Dugard 1600E – review by MTDCNC.com
Thursday March 5 2015
If you’ve watched any previous MTDCNC.com videos you may have seen the Dugard 760E machining centre video.
This is a bigger machine within the range, this is the 1600E, now this machine has over 1600mm in the X axis, and over 800mm in the Y axis. It comes as standard with an 11,000rpm spindle and it takes this range of machines into a different environment. So for manufacturers that are looking for a much bigger machine, maybe a machine to do multiples of components on the table or just one large component on the table.
As we move closer to the machine we’re going to pick out some of the features that we like, and the first thing that we’re going to touch on is the swarf extraction. There are 3 augers on this machine for the swarf extraction, you’ve got one to the left and one to the right of the main table and you’ve also got one at the front of the machine – keeping the machining area clear of contaminants is critical, especially if you’re removing the type of material or the amount of material possible with this machine.
When you look at the machine you can actually start to see the build quality, it’s a heavy duty cast base, a one piece base, and it’s also got a heavy duty cast table. As you can see the tool changer is neatly positioned quite a way out of the working envelope which for when you’re looking to load parts you don’t want a tool changer that’s going to interfere with your working envelope or working area. The spindle speed on this machine is 11,000rpm, you can have options such as through spindle coolant, you can have 4th axis units, everything that is available on machining centres is available with this Dugard 1600E.
There is a Fanuc control on this particular model which can either be moved on the swivel or on the arm, so when you’re loading the machine you can take it in and it can aid the setting of components. This is a Fanuc the machine but it can also come with a Siemens or a Mitsubishi M70 control. So for manufacturers that are looking for that larger machine, they’re looking for something that’s a little bit different to what potentially their competitors are using the 1600E is perfect. This machine also has doors on both the left and the right so for longer components you can access the machine from either end. In terms of loading from the front you’ve got two doors, both of which will move into the middle, rather than having one big door, you’ve got the two. So, the E range, is a very competitively priced range of machines, and this 1600 is one of several models, there is a bigger one which is the 2000 but this in itself will serve and meet a demand in the market for larger capacity, heavy duty machining centres and it’s available from Dugard.