MTD Audiobook
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XYZ brings 19 machines to MACH 2024
03/27/2024
XYZ brings 19 machines to MACH 2024
XYZ Machine Tools will be exhibiting the full range of its TMC machining centres for the first time at MACH 2024. The company will premiere the new XYZ CT65 LTY-S Twin/Sub spindle lathe. In total, XYZ will have 16 machines under power on its main Stand 140 in Hall 20, right next to the entrance to Hall 20. In addition, it will have an XYZ RLX 780 3m CNC Lathe on a second stand in Hall 6 - Stand 72 with two XYZ 500LR VMCs on the WorldSkills Stand 480 in Hall 17. The XYZ TMC range features the easy-to-use ProtoTRAK® control which delivers simple shop floor programming complete with optional handwheels for manual operation and winding forwards and backwards through the machining cycle. Built with a solid ribbed casting and the latest linear rail technology, these machines are not much more than an equivalent-sized XYZ bed mill, giving the advantages of the bed mill in an enclosed safe and clean working environment with up to 20 station carousel tool changer. The machines give the versatility to make one-off or small batch parts to full production runs with minimal operator effort. Making its debut at MACH will be the Box Way XYZ CT65 LTY-S Twin/Sub spindle lathe that brings the advantages of automated one-hit turned and milled components to XYZ’s customers. The machine can turn parts up to 490mm long and bar feed diameters up to 66mm. With twin spindles, live tooling and Y and C-axis, this machine can turn and mill complex parts at both ends in one operation, dropping the finished part into its part catcher for hours of unattended machining. For heavy-duty machining applications, the XYZ 800 HD includes box slideways and massive ribbed castings for maximum rigidity. Matched with the Siemens 828D control with ShopMill and options for 4th axis rotary tables, this machine has the power and capability to machine the toughest materials. For full 5-axis simultaneous machining, the XYZ UMC-5X can save hours in setup time especially where 6 sides of a part need to be milled or drilled. With suitable fixturing full machining can be done in just two setups. Repeatability on this machine is ± 2.5 microns with linear scales on the X, Y and Z axes with high-precision encoders on the A and C-axes. A direct drive high torque 90rpm motor is standard on the rotary axis and an option on the tilting axis. A 15,000 rpm spindle, Dynamic Collision Monitoring and Thermal Spindle Compensation are standard with options for 18,000 and 24,000rpm spindles and Traori hole machining compensation making this a powerful and cost-effective solution which has proved to be popular with aerospace manufacturers. The stand will also feature the ever-popular RMX Bed Mills, KMX Turret Mills and RLX lathes. These machines can be used manually or under full CNC with their ProtoTRAK® controls. This makes learning and operating the machines very simple. This year, XYZ Machine Tools is celebrating 40 years since it was founded. It now has over 15,000 machines in daily use in the UK and across Europe where it has an extensive distribution network. It is well known for the reliability and quality of its machines and its after-sales service.
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Versatile workholding ensures productivity and precision
03/27/2024
Versatile workholding ensures productivity and precision
TecnAir designs and manufactures an extensive variety of pneumatic cylinders, valve assemblies, linear drives, handling equipment, controls and other products. Located in Shipley, the company’s products are used for the assembly of standard and special automation solutions worldwide, predominantly in the transport, semiconductor, railway, marine and off-shore automotive industries. Characterising this activity above all else is the large amount of metal cutting involved in machining the parts, as well as the extreme accuracy to which they must be machined. To this end, since the early 2000s the manufacturer has entrusted component clamping on its machining centres to Chick workholding products, manufactured in the US and supplied through sole UK agent 1st Machine Tool Accessories. Steve Watson, CNC Operations Manager at TecnAir advised: “The accuracy of the sliding surfaces is critical on many of our components, so tolerances down to single-figure microns must be held to ensure they can perform many millions of cycles faultlessly. Similarly, the finish on ground, polished or roller-burnished sealing faces has to be very high, so the flatness and roughness of milled surfaces must be excellent to allow the low Ra values to be achieved as quickly as possible.” “Fixturing is crucial, as any movement or vibration cannot be tolerated. Chick products have underpinned the required level of accuracy in our factory for the past couple of decades and continue to do so. Not only is rigid workholding ensured, which incidentally also prolongs tool life, but a high level of interchangeability of the various Chick clamping units also helps to minimise investment in the equipment.” Monthly quantities are machined in batches of from 200 to 2,000 for TecnAir’s products, which account for 80% of turnover. Many thousands of component variants are involved, which are manufactured over a double shift pattern, five days a week plus at weekends if necessary. The remainder of throughput is subcontract design and production of parts for other companies, which involves machining anything from one-offs to a couple of hundred components. Supporting the prismatic machining operations on the shop floor are 15 Chick QwikLOK units, which are used on five vertical machining centres (VMCs), three from HAAS and two from Yamazaki Mazak. Six of the units are dedicated to pendulum machining of relatively short pneumatic cylinder bodies from aluminium extrusion in three operations – rear-end cap machining, front-end cap machining and inlet and outlet port machining on a Mazak VTC-530. The resulting high-density workholding has the effect of maximising the use of the available machining area and reducing the overall number of tool changes needed for machining the components. In addition, there are 11 MultiLOK towers deployed across three twin-pallet, 4-axis, horizontal machining centres (HMCs). They are a stand-alone Doosan HC400 and two Mazak HCN-4000s linked by a Palletech automated storage and retrieval system for 16 machine pallets. Materials processed are mainly aluminium and stainless steel, plus some brass, with castings accounting for 30% of throughput while the remainder is produced from either billet or extrusion. The QwikLOKs use three jaws to secure two workpieces simultaneously against a fixed central jaw by turning a single handle, in contrast to a traditional vice that is only able to clamp a single part. Opposing forces are cancelled and a reliable reference point is provided for machining. The Chick jaws create a pull-down action when they close, ensuring rigid workholding. On every face of each four-sided MultiLOK tower, according to the size of the component to be fixtured, there is either a single-station or a dual-station jaw set. These employ Chick’s proprietary QwikChange snap-on/snap-off interface. Round and diamond pins in two bushed locating holes provide high clamping repeatability, leading to consistency of machining from one batch to the next. Ideally, for maximum productivity and extended periods of unattended machining, components are set up on all four faces of a Multi-Lok. However, there are occasions when only two or three faces are employed, such as if components are longer than the tower width and overhang one or both sides. Alternatively, instead of a jaw set, an aluminium faceplate can be snapped in seconds onto the QwikChange interface on any side of the towers. The repeatability of location is within microns, providing what is essentially a zero-point pallet exchange system. The faceplate is pre-machined and may incorporate other workholding devices to configure bespoke fixturing arrangements for securing awkwardly shaped and/or multiple components quickly in a single set-up. The decision to invest in a faceplate depends on the number of components to be produced and the frequency with which batches repeat. At TecnAir, a couple of dozen machined faceplates are stored for suitable jobs. An additional advantage of this approach is that workpieces can be fixtured offline, away from the machine tool, maximising its spindle uptime. It is similarly possible to put a faceplate onto a QwikLOK on a VMC if an application warrants it. Moreover, based on similar considerations regarding quantities of components involved and frequency of production, bespoke machined soft jaws can be held for use on the QwikLOKs to hold securely workpieces of difficult shape, often in multiples, such as round components that would tend to spin in a normal hard jaw set.
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Sound of Music
03/27/2024
Sound of Music
Like the ‘Sound of Music’ that has won its place in movie folklore, the 2024 ‘Sound of Studer’ themed event that took place at the company’s Steffisburg headquarters has won its place in the hearts and minds of the 65 journalists from over 20 countries that attended. The annual Fritz Studer AG event is always packed with the latest innovations in grinding, an insight into the company’s ongoing evolution and an overview of the global trends in the manufacturing industry - and the February event once again lived up to its billing. By Rhys Williams Located in the Swiss Alps, in a region more stunning than the backdrop to the legendary movie, the ‘Music Motion Meeting 2024’ kicked off with presentations from the management team and was followed by technical presentations on the latest innovations and an insight into what we can expect to see as we move through 2024. Studer CEO Jens Bleher kicked off proceedings with a presentation that discussed the company’s performance over the last 12 months, the market turbulence, new updates to the CORE interface, product enhancements and the pride in the success the Swiss manufacturer continues to enjoy with its success at the World Skills event. “Despite the challenging investment environment, we again increased our sales, especially in key markets like the USA and China. Asia was the largest single region followed by Central Europe and North America and consistent investments in product development and site infrastructure have paid off. We have turned our announcements into reality and improved our market position to strengthen ourselves for the future in the long term,” the Studer CEO announced. Studer once again won market share in many regions around the world, and it hit a new sales record in its Customer Care segment. Bleher took it as a positive sign for the 2024 fiscal year that the order situation developed exceptionally well towards the end of 2023. Whilst confident that order intake will continue in a positive direction, the CEO was particularly bullish about the expected performance in the second half of 2024 – a period when the manufacturer of cylindrical grinding machines will present new technologies. Although the development of incoming orders was weaker in individual markets, such as Germany, China and some Asian countries, other parts of the world saw positive results. At the 2023 event, Turkey and several Eastern European countries were the surprise performers. At this year’s event, Sandro Bottazzo, CSO at Studer said: “We achieved good results in many countries and even posted a new record order intake in some.” Some of the standout performers were announced as Spain, Austria and Holland, a welcome boost with the headwinds of global uncertainty and inflation faced by some of the manufacturing powerhouse nations. Looking at the industry by customer segments, a point that should be marked as a good barometer of worldwide manufacturing performance for MTDCNC readers was that the aerospace industry once again generated the largest increase in new orders. This industry has now overtaken the declining automotive industry for Studer. The ‘tool’ manufacturing segment remained below expectations with the largest individual segment for the second consecutive year being ‘precision engineering’. “I am very pleased that our grinding machines are so highly trusted by small and medium-sized enterprises, and that this segment remains strategically important for us,” explained Bottazzo. The ‘mechanical engineering’ and ‘mould & die’ segments also maintained their critically important positions. The increasing demand for precision cylindrical grinding machines in the semiconductor industry has been marked as very pleasing for Studer with Bottazzo confirming robust semiconductor growth in the Americas and Asia. The performance of specific precision cylindrical grinding machines and maintaining a broad portfolio remained of particular importance in 2023. Incoming orders for CNC universal cylindrical grinding machines were reported as very solid. The machine with the highest sales volume was the S33, followed by the favoritCNC, the S31, the S41 and the favorit. “When it comes to internal cylindrical grinding machines, it was the third-best year for incoming orders in the company’s history for the S131,” said Bottazzo. Orders for the new S100 internal cylindrical grinding machine were also very pleasing and exceeded targets. Whilst 2023 sales volumes didn’t exceed the 2022 numbers that were reported as the company’s third-best year on record, the order value was almost on par. This was due to higher-value turnkey solutions and the Customer Care packages reaching record numbers. Alluding to the Customer Care division, Bottazzo added: “Here we were able to set a sales record for the second consecutive year. This applies to all business areas from maintenance and service to spare parts and overhauls. Particularly pleasing was the development in Eastern Europe, where Studer now performs service with its skilled personnel in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary.” This expansion and the incredible growth have lit the way for the company to continue investing in the Customer Care division. In 2023, Studer participated in more than 30 trade shows. At EMO 2023 the company presented three automation solutions for the first time. The arrival of the new insertLoad loader as well as the roboLoad and uniLoad was a paradigm shift for the company and these were prominent during the press tour of the facility. Throughout 2023, the focus remained on the development and advancement of grinding technologies. The S36 external cylindrical grinding machine introduced in May 2022 has proven particularly suitable for components in the e-mobility sector since its arrival. Alluding to this, CTO Daniel Huber added: “Now, our customers can use all spindle variants and automation solutions without restrictions on the S36. Thanks to the new, powerful grinding spindle with 25kW, it is possible to use particularly wide grinding wheels up to 160mm.” The S36 fills a gap between the existing S11 and S22 machines and it offers greater spindle and automation variants. This includes integration with the easyLoad and uniLoad systems that permit customers to automate production on the S36. Additional options include the ability to add high-speed grinding with CBN or diamond grinding wheels and the Smartjet system. Huber also mentioned the success of the new S100 internal cylindrical grinding machine that was introduced in October 2022. Since this introduction, new spindle options have already been added such as the powerful Ø58mm dressing spindle with more additions planned for further models in the future. As the company moves through 2024, sales are expected to remain strong with a projected upturn in the second half of the year. This will be set in motion by major exhibition appearances and the arrival of new models for the respective events. The new arrival will be a successor to the popular favoritCNC that will reveal new features. Some features in the pipeline include an angle display of the wheel head, the popular QuickSet setup function and a conventional mode as a manual grinding cycle that permits manual grinding without any programming. A particular focus for development in 2023 was given to the company’s C.O.R.E. hardware and software architecture from the UNITED GRINDING GROUP. “The C.O.R.E. touch operating panel already allows an unprecedented level of intuitive use. Soon there will be a customisable interface where operators can define and save their workspace,” explained Huber. Data collection and analysis, as well as new sensors and instruments, were also a focus. Looking to the future of the business, the CTO added: “The issue of sustainability continues to be important. The SmartJet® cooling system developed by Studer already sets new industry standards with its ability to reduce the need for coolant and energy in the grinding process. Demand for high-performance semiconductors is also rising due to e-mobility and photovoltaics. Studer’s S41 CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine with in-situ X-ray measuring head now sets the standard in wafer manufacturing. It is extremely successful in the market. In the long term, only the machine manufacturers who offer intelligent and efficient machines incorporating the latest technology can be successful,” summarised the CTO as he reflected on the extensive development activities over the past 12 months. Obviously, the success of a business is not purely based upon its product lines, but also its very foundations. To reflect upon the internal business activities, COO Stephan Stoll provided an overview, saying: “The production mix of the machines manufactured has shifted to more complex systems through 2023. With active procurement management and the normalisation of global supply chains, orders were completed on time.” Stoll positively assessed the implementation of the joint production strategy within the UNITED GRINDING Group, which provided Studer with significantly improved utilisation. Major operational projects included investments in automated test stands and manufacturing tools. As one of the very few grinding manufacturers producing high-quality spindles, the expertise for these strategically important machine components has been expanded. Comprehensive structural and logistical measures were further implemented in Steffisburg. This has been bolstered in the internal grinding competence centre in Biel with plans for further growth. Referring to the additional growth, the COO said: “After the considerable investments of the past years, the redesign of our logistics processes and warehouse infrastructure is now imminent. The centrepiece of this project is a central logistics hub with a directly connected container warehouse. The higher efficiency of the fully automated warehouse system will benefit machine production.” The press was shown a roadmap of the planned changes to the manufacturing facility and how it will streamline production, service and logistics. In conclusion, Jens Bleher emphasised the great importance of well-trained employees. He was very pleased with the recent successes at the prestigious professional championships, SwissSkills. Last year, Studer apprentices Luis Salzmann (1st place, design engineer EFZ) and Noah Rossel (2nd place, automation engineer EFZ) won the gold and silver medals with their outstanding performances. “STUDER is represented for the third time in a row at the WorldSkills showcase. We are very proud of this. It confirms our extensive commitment to vocational training,” concludes CEO Bleher. This commitment to education was further strengthened with an award presentation at the press event for its research prize, the ‘Fritz Studer Award’. Applicants from several European countries submitted their work and it was Dr. Emil Sauter who won the award and the prize of CHF 10,000. The Fritz Studer Award is aimed at graduates from European universities and technical colleges. “The objectives of the research prize are to boost innovation in the machine tool industry with feasible solutions whilst also promoting young technical and scientific talents,” says Dr Frank Fiebelkorn, Head of Research and Technology at Studer. Numerous theses and dissertations were submitted to Studer and evaluated by a panel of experts consisting of Prof. Konrad Wegener, Inspire Institute for Machine Tools and Manufacturing at ETH Zurich, Dr Hans-Werner Hoffmeister, former head of the Manufacturing Technology department at the Institute for Machine Tools and Manufacturing Technology of the TU Braunschweig, and Dr Frank Fiebelkorn, Head of Research and Technology at Fritz Studer AG. Criteria for evaluating the works included the feasibility of the findings in the mechanical engineering industry, the degree of innovation and quality of the research idea, scientific content, form, and the accuracy of statements, and the results and findings. The Fritz Studer Award 2023 was presented to Dr. Emil Sauter from the Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Machine Tools at ETH Zurich. He impressed the entire jury with his topic. ‘Detection and avoidance of thermal damage for high-performance metal grinding processes using hybrid machine learning models.’ His work deals with the development of an innovative condition monitoring system for external cylindrical grinding with metal-bonded CBN tools, which recognises thermal damage in situ and predicts the remaining useful life of grinding tools with relative accuracy. Process parameters such as structure-borne noise, spindle current and force characteristics can be identified. With time-frequency transformations, the research identified features of a process to detect different stages of thermal damage. The remaining tool life can also be estimated. In general, this work with its many industry-oriented practical tests also shows that machine learning methods can lead to higher productivity and improved component quality. Whilst MTD magazine extends its congratulations to Dr Emil Sauter, we also applaud Studer for creating a platform for the engineers of tomorrow.
