All Haas machines manufactured after November 1998 are fully Y2K compliant. 

All Haas CNC controls comply with the year 2000 date requirements. Since Haas began building CNC machines, they have utilized an internal calendar with four places to enumerate the year. Further, Haas controls are not PC-based DOS operating systems, and thus are not limited by the year 2000 functions in the software for critical embedded machine controls. In other words, the year 2000 date problem is not applicable to the Haas operating system. 

In addition, Haas machines built prior to 1996, as well as current production brush-type machines (VF-E and VF-EXT), do not use a real-time clock. Therefore, there is no year 2000 date problem with these machines.

However, a minor glitch has been discovered when reading the 3.5” floppy drive on machines manufactured prior to November 1998. In such cases, if the floppy file is dated 00 (meaning 2000), it will cause the file to not be listed when a directory listing is requested using either the LISTPROG F4 method or the Advanced Editor I/0 menu FLOPPY 
DIRECTORY method . This is a very minor problem that can be worked around by loading and saving files to floppy disk using the <filename>F2 and <filename>F3 method. This method works regardless of the date in the control or the dates on the floppy files.

The all-new Haas SL-Series CNC lathes hit the streets in January, and a new brochure detailing these cutting-edge machines is now available.

This new brochure features more than 35 full-color pages packed with photos, specifications and detailed information about the full line of SL-Series turning centers. Haas SL-Series lathes present a new level of manufacturing excellence for 1999, and the new brochure provides all the information necessary to select the right machine and high-productivity options to do any job. To receive your free copy of the new SL brochure, contact Haas Automation at: 800-331-6746, or fill out a literature request form at www.HaasCNC.com on the World Wide Web.

By the time you read this, Haas Automation will be reaping the rewards of another successful WESTEC. This year’s show was the biggest ever in WESTEC’s 36-year history, with more than 750 exhibitors filling 330,000 square feet in three separate halls to demonstrate the best machine tools and metalworking technology in the industry.

As “North America’s Largest Annual Metalworking & Manufacturing Exposition,” WESTEC is the traditional venue for Haas Automation to unveil new products, and this year was no exception. Haas filled its 5,250-square-foot booth with 16 machines representing every product line, in addition to an extensive display of rotary products. Haas was also well represented by other companies throughout the rest of the show, with products on display in at least 14 other booths. Here are some highlights of the exciting new products and options unveiled at WESTEC ’99: 

CNC Turning Centers: 

• The full line of all-new SL-Series lathes 
• 7,000-rpm high-speed spindle 
• Live tooling w/ fully interpolated C axis 
• 4,000-rpm sub spindle with 5" chuck 
• Servo-driven B axis 
• Servo Bar 300 Automatic Bar Feeder 
• 300 psi high-pressure coolant system 
• Air-actuated automatic operator door 
• Imbedded tool box 
 

Machining Centers: 
• VB-1 Vertical Bridge Mill with 200" x 84" x 40" travels, full 5-axis head and 15,000-rpm spindle 
• Prototype VS-3 extra-long travel VMC with 5,000-rpm, 50-taper spindle, fully supported 150-inch X-axis travel and 15,000 lb table capacity 
• 15,000-rpm high-speed spindle 
• High-speed control software with full look ahead and 400 ipm cutting rate 
• Haas-built 40- and 50-taper side-mount tool changers 

Rotary Products: 
• HRT 210 SHS super-high-speed rotary table with 360°/sec rapids and 270°/sec feedrate 

Look for these exciting new products and options to reach production in the near future.