1998 Mazak VTC-16A CNC Vertical Mill

The 1998 Mazak VTC-16A is a 22- × 16- × 20-in-travel vertical machining center that slips through a 102 × 97 × 106 in doorway yet hauls 1 000 lb on its 35 × 40 in table. A 15 hp motor turns the CAT-40 spindle to 8 000 RPM for aluminum surfacing or 175 ft-lb torque at 600 RPM for steel slotting, and box-way construction keeps chatter low when the cutter is six inches out of the holder. Rapids hit 787 IPM in X and Y and 590 IPM in Z, feeding a 20-station swing-arm changer that swaps tools in 4 s chip-to-chip.

The Mazatrol M-Plus dialog control accepts EIA code or conversational programs, while the Haas 5C servo indexer bolts to T-slots to add programmable fourth-axis moves. Coolant flood, spindle orientation and rigid tapping come standard, so long runs of valves, manifolds or molds roll off with minimal operator touches. Compared with the VTC-16B—limited to 7 000 RPM, 24 in X travel and no box ways—the VTC-16A’s 8 000 RPM head, 22 in X stroke and beefier frame keep metal removal rates higher and finish passes smoother, yet both models share the same M-Plus logic for effortless code transfer.