General Machine adds a large-capacity CNC lathe with live tooling and Y-axis milling to our Freeburg, Illinois shop.
The Atrump KL-32160 turned its last shaft this year. For a long time it handled our long shafts and heavy rolls with 20 horsepower, eight tool stations and a manual chuck. It is survived by a Summit 50 manual lathe and a crew with plenty of stories.
Like a field after a hard winter, the space it leaves is making room for something new. In October, a SMEC SL 4500CLY CNC turning center takes its spot on the floor. It weighs 48,502 pounds and arrives in two crates, which is as close as a machine shop gets to Christmas morning.
Old vs. New
| Atrump KL-32160 | SMEC SL 4500CLY | |
|---|---|---|
| Max turning diameter | 19.5″ | 24.4″ |
| Swing over bed | 30″ | 38.4″ |
| Spindle power | 20 hp | 60 hp max / 40 hp continuous |
| Spindle speed | 800 rpm | 1,200 rpm (24″ chuck), up to 2,000 with smaller chucks |
| Tool stations | 8 | 12, indexing in a quarter second |
| Thru bore | 6″ | 7.125″ |
| Chuck | Manual | 24″ hydraulic |
| Live tooling | None | 10 hp, 4,000 rpm, X and Z |
| Y-axis | None | 7.87″ of travel |
| Control | Conversational / BobCAD | Fanuc 0i-TF Plus |
Triple the horsepower and more than 3,100 ft-lbs of spindle torque mean heavy cuts on big parts in tough steel, without babying the machine through them.
One Setup Instead of Three
The bigger change is live tooling and the Y-axis.
On the Atrump, a shredder shaft got turned, unclamped, carried to the mill, indicated and clamped again before anyone could cut a keyway or drill a cross hole. Every handoff added time. Every re-clamp was a chance for tolerances to drift.
The 4500CLY handles it in one clamping. It turns the OD, mills the keyway and flats, then drills and taps the bolt circle. The C-axis positions in 0.001-degree steps, so features land where the drawing puts them.
You get shorter lead times and parts that fit at assembly. Our mill operators get a few jobs taken off their schedule. They have mixed feelings about it. They’ll get over it.
Precision at 48,000 Pounds
Size and accuracy can live in the same machine. The 4500CLY sits on a one-piece 45-degree slant bed of Meehanite cast iron with box ways, and it repeats to 0.00008″ on the X-axis. A human hair is about 40 times thicker.
A built-in tool presetter and programmable tailstock shorten setups, so more of the day goes to cutting metal.
The Work It’s Built For
- Shredder and crusher shafts with keyways, flats and cross holes, finished in one setup
- Hubs and flanges up to 24″ OD, with bolt circles drilled and tapped on the machine
- Hydraulic cylinder glands, pistons and rod ends
- Heavy equipment pins and bushings
- Rolls, sheaves and sprocket blanks that outgrew the Atrump’s chuck
- Turned components for our own fabricated weldments, so the whole assembly stays under one roof
Our Turning Lineup
SMEC SL 4500CLY: Up to 24.4″ diameter and about 115″ long, with milling, drilling and tapping in the same setup.
Summit 50 manual lathe: A 50″ swing and a 240″ bed for long shafts and oversized rolls.
Together they cover large-diameter work, long work and parts that need milled features, all in one shop.
Send Us Your Big Parts
The 4500CLY lands in October, and we’re booking its schedule now. Send your drawings (PDF or STEP) along with material, quantity and need-by date, and we’ll get you a quote.
