Hydromat EPIC P10/12

A multi-spindle automatic feeds bar stock through spindles — the workpiece is bar stock, and the machine produces turned parts from bar. A rotary transfer machine uses individual workpiece fixtures (pallets) on a rotary indexing table — the workpiece is a casting, forging, or pre-machined blank placed in the fixture. Multi-spindle automatics are ideal for high-volume turned parts from bar (screws, connectors, shafts). Rotary transfer machines are ideal for prismatic parts (housings, valve bodies, castings) requiring machining on multiple faces and bore axes. The part type determines which technology is appropriate — bar stock = multi-spindle; castings/forgings with multiple machined features = rotary transfer.

For a mid-complexity hydraulic valve body in ductile iron (12 bores, 4 faces, 8 tapped ports): typical cycle time on a 10-station EPIC is 18–30 seconds, producing 120–200 parts/hour. A standalone 4-axis machining center machining the same part in 4 setups takes 8–15 minutes total, producing 4–8 parts/hour. The EPIC's throughput advantage is 15–25x for this application. At 200 parts/hour for a single-shift operation, the EPIC produces 1,600 parts/day. At automotive production volumes of 500,000–2,000,000 parts/year, the per-piece cost reduction justifies the $1–2M capital investment over 2–4 years.

Changeover on a rotary transfer is more involved than on a machining center but less complex than fully rebuilding a dedicated transfer line. Changing to a similar part family (same diameter range, similar feature locations) requires: new fixture pallets for the rotary table (2–4 weeks lead time from Hydromat or fixture suppliers); new tooling at changed stations; and CNC program recall. Major changes (different part size, completely different bore patterns) may require station reconfiguration — modifying the station tooling blocks and fixture plate, taking 1–3 weeks. Rotary transfer is most economical when running similar part families for 5+ year production programs.

The EPIC P10/12 achieves ±0.005 mm positioning accuracy and bore diameter tolerances of ±0.003 mm with proper tooling and setup. For IATF 16949-controlled automotive production, Hydromat machines have documented Cpk capability: most bore and face operations achieve Cpk 1.67+ (better than the 1.33 minimum automotive standard) in stable production conditions. In-process gauging integration (probing at dedicated gauging stations) provides 100% inspection capability within the rotary cycle — critical for automotive zero-defect requirements. Hydromat's application engineering team supports PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) documentation for automotive OEM programs.

Primary Hydromat users: automotive (fuel systems, transmission components, steering components); fluid power (hydraulic valve bodies, pump housings, actuators); pneumatics (valve manifolds, cylinder bodies); power tools (motor housings, gear cases); plumbing and HVAC (valve bodies, fittings, manifolds); medical devices (at smaller machine sizes — precision housings and instrument bodies). Hydromat's largest customer segments are automotive and fluid power, where multi-million unit production runs of aluminum and iron castings drive the economics. The company's design capability handles aluminum die castings, sand castings, iron castings, brass forgings, and steel blanks.