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The impact of ESG reporting on manufacturers
03/27/2024
The impact of ESG reporting on manufacturers
The introduction of mandatory ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting is set to have significant implications for engineering businesses. Keith Davidson, Environment Partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell discusses how the upcoming ESG developments, starting in 2024, will fundamentally change the business landscape for engineering companies. Recent and expected ESG developments Although the term ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) has been commonly used since 2004, it has not been a priority issue for most SMEs. ESG is used as a measure of socially responsible investing and for the last two decades ESG has primarily concerned international financial market participants such as investment funds, banks, insurers, pension funds and listed companies. Significant changes are on the horizon. The business landscape is set to undergo a transformation in the coming years due to three key developments: • The introduction of the first-ever internationally comparable accounting standards for accounting periods beginning in January 2024, so companies worldwide will be judged according to their ESG performance. • Mandatory ESG reporting has been introduced for large companies in the EU from 2024, and the rules will gradually extend to non-EU enterprises that do business in the EU. • Increased legal obligations to manage supply chain ESG performance, specifically addressing Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from upstream and downstream value chains. New global standards for sustainability and climate-related disclosures On 26 June 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) launched two international disclosure standards that become effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024: IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. IFRS S2 requires the reporting of Scope 3 GHG emissions. It is up to each country to endorse IFRS standards. The UK is currently consulting on the creation of UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards (SDS), which will address this matter. A decision is expected by July 2024. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero launched a call for evidence in December 2023 to help inform the government’s decision on whether to endorse the ISSB’s standards in the UK. Increased mandatory ESG reporting Since 2015, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) required reporting of certain non-financial and diversity information by very large public-interest entities in the EU with more than 500 employees. The CSRD entered into force on 5th of January 2023 and extends mandatory ESG reporting for a much broader group of companies. This includes non-EU companies that do business in the EU. The CSRD is being implemented in phases. • The first phase started in January 2024 and is applicable to listed companies in the EU with over 500 employees already subject to NFRD, with reports due in 2025. • The second phase will start on 1 January 2025 and will be applicable to EU companies with at least two of the three following criteria (a) more than 250 employees, (b) a net turnover of more than 40 million Euros and/or (c) a balance sheet of more than 20 million Euros, with ESG reports due in 2026 on 2025 data. • Third country undertakings (including UK companies) with net turnover above 150 million Euros in the EU and who have an office or subsidiary in the EU must report in 2019 based on 2018 ESG data. CSRD organisations need to report according to new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) which includes Scope 3 value chain emissions. Corporate Sustainability Directive On 14th of December 2023, a consensus was reached between the EU Council and Parliament on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires companies to identify and prevent actual and potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts. The new due diligence duty extends to large companies’ own operations and their subsidiaries and supply chains. The CSDDD will apply to EU enterprises with over 500 employees and a global annual turnover exceeding 150 million Euros and non-EU enterprises and parent companies with over 150 million Euros generated in the EU. There are lower thresholds (250 employees and 40 million Euros) for ‘high impact sectors’ – textiles, clothing, footwear, food manufacture, agriculture, construction and mineral extraction. Failure to prevent or end adverse impacts can result in contractual relationships with suppliers being terminated. National supervisory/regulatory bodies will have the authority to impose penalties on companies not complying with due diligence processes with potential fines up to 5% of the company’s global turnover. There is also the risk of civil liabilities where NGOs and trade unions will have five years to bring a claim. Although an agreement of the draft text has been reached, there is not yet an agreed date for the application of CSDDD and the final text could still be changed. It is forecasted that CSDDD will enter into force during 2024 and will start to apply to large companies around 2027. Requirement for doing business CSRD requires the management of Scope 3 value chain GHG emissions and CSDDD will introduce a new due diligence duty to minimise adverse environmental and human rights impact throughout a company’s international supply chain. Larger companies subject to ESG and carbon reporting will request evidence of climate action and ESG performance from its value chain. Failure to produce ESG policies and strategies could result in SMEs losing key customers and missing out on new business opportunities. It’s no longer a ‘nice to have’, ESG will become a requirement for doing business. Access to finance ESG performance is expected to have a substantial impact on access to finance in the future. Compliance with ESG standards will increasingly be requested and monitored by lenders, investors, competitors, civil society organisations and employees. Management systems To get prepared for CSRD and CSDDD, companies will need to ensure that there are proper governance procedures and processes in place to measure and manage ESG issues. A management system approach will ensure continual improvement. Engineering companies are well placed for this approach as many have already implemented ISO: 14001 and ISO: 45001. Due diligence in transactions There will be increased demand in M&A transactions for ESG desktop searches and audits as part of technical due diligence and the need for ESG and climate clauses in legal documentation. ESG real estate strategy A large part of a company’s impact on the environment and the enjoyment of its workforce relates to the quality of its real estate assets. There will be an increased demand for ‘grade A’ accredited space and ‘Net Zero’ buildings and every stage of the property’s lifecycle from design, acquisition, occupation and disposal will need to consider sustainability issues. There will be a greater use of green leases and the focus needs to shift from data sharing to collaboration between landlords and tenants in terms of planning and costing of works. Companies will be judged on ESG pledges CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policies were often seen as a polish for corporate reputation. Now that ESG metrics and disclosure standard have been agreed in ESRS and IFRS and ESG performance can be compared between companies, ESG reports will be subject to greater scrutiny and ESG commitments must be put into action.
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SME reorganises its entire production processes
03/27/2024
SME reorganises its entire production processes
As a Swiss SME that has thoroughly examined its production from a digital perspective, Sistag AG has recognised the potential of bits and bytes. The company has modernised its facility with a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) from Fastems and this approach is yielding interesting results with new experiences and ambitious plans. The globally active Sistag AG, headquartered in Eschenbach in the Canton of Lucerne, manufactures isolation valves for a wide range of industries. This includes pulp and paper, food and beverage, wastewater treatment and biogas/chemical plants. “In addition, we specialise in knife gate valves, known under the brand name Wey Valve. These valves are used in the petrochemical, oil production, and mining industries. Our mechanical production here employs around 165 employees, producing approximately 25,000 to 30,000 knife gate valves annually,” says Manuel Schmidlin, Head of Manufacturing at Sistag. Like many other Swiss SMEs, Sistag faces high manufacturing costs. Manuel Schmidlin notes: “Land is expensive and labour costs are high. Moreover, finding skilled workers for production is challenging, so we have increasingly focused on in-house training.” To economically produce and manufacture, machines at Sistag must run almost non-stop. “We also have the advantage of being particularly strong in the field of special valves. Due to the relatively high level of automation here at Sistag, we can also compete in terms of pricing,” adds Schmidlin. The housings, a core component for knife gate valves, are manufactured on two horizontal machining centres. In 2005, the company invested in an FMS from Fastems, specifically a Multi-Level System (MLS), initially connected to an OKK HM 630. In 2010, the system was expanded to a total length of 35m, with a second OKK machine of the same type added. In 2022, Sistag decided to modernise the MLS. Manuel Schmidlin explains: “The electronics were still running on 32 bits, and the system was essentially at ‘End of Life’ with no replacement parts available. During the upgrade to a 64-bit system, we conducted a complete retrofit, both in terms of controls and mechanics.” As Sistag has been pursuing a consistent digitisation strategy for about four years, the FMS was not only updated with the Manufacturing Management Software (MMS) from Fastems but also placed a significant focus on digitising the entire production facility. According to Manuel Schmidlin, the company has primarily grown historically in its 60-year history. Sentences like ‘We’ve always done it this way’ has been heard by the production manager many times. “Our projected business has significantly increased. When a customer orders valves today, it’s not three or four, but immediately 400 or 500. With our existing infrastructure, we were not able to plan such large orders efficiently from start to finish. We had great difficulty keeping our machine capacities and we had no overview of what was happening at what time and where the priorities were. Therefore, our goal was to control our entire production with MMS as a central MES (Manufacturing Execution System).” ‘The Terra Incognita’ of A Manufacturing Organisation The MMS from Fastems provides all the prerequisites for this digitisation approach, as it is currently one of the most powerful solutions for planning, running and monitoring automated machining production. The MMS automatically plans production up to 96 hours in advance while considering all necessary resources, such as raw materials, NC programs and tools, including their tool life. Manuel Schmidlin is fully aware that for consistently planned production, standalone machines, manual workstations and inspection stations must eventually be included in the whole digitisation process, in addition to the automated equipment. Not an easy task, as these areas are often still a ‘Terra Incognita’ in a usual manufacturing organisation. Nevertheless, this situation is set to change at Sistag with the implementation of a Fastems MES solution for non-automated equipment – Work Cell Operations (WCO).
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Quantum leap in accuracy
03/27/2024
Quantum leap in accuracy
At the Röhm GmbH plant in Sontheim Germany, 750 employees manufacture technology-oriented solutions for the automotive industry, mechanical engineering and aerospace sectors in a 41,000sq/m facility. The parts in question are finished on Kellenberger Premium grinding machines. The company’s portfolio fits perfectly with the existing business areas of Rothenberger Holding, which generates a sales volume of €1.3billion with over 100 operating companies, many of them in the machine tool sector. Applying an extensive restructuring project, an investment sum of several million Euros was made available, which flowed into new machinery and systems. The aim for the future was to produce Röhm‘s high-tech products with even better quality and at the same time more cost-effectively. For division manager Alexander Scheitenberger and his 35 staff members, the investment came exactly at the right time. Scheitenberger‘s department manufactures tool clamping systems, 40% of which are customised special designs. A trained industrial mechanic, Scheitenberger has been with Röhm since 1990 and is very familiar with all machining processes and the Röhm portfolio, which includes drill chucks, centre punches, lathe chucks and vices, robot gripping technology, power chucks, clamping cylinders, mandrels and tool clamping systems. The parts were machined on a KEL-VARIA universal grinding machine with a centre width of 1m, which had been in use for 18 years. With spare parts for key components no longer available, making a replacement investment became unavoidable. Scheitenberger and head of production Erhard Bader agreed, that the new machine should again be a KELLENBERGER. “We have had a very good experience with the KEL-VARIA. The reliability, accuracy and process safety of the machine over the runtime were outstanding. In addition, the cooperation with KELLENBERGER has always been characterised by a high level of professionalism. Erich Ziegler, the KELLENBERGER area manager who is responsible for us, gave us excellent advice on the new procurement.” Since 2018, the KELLENBERGER product portfolio has offered two machine designs, which can meet the machining tasks at Röhm. The new KELLENBERGER 100 platform concept proved to be the best solution, especially as Swiss manufacturer Wenger had specially adapted automation to the machine. The task assigned to the engineers in St. Gallen, Switzerland, regarding the KELLENBERGER 100 was to develop a platform on which different machine concepts could be realised with a strong customer orientation. The segment of high-performance, low-cost grinding machines within the group was integrated into the concept. The modular solution on a common platform and a new assembly concept to reduce throughput time enable cost-efficient production of the machine and thus a very good price/performance ratio. The KELLENBERGER 100 offers the widest range of standard configurations for a variety of grinding operations. The machine is available in centre widths of 1,000/600mm and a centre height of 200mm and is designed for part weights of up to 150kg. A higher drive power for the grinding wheel (11,5kW) ensures increased productivity, while the newly designed guide in the Z-axis brings greater profile accuracy. For higher accuracy in non-circular grinding, the C-axis is equipped with a direct drive. Röhm opted for a machine with a centre width of 1m. The K100 has a compact, collision-free tandem grinding head with motor spindles. Ten grinding head variants are available for the optimised design of the machine concerning the machined parts. The reinforced casing allows the largest grinding wheel diameters for internal grinding up to 125mm. The user-friendly, ergonomic design of the KELLENBERGER 100 machine is complemented by intuitive operator guidance via touch screen interface. The machines are equipped with a state-of-the-art FANUC 31i CNC control with a 19” touch screen. Various ready-made software packages are included as standard or can be added as an option. They cover simple workpieces, complex workpieces in the shortest machining time, and complex contours and profiles. Swiss automation specialist Wenger has custom-designed the loading solution WeFlex for chucks and shaft parts, especially for the K100. The WeFlex loader enables automated processing of shaft parts from Ø6 to 100mm with a length from 20 to 600mm with a maximum gripper diameter of 80mm with workpiece weights up to 5kg in alternating mode and 15kg in single part mode. Interchangeable gripper heads facilitate quick changeover between the shaft and chuck parts. In the stacking module, 8 pallet spaces of size 400 by 600mm are available. Inserts for shaft or chuck parts can be inserted in the pallet frames. The machine is loaded via telescopic line gantry and an automatic hatch closes off the machine room during machining to ensure the thermal stability of the machine. Directly at the infeed, electricity and compressed air are recorded, which allows the energy consumption of the WeFlex to be recorded and visualised. To reduce energy consumption, the speed of the WeFlex is automatically adjusted to the cycle time of the processing machine. An image-guided setup wizard assists the operator when changing over to a new workpiece. Wenger Managing Director Michael Wenger supervised the initial commissioning, which was followed by training for the Röhm employees at KELLENBERGER. One week after machine commissioning, the 3-shift operation was resumed. “The reliability of the loader works is very high and we haven’t had any downtime so far,“ reports Alexander Scheitenberger. The service package also includes remote maintenance of the machine and minor service work is handled internally at Röhm. “A couple of our employees have undergone service training with a focus on the new machine, so they can carry out minor repairs themselves,“ says Scheitenberger. “There is no need to call the KELLENBERGER service team for a minor issue. But if you do need the service, it’s fast and reliable.” The conclusions of Alexander Scheitenberger and his colleagues are very positive: “In terms of accuracy, the new machine has brought us a quantum leap. Today, we grind with an accuracy of 2 microns with process reliability. The surface quality of the machined tool clamp is so good that, with the same polishing times, the results are many times better, from Ra 0.3-0.4 microns to below Ra 0.1. Due to the larger grinding wheel and because the new machine is simply faster than the old one, we have a 25% increase in productivity. In addition, personnel costs are 30% lower as the automation ensures that one operator is sufficient for two machines.”
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Out of this world!
03/27/2024
Out of this world!
A total of 16 machines, including a number making their UK and MACH Show debuts, plus two automated manufacturing cells and a complete Mills’ technology line-up will be on the largest stand at the event. In Hall 19 on Stand 110 Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland is promising to make MACH 2024 a truly inspiring and transformative event. With a reputation for always ‘pushing the boat out’ at previous MACH shows the company is doing something similar, confirming that it will be showcasing a total of 16 machines on its 750sq/m stand. The company’s technology line-up at the event includes eight milling machines which will be seven DN Solutions’ 3 and 5-axis vertical and horizontal machining centres, a large-capacity Zayer horizontal CNC bed mill, seven DN Solutions’ lathes and turning centres and a DN Solutions’ SMX multi-tasking mill/turn machine. Two of the turning centres being showcased form the mainstay machine tool elements of two separate automated manufacturing cells. This inclusion demonstrates the growing popularity of Mills’ automation solutions and their importance to the company’s future growth ambitions. With a focus on innovation and automation, Mills’ eagerly-anticipated MACH 2024 theme, currently being rolled out, will not disappoint and is quite literally ‘out-of-this-world’. “Our stand at MACH 2022, with its Broadway theme, raised the bar in terms of creativity and stand design,” says Tony Dale, Mills CNC’s CEO. “As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we are confident that we have ‘gone one better’ this time around with our MACH 2024 ‘SPACE ODYSSEY’ themed stand.” Five of the machines on Mills’ stand are new models that are making their MACH show debuts. Occupying the largest space on Mills’ stand will be the new Zayer XIOS G CNC horizontal bed mill. This large-capacity machine is equipped with a built-in rotary table 1500mm by 1500mm, a 5-axis, 45-degree milling head and the latest Heidenhain control. With its powerful, high-torque 40kW 6,000rpm spindle and impressive positional accuracy of 0.008mm and repeatable accuracy of 0.005mm, the XIOS G is ideal for large aerospace, rail, energy and oil and gas part processing. New DN Solutions’ machines making their MACH 2024 debuts include the compact, FANUC-controlled DVF 4000 simultaneous 5-axis machining centre, the DNT 2100M and DNT 2600 models from the recently-launched DNT-series of high-performance lathes and a V 9300M vertical turning lathe. The DVF 4000 is the latest addition to DN Solutions’ popular DVF series of simultaneous 5-axis machining centres and is equipped with a 12,000rpm spindle, a 400mm diameter, a built-in rotary tilting table and a 60-position ATC. The FANUC-controlled DNT 2100M has an 8” chuck/65mm bar diameter and is equipped with an 18.5kW 4500rpm spindle, a 12-station turret and driven tooling capabilities up to 10,000rpm. The DNT 2600 is a 10” chuck with 81mm bar diameter, equipped with a 26kW 3,500rpm spindle and 10-position turret. The V 9300M is a robust and powerful 24” chuck vertical turning lathe with 20m/min rapids, a 45kW 1800rpm spindle, a 12-station turret, 4,000rpm driven tooling capability and an additional, front-mounted ATC. In addition to new machines making their debuts, Mills’ stand also features several popular and best-selling models from its well-established machining centre, turning centre and mill-turn machine ranges. Mills will also show the DVF 5000 simultaneous 5-axis machining centre and to emphasise its future importance to the company, Mills is showcasing two DVF 5000’s on its stand – one standalone model and one integrated with a multi-level automated pallet change system. Other milling favourites being exhibited include three DNM vertical machines centres, a DNM 4500 with Siemens control ‘Ad Astra’: Automated robot cells In recent years, Mills CNC has gained a reputation for supplying manufacturers with productivity-enhancing automated manufacturing cells. At MACH 2024, the company is reinforcing its automation and turnkey solutions’ pedigree and credentials by showcasing two robot cells on its stand. The first of these – a SYNERGI Premier cell comprises a 12” chuck Puma 3100SY sub-spindle, Y-axis turning centre integrated with a FANUC industrial robot, a five-drawer part load/unload station and a 17” touchscreen iHMI. The cell is driven by Mills’ proprietary SYNERGi software. The second cell incorporating a compact 10” chuck Lynx 2600SY sub-spindle Y-axis lathe is integrated with a cobot and this will be undertaking a range of machine tending operations. Concludes Tony Dale: “Visit us at MACH 2024 for a true voyage of discovery. We’d b
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NCMT celebrates 60th anniversary at MACH 2024
03/27/2024
NCMT celebrates 60th anniversary at MACH 2024
NCMT is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. In 1964, it was one of the first companies to sell CNC machine tools into the UK and Irish markets when it won the sole agency to sell and service Makino machining centres. Twelve years later, a second agreement was reached with Okuma, another Japanese manufacturer. In 2005, Makino-NCMT Grinding Division was established to develop and sell throughout Europe Makino machining platforms for creep-feed VIPER grinding of nickel alloys. Since 2015, NCMT has also been the Europe-wide agent for photo-activated adhesive workholding systems manufactured by Blue Photon in the US. NCMT has now signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Tritone Technologies, an additive manufacturing (AM) technology specialist in metal and ceramic applications. Typical AM parts will be available with representation on Stand 130 in Hall 19. Rigid, thermally stable construction protects the Okuma Genos M560-V-e VMC from deformation, resulting in high machining performance for an entry-level machine. At the show, the 3-axis machine will be equipped with a Cellro X20 robotic. The M560-V-e has a 1,050 by 560 by 460mm working envelope and a maximum table load of 900kg. The 15,000rpm BT40 spindle moves in the X and Z axes, with the table moving in Y. A 32-position tool magazine is provided. Software can be added, including Machining Navi to minimise chatter by finding the best cutting conditions. It employs a microphone to detect the onset of vibration and feeds information back to the control. The popular Genos M460-5AX VMC will also be at MACH and will be one of the first Okuma machines to be exhibited in the UK with the manufacturer’s new OSP 500 control. It was the original 5-axis machine in Okuma’s economical, series-built Genos range. The trunnion with a rotary table and 5-axis simultaneous control gives the machine the ability to produce highly complex components. The BT40 spindle is rated at 15,000rpm 22kW, which is served from a 48-position tool magazine. Features such as Okuma’s 5-axis auto-tuning system that accurately fine-tunes the geometry of the machine for ultra-high precision, and Okuma’s Absoscale linear encoders in the X, Y and Z axes, are all part of the standard specification. The competitively priced Genos L3000-e-MYW lathe from Okuma will be at MACH, fed automatically with shaft-type parts by a Cellro CoMate cobot. Maximum turning diameter is 300mm and the rotational speed of the 22kW spindle is up to 3,800rpm, all in a compact footprint of 2.5 by 1.9m. The turning centre has a sub-spindle and a 12-station turret with Y-axis and live tooling. With a 240-degree swivelling B-axis head and HSK-A63 (optionally Capto C6), 12,000rpm 22kW spindle for turning or milling components up to 1,500mm between centres, an Okuma MULTUS U3000 multi-tasking lathe will be demonstrated on the stand. The tool magazine has 40 stations as standard but is optionally available with a capacity of 80 tools. The machine is fitted with Okuma’s linear scales for high-accuracy positional feedback. Servo motors deliver feed rates of up to 50m/min in the X and Z axes, 40m/min in the 250mm Y-axis. Together with the C-axis on the main spindle, the machine is capable of fully interpolative, 5-axis (X, Y, Z, B, C) machining of freeform surfaces. Next-generation Okuma control The OSP-P500 CNC system, manufactured in-house by Okuma along with virtually everything else on its machines, will be on show for the first time in the UK. It combines highly productive and precise machining with ease of use, energy efficiency and safety features to protect against cyber-attacks. Particularly well suited to high-speed machining applications and achieving top-quality surface finishes, the CNC has twice the computing power of conventional machine control, shortening cycle times by up to 15%. An on-machine Digital Twin facilitates high-precision simulation of machining processes, reducing set-up times and speeding production. By performing these simulations on the machine itself, production can start immediately afterwards. Ultra-fast 5-axis In a space on the shop floor of less than 3.3sq/m, the N2-5XA horizontal machining centre from Makino is capable of very high-speed machining of components up to 300mm diameter by 270mm high and weighing a maximum of 30kg, including fixtures. The machine is ideal for fully interpolative, 5-axis machining of complex components. Within its working volume of 300 by 300 by 230mm, the horizontal spindle design ensures that gravity assists swarf removal, prolonging tool life by avoiding the recutting of chips that are frequently harder than the parent material. The show will also mark the first UK appearance of the Makino DA300 5-axis, trunnion-type, VMC configured as a production cell with 40 pallet positions on five levels for extended periods of lights-out running. Maximum workpiece size is 360mm diameter by 300mm tall for the eight positions on the top row of the store and 280mm tall on all other levels. Maximum payload per position is 60kg. The automation package includes an integrated chuck, pallet interface and Single Pro6 graphically-driven cell controller, via which it is easy to manage the machine and pallet system. Makino’s U6 H.E.A.T. Extreme wire-cut EDM centre will be on show. In addition to using standard wire from 0.1 to 0.3mm, it is optionally possible to run the largest diameter wire of any machine on the market at 0.4mm. The wire is coated and distinct from the uncoated brass wire that is commonly used in industry. Part of Makino’s popular U-Series wire EDM machine platform, the U6 H.E.A.T. Extreme uses Bedra copper core wire with a double-layer coating having controlled zinc donation. It has been optimised for use with Makino’s generator and is exclusive to the new machine, promoting fast cutting at a reduced wire speed, leading to lower manufacturing costs. Areas of application include aerospace and medical component machining, separating additively manufactured parts, machining tall moulds and dies and tackling tough nickel alloys. The Makino EDAF3 die-sinking EDM machine on the stand features a rigid, precise structure and integral thermal cooling of the Y- and Z-axis cast components to ensure long-term accuracy. Table size is 700 by 500mm and the dielectric reservoir is built into the base casting of the machine to improve stability and minimise the footprint. The machine uses Makino’s latest Hyper-i control, which can be factory-ordered mounted on either the left or right, facilitating easy integration of one or more machines with a variety of commercially available electrode and work pallet handling robots. Exhibited on the stand will be the Blue Photon photo-activated adhesive system. The method is ideal for securing awkwardly shaped parts to allow maximum access to tools for tight-tolerance machining or inspection. The process involves applying an adhesive that is cured by ultraviolet light via an LED spot-curing system. After machining is complete, the adhesive contact points can be sheared to free the workpiece by rotating the gripper pins in the fixture plate with a spanner. The residual adhesive can subsequently be removed by the application of hot water.
