Citizen reaffirms its position at MACH

Citizen Machinery will reaffirm its position as a leading supplier of bar-fed lathes, but also as a pioneer in automation technologies at MACH. The company’s patented LFV chip-breaking software, its wealth of options for automating production, and integral laser cutting in its Cincom sliding-head lathes are three examples.

In Hall 20 on Stand 361, the focus will be on Citizen’s proprietary LFV operating system software that ensures efficient chip breaking and every sliding-head mill-turn centre on the stand will have this functionality. 

A versatile variant has been added to the Cincom L20 sliding-head CNC turning centre range from Citizen Machinery. The L20-XII, which has a 135-degree swivelling B-axis mounted on the gang tool post for working at either of the opposed spindles, is now available with an ATC for swapping up to 30mm diameter cutters in a chip-to-chip time of four seconds. The total number of cutters that may be mounted in the working area of the Cincom L20-XIIATC is 34, providing considerable flexibility to ensure that components are machined in as few set-ups as possible, normally one. Visitors to the Citizen Machinery UK stand will learn that the configuration of the 12mm bar capacity Cincom L12-X ideally suits it to the production of dental abutments and implants, as well as medical industry parts in general. 

A modular tooling system has been adopted for the gang and back tool posts and an extensive variety of tooling layouts is possible, which includes the ability to drill angled holes. The maximum number of tools that can be deployed is 38. Unlike on other Cincom L12 models, a built-in 12,000rpm motor drives the counter spindle, reducing acc/dec times for higher productivity. 

Two Cincom lathes on the stand will have 32mm bar capacity, including the L32-VIII, which accepts 38mm stock if the guide bush is removed. It is one of four machines with exclusively gang toolposts in a modular range that allows a user to select a precise specification to suit the intended applications while retaining the option of adding extra functionality later. 

The other model is Citizen’s flagship sliding-headstock lathe, the 10-axis Cincom M32-VIII is a 10-station turret, which runs on hardened box ways, and incorporates a tooling system employing a single 2.2kW drive to power the live cutters. The gang tool post has been equipped with live tools powered by a 2.2kW motor, as well as a programmable, 9,000rpm B-axis to enable simultaneous machining in five CNC axes, while the back tool post with Y-axis has adjustable-angle tooling. 

One of the larger bar capacity CNC lathes in the Citizen Machinery product portfolio is the 12-axis Miyano ABX-64THY, a fixed-head model with twin-opposed C-axis spindles and three turrets moving over box ways for maximum rigidity. The turning centre is ideal for continuous production of components from bar up to 64mm in diameter. The maximum component diameter when chucking is 165mm. The three turrets, which have 80mm of Y-axis movement, can all be cutting simultaneously to achieve very high levels of productivity. 

The first fixed-head lathe in Citizen Machinery’s Miyano range to have the company’s LFV software in a FANUC control system was the 42mm bar capacity ANX-42SYY. It features 10 CNC axes including a ± 35mm Y-axis on both the upper and lower turrets in addition to X- and Z-axis movements, enabling the production of complex components to tight geometrical tolerances.

Complex components up to 65mm in diameter may be turned and milled from bar in a new Miyano fixed-head lathe. The eight-tonne BNE-65MYY is equipped with two turrets having Y-axis travel in addition to X- and Z-axis movements. Contributing to high productivity are fast rapid traverses up to 20m/min, plus main and sub spindles with generous power ratings of 18.5kW and 11kW respectively. Rotary tool specification is also impressive at 4kW 6,000rpm.

Building on the strengths of previous generations of Miyano fixed-head mill-turn centres, the BNA-42SY is one of Citizen Machinery’s latest additions to the range. The latest FANUC 0i-TF Plus CNC system with 10.4-inch colour LCD screen controls the machine.

The GN3200W is a twin-spindle, fixed-head lathe equipped with a high-speed loader for high productivity. The compact machine width is 33% narrower than previous Miyano models and the required floor space has been reduced by 27%, realising significant space savings.