As the aerospace, automotive and mold and die industries trend toward monolithic components and large structures, there is a growing need for large-travel machining centers. To accommodate large-volume machining, Haas Automation Inc. has expanded the capacity of its EC-1600 horizontal machining center with an additional 10" of Y-axis travel. The latest generation Haas EC-1600 HMC features a 64"×50"×32" work cube—10 more inches of Y-axis travel than before—as well as a 64"×32" T-slot table and a 6,000-rpm, geared-head, 50-taper spindle. The enclosed machine includes multiple chip augers to evacuate chips, and a flood coolant system with 95-gal. capacity. The EC-1600's cast-iron construction reportedly increases rigidity and damps vibration, and the standard T-slot table supports parts weighing up to 10,000 lb. The 50-taper geared-head spindle is powered by a 30-hp vector drive system, providing 450 ft.-lbs. of torque for heavy cutting. With a 30" platter diameter and 10,000-lb. weight capacity, the indexer positions large parts to nearly any angle for machining. A full 4th-axis platter is also available for high-speed contouring and fully interpolated motion. For high-speed machining operations, an optional 10,000-rpm, 50-taper spindle (30 hp, geared-head) is available for the EC-1600.