Cross Hüller`s SPECHT-Xperimental was honored as the best innovation in the "trendsetting technology" category at the EMO world machine tool fair, held in Hanover, Germany from September 12 to 19. The award was made by the editors of Maschinenmarkt magazine.

Cross Hüller developed this machine tool as part of the ACCOMAT project (Accuracy Controlled Machine Tool) sponsored by the German Ministry of Education and Research and involving 23 partners. The aim of the ACCOMAT project, which is led by Cross Hüller - a company in the Hüller Hille group - is to increase the accuracy of machine tools by a factor of 2 while keeping costs to a minimum. SPECHT- Xperimental is a trial version of a self-calibrating machine tool. The prototype is capable of automatically compensating for the kind of inaccuracies caused by wear or changes in temperature.

To this end, SPECHT- Xperimental has laser interferometers and photo-sensitive diodes which continuously monitor the position of the motor spindle guiding the drilling or milling tool and the workpiece fixture. If the relative positions of spindle and fixture change, the data saved in the central machine controller are automatically updated. This applies both to motor spindle guidance and to fixture positioning. The round table on which the fixture is mounted can be adjusted in two axes.

For further information contact:
ThyssenKrupp AG
Trade Press
Bernd Overmaat
Telephon: +49 (0)211 824-36012
e-mail overmaat@tk.thyssenkrupp.com