Traub TNL18-7B offers sliding and fixed-head solution with B-axis capability

Both turrets are NC controlled, without a mechanical lock, allowing them to be positioned at any angle through 360º. Multiple toolholders can be used, allowing up to 54 cutters in the working area. All stations can carry either a static turning tool or a live cutter. The Traub TNL18-7B lathe can operate with or without a guide bush. Long parts require true sliding-head operation with the bar gripped by a collet and fed by up to 205 mm through the guide bush, which supports the bar close to the cutting tools. To produce short parts in fixed-head mode, the machine can be changed over in just 15 minutes, with the bar clamped by a collet in the spindle and moved 80 mm into and out of the cutting zone, using the Z-axis motion of the headstock travelling at up to 40 m/min. Eliminating the guide bush avoids the need to use expensive ground stock. The process is also suitable for applications where a guide bush is impractical, such as when producing plastic workpieces and those machined from profiled stock. The 8-station turret with new B-axis is mounted above the spindle centreline, below which is a seven-station turret that moves in three orthogonal axes. Turret rotation is faster than that of an indexed turret, says Geo Kingsbury, matching the linear speed of a gang tool post. Chip-to-chip time is under 0.3 sec, for adjacent turret stations. The 3-axis counter spindle is mounted on the same compound slide as the lower turret and swivels independently around the same axis as the turret to offer a parted-off component to seven rear endworking tools, three of which are live, for completion of operations on the reverse. While work is in progress on the back of a component, front-end turning and prismatic machining with one or two tools can be carried out simultaneously in the main spindle, allowing up to three tools to be in cut simultaneously. Control is by Traub's own Mitsubishi-based CNC system, TX8i-p, with a 10.4-inch LCD display and integral keyboard. Note: the video shows the 20 mm bar diameter TNL18P. This has 5 linear axes, with Y-axis motion derived from X/C/H axis interpolation