Available from long time South African agent PBS Machine Tools the TC series of CNC lathes, manufactured by one of Taiwan’s leading machine tool manufacturers Tongtai, are said to have improved machine efficiency and structure through finite element analysis, despite the reduction in saddle and tailstock weight.
Saddle weight reduction is 21%, which equates to 42 kilograms, and the tailstock has been reduced by 5% or three kilograms. The company says the saddle weight rigidity is up 100% and the tailstock rigidity 12%. Additionally the bed rigidity of the new TC series has been improved by 30% and Z axis trust force is up by 18%.
The modern compact design of the machines have a relatively small footprint of 247 (L) x 183 (W) x183 (H) cm, an improved swivel type operation panel, wide door opening for easy access including a spacious tailstock working area, a larger viewing window has been incorporated, the operator comfort has been realigned to compensate for the western world and chip evacuation and ergonomics have been improved.
Another new feature is the non-cutting time is decreased because of quick tool changing on the servo driven turret with an indexing time of 0.2 seconds. This results in energy and machine maintenance savings.
The machines have a spindle nose A2-8 with 10″ chuck, optional enlarged main spindle diameter of 130 mm, tool capacity of 12 (VDI option) stations with a tool change time of one station 0,2 seconds, a maximum speed of 2000 rpm and a 15 kW motor.
Turning diameters are up to 320 mm with a work length up to 600 mm, a bar capacity from 44 to 74 mm and there are 14 variations in the range.
The new range of turning centres from Tongtai form part of the company’s strategy to offer full value for money throughout the machines’ lifecycle. From both state-of-the-art technology and the long estimated life of machines, Tongtai has sought to satisfy the many end-user requests by focusing on the three main customer needs of easy setup, maintained productivity and ease of maintenance.
Process management system monitors cells or line
Tongtai have also introduced the Tongtai Integrated Monitoring Systems (TIMS) software for processes and machine tool management. The software enables users to monitor real-time and historic parameters on each machine within a cell or on the process line as a whole, from anywhere on the internet or company intranet. Collected data can be downloaded and exported into Microsoft Excel for analysing and sharing.
The system incorporates four main functions. The “machine situations monitoring” function tracks real-time machine conditions regarding spindle speed, loads on axes and the current program number in operation. The “production line management” function monitors cycle times on all machines within a cell and enables comparison of cycle times and job status. “Operation history recording” enables comparing variances of functionality that can affect a machine’s capacity and volume to help understand arising problems. “Alarm history recording” tracks the CNC control alarms to help resolve potential problems before they become serious.
These four functions together create the perfect production line information base for proper factory management in real-time. Another benefit is that it can be used by sales to secure additional production jobs by offering data and security to customers ensuring their job will be properly supervised and controlled for exceptional quality and timeliness. TIMS is now being utilised by many large manufacturing facilities worldwide. It’s a smart tool, for smart business, for today’s competitive environment and it is solely offered for Tongtai brand machines.
For further details contact PBS Machine Tools on TEL: 011 914 3360 or visit www.pbsmt.co.za
