INDEX Turn-Mill Centers – Complete Machining at the highest level

Turn-Mill Centers combine turning and milling in a single set-up, thereby enabling the cost-effective complete machining of complex components without the need to change machines or carry out manual set-up changes. INDEX is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of CNC Turn-Mill Centers and provides solutions for parts ranging from simple to highly complex.

INDEX has been developing and manufacturing its Turn-Mill Centers in Germany for decades. The current G-Series stands for highly productive and flexible machine concepts offering maximum precision, rigidity and integration capability.

The selection of the appropriate Turn-Mill Center depends on several technical and economic factors:

1. Workpiece size: Diameter and length determine the required machine size
2. Machining complexity: 5-axis simultaneous machining or 4-axis machining
3. Range of materials: Aluminium, steel, titanium, stainless steels, castings
4. Batch size and level of automation: from single-piece production to fully automated series production with an iXcenter robot cell
5. Technological requirements: gear cutting, hard machining, high-speed milling

The INDEX Machine Selector helps you identify the right model based on your specific requirements.

Try out our Machine Selector

• Fewer set-ups for greater precision

Every time a component is re-clamped, there is a risk of positioning errors. Separately operated lathes and milling machines multiply this risk. A CNC Turn-Mill Center reduces the number of set-ups to a minimum, measurably improves dimensional accuracy and, at the same time, reduces scrap

• Shorter lead times compared to individual machines

Complete machining on a single machine eliminates transport distances, set-up times between operations and waiting times in the material flow. Manufacturing companies typically achieve a reduction in lead time of 30 to 60 per cent compared to conventional process chains with separate lathes and milling machines.

• Cost-effective for small and large production runs

Modern INDEX Turn-Mill Centers are just as suitable for single-part and prototype production as they are for cost-effective series production. Thanks to automated workpiece handling using a gantry loader, double gripper or the iXcenter robot cell, unmanned night shifts can also be carried out.

All INDEX Turn-Mill Centers are equipped with the iXpanel operating system. The 18.5-inch touchscreen interface, based on Siemens SINUMERIK ONE and Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl, links the machine control system directly to production management. Real-time process data, predictive maintenance alerts and interfaces to MES and ERP systems are included as standard.

INDEX’s modular automation solutions comprise bar-loading magazines, machine-integrated gripping devices and external iXcenter robot cells. They transform the turning and milling centres into the core of fully automated production cells, increase machine uptime and measurably boost overall equipment effectiveness.

Turn-Mill Centers are ideal wherever precise, rotationally symmetrical components requiring additional milling, drilling or threading operations are needed.

The close integration of machine technology, automation solutions and digital control software makes INDEX Turn-Mill Centers a complete solution for demanding manufacturing tasks.

Typical areas of application include:

• Hydraulics and pneumatics: valve bodies, pistons, cylinders
• Automotive industry: crankshafts, camshafts, gearbox components, valve housings
• Aerospace: structural components made of titanium and aluminium, turbine blades, landing gear components
• Medical technology: implants, surgical instruments, endoprostheses made of stainless steel or titanium
• Mechanical engineering and drive technology: gears, shafts, flanges, hydraulic blocks
• Energy and power station technology: valve bodies, pump shafts, valves

INDEX Turn-Mill Conters cover workpiece diameters ranging from a few millimetres up to parts with a chuck diameter of 400 mm and turning lengths from 900 mm to 2,300 mm.

By using a Turn-Mill Center, even geometrically complex workpieces with multiple machining planes and tight tolerances can be produced in a cost-effective process.