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ITC provides complete solution for composite experts
03/27/2024
ITC provides complete solution for composite experts
As a company that has continually evolved over the last 40 years to become a leading global force in composite and GRP development and manufacturing, KS Composites is at the very cutting edge of innovation. KS Composites pushes the boundaries in the motorsport, marine, energy, rail, aviation and defence sectors and the Melton Mowbray company relies upon the expertise of the cutting tool experts at Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) to deliver results. Operating out of a 48,000sq/ft manufacturing facility that accommodates more than hundred staff, KS Composites services and facilities include everything from design and manufacture to FEA, CFD, kit cutting, wet clay composite shop, autoclaves and ovens, fitting and assembly and a modern machine shop. Some of the company’s recognised clients and projects include the Jaguar Project 8, Revolution Racecars and a multitude of prestigious F1 projects. KS Composites has a longstanding relationship with Tamworth-based ITC, Dan Johnston, Business Development Manager at KS Composites alludes to why the company continues its relationship with ITC: “We use ITC cutting tools due to the great working relationship we have with the team and the longstanding great service we receive. Whether discussing new advancements in tooling technology or looking at building up a package of tools to support a project, ITC has always given us great advice. Even better is the on-site support in running tooling trials to confirm that tooling works as stated.” Looking at the cutting tools KS Composites use, Dan continues: “We use a large variety of ITC tools from face mills, endmills, bullnose, ball nose endmills, drills and taps amongst other niche tooling. This variety of tooling is needed to support the many different items we machine, including but not limited to patterns, moulds, jigs, components, inserts, props and models. Add into this mix that we machine an array of materials and it is very clear that we need a tooling supplier with a huge variety of options. We also have an onsite vending solution from ITC with a comprehensive stock level that ITC keep fully serviced to support our business.” Looking at the cost savings derived from the ITC range of cutting tools, Dan Johnston adds: “When we conducted a full cost analysis of our tooling and the total material removed, it’s clearly evident that the ITC tooling is great value for money. We have managed to control costs over the years and ITC has helped to improve efficiencies whilst enabling our business to embrace the very latest tooling technology for composite machining.” “On more than one occasion, ITC has gone above and beyond to give full technical support in the implementation of new tooling, applications and machining strategies. When presented with a new material which we had very little knowledge of, ITC built a bespoke suite of tooling and trials to support our ambitions to effectively and efficiently machine the new material. The results have proven extremely encouraging and this certainly went a long way in building our confidence in working with that particular material.” In conclusion, Dan says: “We naturally demand the highest quality and this applies to all aspects of the business. The CNC department can maintain and iteratively improve by leveraging ITC’s knowledge and vast array of tooling. Operating with a number of OEMs in a wide variety of sectors such as the automotive, aerospace, motorsport and marine industries to name a few, being adaptable to challenges is key. With the full support of ITC, we know we can attack any challenge and material with absolute confidence.”
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Insert evolution continues to take shape
03/27/2024
Insert evolution continues to take shape
The introduction of the ISCAR HELIMILL in the 1990s marked a significant milestone for milling tools. It revolutionised the design of milling tools with indexable inserts, establishing a new approach that would shape the industry for years to come. This breakthrough was achieved using a parallelogram-shaped carbide insert, featuring a helical cutting edge formed by the intersection of the insert’s helical side and shaped top surfaces (Fig. 1). The HELIMILL concept offers several advantages. Firstly, the consistency of the rake and relief angles along the insert cutting edge when mounted on a tool reduces cutting force variations and ensures a smooth cutting action. Secondly, the uniformity of the insert cutting wedge enhances its strength. Lastly, the helical cutting edge’s proximity to the imaginary cylinder generated by a rotating tool improves accuracy compared to the straight edge found in previous-generation milling inserts. These advancements elevated milling performance to new heights. Over the years, continuous improvement has led to significant changes in the classical HELIMILL inserts. The helix of the cutting edge has become more aggressive and the top surface topology has become more intricate. Combined with advanced carbide grades, these new designs have ushered in a new level of performance. However, the parallelogram insert shape limits the number of indexable cutting edges to two. To maximise the efficiency of cemented carbides, a new round of insert development was initiated. The successful adaptation of the helical cutting edge to triangular inserts addressed this limitation. The triangular insert concept not only provides three cutting edges but also offers additional benefits. When compared to other shapes with equal cutting-edge lengths, the triangular shape provides a wider central area. This allows for an increase in the central bore size, enabling the use of a clamping screw with a larger thread. As a result, the insert security is strengthened, contributing to the overall durability of the milling tool assembly. Additionally, the triangular shape enhances the ramping-down cutting capability. Overall, the introduction of the ISCAR HELIMILL and its subsequent advancements have advanced the milling tool industry. The use of helical cutting edges and triangular inserts has significantly improved performance, accuracy, and durability, pushing milling capabilities to new levels. A proximate successor to the HELIMILL is the HELI-3-MILL, a family of milling tools introduced by ISCAR in the last decade, featuring triangular indexable inserts (Fig. 2). The advantages of the ‘helical triangle’ highlight why this family has gained popularity in the market. However, it is important to note that this does not mean the triangle shape will completely replace the traditional parallelogram contour with helical cutting edges any time soon. The parallelogram shape still possesses its competitive edge. Paradoxically, the narrow width of the parallelogram-shaped insert, which is considered a drawback when compared to the triangular shape, also offers certain advantages. Firstly, a narrower insert allows for an indexable design suitable for smaller tool diameters. Secondly, this insert geometry reduces the depth of the chip gullet, strengthening the cross-section of the tool body. This feature is particularly important for extended flute cutter designs where higher strength and rigidity of the body are crucial. The parallelogram insert structure also permits increased corner radii. Additionally, the classical shape is well-suited for high feed milling (HFM) inserts, which can be mounted in existing pockets, effectively transforming a 90-degree tool into an efficient HFM cutter. Moreover, the ‘helical parallelogram’ has a smaller overall length compared to the ‘helical triangle’ for the same cutting length. Therefore, it would be premature and incorrect to dismiss classical parallelogram inserts. As a result, the development of 90-degree indexable milling cutters harmoniously combines both approaches, utilising both triangular and parallelogram-shaped inserts. While the triangular insert concept dominates modern designs, the parallelogram insert principle remains relevant. The HELIMILL platform continues to be updated with new advantageous products. ISCAR’s recently developed products related to milling cutters with parallelogram-shaped inserts demonstrate that the traditional design approach remains effective and capable of meeting the demands of modern manufacturing. Milling high-temperature superalloys and titanium (ISO S group of applications), as well as difficult-to-cut austenitic and duplex stainless steel (ISO M group), present challenges. Effective coolant supply, particularly pinpointed high-pressure cooling (HPC), can significantly reduce the heat load on the cutting edge, enhancing lubrication and chip removal. This, in turn, leads to higher cutting data and enables larger radial engagements, resulting in a higher metal removal rate (MRR). Moreover, HPC facilitates the production of tighter curled chips, allowing for tool designs with smaller chip gullets and higher tooth density. Taking these factors into consideration, ISCAR has expanded its HELI2000 family (the latest version of the HELIMILL) by introducing new tools that incorporate the HPC option within the tool body. The design of these tools has been optimised using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). They are available in both integral-body configurations and as relatively small-sized exchangeable heads with indexable inserts, which are compatible with ISCAR’s modular systems MULTI-MASTER and FLEXFIT (Fig. 3). HELI2000 integrates the HELIMILL and HELIPLUS families, combining their latest developments into a single portfolio. This includes the introduction of two new highly efficient carbide grades: IC5600, designed for machining steel (ISO P group), and IC716, specifically tailored for cutting titanium. Additionally, the insert range has been expanded with new cutting geometries. This includes inserts with a high positive chipformer for milling titanium, chip-splitting cutting edges for productive roughing and other designs. Furthermore, the range now includes inserts with reinforced cutting edges for high feed milling of hard materials up to HRC 60 hardness (ISO H group, Fig. 4). These new products are also part of ISCAR’s HELIALU family, which consists of milling tools with parallelogram-shaped inserts for machining aluminium alloys (ISO N group). The expansion of this family includes indexable endmill heads with threaded adaptations for both MULTI-MASTER and FLEXFIT systems providing the option for HPC. The screw-in design configuration of the heads significantly enhances the customisation capabilities of HELIALU tools, allowing for a wide range of MULTI-MASTER and FLEXFIT shanks, adaptors, extensions and reducers to be utilised. Therefore, the development of the ‘helical parallelogram’ has not ceased, and the traditional HELIMILL continues to gain momentum. This development follows a gradual upward helix, revisiting past turns but at a more advanced stage, much like in dialectics.
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Guhring builds lifelong relationship based on results
03/27/2024
Guhring builds lifelong relationship based on results
LMS Precision Engineering has trusted its tooling supplier for over 35 years. With a relationship that dates back more than three decades, many manufacturers would ask ‘why?’ The simple answer lies in the fact that Midlands-based LMS works with Guhring UK, one the world’s leading manufacturers of cutting tools with UK manufacturing facilities and expert engineers on hand to deliver optimal machining solutions, whatever the challenge. Scott Street, a partner at Droitwich-based LMS Precision Engineering says: “We are a family-run business that has been operating for over 40 years. Our main sectors of interest are aerospace and general subcontract machining. We have always had a great relationship with Guhring.” Discussing the relationship, Chris Bush from Guhring says: “LMS and Guhring have been working together for over 35 years now. LMS use the whole spectrum of our cutting tools, whether that’s milling cutters, drills, taps or thread mills. In fact, everything through to the Tool Management vending machine. LMS were one of the first customers to see the advantages of a tool management vending machine. Allowing them to put their resources in providing components rather than manually ordering tools, looking for tools and managing tool stocks. The TM machine automated all this and much more. The relationship has evolved so much over the years. In that period, cutting tool technology has changed and evolved hugely, as has the LMS business, the technology it invests in and the size of the company. The customer base at LMS has evolved as well, and they are machining a lot of different materials, so down the 35-year relationship - it has been exponential growth and change on both sides. However one thing remains, and that is the strength of our partnership.” The Guhring Tool Management vending solutions can be built to a customer’s requirements and are available in open drawer type for maximum versatility or 100% secure single tool dispensing. The system will control and monitor tool consumption and spending with reporting for complete visibility. The main benefits of the Guhring Tool Management vending solutions include 24/7 controlled tool availability and prevention of production stoppages due to tool availability. It will also eliminate loss and theft, create employee awareness of tooling costs and the system can communicate with customer IT systems. Recalling specific product lines that have supported LMS Precision, Scott continues: “We had a lot of joy with the Guhring VA Series drill and now there is the new InoxPro drill as well, so this is bringing us even greater runtimes than ever before. We use Guhring on everything, from end mills such as the high-speed rippers, the through coolant drills, high-speed steel drills, stub drills - absolutely everything.” Adding to this, Guhring’s Chris Bush says: “LMS use a complete range of our tools and they machine so many different types of material, they have to have material specific cutters as well as general-purpose cutters. They use the whole spectrum of our tooling range. With the range of stainless steel that LMS machines have; the new InoxPro is perfect for them. The Inox Pro introduces a new grade of carbide, so it is a much tougher carbide with a new geometry that is specifically for titanium and stainless steel. We also have the new Perrox coating on there as well. This is a much tougher wearing coating that is a lot smoother and this delivers optimum swarf evacuation.” “The benefit of using Guhring as a supplier is that we manufacture our carbide. We can make our own grades for specific applications, so we have made tougher grades of carbide that are not as brittle as carbides from other manufacturers. This makes it perfect for challenging applications in titanium and stainless steel.” Alluding to the application of the latest generation of tools, Scott comments: “The latest tools have given us the confidence to run lights-out, reducing the number of tools we need to stock and giving us full visibility of all tool usage and tool performance. This is especially the case with the VA Series drill. With that drill, we can now run over 1200 parts over a period of 15 hours on 316 stainless, drilling a 10mm diameter hole at 17.65mm deep with no problems at all. It’s absolutely great. The confidence it has given us is incredible. We have worked with Guhring for 35 years, and the products and support are great. The relationship we have and the products are brilliant.” Concluding on the partnership, Chris Bush continues: “We have built a brilliant relationship and we are looking forward to the next 35 years. LMS have got exciting new projects coming through and new machines that they are investing in. Combining their technology and the advancement of materials, there will be plenty of exciting new challenges ahead and we relish the opportunity to deliver results long into the future.”
