German-owned Heller Machine Tools, whose factory in Redditch produces selected 4-axis and 5-axis horizontal machining centres (HMCs) for world markets, will show for the first time in the UK on its stand 130 in hall 20 at MACH 2022 the second-generation HF 3500 5-axis model. The company will also feature at the exhibition, to be held at the NEC, Birmingham from April 4-8, the fourth generation of its H-Series 4-axis HMCs.
The HF 3500 Gen2, with its 710 x 750 x 710mm working volume, as well as the larger HF 5500, are available with a fixed table or an automatic pallet changer. Both are built in Redditch and incorporate a multitude of improvements over the previous generation. Both machines are offered with either an HSK-A63 or HSK-A100 tool interface in three versions, POWER, SPEED and the new option of PRO, the latter intended for long periods of simultaneous 5-axis machining.
Designed to raise cutting performance, innovations in the second generation include an approximate halving of the minimum distance between the spindle nose and the centreline of the 225-degree swivelling trunnion; the availability of twin motors and ballscrew drives for moving the trunnion/rotary table assembly in the Z-axis, with position feedback via linear scales; and the offer of six new spindles produced in an automated facility at Heller’s headquarters in Nürtingen.
