Toshiba TSS 30/55C
Manufacturer specifications, what it is built to do, the years we have seen them listed, what tooling fits, and what to check on one. MTE also buys them outright.
What the Toshiba TSS 30/55C is
The Toshiba TSS 30/55C is a CNC vertical boring and turning mill — a machine for turning and boring large-diameter, short work on a horizontal rotary table — rings, hubs, casings and flanges too big or too heavy to hang off a horizontal lathe. The manufacturer publishes a max turning diameter of 216.5 in (5,500 mm).
What it is built to do
From the figures the manufacturer publishes, a Toshiba TSS 30/55C suits:
- workpieces up to the published 44,000 lb (20,000 kg), which on a machine this size is usually the binding constraint rather than the travels
A note on the name. Toshiba Machine Co. renamed itself Shibaura Machine Co. on 1 April 2020, so the manufacturer’s own specification for this machine is published under Shibaura Machine even though the machine, the nameplate and the way everyone in the trade refers to it all still say Toshiba.
Selling a used Toshiba TSS 30/55C
Shibaura's series page for the TSS-C says the TSS-C(S) model was developed by putting a live spindle and table indexing on the single-column CNC vertical boring and turning machine, so the S build also bores, drills and taps. Read the plate for the letter after the C, then look at the ram: a seller who knows whether the live spindle head is fitted can describe the machine in one line.
That same series page describes the TSS-C with a FANUC Series 31iA and a 10.4 in color LCD, which is not the control named in the spec table above. Because Shibaura's own pages name two different controls, photograph the control's system screen or the label in the cabinet and write the exact series into the description.
Two Renishaw items appear on Shibaura's option list for this mill. One is a radio touch probe for the part, which came with a Shibaura measuring program and a calibration block for checking the probe's compensation value; the other is an RTS probe that measures tool length and corrects the offset. When either is on the machine, keep the calibration block and the probe parts together and name them in the listing.
Arm deflection changes as the rail head moves out along the crossrail. The series page offers a device that compensates for it automatically as the head travels, lists it as an option and marks it patent pending. Find out from the original order papers or the last service report whether this unit has it, and say so in the description.
Among the standard accessories Shibaura lists a locally operated four-jaw chuck marked 6 ton, automatic arm clamping devices, a power table traverse device and a chip guard in removable sections. On the 30/55 the chip cover has an inner diameter of 3650 mm (143.7 in) and stands 750 mm (29.5 in) above the table top. Count the guard sections and the chuck jaws and note any that are missing.
For a buyer planning the floor, Shibaura's leaflet for this model gives its size as 7465 x 10370 x 6000 mm, height by width by depth. It rates the table drive at AC45/37 kW and the spindle drive at AC18.5/15 kW on a 30 minute and continuous basis, and lists 1100 mm (43.3 in) of horizontal travel for the table.
Sources: Shibaura Machine, read November 1, 2026; Shibaura Machine, read September 16, 2026; Shibaura Machine, read November 1, 2026.
Toshiba TSS 30/55C specifications
These are the manufacturer’s figures for this model as currently published. A machine built years ago may differ in control generation and in options, which is exactly why the questions below matter when you sell one.
Further specifications the manufacturer publishes
Source: manufacturer specification page.
What fits a Toshiba TSS 30/55C
Each of these follows from a published specification above, which is named beside it.
50-taper toolholders
This is a 50-taper spindle — the 7:24 steep taper that CAT-50, BT-50 and DIN 69871 (SK-50) holders all share. They share the taper and nothing else that matters: the retention knob and the flange form differ between those standards, so holders do not swap between them without changing pull studs. Knowing which standard a machine was tooled for is worth doing before the holders are packed.
Derived from — Spindle taper: 7/24 taper No. 50
Toshiba TSS 30/55C equipment and options
Standard on a new Toshiba TSS 30/55C
- Through-spindle coolant
Optional on a new Toshiba TSS 30/55C
- Tool probe
- Part probe
- Linear scales
Source: Shibaura Machine, October 26, 2026.
What years the Toshiba TSS 30/55C was built
Across the units we have tracked, build years run from 1999 to 2012. Observed across 25 marketplaces, not a manufacturer build record. The manufacturer specifies FANUC 31iB Plus, so a unit on an older control is an early one or a retrofit.
Toshiba TSS 30/55C machines on the market now
We track listings across 25 used-machinery marketplaces, and every competitor in this market is one of them, so this is a view none of them can produce for themselves. Right now there are 3 units of this exact designation on the market, drawn from 2 independent sources, spanning model years 1999 to 2012. That is a thin market for this designation, which usually works in a seller’s favor.
We count only listings whose model is spelled as this machine’s own designation. Near spellings that may be a different variant are excluded rather than counted, so this is a floor on what is out there, not a total.
What affects the value of a used Toshiba TSS 30/55C
- Control. The manufacturer specifies FANUC 31iB Plus.
- Build year. The units we tracked were built from 1999 to 2012, across 2 model years.
- Against the published figures. The manufacturer gives max spindle speed 100 rpm (table), spindle motor power AC 25/20 HP, 1 ~ 2,000 rpm (live spindle head), tool capacity 24 tools and max turning diameter 216.5 in (5,500 mm).
What to check on a Toshiba TSS 30/55C
The same list whichever side of the deal you are on.
- Live spindle through its range. On a unit with the live spindle head, Shibaura rates it at AC 25/20 HP across 1 to 2,000 rpm. Run it from low speed to the top of that range with a holder in the No. 50 taper and listen for bearing noise at each step.
- Both table speed ranges. The table changes speed through a two-range hydraulic shift combined with AC motor control. Run it in each range, watch that the shift engages cleanly, and see that the table reaches its 100 rpm top speed.
- Crossrail moves and clamps. The crossrail travels 78.7 in (2000 mm) vertically, and Shibaura notes it is not an NC axis. Raise and lower it, let the automatic arm clamps lock, and write down any alarm or hesitation when they release.
- Pockets in the tool pod. The ATC tool pod holds 24 tools. Cycle a holder through several pockets, then record how many holders, and of which taper standard, stay with the mill.
- Coolant through the spindle. Dual face contact with coolant through the spindle is standard on this model. Send coolant through a drill on the ram and check that it flows at the tip without leaking at the face.
- Table oil cooler. A lubricant oil cooling unit comes as standard, part of how the maker holds down thermal distortion in the bed and table. Confirm it starts with the machine and that its oil level and filter are current.
Sources: Shibaura Machine, read September 16, 2026; Shibaura Machine, read November 1, 2026.
Toshiba TSS 30/55C control
- Control FANUC 31iB Plus
Machines buyers cross-shop with the Toshiba TSS 30/55C
Other CNC vertical boring and turning mills in this directory, closest first on max turning diameter.
Okuma VTM-2000YB
- Max turning diameter
- ø2,000 (78.74)
- Max turning length
- 1,400 (55.12)
- Max table load
- 10,000 (22,000)
Toshiba TUD-16
- Max turning diameter
- 78.7 in (2,000 mm)
- Max turning length
- 53.1 in (1,350 mm)
- Max table load
- 22,000 lb (10,000 kg)
- Table size
- 63 in (1,600 mm) diameter
Toshiba TMD-13
- Max turning diameter
- 63 in (1,600 mm)
- Max turning length
- 43.3 in (1,100 mm)
- Max table load
- 17,600 lb (8,000 kg)
- Table size
- 49.2 in (1,250 mm) diameter
Browse the whole CNC Vertical Turret Lathes (VTL) catalog, or see everything we buy from Toshiba.
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