Hurco TMM8

The Hurco TMM8 is an 8 in (203 mm) chuck turning center with live tooling and a C axis: a 12-station VDI 30 turret, a 4,800 rpm A2-6 spindle rated 18 HP (13.2 kW), and a turning envelope of 10.1 in (256 mm) in diameter by 17.9 in (455 mm) in length. Hurco no longer lists the TMM8 among its current machines, so anyone looking at one today is most likely looking at a machine that has already been in production.

The spindle table quotes 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) at 359 rpm in high gear. Full torque that low in the speed range suits roughing steel near the top of the diameter envelope, while the 4,800 rpm ceiling holds back surface speed on small aluminium diameters. Bar capacity is 2.04 in (52 mm), so bar-fed work stays at about two inches and below. A tailstock is standard, with 23.15 in (588 mm) between centers for supporting shafts.

Live tooling is the reason to pick this machine over a plain two-axis lathe. The driven stations run to 5,000 rpm with 4.44 kW (6 hp) at 1,500 rpm and 28.5 Nm (21 ft-lbs) of torque. That covers cross drilling, tapping and light milling of flats; heavy side milling is beyond it. The axes are X, Z and C, so features off the centerline are reached by C-axis interpolation rather than a Y slide. The turret indexes in .23 seconds to the adjacent station and .70 seconds to the furthest.

Before buying, check the floor: the machine needs 188.4 x 111.3 in (4,787 x 2,826.8 mm) of operating space and stands 83.7 in (2,127 mm) high. The table gives two weights, 8,819 lb (4,000 kg) and 4,125 kg (9,095 lb), so plan rigging for the higher one. Parts dropped into the catcher must fit 5.9 x 3.9 x 2.9 in (150 x 99 x 73 mm). The control is Hurco WinMax, which offers conversational programming as well as NC.