One of the highlights at Hydromat’s recent Techweek open house in St. Louis, Missouri, was a display of the company’s new Epic R/T technology. According to the company, this line of CNC rotary transfer machines comes “with a price tag comparable to the current non-CNC Hydromat machines.”

Speaking to attendees, demo leaders attributed this price advantage to two developments. One, the company’s embedded motion control (EMC), which features “plug and play” programmable control integrated into each tool-spindle unit, which virtually eliminates conventional manual valves and more complex CNC components. As part of the second development, basic machine castings were modified to eliminate components originally need to support non-CNC or partial-CNC machines. With the resulting savings, a CNC machine costs about the same as non-CNC equipment and about 25 percent less than CNC machines without EMC technology.

This makes the Epic R/T machines competitive for small, medium and large production quantities, the company says. This includes applications now being served by CNC turning machines automated with robots in cells and even some multitasking machines.

The 4-day event also marked the first time that the company’s new Edge Technologies division participated in an open house. This division’s family of products specializes in bar feeding, parts cleaning systems and other lathe automation products. The lines include FMB bar feeders (German-made units that handle round, hex or square barstock from 2 mm to 100 mm in diameter), Bartec Barfeeding Solutions (short bar feeders and Swiss tube feeders at economical prices) and Durr Ecoclean (unitized aqueous and solvent-based parts cleaning systems).

Speaking after the event, Hydromat President and CEO Bruno Schmitter proclaimed it a success, saying, “We are very pleased with the turnout. People in this industry understand the importance of new technology and how it can help them compete globally.”