The company says it has re-engineered its flagship Alpha U range of CNC/manual lathes. The two-axis, slant bed lathe now features a Fanuc 21i-T-based touchscreen to provide simplicity, cutting performance and production flexibility, the company says.

The 1000 Series control features a 10.4″ color touch screen, keypad and system selection key said to provide simple and effortless mode selection and cycle input

It is said to offer enhanced production flex HPG handwheel/DRO (manual) control, Alpha System, ISO programming and the Manual Guidance System. The Manual Guidance System is a touchscreen-accessible cutting program enabling the full generation of simple cutting profiles and complex automatic programs directly at the machine. A teach facility is available, allowing hand wheel initiated moves to be recorded as a program and re-run automatically after completion of the first component.Four models of the Alpha U with 1000 series control are available: the Alpha 1330U (330 mm swing over 0.76 m bed); Alpha 1400U (400 mm swing over 1.25m bed); Alpha 1460U (460 mm swing, with choice of 1m, 1.5m or 2m bed); and Alpha 1550U (550 mm swing over 1m, 1.5m, 2m or 3m bed