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Green light for Nissan's ambition 2030
03/27/2024
Green light for Nissan's ambition 2030
Nissan’s devotion to electrification and manufacturing in Britain, is compelling. Huge recent investments underline the company’s green plans and long-term future in the UK. Will domestic suppliers benefit as the switch over to electric bites and new, high-volume components are needed? By Will Stirling It’s June 2016 and the EU Referendum result is in. Shock: the British public voted to leave the European Union. Pandemonium ensues. Prime Minister David Cameron resigns. The cost of exports to the EU will certainly rise. A business story sharp in the memory was Nissan’s then Chief Executive, Carlos Ghosn, warning that the carmaker could stop investing in its Sunderland plant if EU export tariffs were imposed once the UK left the bloc. New PM Theresa May made a famous deal with Nissan to neutralise the effect of Brexit on its trading conditions. But for a moment, Nissan – with the UK’s biggest car plant – had a public wobble about its future here. Fast forward to March 2024 and things could not be more different. Carmakers are seemingly vying to be the greenest on the market, but Nissan’s net zero plan is surely hard to beat. Last November, Nissan heavily ramped up its EV36zero strategy, a roadmap to electrification that it had launched in 2021. The roll call of investments was eye-catching. The company will build three fully electric models at its Sunderland plant as part of a new £2bn investment, which is on top of the £1bn it had already committed under EV36zero to create an electric vehicle (EV) hub. More battery gigafactories are planned; with AESC Envision’s original battery plant, there will be a total of three gigafactories in Sunderland by 2030. “There will also be a renewable energy microgrid, that will deliver 100% clean electricity for both Nissan and the suppliers around the plant, further action to accelerate that journey to carbon-neutral manufacturing,” said a press spokesperson for Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK. The third gigafactory will be needed to supply the expanded Sunderland plant and may have the capacity to sell batteries to other OEMs. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said of the investment: “This venture will no doubt secure Sunderland’s future as the UK’s Silicon Valley for electric vehicle innovation and manufacturing.” Many UK customers know the Leaf, the first mainstream electric car to be built in the UK, and for EVs, Nissan also produces the Ariya and the Townstar small electric van. More than one million Nissan EVs have been sold to date, and more than one-third of their batteries were manufactured at the AESC Envision plant, in Sunderland. The ‘Nissan Ambition 2030’ strategy’s aim is that all passenger car sales will be EVs in Europe by 2030. As well as the multiple carbon-cutting projects in Sunderland, where over 6,000 people are employed, Nissan recently unveiled three new head-turning concept electric vehicles (not for manufacture in the UK): Nissan Hyper Urban, Hyper Punk, and Nissan Chill-Out. The job of these futuristic concept cars is to inspire take-up of the new production EV models. In fact, Chill-Out will be the design for the next-gen Nissan Leaf. At the launch event on 24 November 2023, Nissan’s global president and CEO Makoto Uchida, said: “Exciting electric vehicles are at the heart of our plans to achieve carbon neutrality. It means our UK team will be designing, engineering and manufacturing the vehicles of the future, driving us towards an all-electric future for Nissan in Europe.” As a nod to the prevalence of greenwashing, Uchida-san spoke of ‘Nissan Ambition 2030’ being not a slogan, but a reality. “We have a vision of exciting electric vehicles, a vision where your car can help your community manage energy, a vision where Nissan becomes a truly sustainable company, where our actions have a positive impact on the environment.” In addition to the late 2023 investment, the UK government awarded £15m of funding for a £30m collaborative project led by Nissan to support its carbon-cutting programme. e-POWER offers a hybrid solution And it’s not all about pure electric, as hybrid vehicles have proved popular while EV price tags remain high. Seen as Nissan’s answer to mild hybrid, e-POWER is its unique electric-drive powertrain that integrates a petrol engine that generates electricity, and a motor that transfers the power. Since its debut in September 2022, more than 100,000 vehicles powered by Nissan’s e-POWER have been delivered. e-POWER utilises motor control technology cultivated in past EV development activities, powertrain integration technology and energy management technology. By changing the combination of electric-drive motors and power-generation engines, it delivers quiet driving with excellent response over a wide range of vehicles from compact cars to minivans and SUVs. Manufacturing and supply chains By investing in three new all-electric models and the total £3bn now being invested in EV36zero; jobs and prosperity from Nissan Sunderland are assured for decades to come. The batteries, the most substantial component in an EV by value, will be supplied by Nissan’s gigafactories. Britain needs more battery capacity to satisfy future production. As part of the three new EVs announcement, Nissan said it had initiated a feasibility study to explore potential further gigafactory investments in the UK. Nissan’s batteries are an NMC design, nickel manganese cobalt, rather than other primary mainstream battery designs like LPF – but in fact, both are lithium-ion batteries. This could potentially boost demand for UK-sourced lithium, from suppliers like Imerys British Lithium, because from 2027, materials and parts sourced outside the UK and EU will face tariffs under the EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. A problem for UK and EU battery makers is the rising cost of materials, especially lithium. But these vehicles also need power electronics, motors, inverters, transmission systems, DC converters, charger ports and other electromechanical parts. Nissan’s UK business supports hundreds of component suppliers and is hugely valuable to the UK automotive industry, and the economy of the North East. Tier one suppliers such as Adient (seating), Unipres, which make press-formed and hot-pressed automotive components and body mountings are co-located at the Sunderland site. Under the bonnet, however, electric vehicles need different and fewer components. How will the switch to EVs affect Nissan’s suppliers, which rely on tens of millions of pounds in contracts? “Our work on just transitions suggests that workers in the North East are more confident about the transition to making EVs than workers in the West Midlands,” said Professor David Bailey, Professor of Business Economics at the Birmingham Business School and a senior fellow of the ESRC’s UK in a Changing Europe programme. “The commitment of Nissan to EV production and sourcing locally made batteries is a large part of that, with a benefit to the local supply chain.” “And yet there are still challenges,” Bailey adds. “Nissan production has picked up from the lows of the Covid pandemic but is still at something like 2/3rds peak production back in 2016. Furthermore, looking forward to the switch to making EVs will need far fewer components than making ICE cars. That will mean fewer jobs in the local supply chain. Diversifying the supply chain will be crucial for maintaining manufacturing capacity and ensuring a just transition.” Carmakers compete to be green As sustainability is a much stronger criterion for consumer purchases now, car companies compete to show their low-carbon, sustainable business credentials. In an analysis by information site Eupedia, that averaged the ‘green’ rankings of car and tyre makers by different organisations’ green monitors, including S&P Global and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Nissan ranked 9th among 22 car OEMs. It scored 100% on all CDP metrics but scored 70 on the CSRHub, while the top 10 scored from 82 to 95. CSRHub provides ratings of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) using 12 indicators of employee, environment, community and governance performance. Nissan’s new Ambition 2030 is likely to pull up these scores when the green and governance actions have had time to bed in. Certainly, Nissan’s devotion to green vehicles is a welcome boost to the EV industry, which is suffering. Private sales of EVs have slowed – 2023 orders were flat in 2022, according to the SMMT, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. A recent House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee report on the EV industry says the UK’s EV strategy needs a recharge. Some of this is due to a seemingly coordinated anti-EV campaign in the media. Quentin Willson, the former TV motor journalist, writes in Just Auto: “Anybody remotely involved with EVs, and electrification, will have seen relentless anti-EV narratives in the media over the last two years. Some papers run an anti-EV story every day – literally.” Public opinion and public relations to promote EV’s benefits both need to move for the important changes happening at Nissan UK and elsewhere to realise their full potential.
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5 axis makes low cost jobs financially viable
01/26/2024
5 axis makes low cost jobs financially viable
Many prismatic machining contracts are ideally fulfilled on a 5-axis machining centre that enables components to be produced cost effectively. This is because the two rotary axes are able to position the component quickly and automatically in various orientations for milling and drilling without expensive fixtures and multiple set-ups. A problem arises when the components do not command a high selling price, as most 5-axis machines are a considerable investment. Subcontractor G&J (CNC) Services in Paddock Wood has apparently found a solution - the Leadwell V-30iT 3+2-axis BT40 machining centre from WH-Lead, Towcester. The entry-level price of less than six figures belies the 5-axis machine’s extensive capabilities. The hourly rate that the subcontractor charges based on the investment allows less complex prismatic components to be produced efficiently at prices that compare favourably with those quoted by competitors in low-wage countries. The V-30iT has a novel configuration that consists of a 205mm diameter rotary table mounted on a swivelling trunnion driven from one side. It is supported on the other side by a similar unit built into the side of a 450 by 300mm fixed table. It is unusual on a machine that is already inexpensive to find such a major addition. The fixed table can be used to complete a 3-axis operation on a part weighing up to 50kg before it is transferred to the rotary table. By that time, the part must weigh no more than 35kg if it is to undergo machining at up to 45 degrees tilt, or 25kg if the trunnion position is steeper. The owner of G&J (CNC) Services, Charlie Naismith, is in a good position to comment on the merits of the Taiwanese-built machine compared with more expensive, fully interpolating 5-axis machining centres of German and Japanese origin used at his other four engineering sites in the south-east. The group of companies, CTN Group, boasts around 100 CNC machine tools of which 10 are 5-axis models. Mr Naismith said: “Depending on the value of the parts being machined, which is normally down to their complexity and the material used, you have to make sure the figures add up. Much of our throughput is fairly simple 3+2-axis work in mild steel and aluminium that customers will not pay a premium for, so the Leadwell machine is perfect.” “We use it in 3-axis mode for much of the time, but the 5-axis functionality is there for when we need it, saving costs associated with workholding, handling and work-in-progress. At the same time, it helps with accuracy by being able to access parts with shorter tools and by cutting down on manual refixturing.” He also appreciates the ergonomics of the V-30iT, pointing out that the rotary table when flat is at the same level as the fixed table, so there are no clearance issues. The machine is also well specified, with 800mm of X-axis travel, 460 and 387mm travels in Y and Z, roller bearing guideways, a 12,000rpm spindle, a 24-position tool magazine with 1.8 seconds cutter exchange and 48m/min rapids in X and Y, 36m/min in Z. Control is provided by a Fanuc 0i-MF Plus CNC system, although Siemens, Fagor and Heidenhain are optional, as are specification of 4+1 or full 5-axis interpolation. Another benefit of 3+2 CNC apart from the lower cost, according to Mr Naismith, is that engineers in the Paddock Wood factory can step up to 5-axis machining and build a portfolio of new work around the enhanced capability, while taking advantage of the extra 3-axis capacity for regular work. The first Leadwell machine, which was also G&J (CNC) Services’ first 5-axis machine, was installed in 2021. Its purchase was prompted by the need to produce a particular agricultural industry component that would not have been feasible to put onto a 3-axis machine. A second, identical machining centre followed a year later to provide extra capacity and equipment redundancy. Both machines were available ex-stock from WH-Lead’s Towcester showroom and delivered within a fortnight, together with Renishaw tool and workpiece probing, Filtermist extraction and a post processor for the OneCNC CAD/CAM system. WH-Lead’s customary high level of ongoing after-sales service and support is being provided. Generally speaking, parts that previously required four or five separate operations are now produced in two, sometimes without leaving the V-30iT if pre-machining is done on one of the tables. A typical component cited by Mr Naismith for a fluid transfer equipment manufacturer is produced in this way, resulting in a 30% shorter floor-to-floor time compared with when it was produced in four operations on different 3-axis machines. A further advantage of the new process route is that operator walk-away intervals are longer, allowing more meaningful work to be performed elsewhere in the factory while machining is in progress. As a result, it is likely tha
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Making money in your sleep
01/26/2024
Making money in your sleep
Recently rising to the eighth largest manufacturing economy in the world, the route to continued ascension for UK manufacturing isn’t purely down to the well-publicised need for a national manufacturing strategy or government investment – a large burden of responsibility has to lie firmly at the feet of manufacturers and their reticence to automate. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) frequently shines a light on how far the UK is behind other developed nations. The most recent report shows that 71,000 robots were installed in Europe in 2022, the UK accounted for just over 2000 of those installations. As a world leader in automation, MTD Magazine spoke with Leigh Tricklebank, the Sales Director for Western Europe at FASTEMS to find out why automation is still a cultural challenge for UK manufacturers. Ironically, our conversation with Leigh took place in Opmeer at RODIN Machining, a Dutch subcontract manufacturing business that has invested in a FASTEMS solution to manufacture anything from prototypes to low and medium production runs – with a high part and complexity mix. Not only were the MTD team astounded and excited by what we witnessed at RODIN, but we were also a little melancholy as to why we rarely see such levels of automation in the UK subcontract supply chain. Having a conversation with Leigh, he tells MTD magazine: “In the UK, there are upward of 5000 subcontract manufacturers using prismatic four and five-axis machine tools and there is an interesting demographic within that. There are small lifestyle businesses through to serious manufacturers making significant investments. All of these businesses have a similar problem, they need to get orders, they need to process the orders, manage the resources and deliver and serve on time. The level of process quality will differ between businesses, but the overall audience of 5000 companies is huge. Some of these businesses will have a perception that FASTEMS is a pallet automation system that can be expensive and is typically the reserve for OEM manufacturers. It’s painful to hear this in the UK, as these companies really need to look closer at what we do.” “For example, we have been delivering Auto Load Devices for more than 20 years - only now we are seeing the gradual uptake of this technology in the industry. For the obvious benefits of increasing uptime, safety and consistency while reducing manual intervention. Auto Load Devices are now becoming increasingly important as we cannot find a generation of people that are willing to pick a part up, put it in the machine and hit the green button. It’s not only a monotonous job, but it’s a job that people don’t want. So, as years have gone by this has become more pertinent.” “Reshoring work from overseas is a very real opportunity, but volumes are still typically low and complexity has increased tenfold with the need for diversity and JIT manufacturing. Complex parts, processes and problems are all there - but the volumes are low. It’s difficult for UK manufacturers to hear, but we are not even close to the G20 figures for robots per 10,000 people. Our position is something like the 22nd largest adopter of robotics in Europe - not the world. It is embarrassing. Ultimately, we have to share the word that automation is no longer a future vision - it’s a reality, and companies like RODIN Machining are embracing that reality. The ‘no-go’s’ for companies like RODIN was that they did not want manual data entry and manual actions – they wanted autonomy and automation. Subcontractors in the UK should be looking at these points and realising that they should be striving for the same goals.” “There is a myth that FASTEMS is a system only for large companies and OEMs - it really isn’t true. We have shown that at RODIN Machining. It’s a start-up company with four guys. If you look at the areas where businesses generally have problems such as labour and skill shortages, we are taking all of these decisions off the shop floor. Businesses generally have problems on the application side of things on the shop floor, less so on the processing side of things like CAD/CAM. It’s the button pressers on the shop floor that can kill productivity. The challenge for these 5000+ subcontract manufacturers is that they take an order in good faith and calculate the recipe for manufacturing. After winning the order, subcontractors have to transpose that learning from the sales phase into the engineering department - determining what fixtures, tools and machines to use. This is where the challenges arise – challenges that FASTEMS can streamline and simplify.” Building Strong Strategic Pillars Looking more directly at the UK subcontract industry and overcoming the challenges, Leigh continues: “Subcontract manufacturers in the UK have several issues. These will range from not having scalability, struggling to increase profitability, and the inevitable chaos created by people – and FASTEMS can fix all of these things. To put it in simplistic terms, we have four pillars of People, Processes, Investment, and Profitability. Some companies can have a fantastic business, but it may be labour-intensive, regardless of having CAD/CAM, an ERP system, tooling and material databases, high-end machine tools and even an FMS. But what these businesses won’t have is an overriding process that autonomously takes billets from order to invoice and finished part. In the mix of 5,000 subcontract manufacturers adopting 4 and 5-axis machining, there are a lot of lifestyle businesses where owners do not want to be working over weekends or unsociable hours - they want to make money while they sleep. FASTEMS can provide that lifestyle business for UK manufacturers.” Joining the conversation, Mikko Tuomaala, the Marketing Director for FASTEMS comments upon the pillar of ‘People’, Mikko adds: “What automation removes from the human is the ‘triple D’ of manufacturing processes – Dirty, Dull and Dangerous. Nobody wants to do these jobs, particularly the younger generation. Additionally, if you think of a machine shop and the people that work there, if you don’t control the process and its intelligence, this will fall upon the staff and it will create a deviation in results. You want your highly skilled staff to intervene in the optimisation of processes and be more engaged in the business, leaving the mundane operations to the automation system. The understanding of the machining process doesn’t go away, it is just facilitated by the system and optimised by skilled engineers.” Alluding to the pillar of ‘Processes’, Mikko says: “In UK manufacturing, there are particular islands of manufacturing, so at the beginning, there could be an ERP system or a CRM system - there is a wealth of data and machines that are often sat there doing nothing. To achieve faster throughput and improve costs, deliveries and quality - the process has to be fixed. What FASTEMS does with its MMS is it acts as the nucleus of the ecosystem bringing in the ERP, the MRP, encapsulating the machine tools, the materials and fixtures - it brings together the recipe to bake a great cake. FASTEMS gives customers the facility to control everything from the door where the material arrives to the finished part at the end, and we can visualise it with our situational awareness. We cannot fix bottlenecks, but we can give customers insights into why a bottleneck exists. We can identify what parameters are causing the chaos in a customer’s system - from this data, great engineers can fix the problems. Our software empowers engineers to identify problems and create solutions. Automation pushes manufacturers to realise what is obvious. The problem is often the process and not the machine tool.” Discussing ‘Investment’ on a UK-wide basis, Leigh adds: “In the UK, we use terms like ‘manufacturing is culturally important’, but there has been little investment over the last 30 years. How do manufacturers get investment? They either go through the long-winded painful process of obtaining a grant and if that doesn’t work they get screwed by the bank on loans with personal guarantees against directors. The level of investment in the UK is embarrassing. We have more than 500 installs in Europe from around 200 customers and this is because our customers keep re-investing with us. We have RE Thompson at the RODIN event and they ordered a cell in 2007, a second system in 2008, and another in 2012. We have just won an order for a fourth cell that will keep their business running for the next 20 years. Our biggest customer in the UK is BAE Systems, the F16 should have been decommissioned around 10 years ago, but they have to keep the program running for the next 20 years on machines that are virtually obsolete – our FMS is managing that.” Looking at the pillar of profitability, Leigh continues: “Companies like RODIN Machining look at profitability completely differently from manufacturers in the UK. UK manufacturers often value automation as a third of the cost of a machine tool. For example, a company may buy a machine tool for £500,000 and they will accept that it will run for 12 to 16 hours a day. Then they realise they need lights out machining for the remaining 8 hours - and this is where the valuation of one third comes from. So, they will be prepared to spend £150,000 on the automation of the machine tool. If a manufacturer buys two machines, they have an automation budget of £300,000 - we can automate two spindles for this, but it’s a poor equation. At RODIN, they started the company with four machine tools and spent 1.5 times that on automation – and look at what they’ve achieved. They don’t care about the capacity of the CAM system, the machines and the people – they care about the capacity of the process. They want to create a drumbeat of creating constant cash flow, autonomously with automation, 24/7 and 365. It’s a completely different way of looking at the same problem. When UK manufacturers look at the problem from a different perspective, they’ll find the resolution to the issues of People, Processes, Investment, and Profitability through FASTEMS.” Targeting the ‘Pinch Points’ Looking at the pinch points for UK manufacturers, Leigh continues: “We are intrinsically linked to new machine tools - and we shouldn’t be. Ideally, I would like FASTEMS to be linked with manufacturers and their existing machine tools. If we are linked with the purchase of new machine tools, we are there like Oliver asking for scraps from the begging bowl. We want to have conversations with manufacturers regarding their business problems, not the component problems. Most manufacturers will have business issues such as being too expensive, not being able to produce parts quickly enough, stock rates and production downtime being too high, unskilled staff and a struggle to meet customer demand. These are the issues that I hear regularly.” “We are not here to sell machines and robots, we are here to solve business problems. At FASTEMS, we look at how we can set your business up for the next 40 years - we cannot do that by looking at the X, Y, Z and the A, B and C. The punchline is that at FASTEMS, we don’t sell a product – we sell change. When businesses have a goal and a vision, that is where we can help. The attitude across Europe is that ‘if we make this investment, we trust that we will achieve things’. In the UK, the attitude is very much that if we have an order, we have to get it completed by next week - how do we do it and how can we make the part faster? The next step is to run around the machine tool companies and pick a vendor. However, this is often done with no process, no people and no best practice – it’s just compounding the existing problem.” “Almost all subcontract manufacturers have chaos, we want to have the adult conversations that look beyond the existing project and what manufacturers want to do over the next 5 to 10 years. OEMs do not have this level of chaos, they have strategic thinking that opens the lines of communication with FASTEMS.” Adding to this, Mikko says: “It is like playing a sport, as you progress throug
