Latest CNC sliding head turning centres - including one that guarantees a degree of precision of +/-1 micron - brought a 24% increase in MACH visitors to a Swiss machine tool builder's stand.
MACH 2006 was the first opportunity for Tornos to present two exceptional new machines to the UK. The Swiss sliding head turning centre specialist presented the new Tornos Deco 8sp and the Deco 20s - the first machines of the new S-line range. The new innovations from the sliding head lathe manufacturer brought a 24% increase in visitor numbers to the stand compared to MACH 2004.

More impressive was the fact that 67% of visitors to the Tornos stand were potential new customers.

This extremely high number of new contacts is testament to the market research and product development that has been conducted by Tornos.

This research has enabled the company to develop exciting new products that have grasped the attention manufacturers from new market sectors.

The first machine launched in the new S-Line range, the Deco 8sp is world's first 10mm capacity single-spindle CNC sliding head lathe without guidebush.

With five linear axes, the Deco 8sp provides an excellent price-to-performance ratio whilst the kinematics have been adapted to execute reasonably complex parts.

It is a technological solution that allows Tornos to offer an automatic lathe that guarantees a degree of precision of +/-1 micron (0.001mm) never seen before.

The Tornos 8sp addresses new markets such as the electronics and especially the hard mini-disk sector for mobile IT applications The second machine launch at MACH 2006 was the Deco 20s, which is designed to execute relatively complex parts up to 25.4mm diameter.

The programming and kinematics of the Deco 20s are geared towards simplicity, which is coupled with strong mechanical elements to guarantee high precision.

With six linear axes, the 20s has been designed for producing reasonably complex parts with an excellent price-to-potential ratio.

The considerable strength and power provide the lathe with a very large machining capacity.

Another important aspect is its versatility - the machine has 22 tool positions and a high level of interchangeability to give the Deco 20s exceptional flexibility.

Numerous market studies were conducted and the Deco 20s is the resulting machine that is well suited for the automotive, medical, electronics and connector and general manufacturing sectors.

This was demonstrated with the visitor figures at the MACH 2006 show - 20% of visitors to the Tornos stand worked in the automotive sector whilst 22% were involved in the aerospace industry and another 11% in the connector and electronic markets.

The third machine that appeared on the stand was the Deco 26a 10 axis turning centre.

This proven technology was also very well received at the exhibition and the combination of the three machines manufacturing components on the stand for various industry sectors enabled Tornos to demonstrate its expertise and capabilities.