The impressive 134 hp main spindle transfers up to 5,531 lbf in to the heavy vertical and horizontal milling head. A heavy duty fork-type head, a spindle cartridge change fork-type head – both to enable 5-axis operation – and a slim spindle extension round up the initial milling head configuration. All heads will be designed, built and tested by Droop+Rein in Bielefeld. Furthermore, the machine will be prepared for more heads to be fitted in the future as new jobs arrive. The versatile 400 pockets robot tool magazine ensures automatic loading of 3 different tooling systems into the selected milling and turning heads.

A distinctive feature is the table design. The X-bed carries two 236 by 315 in tables that can be operated separately under the spindle while the other one is (un-)loaded outside the machining area. Coupled ‘in tandem’ the tables can be extended to an enormous length of 709 in for machining extra-long workpieces. In addition, each table holds an integrated 236 in rotary table that utilize the 2 × 149 hp main drives to turn components of up to 440,925 lb weight (using one of the turning tool holders provided in addition to the milling heads) or to position as a C-axis for high accuracy milling and drilling operations. The result will be the ultimate one-stop precision machining source for extra-large components with complex geometry that require precision tolerances. 

Established in 1971, Metalex is a performance-driven contract manufacturing company, specializing in producing high-quality complex workpieces for a wide range of market leaders in the aerospace, energy, marine and consumer goods industries. Metalex desire to source a machine that would not only satisfy current production needs but also meet all projected demands in the years ahead saw it contact with a number of machine builders, including Starrag which in the past has supplied it with a number of machines (a Dörries vertical turning lathe and two Starrag STC horizontal five-axis machining centers).