A compact and rigidly constructed C-axis CNC lathe, with live tooling, has a as a ribbed 45-deg slant bed base that provides superior rigidity and durability.

Radical Sportscars' well-resourced machine shop, already dominated by Bridgeport 3 and 4-axis vertical machining centres, which are used to manufacture complex engine parts and engine, transmission and suspension components for Radical's SR3, SR4, SR8 and ProSport racing cars - will soon be joined by a new addition from Hardinge's portfolio, a Talent 10/78 live tool C-axis lathe. Overview of products - Radical Sportscars, first established in 1996 by company directors Phil Abbot and Mick Hyde and now employing over 80 people, comprises three integrated companies - Radical Sportscars, Powertec Engineering and Amicom Engineering. All housed under one roof - the company designs, builds, tests and develops its own racing cars.

Radical manufactures up to 120 cars per year.

To ensure the high quality and performance of its racing cars Radical has made (and continues to make) significant and strategic investment in its manufacturing processes, systems and technologies.

The company has sophisticated CAD/CAM capability (SolidWorks); impressive component machining facilities; unrivalled engine building expertise and comprehensive fabrication and assembly capabilities.

Engine and transmission testing is carried out on Radical's 'rolling road' - situated on-site and aerodynamic analysis is undertaken at the nearby MIRA wind tunnel.

2007 is a big year for Radical and will see the company running a number of racing championships for its different racing cars - which include: Dunlop Radical Enduro Championship; Dunlop Radical Biduro Championship; Radical Powertec Cup; Radical Challenge Portugal; Swedish Radical Cup; US Radical Cup East; US Radical Cup West; Gulf Radical Championship; Radical German RaceCup and Radical World Cup.

Hardinge machine tool technology is, and will, be used extensively in the manufacture of racing car engines and components for all of these events.

But Hardinge's relationship with Radical and its racing cars does not end there.

The 2007 Dunlop Radical Enduro Championship, held at a number of UK race circuits and the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium - will feature the Hardinge Motorsport SR-8 factory racing car driven by drivers Nigel Greensall and Helen Ray.

The Hardinge Motorsport SR8 was unveiled at the recent autosport Show (NEC, Birmingham) in January 2007 - and the car was used by Radical Sportscars (whilst still on the Hardinge stand) to launch the 2007 SR8 Championship itself.

The SR8 Championship has a large following - and interest looks set to rise with still further with the races being televised on Motors TV.

* The SR8 - the SR8 is powerful and sleek.

The car boasts new bodywork and has world-class handling characteristics.

The car weighs only 650kg and produces more downforce than the combined weight of the car and the driver.

Impressive grip and a paddle-operated semi-automatic gearbox provide a true racing (Le Mans) experience.

The SR8 has a powerful 2.6 Litre 363 BNP Powertec V8 engine (10,500rpm) that comprises Suzuki GSXR cylinder heads mounted on a dedicated dry-sump crankcase.

A flat-plane steel billet crankshaft transmits power to the gearbox and a gear-driven shaft drives 4 scavenge pumps ensuring that the engine operates at optimum efficiency.

The engine's induction system features a twin-butterfly plenum chamber which allows cooled air to be fed directly into the engine whilst also maintaining good aerodynamic flow to the rear wings.

A significant percentage of the SR8's complex and high-precision engine and car components are manufactured using Hardinge milling machines.

They are manufactured from a range of materials - aluminium, alloys, steels etc; - and are machined to high accuracy and equally high surface finish.

The parts often exhibit complex profiles and forms and feature intricate detail - thin walls, deep bores - and are required (and manufactured) in low-to medium volumes.

To cope with these manufacturing requirements Radical relies on Hardinge milling machines and, in the very near future, Hardinge turning technology too.

* Talent 10/78 lathe - the Hardinge Talent 10/78 C-axis lathe, due to be installed at Radical's production facility in Spring 2007, is a compact and rigidly constructed machine.

It is equipped with a 18.5kW spindle drive (with Fanuc control) and includes a three-jaw power chuck as standard.

The machine also has an A2-8 (3,500 rev/min) spindle with 78mm through draw bar capacity.

Rotation time for the Talent's bi-directional 12-station VDI-40 turret is 0.78s (unclamp/index/clamp) to an adjacent station.

The non-rising turret index is achieved using a separate brushless servomotor and the turret positively locks into position using a three-piece curvic coupling.

Through-tool coolant and headwall coolant capability is standard and can accommodate water- or oil-base coolant.

Heavy-duty ball-type linear guideways are used for X- and Z-axis movement, providing added stiffness, damping, and increased surface contact area produces a very stiff, durable and reliable machine.

Rapid traverse rates for the X and Z axes are an impressive 30m/min and maximum X-axis travel is 271mm and maximum Z-axis travel is 600mm.

The lathe has a ribbed 45-deg slant bed base that provides superior rigidity and durability.

All structural components and castings are qualified by finite element analysis (FEA)-a proven, highly-technical procedure that ensures a stiff, structurally-sound machine tool design.

The 2220kg machine base is constructed from high-quality cast iron that contributes to overall stability and rigidity.

Said David Andrew, sales and marketing director at Hardinge: 'The Radical SR8 racing car looks fantastic - and it's great to know that our machine tools have been instrumental in building such a world-beater.' He said: 'Hardinge Motorsport is sponsoring the SR8 factory car in the forthcoming Dunlop Radical Enduro Championships - and we have high hopes that our drivers - Nigel Greensall and Helen Ray - will race away with it.

We have a long-established relationship with Radical and we are delighted that they have continued their investment in our machine tool technologies with the new Talent lathe.'