A major advance in rotary table design was announced by Kitagawa at the recent EMO 2011 machine tool exhibition in Hannover. The Japanese manufacturer launched the first of a new generation of compact, low energy units that incorporate a high efficiency direct drive motor to achieve increased torque at lower power consumption.

With a face plate diameter of 240 mm, a register diameter of 100 mm, a 45 mm through-hole and a centre height of 190 mm, the DXR240 offers an astonishing 10-fold improvement in mechanical efficiency and motor torque, compared with existing Kitagawa rotary tables.

Direct-drive technology is compatible with modern machine tools, with their faster axis travels and greater look-ahead capability, allowing the DXR240 to be integrated as an additional CNC axis on highly dynamic machine tools.

Owing to the absence of a gearbox, the table is capable of bi-directional movement with no hysteresis and so there is no need to compensate for backlash error. Electromagnetic braking and a servo clamping torque of 200 Nm ensure accurate angular positioning.

The table rotates at up to 100 rpm for high productivity and allows precise machining thanks to reduced thermal displacement. In addition, the fully enclosed, absolute rotary encoder is mounted just behind the face plate, rather than at the rear of the table, resulting in more accurate feedback of actual table position. The unit is therefore well suited to exacting applications in the aerospace and medical sectors, for example.