17/2015

The 25th for TIMTOS

This slideshow includes images and information about new machining technology I spotted at this year’s TIMTOS trade show in Taiwan.

Derek Korn

Editor-in-Chief, Production Machining magazine

This You-Ji VTL (available in the U.S. from Absolute Machine Tools) combines a vertical ram with a horizontal ram that can reach past wide diameters to turn difficult-to-access surfaces. It also helps to keep the cutting tool short and rigid, and oftentimes eliminates moving the part to another machine to complete those features.

E-Tech Machinery (with U.S. representation in Paramount, California) displayed its EGA 2535 CNC angular-type cylindrical grinder with vibration resistant hydrodynamic spindle design. An optional digital readout feedback system is available for high-precision grinding applications.

Hartrol is a standard conversational software package for all of Hartford’s machining centers. It includes 60 free functions that can save 50 percent of time on calibrating the work piece and also reduce machining time by 40 percent, according to the company.

The Kao Fong (Kafo) KG5A-3025 gantry-type five axis machining center is designed to offer a good sized machining envelope with minimal floor space.

The Accutex AL-750SA wire EDM unit (available in the U.S. from Absolute Machine Tools) has a maximum taper angle of +/-45 degrees and was shown cutting gear profiles. Its linear shaft motor is said to provide 10 percent faster servo response time than flat-type linear motors with no thermal distortion or friction.

The Honor HL-32AT (available in the U.S. from CNC Systems) is a two-spindle, two-turret horizontal lathe with integral gantry loader to enable long stretches of unattended production machining.

Wele displayed this VTC 1616 vertical turret lathe with tooling to enable machining of large gears as an alternative to dedicated gear-machining equipment. The machine’s rotary table features a hydrostatic bearing design to enable high loading capacity and precise C-axis positioning.

Femco’s BMC 250T horizontal boring mill features an automatic head changer and ZF transmission capable of both low-speed/high-torque operations and high-speed operations for mold finishing and related work.

Fortune’s heavy-duty Victor Vturn 26HD turning center was displayed with a gantry loader and a Renishaw Equator inspection system, which is a programmable alternative to hard gages that brings a CMM’s precision to the shop floor by measuring parts against a CMM-inspected master.

Tongtai presented seven new machines at the show wrapped in more contemporary enclosures. Among those was this hybrid machine that combined traditional subtractive machining functions with additive and workpiece hardening capabilities. The company also offered an ultrasonic machine for exotic materials such as ceramics.

CHMER’s linear motor EDM technology on display is said to be the first available from a Taiwanese builder. The company received the show’s Supreme Excellence Award for its SP302L gantry-type oil-dielectric wire EDM.

YCM’s NFP 500A-5AX is a high speed five-axis double column VMC. It features a 24,000-rpm built-in spindle and new in-house, five-axis rotary table with high torque and high accuracy driven by a DD motor with braking system. Spindle core cooling technology minimizes thermal growth and shortens the warm-up time necessary to stabilize the spindle to just 10 minutes.

TIMTOS, Taiwan’s Taipei International Machine Tool Show, held its 25th edition in March. It is currently the world’s fifth-largest machine tool show and Asia’s second largest, this year attracting more than 47,000 visitors and 1,015 exhibitors in 5,411 booths over its six-day run. Three-quarters of this year’s exhibitors were domestic Taiwan equipment manufacturers.

The show is organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI). TIMTOS is spread over four separate sites: one at the Nangang Exhibition Hall, two at the Taiwan World Trade Center and, for the first time, one for metalforming equipment at the Yuanshan EXPO Dome. Most of the machine tool builders are located at the Nangang site, although shuttle buses are available to transport attendees between all four of the sites.

The first TIMTOS I attended was in 2011. This year marked my third trip to see the show. Each time, the president of Taiwan, Dr. Ying-Jeou Ma, attended the opening ceremony and toured the Nangdang show floor, recognizing the important role that manufacturing plays in Taiwan’s economy. In fact, John Hsu, TAMI chairman, believes Taiwan’s machinery industry (machine tool builders and machine parts manufacturers) will reach NT$1 trillion (US$3.17 billion) by the end of this year, making it one of only three Taiwanese industries to reach that level of annual sales.

Alan Lu, TAMI’s machine tool committee chairman, says the U.S. market continues to offer opportunities for Taiwanese machine tool builders. However, he recognizes that manufacturers in the States are looking toward advanced equipment especially in industries such as aerospace, automotive and energy. Mr. Lu feels Taiwan builders must continue to develop equipment with specialized functions to make greater inroads into these markets, rather than general-purpose machines. He also recognizes the impact that “big data” and Industry 4.0 will have on manufacturing, believing that the Taiwanese builders have the IT advantages to keep up with the specifications of “smart machines” and necessary peripherals.

In fact, I have noticed that the level of machining technology at TIMTOS has increased over the years coinciding with a larger presence of automated demonstrations. For example, Tongtai presented seven new machines at the show wrapped in more contemporary enclosures. This included a hybrid machine that combined traditional subtractive machining functions with additive and workpiece hardening capabilities. The company also offered an ultrasonic machine for exotic materials such as ceramics. Wele offered a vertical turret lathe with tooling to enable machining of large gears as an alternative to dedicated gear-machining equipment. You-Ji displayed a vertical turret lathe, too, having both vertical and horizontal rams. CHMER’s linear motor EDM technology on display is said to be the first available from a Taiwanese builder.

The slideshow below includes images and information about these and other new machining technology I spotted at this year’s show.