The VC-V is Dörries' double-column vertical turning lathe from the Starrag Group, built around a moving table that travels through a fixed portal. The table rides hydrostatic guideways, the crossrail is hydrostatically clamped, and one clamping carries turning, drilling, milling and optional grinding.

Why a moving table instead of a fixed one for very large parts?

On a fixed-table vertical lathe the portal has to reach across the whole swing, and loading a 300-tonne ring means maneuvering it under the structure. The VC-V moves the workpiece on a sliding bed while the portal stays put, so the part is loaded out in the open and then travelled into the cut — the reason a ring a rolling-element table would flex and wear is instead held true on an oil film.

• 1,400-12,000 mm turning diameter
• Hydrostatic moving table, 350 t workpiece weight
• 120-300 kW main drive
• Turning, drilling, milling and grinding in one setup

Against a fixed-table vertical lathe, the VC-V buys loading flexibility and full five-sided machining on components up to 12 metres — the layout a turbine or gear-ring shop chooses when one part replaces several machines.