Borg Warner Turbosystems, Bradford, has placed an order with Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools for the supply of a German-built Index G400 mill-turning centre. Due for delivery at the beginning of 2002, the large and powerful machine will produce in one set-up, and in small batches of typically 10-off, an extensive variety of aftermarket turbocharger centre housings for commercial diesel vehicles. Hitherto, the housings have been produced in three successive operations on separate machines - two lathes and a machining centre.
Single-hit manufacture on the G400, the first of this new design to be installed in the UK, will shorten lead times by 75 per cent according to Chris Wilson, the engineer in charge of the project at Borg Warner Turbosystems.
It will also reduce set-up costs and work-in-progress as well as improve accuracy.
Shortlisted for the application were four mill-turn lathes.
Principal reasons quoted by Mr Wilson for choosing Index were the machine's rigidity combined with the high power of the milling spindle.
Up to 5-axis machining at one or two spindle positions is available on the Index G400.
The machine makes use of a heavily ribbed, thick wall, cylindrical casting designed to offer maximum torsional and bending stiffness.
It is provided with two separate sets of guideways; the lower set accommodates the main and counter spindles while the upper set supports the tooling carriers.
Maximum between-centres length is 2,000mm whilst chucks up to 500mm diameter can be fitted.
Both the main and counter spindles have identical 53kW drives offering torque of up to 900Nm and speeds up to 3,000 rpm.
The 17kW milling spindle is mounted on a pivoting arm, offering capability to extend Y-axis movement to +/- 175mm.
It can also be used in fixed position mode for turning or boring operations.