A Different Look at the CNC Multi-Spindle

Today’s CNC multi-spindle machines can do incredibly complicated work, but shops pay a lot of money for this capability. So what if you want the benefit of CNC, but your parts don’t really need all that capability? That’s what ZPS America addressed with its five-spindle Penta 518 CNC turning machines, shown last week at IMTS.

According to president and CEO Olaf Tessarzyk, the market needed a machine that could produce medium-complexity parts from 1-1/4 to 1/4 inch in size, and do so on a platform that didn’t cost a million dollars. It needed to have a maximum diameter of 24 mm, and it had to be fast, matching the fastest multi already on the market, with similar indexing and change-over times. It also needed to be very precise, and to compete in the Swiss market, it needed a FANUC control.

ZPS’ solution is a five-spindle machine with standard quick-change VDI tooling in every position, a Y axis and three driven tools for backworking. Within 2-1/2 to 3 seconds, the Penta 518 can cut off the part, do the backworking and eject it from the back of the pickup spindle onto the parts conveyor. The machine also features automatic parts evacuation and a system to remove the bar remnant from the bar loader, keeping the remnant from damaging the chip conveyor. 

Unlike other multi-spindles, the entire system can be installed in a shop in one day, the company says.