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Innovation never stops
01/26/2024
Innovation never stops
Where Innovation Never Stops! is the slogan that appears on the walls of the production facilities at ISCAR headquarters and has been synonymous with the company for several decades. The Covid-19 pandemic did not interrupt the innovation process, and between 2020-2021 ISCAR introduced the NEOLOGIQ marketing campaign comprised of advanced cutting tools and tooling solutions for modern metalworking. Significant changes in manufacturing, such as intensive digitising, the shift to electric drive in the automotive industry, and growing precise workpiece fabrication, have emerged with new demands for cutting tools. Notwithstanding, the accelerated pace of changes sharpens the demands and requires more ISCAR NEOLOGIQ products that answer to modern-age machining. The CHAM-IQ-DRILL family of assembled drills that mount exchangeable carbide heads, is now upgraded with new heads in the diameter range of 33 to 40mm. These heads can be mounted on any drill possessing the appropriate pocket size. The main feature of the new heads is a multifunctional cutting geometry, which enables effective drilling of various materials such as steel, stainless steel, heat-resistant special alloys, and titanium - assuring hole precision within IT10-IT9 accuracy grades. The ISCAR LOGIQ-3-CHAM is also based on the concept of exchangeable carbide heads with 3 flutes for improved productivity. This is now supplemented by new carbide heads for achieving a nearly flat bottom hole. Flat bottom holes are necessary for screw head sockets, spring seats, washer ports and more. The heads ensure drilling up to an 8XD ratio without a pre-hole. The new design facilitates generating holes with a nearly flat bottom by use of a single pass. The heads are mounted on existing LOGIQ-3-CHAM tools that significantly expand the application range of the family and reduce inventory costs. So, how do you increase the drilling depth? Use a longer drill? The MODUDRILL family of modular drills with replaceable carbide heads carry indexable inserts and provide an alternative solution. Mounting an exchangeable extension holder on a drill body increases the drilling depth by an additional 200mm when machining holes in a diameter range of 33 to 40mm. Key aspects in turning A modular tool concept is the way to reach high versatility. NEOSWISS is a new tool system with quick-change heads that follows this concept. The system is suitable for turning, parting, grooving, and threading applications. By use of a high-clamping-force mechanism, the heads are mounted on a toolholder. The mechanism provides an accurate cutting-edge position each time and utilises high-position repeatability. The system intended mainly for Swiss-type machines enables the removal of heads and replacement inserts within the tight confines of CNC machining centres. ISCAR has developed a new lever dual lock securing mechanism for improved clamping rigidity intended for ISO turning inserts. The new design, referred to as the The LOGIQ-F-GRIP features a new highly advanced tool family for parting solutions. The central component is a robust tool block that mounts on a 4-pocket adapter. There are cases when the rib, a reinforcement element of the block, interferes and prevents clamping the block on typical turret positions. NEOLOGIQ overcomes this problem by providing additional blocks with the rib placed on the alternative side of the block. The revolutionary LOGIQ-F-GRIP parting system was designed to achieve extra stability and vibration-resistant high-productivity parting and grooving operations. The highly engineered LOGIQFGRIP is an assembled tool block that comprises a durable holder and a high-stiffness quad blade with pockets for mounting inserts. The NEODO S890 is a family of 90° indexable face mills for rough and semi-finishing operations. The mills mount durable square double-sided inserts with 8 cutting edges. NEODO S890 facilitates face and square shoulder milling while providing an additional option for milling close to shoulders where there are workpieces or work holding fixture constraints. ISCAR customers have requested additional corner radii and tool diameters, therefore, this tool family was expanded with additional pressed-to-size inserts with a 0.8 mm corner radius and cutters in diameters 32 and 25mm including endmill design configurations. Upgrading toolholders The ISCAR SPINJET family of coolant-driven high-speed compact spindles for small-diameter tools is intended to upgrade existing machines to high-speed performers. It is now supplemented with the Micro 90 intended for miniature rotating tools in milling, drilling, countersinking, thread milling, engraving, chamfering and deburring operations. Micro 90, made of a solid titanium shell and assembled from only six parts, enables rotating velocities that range from 35000 to 53000rpm while the main machine spindle remains idle. The chuck thickness is a factor that limits the working space of a tool. This factor often causes an increase in the tool overhang to reach a machined surface. A novelty in X-STREAM, a family of thermal shrink toolholders, is a series of slim design chucks to eliminate such a restriction. The new chucks follow ISCAR’s coolant jet channel technology providing direct coolant supply to the tool cutting edge. Changes in metalworking technology place new demands on cutting tools. To meet these demands, cutting tool manufacturers develop new pr
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FGP Turbo’s through complex work with Mastercam
01/26/2024
FGP Turbo’s through complex work with Mastercam
Made up of three main companies, the FGP Group is a specialist Tier 1 subcontractor that provides services from design and manufacturing to surface coating, heat treatment, assembly, inspection, testing and more. As one of the three companies in the group, FGP Systems Ltd typically produces prismatic components for the aerospace industry - it is here that the company utilises Mastercam CAM software. Founded more than 45 years ago, the company bought its first 5-axis machine, a DMG MORI DMU 50 eVolution over 20 years ago – and 3 and 5-axis machining has since become the backbone of the Yeovil-based business. The company produces a vast array of components for aircraft and helicopters such as valve bodies, actuation parts and service components – with complex turbines increasingly becoming the mainstay of production on the shop floor. Simon Griffiths-Hughes from FGP Systems Ltd says: “If we look back over 20 years ago, we had to stay competitive and to do that back then, the buzzword was 5-axis machining. We knew that was the future, so we decided to buy our first 5-axis machine. Our work is five-sided prismatic machining and we needed 5-axis machines to accommodate that. Since then, we have taken on more work like turbines - now we do a lot of turbines in various shapes and sizes.” Discussing the complexities of machining turbines, Simon continues: “The complexity lies within the programming. A turbine, depending on its complexity has main blades and multiple splitter blades. This requires a lot of programming time and you must have safe and repeatable programming and machining strategies. To support what was the new 5-axis investment 20 years ago, we needed a CAM package to support that, and we chose Mastercam. We did our due diligence and went through a couple of CAM providers, but Mastercam were offering the full support we needed for full simultaneous 5-axis machining. We took the plunge straight into full simultaneous 5-axis machining from the off, and Mastercam was able to support us through that period.” Alluding to the challenge of taking on both 5-axis machining and a new CAM system, Simon says: “At the time, we just had to get on with it, but the support from machine tool provider and Mastercam seemed to work very well - and this has grown with us as we have added to that portfolio of machines. We now have 15 5-axis machines with a total of 63 CNC machines across two sites, business has grown considerably down the years.” Looking at how the workload has changed at Somerset-based FGP Systems Ltd, Simon adds: “If we look back 10 years ago, a customer came to us with the need to machine turbines of all different sizes and types. This ranged from scroll turbines and progressed to axial fans. The majority of those turbines at the time were cast and we were very keen to go to a billet solution, which makes it easier for us to start the process. The raw material yield from the casting is notoriously bad and if we go to billet form, it is far easier for us to work on that immediately to get a better yield and reduce cycle times. Once we machine the turbines, we can test them on-site with a spin test of over 100,000rpm.” For the parts to perform, they have to be manufactured with impeccable precision. As Simon adds: “To get these turbines up to speed, they have to be balanced to within micrograms. If you look at a cast variant, it is very difficult and time-consuming to manufacture and balance with precision. The machining strategies we use on our CAM package, enable us to create a machining solution for titanium or aluminium turbines - and then migrate that solution across to the next turbine. The quality of our turbines is a cornerstone of what FGP Systems is about, and the CAM solution and machining strategies help with this.” “Since we on-boarded ‘blade expert’ through Mastercam, that has taken our off-line programming time down from multiple days or even multiple weeks for complex multi-splitter turbines, down to just an afternoon’s work. It really is that simple to use. What this gives our business is improved turnaround times. The customers are always demanding shorter and shorter lead times. If we can off-line program a turbine in an afternoon rather than a couple of days – that is perfect for our business,” concludes Simon.
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Cutting the chatter
01/26/2024
Cutting the chatter
Productive Machines is on a mission to provide a 15-minute turnaround from receiving data on its cloud-based, artificial intelligence platform to delivering a click-and-play machining protocol that enables manufacturers to machine the best part, faster, first time. John Yates talks to the spin-out team whose software-as-a-service is driving step changes in productivity and sustainability. Walking along the second-floor corridor to the Productive Machines’ workspace in the AMP Technology Centre, Rotherham, Dr Erdem Ozturk stops to look through the window at the Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future, whose 3,000sq/m of machining workshops were his research and development laboratory for more than a decade. Erdem led the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s brilliant Machining Dynamics Technology Group, which grew in the innovation environment enabled by Dr Sam Turner and AMRC co-founder Professor Keith Ridgway which propelled the Factory of the Future to global leader in aerospace milling. Their success was achieved by adapting and refining the fiendishly complex mathematical models of machining research pioneers like Franz Koenigsberger and Jiri Tlusty whose ideas were turned into game-changing operational manufacturing methods by their former students, and now professors in their own right, Yusuf Altintas, Scott Smith and Tom Delio. Perhaps the AMRC’s biggest success came in 2014 when they applied these theoretical models to vibration control, cutting tool design, and residual stress management in a SAMULET project that was to revolutionise the manufacturing of Rolls-Royce aero-engine discs and shaft components. The improvements in quality, alongside the time and cost savings achieved in the manufacture of the fan disc, have become folklore in the AMRC and the close-knit aerospace manufacturing community: a 50% reduction in cycle times and right-first-time production rates rising from 85% to over 99%. Coupled with cost-savings of £135m, this made UK jet engine production globally competitive, safeguarding 400 high-value-added jobs and unlocking a £300m investment in a North East plant. Not content with this success, Erdem and his AMRC team, along with European partners, began harnessing the power of information technology to push the boundaries of the possible, creating state-of-the-art digital twins that combined machine tool dynamics, control loops, tool-path generation and machining processes, to boost productivity, extend tool life and eliminate chatter. Productive Machines traces its lineage back to this remarkable pedigree. Formed in 2021, shortly before joining an elite group of start-ups on the ATI Boeing Accelerator programme – over 200 applicants from 44 countries were whittled down to just ten – the business was explicit from the start in its mission to maximise the productivity and sustainability of machine tools. “We are using our unique digital twin to simulate millions of combinations of machine settings to arrive at the optimum feed rate and spindle speed settings for a given process before manufacturing. This eliminates chatter vibrations and provides machining optimisation, preventative maintenance and part quality that may not be achieved by a human operator even with years of continuous improvement,” says Erdem, who now leads a growing international team of machining physics developers and software engineers from their base in the heart of South Yorkshire’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District. Having raised a cumulative £3m investment, the company launched its Feed Rate Calculator and Spindle Speed Calculator apps in October and November last year respectively. This was followed by an early access programme for a predictive maintenance service for spindle health monitoring in December. In the next few months, they will be launching the fully automated cloud based system that achieves a 15-minute turnaround from receiving data on its artificial intelligence platform to delivering a click-and-play machining protocol that enables manufacturers to machine the best part, faster, first time. “We saw there was a massive opportunity to turn our cutting-edge technology into a simple, straightforward Software as a Service (SaaS) product,” Erdem adds. “Using artificial intelligence and digital twins of the milling process, we can identify vibration-free parameters and automatically personalise the process to eliminate chatter. This opens up a future where cutting optimisation technology is accessible to all, regardless of the scale of operation” One early client, Yorkshire headquartered Ficep UK, a leading supplier of structural steel and plate fabrication machine tools, has seen process productivity increase by 110%, with cycle times cut by 53% while reducing the magnitude of vibrations five times. Other clients report reductions in machining design and set-up times of 20%; cycle times reduced between ten to more than 50%; operational and maintenance costs cut by 25%; and cutting tool costs reduced by 11% An additional benefit of this software-as-a-service is the way it can dramatically reduce manufacturers’ carbon footprint. “By finally solving the age-old and frustrating problem of machine tool chatter, we calculate that our technology could save a staggering 2.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions between now and 2050,” Erdem says. To put this into perspective, 2.5 gigatonnes is equivalent to the UK’s total carbon emissions - every factory, fire, car, flight and light - for six years. While work continues in developing and refining the AI platform for launch in the spring, it’s fascinating to learn that an essential piece of kit in this operation is one of the oldest in the toolbox: the tap test. Used in aerospace engineering since the 1950s, the tap test relies on simple physics: the kinetic impulse of a hammer strike dissipated as vibration and sound. However, where traditional tap testing relied on skilled individuals to interpret the sounds made by the struck object, such as a machine tool, today’s digital tap tests are much more sophisticated and precise. Instead of transmitting vibration responses to the ear as an acoustic sound wave, a digital tap hammer sends the vibration response as data to a computer for recording and analysis. Specialist software then calculates the precise frequency response from those vibrations, considering parameters like the frequency, amplitude, and decay rate of the vibrations, and enables an exact analysis of that tool’s unique characteristics and condition. From its origins, the age-old practice of tap testing has not only endured but has evolved into an even more powerful tool in the era of smart manufacturing, becoming a critical component of quality control, material characterisation, structural health monitoring. “Digital tap testing, enhanced by AI, is ushering in a new era of precision and efficiency in manufacturing. It empowers manufacturers to optimise machine tool performance, reduce waste, and enhance product quality. It is democratising condition-monitoring and predictive maintenance, enabling even small-scale operators to benefit from data-driven technologies without costly investments in sensors or infrastructure,” Erdem added. Although focused on the future, Erdem is also a keen student of machining history and one of his go-to authors is the American Quaker Frederick Taylor, best known for bringing the ‘scientific method’ to the early factory system making it more efficient and productive. Taylor also wrote a book On the Art of Cutting Metals, published in 1907, which identified “chatter as the most obscure and delicate of all problems facing the machinist – probably no rules or formulae can be devised which will accurately guide the machinist in taking maximum cuts and speeds possible without producing chatter.” Erdem smiles and says Taylor was absolutely right. “There were no formulae available to predict chatter vibrations until 1954 when Tlusty was able to formulate the absolute stability limit for chip width for turning operations. That meant if the process planner selected a chip width smaller than this limit, the process would be stable and there would not be chatter vibrations irrespective of the spindle speed used.” Seventy years on since the formulation of Tlusty’s law for the identification of chatter stability lobes in turning processes, the Productive Machines team are coming very close to proving Frederick Taylor wrong by accurately guiding the machinist in making maximum cuts and speeds possible without producing chatter for machining processes. That, I suspect, matters as much to this team as turning a profit. It would certainly delight Keith Ridgway: “If I were starting the AMRC today, it would not be by constructing a huge machining research facility. It would be by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, cloud-based data analytics and digital twins. Product
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Collaborative R&D helps take the weight off civil aerospace
01/26/2024
Collaborative R&D helps take the weight off civil aerospace
Engineers’ obsession with weight and strength is reaching new heights in the aerospace sector. A range of technologies are being developed for manufacture, many with research centre support, that are designed to cut weight and carbon in aviation. By Will Stirling It was a good landing at the end of 2023. Commercial aircraft orders and deliveries are flying high, and up in 2022 by some eye-catching margins. It seems like aerospace production is back to pre-pandemic levels. According to aerospace group ADS, 2,430 total aircraft orders have been placed globally to 6th December, a 43% increase on the same period in 2022. Single aisle aircraft account for just over 80% of orders placed this year, demonstrating the rapid recovery in the domestic and short-haul travel industry post-pandemic. Airbus had recorded 1,395 net orders (gross orders minus cancellations) by the 30th of November, beating its full year 2022 orders (1,041) by 350 aircraft with a month to go. Deliveries to date are 623, again set to beat FY 2022 deliveries of 663. Boeing booked 114 gross orders in November, taking orders to 1,207 by 13th of December. The US plane-maker has delivered 461 aircraft to date – orders and deliveries both up on 2022 numbers. Boeing’s official backlog goes from 5,239 last month to 5,324 as of November 30th and like Airbus, its single aisle aircraft – in particular the 737 family – are the most popular type. To show the comparison with Covid and pre-Covid demand, Airbus has not had such a strong order book since 2014 (1590 orders) while in 2020, it received just 373 orders, about one quarter of 2023. The two main primes are chasing a production rate of about 65 aircraft a quarter, in fact Airbus has stated it wants ‘rate 75’ by 2026. In November the government announced an Advanced Manufacturing Plan with £4.5bn of funding for sectors including automotive and aerospace, for five years starting in 2025 – a bit sneaky to project the cash forward, given that a new government will have to honour this future spending pledge. £975m is earmarked to support the development of energy-efficient and zero-carbon aircraft technology. Primes and tier ones are straining to develop low carbon technologies in aviation such as lighter but equally strong parts, sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen, lighter wing skins, 3D printed structural parts. These endeavours are backed by the Aerospace Technology Institute, a government agency that has granted funded £1.9bn to aerospace companies, near-match-funded by industry, which has a new drive to cut carbon in aerospace called Destination Zero – see below. Here are some exciting low carbon programmes and components in 2023. First transatlantic SAF flight On 28th of November, the first flight by a large passenger aircraft powered only by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) completed a flight from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport. Hailed a success, observers remarked the shortage of SAF supply is a barrier to adoption and more lightweighting and propulsion technology will be needed to hit emissions targets. 