Quaser HX404 Cell

The Quaser HX404 Cell is the HX404 horizontal machining center delivered as a flexible manufacturing cell: the same 400 mm (□15.8") pallet and the same travels, but with 8 or 14 pallets in storage and 240 tool positions as standard. It belongs to what Quaser calls the FMC series, an automated solution meant to run from a single machine up to multiple production lines.

Pallet handling works in two stages. A swing type changer serves the machine internally, and a matrix type store holds the pallets outside it. With 8 or 14 fixtures loaded, the cell can work through a queue of different jobs, or a long run of one job, without an operator at the load station for each cycle.

The tool count is the other half of unattended running. 240 positions is four times the 60 of the standalone HX404, enough to keep sister tools for worn cutters and the full tool sets of several parts in the magazine at once. Tool limits are 76.2 mm (3") in diameter, 125 mm (4.9") with neighboring pots empty, and 350 mm (13.8") in length.

Some figures differ from the standalone machine. Maximum work piece height is 740 mm (29.1") here, against 900 mm (35.4") on the HX404, so tall tombstones must be checked. The spindle is listed at 15K ~ 20K. Travels are 560 mm (22.1") in X and 640 mm (25.2") in Y and Z, the swing is Ø630 mm (Ø24.8"), and each pallet carries 400 kg (882 lbs).