Quaker and Houghton combine

Quaker Chemical Corp and Houghton International Inc, companies with a combined 250-year history as providers of metalworking cutting fluids and coolants, have executed a definitive agreement to merge. Both companies are headquartered in the Philadelphia area. Under the terms of the agreement, Houghton International shareholders will receive $172.5m of cash and 24.5% ownership of the combined company, representing approximately 4.3 million shares of newly-issued Quaker Chemical stock. In addition, Quaker Chemical will assume Houghton International’s debt and cash, with net debt of approximately $690m at year-end 2016.
For further information
www.quakerchem.com

Stratasys invests in LPW Technology

LPW Technology has received a strategic investment from Stratasys to develop end-to-end metal powder solutions for additive manufacturing. As a result, LPW plans to invest in excess of £20m over the next two years, which will be focused on establishing new facilities in both the UK and US. In bringing Stratasys on board as a strategic investor, LPW remains majority-owned by founder Dr Phil Carroll, who will continue to lead the business supported by LPW’s independent management team. The Stratasys investment represents the first consolidated partnership arrangement in LPW’s approach of developing close working relationships with 3D printing machine manufacturers.
For further information www.lpwtechnology.com

Mazak appoints new MD for Europe

Yamazaki Mazak has appointed Richard Smith (pictured centre) as its new managing director for all of the company’s European operations. He takes over from Marcus Burton (left), who will remain with the company in a new non-executive role. Smith, who takes up his new position this month, first joined Mazak in 1987 as a graduate production engineer, and over the past 30 years has undertaken a number of key roles in manufacturing, purchasing, customer service and product management. His most recent position was deputy group managing director Europe (operations), and before that as managing director – UK and Ireland sales division.
Smith will be supported by Bruno Munier (right), who recently assumed the role of deputy European managing director – sales. Munier joined the business from SandvikCoromant, where he worked for 19 years, reaching the position of Europe and Middle East (EMEA) president. He will be responsible for overseeing the sales and marketing strategy for Mazak’s European operating companies.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

XYZ makes first five-axis machines available

At an exclusive preview event for the press held earlier this month at the company’s headquarters in Tiverton, XYZ Machine Tools demonstrated full simultaneous machining on its new UMC-5X five-axis machining centre.
“We took our time in sourcing the UMC-5X in order to be confident that we had the right solution to five-axis machining that could meet the needs of a wide variety of customers, from those just starting out in the five-axis arena, to those already well-versed in this technology,” says managing director Nigel Atherton. “The machine is a perfect fit with our existing range in that it combines value for money with high specifications, which we know will make it attractive to XYZ customers.”
The gantry-style machine with trunnion table offers Siemens 840D slShopMill control (or HeidenhainiTNC 640 HSCI option) and Heidenhain LC183 linear scales on the X, Y and Z axes. Furthermore, direct drives for the ballscrews deliver circularity of 6-7 µm.
Among the notable design features of the 600 x 600 x 500 mm (XYZ axis travels) UMC-5X is the availability of 500 mm of Y-axis travel forward of the table surface when the table is tilted 90° towards the rear (component facing forward). This is said to be greater than many competitor machines, including those quoting the same axis travels as the UMC-5X, thus allowing larger workpieces to be machined.
Full 360° C-axis rotation of the Italian-built LCM table is achieved via a direct-drive high-torque motor, giving 90 rpm, while ±120° is available in the tilting A-axis. Traori/Kinematic functions support five-axis simultaneous machining for improved accuracy.
Loads of up to 600 kg can be supported on the 600 mm diameter table, while maximum feed rates are 36 m/min in the three linear axes. A 40-taper, 12,000 rpm, 30 kW, 239 Nm in-line Siemens spindle is offered as standard (15,000 option). Alternatively, a Kessler HSK-A63 18,000 rpm (24,000 option), 25 kW, 40 Nm motorised spindle can be fitted. Through-spindle coolant at 20 bar (70 bar option)
is supplied with both spindles.
Among a number of ‘smart machining’ functions offered as standard are tool-tip positioning control, axial accuracy control and spindle vibration supervision.
Dubbed by XYZ as ‘The Challenger’, the list price for a standard UMC-5X is £153,000 + VAT. A selection of machines to various specifications will be held in stock, although machines can be ordered to exact requirements with delivery inside four months.
“In Europe, 25% of VMCs are five-axis models,” says Mike Corbett, applications manager at XYZ. “However, although the UK lags behind countries such as Germany by volume, numbers here are rising and we want to be part of that growth.”
This ambition follows a record-breaking period at XYZ, where profit has increased in each of the previous six years. In fact, the company reports “scorching” March trading figures that could set it up for yet another “best ever year” once calculations are complete.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Button insert milling grades introduced

Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal has released five different grades of RDMT button-style indexable inserts for carbon, alloy and stainless steels, as well as cast iron. The inserts are said to be advantageous in applications where high resistance to wear and insert fracturing is required.
Available in sizes of 8, 10, 12 and 16 mm inscribed circle, the five grades cover PVD-coated ACP100, 200 and 300, and CVD-coated ACK200 and 300 variants.
The ACP100 grade for milling steel and ACK200 for cast iron incorporate Sumitomo’s Super FF coating that the company says enables up to 1.5 times greater efficiency in machining and provides more than double the tool life of conventional grades under normal cutting conditions. Chipping resistance and adhesion strength are also said to be enhanced.
Similarly, the ACP200 and 300 grades for milling steel and ACK300 for cast iron employ Sumitomo’s Super ZX multi-layer nano-technology coating, which combines alternating 10nm thin layers of TiAN and AlCrN to deliver benefits matching those of Super FF.
The ACP200 is suitable for general milling in steel and die steels, while ACP300 is recommended for interrupted machining in stainless steel workpieces. Meanwhile, ACK300 has been developed for the general and interrupted milling of cast and ductile irons.
In a recent milling demonstration on die steel, the Sumitomo ACP200 grade increased the number of workpieces completed from 300 to 400, says the company. The machine was run at 150 m/min with 0.3 mm/tooth feed rate and 3 mm depth of cut.
For further information
www.sumitomotool.com