At the EMO in Hanover during September of this year, Tornos will unveil as a first throughout the world, its new multi-spindle lathe working on the DECO concept: - the MULTIDECO 32/6 i. The company sees this machine as a 'real' 32 mm development with 6 spindles and incorporating its own bar feeder! The concept of a 'turn-key' solution has gone one stage further than merely incorporating a bar feeder, since the conveyor and filtration systems are also incorporated into the machine. This machine is suitable for all types of material and many types of cutting oils.

This new multi-spindle lathe benefits from all the experiences gained with the DECO and MULTIDECO over almost the last five years and is making use of this base to develop even more advanced features.

The traditional benefits - i.e combining the versatility and productivity of a multi-spindle lathe, the user-friendly nature of the DECO concept, programming in masked time and tool pre-adjustment are now backed up by * New quick change tooling systems; * Dispensing with the bar feed clamps; * Increasing the machining possibilities using single point tooling (machine fitted with 5 combination slides).

All these elements are complemented by reduced commissioning times and simplified set-ups and tooling arrangements.

We shall touch upon the subject of the machine's versatility in a subsequent article, which will demonstrate the practices adopted by some of our clients, who change their set-ups several times a week, if not daily.

To accommodate the larger machine capacity, the motor power has been increased and cross slideways have been strengthened.

Consequently, the high precision of this machine is guaranteed, even in extreme machining conditions.

Apart from the above points, MULTIDECO 32/6 i has several novel features, which enable our clients to pursue the logic of an 'integrated multispindle turning unit' even further: * Checking tooling life and automatic wear management.

* Interface with part measuring systems.

* A high-performance fire extinguishing device.

* Tool condition monitoring.

This lathe will provide the highly competitive, small-capacity, multi-spindle turning market with new and innovative solutions.