Kitako has added another four-spindle CNC lathe to its line: the HS3200i with ultra high-speed automated gantry loader. Available from SB Machine Tools, the lathe boasts X-axis gantry loading feed rates of 6,700 ipm. Combined, the four-spindle operation and gantry loading capability accomplish untended operation with no idle time for part loading/unloading. It provides fast rapid traverse rates, along with a carrier indexing time of 1.5 seconds with a 0.3-second turret indexing per station.

Operating much like a pallet changer on a machining center, parts are transitioned in and out of the machining zone in as little as 0.8 second each. The lathe's four spindles are mounted in a horizontal, square pattern in a large carrier drum. The drum's positioning accuracy is ensured by a large-diameter, precision-toothed, curvic coupling. Spindles are generally partnered as pairs so as the carrier is indexed 180 degrees two spindles rotate to the machining area as two spindles move out for loading and unloading. The two spindles in the machining zone, along with the respective slides and turrets work simultaneously as well as independently.