Makino Inc. announces the new F-Series vertical machining center designed to provide stiffness and rigidity for chatter-free cutting, agility for high-speed and hard milling and accuracies for tight tolerance blends and matches typical of complex, 3-D contoured geometry associated with die/mold and medical production. The machine design begins with a unique axis configuration that has no overhangs and incorporates large castings that provide a robust cutting platform. It then integrates 8mm fine-pitch ballscrews and 0.05-micron scale feedback as standard equipment. The F-Series consists of two models: the F3 and the F5. The smaller F3 features X-, Y- and Z-axis travels of 25.6", 19.7" and 17.7", respectively, a 33.5"x19.7" table and a maximum workpiece size of 33.5" long x 19.7" wide x 17.7" tall. By contrast, the larger F5 features X-, Y- and Z-axis travels of 35.4", 19.7" and 17.7", respectively, a 39.4" x 19.7" table and a maximum workpiece size of 39.4" long x 19.7" wide x 17.7" tall. Both the machines have a table load capacity of 1,432 lbs. and a 30-tool magazine provides capacity for a wide array of tooling. Included in the standard configuration of the F-Series machine is a 20,000-rpm, HSK-63A spindle which incorporates Makino's patented core-cooling, under-race and jacket spindle temperature control system. The F-Series utilizes the Makino Professional 5 Control, which affords the blend of a Windows CE graphical user interface (GUI), touch-screen selection offering instant access to information literally at your fingertip, efficient PC-like capability for data management and editing and the networking and storage capability of a data center. Also featured in the F-series is Makino's proprietary Super Geometric Intelligence (SGI.4) software developed for high-feed-rate, tight-tolerance machining of complex, 3-D, contoured shapes.