50% lighter landing gear Think of the incredible forces that go into landing gear when aircraft land – the huge mass of the plane, hitting hard into the ground at speed. Now remove half the weight in the landing gear. That’s what TISICS Metal Composites of Farnborough have done – in one key component of the gear, to begin with. It uses metal composites, a blend of titanium or aluminium with a ceramic matrix, to remove up to 50% of the weight but retain the component’s full strength. This year, TISICS won an Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) award for the product. Part of a project backed by £2.5m in R&D funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Innovate UK, in collaboration with Safran Landing Systems, with its UK base in Gloucester, Light Land is the world’s largest metal composite component for commercial aircraft. Currently, aircraft are made of 50% metal components, but replacing these metal components with TISICS’s lightweight and high-strength metal composites, aircraft can become lighter and more fuel-efficient. A TISICS composite part weighing the same as a packet of crisps (36g), will be able to carry an astounding 5,000kg. The metal composites technology, applied to landing gear, claims to reduce carbon emissions by 9m tonnes annually, and save airlines £650,000 in fuel costs per aircraft per year. TISICS says that by replacing more traditional metal components with metal composites, the aerospace industry can slash carbon while creating 240 UK jobs by 2028. Wing of Tomorrow’s 17m wing skin Since 2018, a team of engineers at the National Composites Centre (NCC) in Bristol have quietly toiled away on a new composites deposition process: a fully automated, wing skin lay-up using novel high-rate deposition technologies. By the end of 2022, they had achieved a world-first, full scale 17 metre integrated wing skin infused in a single step. This is part of Airbus’s Wing of Tomorrow programme. Composite materials enable wing components to be fully weight-optimised and produced with heavily reduced or eliminated sub-assembly and post-manufacturing costs. They also enable faster production cycles. The NCC was tasked with developing technologies and processes to produce three, full-scale, wing cover demonstrators. The new deposition technology was designed to specification and supplied by UK automation integrator Loop Technology with collaboration from Güdel and Coriolis. It comprises two bridges, weighing 45 tonnes and 24 tonnes, 7m high by 13m wide, running along a 26m track. These bridges position automated end-effectors to enable cutting and deposition of dry fibre materials to high levels of quality and speed. The automated process begins at a 20-metre table positioned inside the cell where an ultrasonic cutter profiles the carbon fabric to shape. An algorithm then selects the correct end-effector to pick the material up and then lay it onto the tool. Once lay-up of all the plies, processing and integration is complete, the component can then be infused with resin and cured. For Wing Cover 3, the complete ply stack of dry fibre piece parts – approximately 170 individual dry fibre pieces – was deposited using the NCC’s Ultra High-Rate Composite Deposition, with no manual intervention. The real wings that will use this process will be incorporated in the next generation of single aisle aircraft, the timing of which is unknown. Recyclable fibre tape for more sustainable composite manufacturing The Multipurpose Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastic Tape (FRTT) Development Cell at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre is being funded by a £1.7m grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Such a material has huge potential. While aircraft are using more composite materials to reduce weight, their recyclability has remained frustratingly low. Sustainable thermoplastic composites are exciting due to their ability to be recycled, re-moulded and reused time and time again – once perfected. “With regards to recycling, thermoplastics can be ‘remelted and remoulded’, making it far easier to recycle these materials over thermosets. You usually keep the fibre in the polymer, as it provides the strength,” said the FRTT cell project lead at the AMRC. ATI’s Destination Zero The ATI launched its Destination Zero programme in 2021 to achieve net zero carbon emissions for commercial aircraft by 2050, supporting the industry in sustainable design, manufacture, assembly and operations of future aircraft. Its three pillars are to focus on developing 1. Overt zero emission flights, using new propulsion like hydrogen, 2. ultra-efficient aviation, using existing engines that are more efficient, such as Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan engine platform, and 3. enabling technologies, capturing lightweight components etc. Recently the ATI launched two new programmes, a hydrogen capability network and – of special interest to MTD readers – a new SME Programme to assist smaller companies – see below. Elsewhere, Airbus has developed and recently manufactured a cryogenic superconducting electric propulsion system purposely built to aerospace specifications, that should transfer more current and therefore power in an electric powertrain. And Rolls-Royce rec
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Toolmaker dives into cost savings with Guhring
01/26/2024
Toolmaker dives into cost savings with Guhring
As a family-run business, Canterbury Tools Ltd has been involved in the design and manufacture of press tools since it was established almost 50 years ago. To optimise the production of specialist press tools, the Wallsall subcontract manufacturer utilises wire EDM machines from Sodick, machine tools from Hurco and cutting tools supplied by Birmingham-based Guhring. The West Midlands manufacturer specialises in the production of single operation tools, progression tools, transfer tools, as well as components and assemblies for automated and robotic processes in sectors as diverse as the agricultural and construction industries through to the medical, IT, aerospace and automotive sectors. To retain an industry-leading position, the ISO: 9001 manufacturer is always looking for opportunities to accelerate performance and productivity – and it is this determination to succeed that led the company to Guhring. At Canterbury Tools, the company utilises a selection of 3-axis machines from small capacity to 3m bed machines as well as simultaneous 5-axis machining. Discussing the daily operation of the business, Josh Bennett, the Operations Team Leader at Canterbury Tools says: “We pride ourselves on manufacturing high-quality press tooling and this includes everything from single operation to progression tools and small fine blanking work to automotive tooling. Press tools can be quite complicated projects, so we use a lot of different machine tools - and as technology has advanced, what was once done on manual machine tools is now moved to CNC machines.” The company machines a lot of challenging materials that can rapidly erode tool life and profit margins if the correct tools are not selected. Alluding to this, Josh says: “We take massive pride in what we use in terms of cutting tools, as we have to cut very tough material daily. This means the tool life does make a difference. We do not cut materials like your everyday mild steel and aluminium where you can get away with using the same tools for a long time. When you are cutting things like D2 tool steel and running intricate forms with a high material removal rate, you really can burn through tools quite quickly.” Alluding to how Canterbury Tools founded its relationship with Guhring, Josh continues: “We were introduced to Guhring at the MACH 2022 exhibition. We have always prided ourselves on being at the forefront when it comes to cutting tools. It is an ever-evolving industry, so you have to keep up with the technology. When we spoke to Guhring at MACH, they made promises that we have heard from many other cutting tool companies in the past. Guhring told us things like ‘We will improve your tool life’, ‘We’ll cut your tooling costs’ and ‘We’ll improve your material removal rates’. At the time, we were in the market to improve upon what we were doing and we thought we were already using very good cutters - but as always, were open to be proven wrong.” Proving a Point Discussing the first tool that Canterbury used from Guhring, Josh continues: “The first Guhring tool was the Diver Series of end mills. Guhring told us that it was the ideal tool for our applications and everyday use. We trialled the Guhring Diver against the tools we were using at the time. To our surprise, they annihilated the performance of the apparently high-end tooling that we were using at the time.” “We found a 3X increase in performance compared to what our existing tools were doing. This was a massive surprise to our management team, the accountants who deal with the daily costs of our business and most importantly to the machinists on the shop floor. The machinists really saw a difference in what they were doing every single day with the new cutting tools. From this point, we took Guhring seriously and really put their tools through some rigorous testing. From the testing, we saw a threefold increase in our tool life when we ran at the same speeds and feeds as our old cutters. With help from Guhring, their Navigator system and their engineers, we honed our skillset and started to use this skill to push the cutters to within an inch of their lives.” Commenting on the tooling performance after upskilling the engineers at Canterbury Tools, Josh adds: “We wanted to see exactly what we could get out of the Guhring tools. We were increasing our cutting depths and stepovers by 1 to 1.5 times as well as increasing our speeds and feeds while maintaining a much higher tool life than what we were previously getting.” Discussing the switch to Guhring, Josh adds: “By switching to Guhring, we found a much higher material removal rate and this meant that jobs were on machines for less time. In the world of CNC machining, this is a massive. You always want the job to be ‘on and off’ the machine as quickly as possible. Additionally, not having to change the cutters as often has reduced the downtime incurred by tool changeovers. To remove, reset and replace tools is a process that can take anything from 5 to 15 minutes - the number of these tool changeovers has been drastically reduced. If you have a tool that you expect to change every hour, and then you change to a Guhring tool that gives you four hours of tool life, you have cut out three tool changes in just one job cycle. Additionally, you have slashed your tooling costs.” Discussing the service provided by Guhring, Josh says: “Another main advantage with Guhring is their next-day delivery. The service is excellent and if we are really stuck, they can often help us with ‘same day’ delivery. Sometimes, we will h
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Subcontractor gets a grip with ITC
01/26/2024
Subcontractor gets a grip with ITC
Like any fledgling company, the wind of change can blow qui🎧ckly through a business, and this was certainly the case for Shropshire Precision Engineering (SPE) Ltd. Initially set up as a ‘part-time’ business, it wasn’t until Technical Director Robin Chisnall joined the Shrewsbury business in 2017 that the company set about upgrading its machine tool and cutting tool technology – with XYZ Machine Tools and Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) proving the partners of choice. As an engineer who has been in the industry for almost 50 years, Robin sold his previous business for a life of happy retirement back in 2016, but when he got the call from fellow Director and Company Founder Chris Mills only a year later, the love for the industry was too great a pull. Investment in XYZ machines has improved productivity and throughput, but its the reliance upon cutting tools from ITC that has delivered production consistency, impeccable surface finishes, and reduced waste and costs whilst making a major contribution to productivity improvements. When the ISO: 9001 certified business was founded in 2014, the workload was primarily centred around the automotive industry. Nowadays, 90% of the workload is focused on serving the rapidly growing and high-demand semi-conductor sector. The company provides a complete manufacturing, cleaning, assembly and packaging service as well as testing and production control. As Robin recalls: “When I joined the company, it was primarily using cutting tools from distribution companies. The issue was a several-day lead time for some standard tools with no guaranteed delivery date. We often had to take jobs off machines because we didn’t have the tools available. Another area of frustration was in the cutting tools themselves. A repeat order for an end mill would sometimes be a different brand, coating or geometry – this completely ruined our performance and efficiency. I had worked with ITC in the past and I knew that their service, support and delivery times were second to none. They are also a UK manufacturer that can manufacture special tools as well as standard products. I called the ITC representative and we set about standardising our tool library and consumption.” A lot of components produced at SPE are small delicate stainless and inconel parts. To machine these, SPE implements ITCs 5021 Series of long length centre cutting 5-flute end mills with harmonic fluting and the 5041 Series of 5-flute extended reach end mills. As Robin adds: “Instead of changing between roughing and finishing tools, we trochoidal mill with the ITC 5-flute Cupro coated tools at high speeds and feeds with a low depth of cut. The surface finishes are incredible and the tool life is 50% better than any tools we have used before. We have recently started three new machinists and they are all struggling to comprehend the remarkable tool life we get from the ITC end mills and the reduction in tool changeovers.” The tool life is a huge benefit to SPE, as are the improved surface finishes. “Before we started using ITC tools, surface finishes were inconsistent and we used to undertake significant hand polishing – this is no longer the case. This is saving our company a lot of labour hours every week.” From a productivity perspective, the range of ITC trochoidal 5-flute end mills and also the 2152 Series of 2-flute ball nose end mills that are used from 1 to 8mm diameter for steel machining, have improved throughput significantly. As Robin adds: “All of our jobs are small volumes, so we can’t always track cycle times. However, when we first moved cutting tool suppliers, there were several jobs with 20 or 30-minute cycles that were reduced to less than 10 minutes with ITC tools.” As well as using a complete array of ITC’s UK-manufactured cutting tools that range from end mills and drills through to taps and reamers, the Shropshire manufacturer has also invested in BIG KAISER tool holders from ITC. Alluding to this, Robin adds: “When we moved to ITC, we could conduct trochoidal milling at much higher feeds and speeds. However, the increased cutting forces were pulling tools from our milling chucks. To retain and extend these productivity gains, we needed high-quality chucks. We spoke with the ITC engineer and we bought the BIG KAISER Hi-Power BBT milling chuck with dual face and taper contact. The slim-line design gave us the reach we needed and the clamping forces eliminated tool ‘pull-out’. Additionally, the BIG KAISER chucks improved our rigidity and stability, this allowed us to run our ITC tools at even higher speed and feed rates.” Alluding to the quality of BIG KAISER toolholding systems, Robin continues: “We have a lot of tight tolerance work and one job requires a series of 6mm diameter reamed holes at a 70mm pitch. We would have to do test runs on parts like this to avoid scrap. This deviation was not down to the machine or process reliability – but the toolholders. To eradicate this issue, ITC suggested we try the BIG KAISER MEGA New Baby Chuck for drilling and reaming the holes. We trialled a reamer with the new MEGA New Baby Chuck and it was reaming to a concentricity and precision level within 3µm. The runout of the previous chucks would never have held such tight tolerances.” Concluding on the overall service from ITC, Robin says: “We have guaranteed next-day delivery on standard products, excellent technical support and an unfathomable diversity of special products. In fact, with every special tool, ITC will create a product code. This means that we can order the specific code and we will get repeat orders of our special tools that are all manufactured in the UK. This consistency is of critical importance to us. Some of our parts have a value that exceeds £12,000 - to scrap one of these parts because of tool ‘pull-out’, or the run-out on a precision feature is outside tolerance due to an inferior collet is not a
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Starrag HD reduces cycle times by 30%
01/26/2024
Starrag HD reduces cycle times by 30%
Now available from Starrag Heckert, the STC1250 HD is the latest addition to the renowned STC Series that has been designed to provide unrivalled economy in the machining of the most demanding aerospace structural parts, multi-blades and casings. For those challenging components with long cycle times, the STC Series provides a whole host of practical options. The latest arrival, the STC1250 HD machining centre provides excellent static and dynamic properties as well as a tried and tested rotatable head, making it the new benchmark for heavy-duty titanium and Inconel machining. Commenting on the latest addition to the portfolio, Lee Scott from Starrag says: “This is a 5-axis machine with a B-axis table that holds the component and an A-axis on the head, you can actually have an A and C-axis head as well. This new HD is predominantly for optimised roughing and high surface generation finishing of exotic materials.” Discussing the differences between the new STC1250 HD and its predecessors, Lee adds: “What hasn’t changed from previous models is the head configuration. The head is very stiff and rigid and it has a compact design with a range of spindles, particularly geared spindles. We have an impressive drive system in the spindle, which is a gear-driven HSK100 unit and we also have a dampening brake, so we can lock the spindle and stop it from swivelling when undertaking very heavy rough machining. This also helps with dampening when machining in 5-axis mode. This provides very efficient heavy-duty machining capability that is perfect for aerospace structural components.” Looking specifically at titanium machining, Lee continues: “In the UK alone, we have around 30 STC installations, it is a very successful range. What we have seen from customers is a desire to prove the roughing capability of the machine with no compromise on quality and accuracy. That is exactly what we have achieved with the STC1250 HD. This has been achieved by changing the linear rails to a hydrostatic system - do not get that confused with a box-way system. We have an advanced hydrostatic system, which is a box guideway with a continuous oil film between the two metallic parts that never drains away, so you have zero-friction with no ‘stick-slip’.” The STC1250 HD offers a 1.25m by 1.25m pallet with a large work envelope for accommodating workpiece loads up to 5,000kg on the pallet. This is complemented by an X, Y and Z-axis travel of 2.2 by 1.5 by 2.1m with a swing diameter of 2.2m. With such a large work envelope, the new features in the STC1250 HD can offer astounding benefits for manufacturers with large parts that may have considerable cycle times. Discussing reports that the new features of the STC1250 HD can reduce cycle times in titanium by more than 30%, Lee adds: “At Starrag’s Aerospace and Turbine Competence Centre in Rorschach, we saw a 63mm deep cut with a porcupine cutter where buckets of swarf continually fall into the base of the machine. Traditionally, what would have been three or four passes with a tool can now be done with a single pass. The machine may draw more power in that single pass, but overall it has a significantly reduced cycle time when compared to the previous method of multiple passes.” Highlighting how the hydrostatic system works, Lee adds: “There is a lot of oil in the system, but it is all contained in a recyclable system. On large guideways, there is a thin film of oil of 15 to 20µm. When a large structure moves around, it could theoretically displace the oil. To eliminate this, we have an innovative multi-pocket system that
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Ready for ‘Lift-off’ with OPEN MIND
01/26/2024
Ready for ‘Lift-off’ with OPEN MIND
As the name would suggest, Hill Helicopters is a manufacturer of luxury light helicopters. Since its inception, the company has been on a fascinating journey that is seeing the team of 80+ engineers develop and manufacture a complete aircraft from the ground up. To achieve this, the Rugeley manufacturer has enlisted the support of leading manufacturers from the sphere of machine tools, cutting tools and ancillary equipment. When the company needed industry-leading CAD/CAM technology that is trusted by the aerospace industry, it turned to OPEN MIND Technologies and its groundbreaking hyperMILL CAM suite. Discussing the foundation blocks of the Staffordshire manufacturer, Company Founder, Chairman and Chief Engineer at Hill Helicopters, Dr Jason Hill says: “Hill Helicopters are designers, developers and manufacturers of the HX50 5-seat turbine light helicopter. We are actually bringing light helicopter manufacturing back to the UK for the first time in 50 years. To sell an effective general aviation light helicopter, you really have to match the price point with high-end supercars. To do that, you really can’t turn to the existing aerospace supply chain. So, we’ve had to develop a vertically integrated manufacturing strategy where we manufacture everything in-house from scratch.” Commenting on how the company has achieved this, Dr Jason Hill adds: “We have developed the entire machining capability and the whole composite capability - for a whole aircraft, transmission system and the gas turbine engine. That has been an enormous undertaking. We have a group of technology partners that have essentially helped us to drag ourselves up the learning curve. This has enabled us to physically machine parts, cast parts and make composite components. OPEN MIND Technologies and hyperMILL have been an instrumental knowledge and support partner in enabling us to program and manufacture complex machined components in a wide variety of materials.” Discussing the start of the relationship between Hill Helicopters and OPEN MIND Technologies UK, Justin Talboys-Cotton from OPEN MIND Technologies UK says: “We were initially invited by Hill Helicopters to look at their compressor wheel, which is effectively an impeller. It was a very challenging component with very small gaps. It was a challenge they gave us, but from that point on, there has been a wide variety of parts the company wants to make. From there, the relationship has grown and as Hill Helicopters have bought more equipment and machine tools, they have increased their usage of hyperMILL. Being invited into Hill helicopters at such an early stage - before machines and programmers were here, it has been really exciting to be part of this helicopter development programme and watching it grow.” The company is fast approaching 1,000 sales with 943 aircraft pre-ordered for delivery to 67 countries at present. It is currently looking to invest in a new facility to accommodate its growth, and every month new milestones are being reached in bringing the project to rapid fruition. Hill Helicopters has pioneered a new approach to delivering and supporting safe, exciting luxury private aircraft ownership at an affordable price, calling the new concept ‘General Aviation 2.0’. General Aviation 2.0 (GA 2.0) is what Hill Helicopters calls an ‘end-to-end ownership experience’ that is entirely customer-focused. It begins with a ground-up modern aircraft design while simultaneously meeting or exceeding the latest EASA and FAA airworthiness requirements. Beyond this, GA 2.0 also provides an all-new, safe and fully supported ownership experience. These factors ensure the new aircraft delivers low operating costs and maintains a stable high resale value, making personal helicopter ownership more attainable than ever before. As an aircraft, the Hill GT50 engine is a 400hp unit with a take-off power of 440hp to 10,000ft, a cruise speed of 140kts and a maximum range of 700nm. The company is also manufacturing a commercial variant, the HC50. The differences between the HC50 and HX50 are price, time to market and customer participation in the HX50 manufacture. Commenting upon the current stage of development, Dr Jason Hill says: “Fundamentally, at this stage, our sole objective is to get through the development of parts and sub-systems as fast as possible. Pretty much everything we do on every single machine here is a first-off, a one-off. So, we must manage the risk of programmer error or machine crashes as we are going through these development phases at pace. The Virtual Machine capability within OPEN MIND is absolutely crucial to us being able to do that with minimum risk and the maximum confidence possible - as quickly as possible.” Justin Talboys-Cotton from OPEN MIND adds: “Virtual Machine optimiser on the gantry mill is ensuring that the customer covers things like rewinding automatically. As a programmer, this means you program as normal even though the machine is complex. Having the hyperMILL Digital Twin set up and Optimizer, we automatically ensure the processes are collision-free and it can run within the machining envelope comfortably. I believe the main aim here in regards to being efficient, is managing lots of parts and lots of design changes that are involved with the components passing through the process chain for the first time. hyperMILL is enabling Hill Helicopters to really optimise their programs, first of all as prove-out for ‘fit for function’ but also to make sure the parts are going to be valid for the production environment as well.” Adding to this, Dr Jason Hill comments: “We program milling and turning with hyperMILL and it is absolutely instrumental for us to be able to rapidly develop literally, hundreds of complex components in a wide variety of materials to extremely tight tolerances.” Concluding on the project, Dr Jason Hill says: “I have been dreaming about making this helicopter since I was a littl
