We’ve had several articles in the past about hand porting vs. CNC porting, and how hand-crafted ports are turned into ones and zeroes for the CNC machine to replicate. While that is a relatively complicated, expensive process, Rottler is pushing forward with technology to greatly simplify the process with the EM69P 5-axis CNC porting and machining center.

“This will do pretty much anything related to a cylinder head,” says Anthony Usher, Rottler’s VP of Sales and Marketing. “This machine can take a billet and machine it into a final part, or port an existing cast cylinder head.” That versatility isn’t limited to just production, as the EM69P machining center incorporates the capabilities of a Coordinate Measuring Machine as well.

“What we’re showcasing here is the simplicity of being able to do everything in one machine. You can take a cylinder head, and very quickly and very easily digitize the ports,” explains Usher. “Once you put a head in and digitize it, you then put another head in and cut it and you’re done in an hour or two. Other machines in the industry are just manufacturing machines; you have to digitize your designs some other way, externally. You have to get all your numbers from somewhere else, and then import it to the machine. We do it all in one machine here.”

In addition to being an all-in-one solution, Rottler has simplified the human interface and the amount of skill required to set up and operate the machine. “The machine automatically calculates so much stuff, that you need very little experience. In fact, you don’t need previous CNC experience to run a machine like this,” Usher reveals. “In two or three days, we can train a guy to run a machine like this. It’s very intuitive, very simple to run. Training time is short, the need for experienced machine operators is at a minimum, and in a few days, we have customers running the machine and making money.”

Part of Rottler’s philosophy is to not only simplify the human-machine interface, but to bring all the operations into a single machine. To that end, Rottler can have someone with no experience trained on the machine’s operation in under three days.