Six-Spindle CNC Lathe Features Modular Design

Index’s MS16 Plus six-spindle CNC lathe features a modular design. According to the company, in each work-spindle position, the machine can simultaneously accomplish two or more operations for short cycle times. The company says the machine is intended as a replacement for CAM-controlled multi-spindle lathes for small parts up to 22 mm in diameter.

The lathe is equipped with hollow-shaft motor technology and six high-torque spindles each with a drive power of 8.7 kW. The speed of the spindles can be programmed separately and varied during cutting. The grooving or boring slides and cross-slides are arranged in a V-shape around each work spindle, enabling use of several tools at the same time. The spindles are cooled fluid-cooling system runs in a fluid-cooled spindle drum that is designed to lock through a three-part Hirth coupling after each indexing operation, minimizing thermal growth.

The modular machine features a total of 27 NC axes at full expansion: five NC grooving or boring slides, five NC cross-slides, one NC cutoff and/or back-boring slide, six work spindles, one NC synchronous spindle, and drum indexing. It also features an additional five free NC axes of possible CNC-controlled auxiliary equipment. All axes are controlled by the company’s C200-4D with IndexOperate user interface for multi-spindle automatic lathes. Other functions include part production time evaluation, block time measuring and virtual machine setup on PC workstations.