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Prima Innovations are shear class
01/26/2024
Prima Innovations are shear class
In the November issue of MTD magazine, we reported on our visit to the Prima Power factory in Seinäjoki in Western Finland. We toured the manufacturing facility and were absorbed by the efficiency of the plant. In this issue, we take a closer look at the ‘Tech Centre’ – the showpiece for the developments coming out of the Scandinavian facility of Prima Power. By Rhys Williams In 2022, the MTDCNC crew were lucky enough to get an invite to the Prima Power headquarters in Turin. Like the architecture of northern Italy, that facility was incredibly impressive with multi-axis lasers, additive manufacturing and automation. It was truly like nothing we had seen before - that was until we landed in Prima Power’s Seinäjoki plant in Finland. In our November issue, we noted how the state-of-the-art 20,000m2 Seinäjoki factory was the daily commute for 250 staff while another 150 employees would primarily work remotely from other parts of Finland or serving customers around the globe. The largest department in the Seinäjoki company is production, employing 40% of the total staff (including the installation group and customer training). The second largest department is R&D, pushing the boundaries of product development. The tech centre is the epicentre of that innovation. As the centrepiece of the state-of-the-art Seinäjoki facility, the 7000m2 centre demonstrates a complete armoury of solutions. During our visit, this included the Laser Genius+1530 with the PSR (Picking and Stacking Robot) and the new EBe 2720 servo-electric driven panel bender that demonstrates the company’s latest API technology. The EBe 2720 panel bender in the facility forms part of a complete PSBB (Punch, Shear, Buffer and Bend) automation solution in the Tech Centre. At one end, this colossus automation system that stretches some 40m, has the Combi Genius CG1530 laser and punching machine that is fed by the Night Train Genius automation system that has more than 60 storage cassettes – each able to hold 3 tons of sheet steel. Completely configurable to the demands of the end user, the impressive Night Train has the CG1530 at one end and at the other, a PSBB line including a Shear Brilliance 1530. Sheets fed to the Shear Brilliance 1530 are then transferred to a buffering station where sheets and parts can be removed, added or flipped over for transfer to the final station, the EBe 2720 panel bender. During our visit, the exceptional level of flexibility and automation was demonstrated with a complete kit of parts being manufactured for an office furniture assembly. Taking a walk around the Tech Centre with Prima Power UK General Manager, Mr Barry Rooney, he showed us the new EBe2720 (Express Bender) servo electric panel bender. The standalone EBe2720 is one of several models that vary to support different sheet dimensions. Capable of loading automatically from the loading table with precut blanks or being connected to a PSBB (Punch, Shear, Buffer and Bend) for complete automation, the EBe2720 has evolved to deliver low running costs, low maintenance requirements and most importantly in today’s current climate, very low energy consumption. With the machine having a seamlessly endless number of options to maximise flexibility, the EBe2720 offers a complete array of tooling designs to accommodate complex profiles. Here, the additional tools and bending blades for small and/or special bends allow small parts to be bent and corrected from a sheet with particularly narrow channels. It is here that the Advanced Profile Inspection (API) technology, a relatively new advancement from Prima Power stands above the innovation of its rivals. Describing the API technology, that is available on a number of the Prima bending machines, Barry Rooney says: “The API system is not completely new, but it is well proven. The API system has a light source and a camera, it uses the light source to see the shadow of the part very accurately. It determines from that what the measurement actually is and then corrects the part. It is like a visual recognition where the machine can identify a measurement and apply a correction. When the system applies the correction, it then watches for spring back and other deviations, so it may do two or three corrections before it gets the right angle. Once it has that angle, it knows what the cumulative correction factor is - and it uses a correction factor again for the next bend. So, it may take two or three strikes at the first bend and the intelligent system will then apply the correct K Factor (ratio between material thickness and the neutral fibre axis) to subsequent bends. When it comes to the second bend, the system intelligently knows the K Factor, but still measures the bend. The time it moves on to subsequent bends, the machine intelligently knows exactly what factors to apply. Once this is in place, an operator can set the machine to check every fifth or tenth part, for example, to ensure it is adhering to quality-control factors. Our system is unique, other solutions may use a process that checks the measurements, but these rival systems don’t learn from the material and processes. We have a patent on this technology, which can measure and correct the part in real-time.” Alluding to the UK customer uptake for machines with these new features, Barry says: “We have a lot of customers that want the API technology for its automated quality assurance whereas the DNP is a game changer for companies producing small, narrow profiles such as frameworks and edgings alongside other, larger parts. Other features that have been added to the machine are typically generational updates such as the control system and process optimisation.” Shear Brilliance Upstream from the EBe2720, is a buffering in balancing station. Here, parts can be removed, added or flipped over before processing on the EBe2720. This balancing station is necessary for the technical centre, as upstream from the EBe2720 is the Shear Brilliance SB1530 - a punching and shearing machine that can churn through the work with a strike rate of 1300 holes per minute. Launched at the Euroblech exhibition last year, the Shear Brilliance machine in the tech centre has 30 turret stations, 30-tonne punching force and a staggering 210m/min axis speed. As Barry adds: “Both the Shear Brilliance and Shear Genius are machines that are so quick, they are typically embedded with our automation solutions. You have to have automation for the high number of parts that can be produced in such a short time - otherwise, customers would be continually loading and unloading material, so the machines are designed and optimised for an automated environment.” “As our high-performance machine, the Shear Brilliance can punch 1300hpm at a 1mm pitch and has a 30 station turret. This exceeds the 16 and 20 stations on the Shear Genius machines. On 16-station turrets, a large index tool and/or multi-tool can be allocated to each position whereas on the 20-station turret, only every other position can accept an indexable multitool. However, on the 30-station turret on the Shear Brilliance, we do things differently. We have a larger number of stations and every other position will be up to size D indexable multitool and the smaller positions accommodate single tools, however, as with the 20 stations on the other machines, we can put multi-tools in the small positions.” “We can hit the correct tool as the intelligent RAM will work with the multitool to select the correct punch inside it. The intelligent RAM and an indexing multi-tool will work together to optimise positioning and maximise productivity. A fixed non-indexable station can also accommodate a multitool - you may not be able to turn the tool, but you can turn the RAM and this will select whichever tool it needs. The overriding aim is to create optimal flexibility for all scenarios, thereby eliminating tool changeovers except for sharpening. On many of our competitor’s machines, they don’t have this flexibility so they need to frequently change tools. Some machines rely on tool changing, or tool changers to create the capacity - on our machines, the tooling is in the turret at all times and ready for use. This means we can sit with customers and work out what their production requirements will be and set up the turret around the customer.” The Brilliance and the downstream EBe2720 are both fed by the Night Train automation system. Discussing this, Barry adds: “On the system in our Tech Centre, the Night Train works with our TULUS user interface software and the NC Express CAM software. TULUS is the user interface and office software that comes in many guises, so customers can select production and process monitoring, it can be interfaced to an ERP system via the TULUS office that offers different levels of connectivity. TULUS can work with an ERP system to do all the scheduling and the programming, so when it comes to production - everything has been done and the CAM software has prepared all of the parts and the nests.” “The Night Train and connected machines interface into that system and it will then know what parts it will produce on specific dates and times. The system can even be set to schedules where it can run filler parts in between production runs to maximise utilisation and minimise scrap. You can literally automate the system to connect to the customers’ ERP and the CAM software and TULUS can take care of everything from scheduling and nesting to material management, process tracking and production reporting. Furthermore, the Night Train is a storage system - so it can drastically improve factory layout and inventory management. We have one customer that has bought the Shear Genius and he has opted for a tower system, as this will take all of his material off the floor and optimise his floorspace.” Set parallel to, and working in conjunction with the Night Train was the Combi Genius 1530. Utilising the same technology as the punching machines in the Prima Power portfolio, the CG1530 incorporates indexable forming, tapping and marking to increase process possibilities. The fully servo-electric machine is equipped with a 3 or 4kW fibre laser head and this enables the CG1530 to utilise the laser to replace conventional slitting tools to increase material yield using common edge lines, or allow more complex geometries to be cut. “The Combi Genius is an extremely popular machine due to its flexibility and capability, which is emphasised in the configuration of the tooling turret. Standing alongside the Combi Genius 1530 in Seinäjoki was a 2D Laser Genius LG+1530. We reported on this high-performance 2D fibre laser machine during our visit to Prima Power Turin last year. However, the Laser Genius LG+1530 in Seinäjoki was connected to the latest Picking & Stacking Robot (PSR). As Barry continues: “The PSR isn’t anything new for our company, but the PSR connected to the Laser Genius+ has been newly developed for that machine. Essentially, the materials are sorted and passed through the tower and then out to a station where parts are picked and stacked from laser-cut sheet. What we are doing is taking the cut sheets away from the system. This works outside the laser, so the laser can continue cutting whilst the PSR sorts the components, takes the skeleton sheet back to the tower, and then gets ready for the next sheet. If there is any issue that prevents a part from being lifted from the skeleton, the intelligence of the system sees this as it detects the sheet being lifted with the part. If the part does not separate from the skeleton, the PSR will shake the skeleton to separate the part. After a preset number of attempts, if the part is not separated from the skeleton, the PSR will move on to the next part - but the machine will know that the part has not been cut correctly and it notifies the operator that the part is still in the skeleton.” The Future Looking to the future, Barry says: “The current trend in the global marketplace is a scarcity of manpower, skilled manpower is even more scarce. Furthermore, energy and raw material costs are increasing and the quality of the material supply isn’t necessarily what it used to be. We are incrementally removing the need for highly skilled staff to alleviate our customers of this very real concern. Our full range of integrated solutions optimise processes, automates production
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Offshore subcontractor takes off with Vulcan
01/26/2024
Offshore subcontractor takes off with Vulcan
Located in Moray, North-East Scotland, an area famous for its Scotch Whisky, Standfast Precision Engineering Ltd provides subcontract manufacturing services that are far more edifying than a tipple. The manufacturer continually invests in machine tools to serve its clients in the offshore and whisky distillery sectors. The latest investment is a Vulcan 710L VMC from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG). Located in Craigellachie where the River Spey meets the River Fiddich, Standfast has continually invested in new technology to enable the production of high quality components. Primarily working with the oil and gas industry, Standfast has witnessed significant growth in recent years as the offshore industry has enjoyed a renaissance. With a facility that incorporates everything from manual and CNC turning, milling and EDM machining, the company is evolving its business assets to satisfy the demands of its clients. The latest acquisition, a Vulcan 710L VMC with a 4th axis Lehmann rotary unit from ETG was purchased to provide additional capacity and increase the throughput of its smaller components. As Company Owner and Director Graham Wilson says: “We had a small bed 3-axis machine with a rotary unit, but the compact work area was limited even further by the 4th axis unit. This meant we could only process very small parts or we’d have to transfer components to our larger bed machines that are dedicated to larger jobs – disrupting our workflow and creating capacity issues. We spoke to Ross Milne at ETG’s Scottish distribution partner RAM Engineering & Tooling and he recommended the Vulcan 710L VMC.” “We reviewed the market, looking for a machine with a Siemens CNC in a short lead time, as our workload was ramping up and the issue was causing a bottleneck. ETG provided the solution with the Vulcan, and it has been a tremendous asset since it was installed,” adds Graham. With a limited floor area, the compact Vulcan slotted straight into the shop floor. The outgoing machine only had a worktable of 500mm, which was too small to fit both a 4th axis unit and a vice for 3-axis work. However, the spacious work area of the Vulcan provides a worktable of 760 by 420mm. Commenting upon this, CNC Machinist at Standfast, Mr Scott Coull says: “With the space in the Vulcan, we can fit the 4th axis unit and a tailstock to stabilise larger parts.” Operating the machine daily, Scott adds: “We program parts at the machine and the new Siemens CNC has a large touchscreen interface that improves programming speed by at least 30%. We typically produce batches from 10 to 20 off, so we can program 10 to 20 jobs each week with each program taking from 15 minutes to a couple of hours, so this saving in programming time is significant.” Looking at the build quality and performance of the machine, Scott adds: “The Vulcan is a more rigid and robust machine than its predecessor and this enables us to undertake heavier cutting conditions. Furthermore, the previous spindle had a maximum speed of 8000rpm and the Vulcan provides 10,000rpm, this significantly improves our productivity.” The family business owned and run by Graham and his wife Michelle has also witnessed improved surface finishes, product quality and reduced downtime since the acquisition of the Vulcan. Scott adds: “Whilst the Vulcan has a tool setting probe that eradicates our previous method of using a dial gauge on every new tool that we put in the machine. This can save us a couple of hours of manual tool setting on the machine each week. In addition, the rapid tool changer is at least 50% faster than the previous machine.” Concluding on the acquisition, Graham says: “We needed a machine with a particular specification for our requirements that was going to deliver reliability and performance. The Vulcan machine from ETG has more capacity, more torque, and a streamlined 4th-axis system and it provides the space for us to machine relatively large parts in either a 3-axis or 4th-axis setup.”
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Support milling with the right tools and know how
11/29/2023
Support milling with the right tools and know how
When outsourced manufacturing processes such as milling are brought back in-house due to the uncertainty of supply chains, up-to-date engineering skills and fresh know how are often required. The general trend to increase productivity and improve profitability may be timeless. However, when it comes to current trends, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. The selection and use of the right tools and tool holders are critical as they determine the quality and efficiency of the end result. So, wouldn’t it make more sense to consult a cutting tool manufacturer? If the crises of the past few years have made one thing clear, it is how fragile our supply chains are and how quickly they can be disrupted. The result is that business is done by those who can deliver. Manufacturers and production companies are therefore bringing back in-house manufacturing processes that they outsourced overseas years ago for cost reasons. The trend has been evident for some time. However, a problem arises if the knowledge and expertise have also migrated with the processes. Bringing back manufacturing processes In general, the successful machining of steel and, in particular, the precise and efficient milling of steel are impacted by a multitude of factors and their complexity can quickly become overwhelming. Tool manufacturers who can think in terms of the application are therefore a necessity – especially when they are also willing to provide advice on complex production processes. The Swabian medium-sized company of Karl-Heinz Arnold GmbH with its brand name of ARNO Werkzeuge is known for its first-class turning and parting-off tools. It has been a constant player in these processes for many years. What is less well known is that the family-run company also develops innovative milling tools that are manufactured in Germany. “With a high level of vertical integration, our development expertise and global sales structures, we manufacture high-performance milling tools that are deployed worldwide for efficient milling,” says ARNO marketing team leader Christian Kimmich. Support often incorporates systems such as a tool holder for corner milling and HFC indexable inserts, a multi-functional system for HFC and corner milling, a face milling system and solid carbide cutters. In particular, a new system for face milling has been introduced and it incorporates a recent new development. “One trend among users is towards smaller machining allowances for workpieces that run faster and at higher feed rates,” says Marco Staiger, Application Engineer at ARNO Werkzeuge. This is precisely why ARNO has developed the new, stable FT face milling system 09, a system that focuses on the application. The FT system is very stable and features a smooth cut and very quiet running. This provides the spindle with maximum protection and is the result of a large flat face on the holders, a positive rake angle despite the negative mounting position and a differential pitch of the flutes. More teeth and smaller double-sided indexable inserts The new FT 09 milling system consists of two variants of stable tool holders covering a diameter range of 20 to 125mm and it is equipped with eight flutes and matching smaller indexable inserts. The differential pitch of the tool holders ensures a quiet and low-vibration milling process. Especially with small allowances, ARNO promises a higher chip removal rate due to the higher feed rates. “Since we managed to achieve a narrower pitch in the tool holder, even though it has a small diameter, we can now place more teeth on the tool,” Staiger explains. This means that up to nine indexable inserts can be fitted, where only six were possible before. Despite the narrower dimensions, users do not have to dispense with cooling. Staiger adds: “Through the internal channels for cooling media, cooling lubricant or air for dry machining are fed directly to the cutting zone and ensure significantly longer tool life and optimum chip removal.” A particularly convincing feature is the optimal utilisation of the flute with smaller in-feeds up to a maximum of four millimetres. This means users no longer need to discard half-used indexable inserts. The large pool of applications demonstrate engineering competence Those who do not want to opt for ‘fast’ or ‘fine’ machining are best advised to use Arno’s FD milling system. The nickel-plated long-life basic holders for corner milling and the HFC indexable inserts with four efficient cutting edges per insert can combine to achieve a high feed rate. These tool holders also have a differential pitch that reduces vibration and results in smooth surfaces. The system ensures a long service life and is easy to handle. Most users set their machining priorities with indexable inserts in sizes 10 and 15. The smaller insert achieves high surface finish credit to its large wiper geometry. By contrast, the 15mm inserts are ideal for roughing since they are extremely stable. ARNO offers different geometries and grades to flexibly adapt machining to the application in question. This is precisely where ARNO excels. It draws on the experience gained from a huge pool of applications and can advise on the most suitable tooling system for each case. The precision-manufactured positive chip breakers on the indexable inserts ensure a soft cut. Since they are also peripherally ground and polished, the PMA geometry can cut both aluminium and non-ferrous metals. With solid carbide cutters, ARNO also has tools in its portfolio that achieve optimum production processes with reduced downtimes thanks to fewer tool changes. The solid carbide metal cutters are made of an extremely fine grain carbide grade between 0.1 and 0.5µm. The consistent material properties are impressive and depending on the design, they are TiAIN, TiCN or AlCrN coated. ARNO’s FE milling system is an alternative to solid carbide metal cutters. Manufacturers can opt for efficient shoulders or high speed during HFC milling. “In both cases, users benefit from high feed rates, extremely smooth running and excellent cutting ability,” promises Staiger. This is due to the highly positive mounting position of the indexable inserts and the spiral shape of the flutes, ensuring smooth material cutting. It is also an ideal situation if the tool supplier can adapt to the needs of its customers with special product lines. With the Basic Series, ARNO Werkzeuge offers efficient, rock-solid tools with many grades and geometries that are suitable for a wide range of machining tasks. On the other hand, the tools in the ‘Major’ series are used when surfaces need to be outstanding. Every minute counts when it comes to tool life and difficult-to-machine materials or large production runs. The tools can be individually adapted with a selection of coatings or tool holders. Conclusion: Milling tools benefit from turning experience With its carefully designed and well-engineered milling tools, ARNO Werkzeuge has no reason to hide its light under a bushel. This is because it also benefits from the turning and parting-off expertise as well as from its application experience. We were impressed by how the milling systems are precisely developed for different applications and yet offer the greatest possible flexibility. With its extensive portfolio, ARNO serves the trends in milling.
