Building world-class CNC lathes for companies worldwide

2013 was a challenging and successful year for FatHaco. Many projects were brought to a good end, thanks to our uninterrupted efforts to meet our customer's needs. 2 of these projects stand out, and we are very proud to present them to you. We custom-built CNC lathes for the Finnish company Outokumpu and the American Ellwood City Forge, both leading companies in their industry.                                                                       

Project 1: 4 lathes for Outokumpu's brand new factory floor                 

This year, Outokumpu (formerly known as ThyssenKrupp VDM), the world's leader in stainless steel and high-performance alloys, re-organized their bar production. They moved the processing of forged bars thicker than 125 mm to their brand new factory floor in Unna, Germany. This move was accompanied by a substantial investment in modern machinery.

In this context, they acquired no less than 4 FatHaco TUR 4MN (1,100 x 7,000) lathes for the heavy cutting of titanium. These lathes' design is based entirely on an extremely rigid cast iron step-bed, with 4 hardened guide ways to assure maximum stability. To further ensure outstanding performances, they have been equipped with the most sophisticated technology, such as spindle boxes with a 24,000 Nm torque on spindle S1. Another special option is  the water pressure which goes up to 200 bar.

All 4 of these CNC machines have been properly installed during the course of the year and are working full power. The cooperation with Outokumpu worked excellently. As a result, FatHaco was able to solve all technical issues quickly and succeeded in meeting their ambitious timetable.                   

Project 2: Monster lathe for Ellwood City Forge    

A second remarkable project in 2013 was a 22 meter long and 3 meter diameter monster lathe (TUR 4MN) with a capacity of 90,000 kg. This huge CNC lathe is now almost ready for shipment to its owner in the US, Ellwood City Forge, one of the world's leaders in the open-die forging industry.                       

The lathe in question is a 4 guide ways step bed machine. This sets the FatHaco lathe apart from its competitors. Others often claim to offer 4 guide ways lathes, which are in fact 3 guide ways machines with 1 bigger guide way in the middle. The actual 4 guide ways design that FatHaco manufactures, is much stronger and more stable.   

The design for the Ellwood lathe is even more exceptional. The machine's base is made up of 2 huge separate beds: one for headstock and tailstock, which is 20 m wide, and one for carriage, which is 27 m wide.

Next big project

After a fruitful 2013, FatHaco is looking forward to the challenges that 2014 will bring. We already know that our next big project will be the production of 2 heavy duty TUR 4MN CNC lathes, one for  Kardökmak and one for Cag Celik, both Turkish companies.  These machines will have a 1.5 meter turning diameter and a 30,000 kg work piece weight. The first one will be ready in February 2014.