June 22, 2004

Indianapolis — Hurco will unveil the third model in its successful VM Series of vertical machining centers at IMTS 2004. The VM3 caters to job shops and contract manufacturers that need a cost-effective machining center to handle low and medium lot quantity jobs.

The VM3 is positioned to address the industry pressures to reduce cost and speed up turnaround times, with a base price starting at $54,900. The VM3 has travels of 52 inches x 18 inches x 18 inches, a 20 HP spindle motor and an 8,000-RPM spindle to perfectly complement the VM1 and VM2 models. Each of the VM models allows users to set up, program and process jobs quickly and efficiently.

The new VM3 can be optionally equipped with rigid tapping, chip removal system, indexer, 4th axis rotary tables, Hurco’s conversational tool and part probing, and a range of productivity enhancing software. The VM3 is ideal for handling 3D surface machining since it is equipped with a standard 1GB hard drive, expandable RAM (up to 256MB) and contouring rates up to 400 IPM. When full networking is added, the VM3 can be fully integrated into any shop.

Hurco’s UltiMax® control provides simplicity and flexibility on each of the VM Series machining centers. The combination of Hurco‘s advanced control technology along with its VM product line allows machinists to program directly at the machine with knowledge-based programming, convert CAD drawings into part programs by using Hurco’s DXF transfer software option, and download M and G programs directly from offline CAM systems.

The new VM3 will be officially introduced at IMTS 2004 in Hurco’s booth (A-8117) and available for sale in September 2004.