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The right tool for the right CNC
11/29/2023
The right tool for the right CNC
The history of computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines dates back seven decades. During the 1950s, CNC technology was difficult to introduce due to manufacturers’ scepticism. Today, it is hard to imagine the world of manufacturing without CNC machines. In material removal processes, a CNC machine has become the central link that determines the functional capabilities of a manufacturer. CNC machining centres are complex machines that continue to evolve and improve. The advancement of CNC technology is based on the progress in various fields such as the main spindle and its bearing units, machining slideways, high-velocity drives, computer engineering, hydraulics, electric motors, robotics, sensors and much more. When compared to a conventional machine with mechanical parts, the share of modern digital CNC machines is significantly higher. CNC technology will continue to be the backbone of machining methods in the near and far future. The development of CNC machines is intended to increase the versatility, productivity, stability, reliability and accuracy of a given machine. These targets are ongoing milestones that assure contemporary machining results. The leap forward relates to machining centres that combine subtractive and additive technologies that are both CNC machined and 3D printed. At the same time, a complete rethink of CNC advancements has been brought about by Industry 4.0 and the concepts of smart manufacturing. In a smart metalworking factory, there is a continuous information exchange between the real world of CNC machines and the virtual world. This world functions according to the features of the machined parts and their respective theoretical characteristics. Smartly balancing on the boundaries of these worlds and analysing the real-time information is the ability to make decisions and corrections that are made by computer-controlled units. One element that is much smaller, substantially cheaper and considerably less complicated when compared to a CNC machine tool, is a cutting tool. The tool is the link that directly removes material from a workpiece and closes the process loop of ‘machine and workpiece’. Due to objective reasons, the cutting tool element is subjected to less fundamental changes and the cutting tool is frequently identified to be the weakest link in the processes. Something that also limits system capabilities. Therefore, appropriate upgrading of cutting tools should be considered as an integral part of the progress of CNC technology. A conventional approach to making cutting tools relates to designing innovative cutting geometries, using advanced cutting materials and applying leading production technologies that are intended to improve tool life, ensure greater material removal rate (MRR), provide higher accuracy, and increase reliability. Nevertheless, Industry 4.0 trends in the development of CNC technology are placing ever greater priority on the digital component of the cutting tool. Information has constantly accompanied cutting tools even before Industry 4.0. Catalogue data, tool drawings and recommendations regarding applications were provided in printed formats and later in electronic formats and these continue to be essential for the typical metalworking machine shop. Computerisation has affected customer support by providing expanded capabilities in the form of data. Various software applications have enabled the selection of optimal tools and the ability to estimate tool life under specific machining conditions. The combination of ISCAR’s NEOITA and its Power Consumption applications enables a quick calculation of cutting forces, bending load and power consumption. It also enables the user to find suitable cutting material grade, the right tool for a specific application and provide an analysis of competitors’ products alongside other useful functions. Customers can easily access data and related information through computers and mobile devices, but now, advancements in network communications have introduced the world of metal cutting to the virtual electronic world. Digital twin technologies complement manufacturing processes. Machining modelling, collision checking and process optimising to find the best cutting strategies are only some examples. In a smart factory, the digital twin is the most significant brick of the foundation. Understandably, only a tool having its digital twin is acceptable for the smart factory’s toolroom. The progress of CNC technology leads to new demands for cutting tools. A tool manufacturer is expected to be a provider of a product that ideally combines a cutting tool as a material object, its real-time digital twin and an appropriate software environment. This allows the seamless incorporation of the tool data in the CAD/CAM and virtual manufacturing environment, directly transmitted by Internet of Things (IoT) networks - tool packages and virtual assemblies. To make tool representation clear for various computer systems, the ISO: 13399 standard was developed and ensure the platform’s independence. This standardisation is necessary for other digital components of the tool package to unify data related to tool life, calculated loads, machining conditions and lots more. ISCAR’s digital tool component, which is based on the ISO: 13399 standard, includes the following characteristics: E-catalogue with various search functions, updated promotion information and reference data. The .p21 file (a STEP file) includes a product identification class for a comprehensive tool data representation and exchange. 3D tool representation for computer modelling and CNC programming in accordance with the ISO: 10303 standard (STEP). A 2D tool representation in DXF format for planned process documentation, drawings, tool layouts and setup sheets. Virtual tool assembly options for turning, milling and holemaking tools intended for generated digital assembly twins in both 3D and 2D representations. NEOITA – ISCAR Tool Adviser, an expert system that recommends optimal tooling solutions for a specific application. The machining calculator and the cutting material grade optimiser software applications. A rapid pace of industrial digitising takes CNC technologies to new heights. This gives a boost to appropriate changes in the product range of a tool manufacturer and demands strong links between a cutting tool and its virtual digital component.
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Cutting costs with a fluid solution
11/29/2023
Cutting costs with a fluid solution
By Rhys Williams Founded back in 2011, Cwm Engineering is a subcontract manufacturing business that has grown at an exponential rate since its inception. The relentless growth trajectory for this West Wales manufacturer is a credit to its approach to continuous improvement and delivering impeccable quality for customers. So, when the Crosshands company was having challenges with its cutting fluid, it turned to Oemeta for a solution. Like any subcontractor that has a diverse range of manual and CNC machine tools employed to process a wide variety of materials from plastics and aluminium to steel and heat-resistant alloys, the challenge is finding the optimal ‘factory-wide’ cutting fluid solution. As the company has expanded and acquired more advanced machine tools, machine uptime and productivity is critical - as are health and safety and the well-being of staff. Unfortunately, previous cutting fluids and the respective suppliers have been detrimental to the ISO: 9001 certified company and its goals. Discussing past challenges, Company Founder and Managing Director Malcolm Walters says: “We were using fluid from a world-leading brand and we found the performance was diminishing with our acquisition of higher-end machine tools. The cutting fluid was delivering poor sump life, bad odours and it was creating skin irritations for staff. We then moved to another high-end brand that had no nasty chemicals. This eradicated workshop odours and skin irritation for our staff. Whilst the new fluid initially had a better sump life than its predecessor, performance was inconsistent from one machine to the next. Furthermore, customer support was poor and we were undertaking all of the fluid testing and topping up internally. Ultimately the fluid cost was also increasing drastically – we needed to find another solution.” A Timely Knock on The Door Serendipity played its role when Ryan Aviles, the regional sales engineer for Oemeta made a chance call upon the West Wales business. Inviting the Oemeta representative for a conversation has paid dividends for Cwm Engineering. Initial consultation regarding the machine tools, type of machining, material types and the issues with existing products provided Oemeta with a scenario of what was required. The cutting fluid company narrowed the solution down to two products and it was the Oemeta NOVAMET 760 water-miscible metalworking fluid that was identified as the optimal choice for Cwm Engineering. With more than 12 machine tools on the shop floor, Cwm Engineering and Oemeta initially agreed to trial the fluid in one machine, a Mazak VTC-530C vertical machining centre. The results were immediate. The first two fluid brands offered a sump life of 2 to 4 months, a huge variation in sump life that Cwm Engineering or the fluid suppliers couldn’t diagnose. The Oemeta NOVAMET 760 has now been in the Mazak VTC-530C for over 12 months with no issues, increasing the fluid life by more than 70%. With the results of the first machine being so evident, Cwm Engineering agreed on a staggered approach to incrementally phase out the previous fluid and install Oemeta’s NOVAMET 760 in all its machine tools. Service With a Smile Commenting upon the implementation process, Cwm Engineering’s Systems and Operations Manager Andrew Ritchie says: “We have a company to conduct annual health and safety audits and we pay due diligence to all H&S aspects. With our previous fluid, the well-known supplier provided a poor level of service. I would spend up to 3 hours each week conducting pH and calibration tests on all machine sumps. We had to buy calibration kits, incubation tubes and an incubator and during testing, we would have to leave the fluid in incubation tubes for 48 hours before testing the bacteria levels. We had to buy a £350 bacteria kit and pay a £30 fortnightly subscription for test tubes and dip slides. The cost and effort expended was excessive and added to this, there would be another couple of hours spent topping up the machines.” “Despite dedicating significant time and resources to our coolant management, the previous fluid performance would incrementally deteriorate and then ‘fall off a cliff’ overnight. We even tried ozone generators to oxidise the coolant and kill bacteria. Unfortunately, there was no explanation for the fluid behaviour and the support was very poor. In contrast, Ryan and the Oemeta team have been fantastic.” Whilst Oemeta emptied and cleaned the sump on the first Mazak machine, rather than empty the sump of each subsequent machine, the technical experts at Oemeta identified if NOVAMET 760 would be compatible with the existing fluid. Once this was clarified, NOVAMET 760 was then used to top-up existing fluid levels in the rest of the machine shop to minimise disposal costs for Cwm Engineering. Oemeta also implemented its fluid management protocols at Cwm Engineering. This has included fluid management instructions on each machine tool along with a service record card. Most importantly, the Oemeta engineers visit the Carmarthenshire company every fortnight to undertake fluid management activities that include testing the pH level, bacteria, fungus and sump levels and concentration. The Savings Introducing Oemeta’s NOVAMET 760 has been an incremental process over the last 12 months – and it is only now the true level of savings can be fully quantified. From a cost perspective, the previous cutting fluid was costing upwards of £2600 a barrel and the 12-employee business was buying up to 6 barrels a year with a cost of more than £15,000 per annum. The Oemeta fluid costs almost 50% less than its predecessor, making an immediate saving in the region of £7000. At least that would be the case if they were used in equal measure. With the remarkable fluid life improvement, Cwm Engineering is only purchasing 2 to 3 barrels a year – a fluid life that will inevitably improve further when the remainder of fluid from the previous vendor evaporates from the machines. There is potential for the subcontract manufacturer to reduce fluid purchasing costs by more than 80%. What goes in must come out Not only are Cwm Engineering making huge savings on coolant costs and the associated cost of weekly testing and the labour hours involved, but they are also making savings on fluid disposal. Cwm Engineering has two 1000-litre IBCs that are filled with waste coolant and disposed of two to three times a year at a cost of up to £2400. Not only is there a significant financial cost, but also an environmental impact. With fluid life increasing by more than 70%, inevitably, disposal costs will also fall by 70% - this is estimated to save an additional £1600 in disposal costs for the company. Furthermore, with the previous fluid almost turning rancid overnight, machines would have to be emptied and cleaned for £600 – a frequent cost that has also been eliminated. Benefits beyond the wallet The cost reduction of implementing Oemeta’s NOVAMET 760 has been staggering for the family business, but the benefits are far further reaching. As Andrew Ritchie adds: “We have taps near each machine and we have a barrel of NOVAMET 760 with a mixer on a trolley that can be wheeled to each machine. Once the barrel and mixer are connected to the tap, we can easily top up the fluid in any of our machines. Simply doing this has saved us hours every week and with Oemeta managing the condition of our fluid every fortnight, we are saving significant man hours on fluid testing too. There is also no need to have machines down for sump cleaning any longer, which can be a huge inconvenience to our business.” The performance of the fluid is also improving quality and productivity at Cwm Engineering, as Malcolm Walters concludes: “Oemeta provides a long and predictable sump life which is critical to our machine shop and keeping our spindles turning. The soluble Oemeta cutting fluid has significantly reduced fluid consumption, extended tool life, reduced machine downtime and massively reduced waste disposal costs. Moreover, our surface finishes have improved and staining on particular types of aluminium is now a thing of the past. We have witnessed situations where parts that need to be aesthetically pleasing have been stained by coolant and this has resulted in scrap – this is now a thing of the past. We are delighted we made the change to Oemeta, we cannot speak highly enough of their products and service.”
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In safe hands with CMZ
11/29/2023
In safe hands with CMZ
Founded before the First World War, Tybro Bros (Sutton in Ashfield) Ltd has evolved over the last century. Formed in 1914, it has progressed from a business with motor and electrical engineers to precision engineering. The company has a reputation for its excellent standards – something underpinned by its investment in machine tools from CMZ. A family business spanning more than four generations, the Kirkby-in-Ashfield company is a typical subcontractor that serves all industry sectors. With a customer base that boasts brands like Thorntons, OTIS, the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Transport for London, the company was instrumental in the redesign of the stop switches on the London Underground and the contract remains in place more than 40 years later. In fact, it was the father of the current Managing Director, Mandy Tyler who designed and developed the London Underground stop buttons. Describing the business, Mandy Tyler, Managing Director of Tybro Bros Ltd says: “We specialise in machining, fabrication and assembly; manufacturing components for critical industries – we push the boundaries of those industries. We are producing components that have never actually been made before from drawings that have never been designed before, and that is why there is so much skill involved in our business. We also need the machinery to support our skilled engineers.” The company purchased its first CMZ machine in 2011 and the relationship has continued from there, as Mandy adds: “The first machine was a single spindle lathe and as the years have progressed, we have gone from single spindles to sub-spindles and Y-axis machinery. This progression has been based on the type of components that we manufacture.” Adding to this, Mandy says: “We deliver to key industries that demand critical parts, so we absolutely need the machinery to be robust and reliable for us to deliver to our customers on time. I have great confidence in the CMZ machines as they hold tolerances very well - and this is critical, as the drawings we work to have very tight tolerances. We machine a variety of materials from plastic through to mild steel and superalloys, and when it comes to materials like Inconel, it is very handy to have the extra power of the CMZ TA Series.” Mandy continues: “Since investing in our first CMZ machine in 2011, we found that the brand has just worked for us, so we have invested time and time again. Our most recent purchase was a CMZ TD35 turning centre that was bought purely to keep up with customer demand, as we are busier now than we have been in the last six years.” The TD35 is a CNC lathe that allows multiple configuration options that can be adapted to the demands and particularities of each production process. All models have a turret with a built-in motor offering 12,000rpm driven tools and integrated spindles. Laser compensation is also a standard feature on all TD Series machines with automation of both short and long batches possible via the GL20 and GL100 Gantry robots that will lift to 100kg. “One of the unique features of the CMZ machine is the turret design. It has a 12,000rpm driven motor, which has 13kW of power. So, when you cut materials like nimonics, the Y-axis is like a machining centre with incredible power. Tybro now has four machines from CMZ and this is due to the accuracy and performance over a prolonged period. This is important to Tybro, as the company specialises in machining difficult materials for critical industries,” says a member of the CMZ team. As Mandy concludes: “As the demands have grown in our turning department, and since we bought our first CMZ machine, our machinists have found CMZ machines to be fantastic to use and very intuitive. For this reason, we have invested time and again in CMZ machines, so that we can have standardisation in our factory.”
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Embracing a ‘one-stop-shop’ supplier
11/29/2023
Embracing a ‘one-stop-shop’ supplier
Full 5-axis capability plays a pivotal role in Maycast-Nokes’ production processes. Situated in Halstead, Essex, the company invested in their initial 5-axis machine over two decades ago—a HAAS VF-2 vertical machining centre equipped with a trunnion unit. Sales Director at Maycast-Nokes, Mr Dave Blower explains: “This marked our first investment with HAAS. Although initially intended for a specific project, it had a tremendous impact on our entire machine shop.” Adding to this, Dave says: “At the time, we did not possess any other 5-axis machines on-site. However, we found the transition to be seamless, and the HAAS control system proved to be highly intuitive. Opting for a 15,000rpm spindle reduced our cycle times by 50% when combined with the 5-axis.” Since the 1950s, Maycast-Nokes has functioned as a foundry and progressively evolved into a comprehensive engineering business through gradual technological investments. Financial Director Derek Redgwell states: “Our workforce now comprises 120 individuals, including ten apprentices working across various departments.” All ten milling machines in Maycast-Nokes’ facility are HAAS CNCs, with seven of them being UMC Universal Machining Centres. Dave proudly shares: “We purchased one of the first UMCs in the UK, and it perfectly suits the majority of our component requirements. We were so impressed that we continued to invest in them.” The UMC-750 models utilised by Maycast-Nokes boast a 15,000rpm spindle, a 40+1 side mount tool change capability and simultaneous 5-axis machining. Dave further adds: “With each new machine, we have observed ongoing upgrades and refinements from HAAS. They consistently strive to enhance their products. For example, the door size has been redesigned to allow more natural light into the workspace, the control position has been optimised for improved user-friendliness, and the addition of a touchscreen has proven to be highly convenient.” HAAS 5-axis machining has been enhanced with the introduction of TCPC (Tool Centre Point Control) and DWO (Dynamic Work Offsets). TCPC allows the machine to precisely control the position of the tool’s centre point, ensuring accurate machining regardless of the part orientation. It eliminates the need for manually calculating offsets, greatly simplifying programming. DWO dynamically adjusts work offsets in real time during the machining process, compensating for any machine or fixture deflection. This capability ensures consistent part quality and reduces the need for manual adjustments or recalibration. With TCPC and DWO, HAAS 5-axis machining has become easier than ever, allowing operators to achieve intricate geometries and complex machining tasks with confidence and precision. “We’ve just taken delivery of a UMC-500 and UMC-1000. The footprint of the UMCs is the reason we can fit so many into the workshop. With the speed of the machines, we can be more competitive in our quoting, which brings in more work, enabling us to invest again. It’s a circle which is very successful for us.” Given the precise nature of the castings, primarily targeted for the aerospace and defence sectors, maintaining tight tolerances is paramount. Dave explains: “Each casting has full dimensional reports and needs to pass inspection before it leaves us, so repeatability is essential. The HAAS machines are great for consistency and accuracy.” Over the years, Maycast-Nokes has nurtured a strong relationship with their HAAS Sales Manager. Dave comments: “Don Cole is always willing to visit us whenever we need anything. He has assured us of unwavering engineering support, and that is precisely what we get. We chose HAAS for their competitive pricing, but it is their exceptional service that has fostered our loyalty.”
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Factory 33 supported by Hurco from day one
11/29/2023
Factory 33 supported by Hurco from day one
Located in Carterten, Factory 33 is a family business headed up by Martin Krzywina, and Karina Ringer-Krzywina. With more than 10 years of experience in manufacturing precision components for the F1, aerospace, nuclear, medical and cryogenic sectors; this was immediately the target area for the engineers when they started the company in 2015. The journey started with two machines from Hurco. Managing Director Marcin Krzywina says: “We make everything from aerospace to motocross parts and we also supply most of the F1 and Formula E Teams. These are typically high-precision critical components. The first two machines we bought were a Hurco TM8i lathe and a Hurco VMX30i machining centre. At the time of starting the business, the building was under construction, but we laid out the factory as a lean manufacturing facility.” “We approached Hurco about a year before we decided to open the doors for business. So, we approached several machine tool suppliers but Hurco were the ones that really did take us seriously. They were on board with our concept and plans and they wanted to support us as a new business – other companies did not.” Looking at the Hurco VMX30i machining centre, which was the first machine to land at Factory 33, Marcin says: “It’s a great piece of kit with a huge stroke in the X-axis and we have added a 4th axis unit to this machine. We have through spindle coolant and we can do a lot of great parts on this machine - it has all the bells and whistles like full probing, it has the full package. What you see with Hurco is what you get. The machine you see in the showroom will be delivered with the same specifications.” Another machine the company specified was the full simultaneous 5-axis Hurco VMX30UDi, alluding to this, Marcin continues: “We needed this machine because our customer components were getting more complex and the 5-axis gives us the edge of making these parts quicker, more accurately and with a better finish. This is because the machine is a direct drive spindle with 15,000 rpm. Some machines are belt-driven, but this one in particular is a direct-drive machine that creates less vibration. With Hurco, the parts and the finishes are impeccable.” The cleanliness of Factory 33 is incredible. Part of this is down to the Lean Manufacturing philosophy where every tool, collet and accessory has a storage place. However, it is also down to good housekeeping. As Marcin adds: “We have to keep our facility clean because when we are being audited by medical companies, we have to be on our best behaviour - it’s just what the industry demands. We are trying to operate on the level of Formula One. An extremely clean machine shop is our goal.” Asking Marcin for his opinion on what makes a good machine tool, he tells MTD: “It’s all about the axes. Everything in a 5-axis machine shop is about the axes. On this 5-axis machine, we have a 250mm diameter capacity and we can get to the centre of the table rotation with only 125mm of the tool protruding from the spindle. This is excellent and ensures we will have no collisions whatsoever. When I’m looking for a machine, I am looking for the complete package - I want as much included in the package as possible. When you look at some brands, you could be missing an air gun, the coolant wash down or another feature - these are typically extras but with Hurco they come as standard.” Alluding to what makes life easier, Marcin says: “When we are looking for machines, we want to see the retailer selling the complete package. It makes life a lot easier when everything is included - as much as it can be.” Looking at software, the Managing Director continues: “The software side of the machine also has to be straightforward. With the Hurco brand, everything is straightforward - we love the WinMAX control and the graphics. You can manipulate the graphics in any way that you want. The graphics don’t only show the solids, but also the tool paths. If you have any gouges on a component, you can go back to the control. If it’s simulated incorrectly on the control, that means you need to go back to your CAD/CAM system and fix it.”
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