If a pneumatic gripper is being used,
to cope with different size billets the
correct fi ngers must be fi tted – a twominute
job of loosening/tightening eight
bolts. For a servo-gripper, this step does
not exist
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In other news...
The robot opens/closes
drawers; takes raw material out;
loads the machine; places
machined parts in a different
position in the drawer, after a
programmable swarf/coolant
blow-off operation
XYZ Machine Tools' rst series of machining centres using
linear rail technology, the LR series introduced last year, has
uncovered a new cohort of customers for the company, says
managing director Nigel Atherton. Expecting a drop in sales of its
heavier duty boxway-style machines, now renamed heavy duty
(HD), of up to 60 units, the actual gure was just one third of that.
With a no-discount policy, there was a customer base that could
not previously be reached, he says, but this is now addressed by
the LR range (500, 750 and 1,000 mm in X; HD 660, 800 and
1,100 mm in X across the three models). Overall machining centre
sales volumes have therefore been boosted, with 60-70% of
customers for LR units new customers. A 60/40 split in favour of
LR models is now seen.
Having updated the ProtoTRAK control range with the
introduction of the RMX (mill) and RLX (lathe) models (see
Machinery article March 2019, p24, and here: https://is.gd/
rowije), following a 12-year run with the previous iterations (SMX,
SLX), a further new model as been introduced solely for knee millstyle
units, the KMX. This offers all the original 1993 ProtoTRAK
capabilities but at a lower price point. RMX is tted to XYZ's bedmills,
2-OP and LPM machines only.
Larger capacity ProtoTRAK lathes are promised, with one having
a swing of 780 mm arriving soon. Previous maximum swing was
555 mm.
A showroom dedicated to used XYZ machines has been
opened at the company's existing Nuneaton facility. The company
says that, from now on, it will only sell used machines to
customers that rst see them in the esh, to assure customer
satisfaction.
www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets September 2019 47
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