A new combo choice

If I had to choose just one machine tool to watch in a fabricating shop, it would probably be a combination machine. It slices, it bends, it forms, it engraves, it taps. It's the perfect mechanical representation of a job shop: If it needs to be done to metal, we can do it to the metal.



Of course, every machine tool builder has its own definition of what a combination machine is. For one, it's a turret punch and shear. For another, it's a turret punch and a laser. Manufacturers of ironworkers aren't even invited into this discussion because there is no end to the different variations you'll find on these fabricating workhorses.


Recently I had a turret punch and laser combo on my mind. I was invited to the unveiling of Amada America's LC-C1NT series machine at the company's Schaumburg, Ill., facility last week and was interested to see the advancements made in the design of the machine tool.



The company is no stranger to combination machines, having launched its first in the early 1990s. Actually, the LC-C1NT is its third generation of punching and laser cutting combos.



This machine tool has the prerequisite necessities to be a useful tool for fabricators:

• A 2.5-kW laser to handle a majority of cutting chores encountered by a job shop.


• A 22-ton, servo-driven turret punch that can produce punching speeds up to 370 hit per minute on 1-in. centers.


• The ability to process material up to 0.25 in. thick.

Some other features caught my eye as well:

1. The 45-station turret has room for a station that can accommodate four tapping tools. In many instances, tapping units can be found on combination machines, but they are attached to the turret punch housing, not in the actual turret. With the tapping capability in the turret, additional material movement is eliminated. In the case that tapping capability is not needed, the tap locations can be used to hold punching tooling.


2. The combination machine occupies a small area—approximately 226 sq. ft. The machine's part remover, the PR-C1, can be added to the unit and still not create the need for a shop floor redesign because it is integrated into the combination machine's frame. It removes parts from the sheet and can stack them onto a nearby conveyor, all within a very tight space.


3. Traditionally the rule of punching dictates that the smallest diameter that a hole can be punched in a sheet equals the material thickness. So the smallest hole that could be punched in 0.25-in. steel is a 0.25-in. hole, right? Not according to Amada officials. Company representatives claim SP ("Strong Punch") tools can punch holes as small as 56 percent of material thickness. That opens up a whole new world of punching and tapping opportunities for owners of the machine.

Amada officials believe this machine could be at the heart of a shop's plan to diversify.



"Companies that were heavily into stamping always hated turrets and lasers, but now they realize that as conditions get tougher, they will look to diversify when it makes sense," said David Stone, an Amada product manager.



The days of 1-million-part runs are coming to a close. Maybe the days of single-function machine tools are numbered as well.