ELMIRA, NEW YORK: Bridgeport, a member of The Hardinge Group, is introducing the newest members of their GX-Series VMCs - - the GX 1300 and GX 1600 Performance vertical machining centers - - in Hardinge booth #8032. Positioned in the center of Bridgeport’s machining center portfolio (above the Standard XV-Series and below the High-Performance XR-Series), these performance-focused machines offer mold and die manufacturers, as well as precision engineers in the automotive, aerospace, medical and general engineering sectors, optimum capability and functionality for machining large components.

The Bridgeport GX 1300 and GX 1600 are extremely rigid machines, featuring a stiff and thermally-stable spindle, a rigid C-frame fixed column design, and fixed pre-tensioned double-nut ballscrews on all axes. The unique heavy-duty linear guide and truck configuration provides added stiffness, damping and surface contact area. The machines are configured with two guideways and six guide trucks on the X and Z axes; two guideways and four guide trucks on the Y axis. The 30-tool side-mount/swing-arm automatic tool changer (ATC) features random access, bidirectional indexing and 4.5-second chip-to-chip change time.

“The new larger GX-Series models offer Bridgeport quality and performance to users who seek added capacity for their larger parts,” said Andy McNamara, Product Manager, Milling. “These models round out our performance series of machines which now spans a spectrum that includes the GX 480, GX 600, GX 800, GX 1000, GX 1300 and GX 1600.”
 
GX-Series machine specifications include:
- Travels (X/Y/Z) —
  - GX 1300 — 51.18 x 27.55 x 25.00” (1300 x 700 x 635mm)
  - GX 1600 — 62.99 x 27.55 x 25.00” (1600 x 700 x 635mm)
- Spindle horsepower — 34.8-hp (26-kW)
- Spindle torque — 110ft-lb (149Nm)
- Spindle speeds — 10,000-rpm (12,000-rpm option)
- Table capacity (X/Y)—
  - GX 1300 — 56.00 x 27.55” (1425 x 700mm)
  - GX 1600 — 63.93 x 27.55” (1700 x 700mm)
- Table weight capacity — 3,300lb (1500kg)
- 30-Tool ATC (Automatic Tool Changer) — Optional 40-tool ATC offered
- Rigid, cast iron C-frame construction
- Bridgeport/Fanuc i-Series GX control