Prepared for all eventualities

The triggering in March of Article 50, formalising the two-year process for the UK to leave the European Union, has led some economic experts to predict a slowdown in growth and a general contraction within the sector. Others, no doubt fuelled by the fall in value of Sterling and its positive impact (to date) on exports, are more bullish and confident that UK manufacturing is more resilient than was originally thought.
With so many competing, and often conflicting, views of what could happen in the future, numerous UK companies, rather than waiting and “hoping for the best”, are taking matters into their own hands. Many are investing in their manufacturing plant, equipment, processes, systems and people, and strengthening their supply chain relationships to make themselves better prepared for the future and better positioned to capitalise on opportunities in a post-Brexit world.
One such company is subcontract specialist Aerotech Precision Manufacturing. Based in Poole, the company recently invested in a Doosan VCF 850LSR five-axis machining centre supplied by Mills CNC.
Aerotech, established in 1990, manufactures and supplies high-precision complex components and assemblies for the aerospace, defence, medical and energy sectors, as well as parts for packaging equipment and machines. Components machined by the company vary considerably and include prototypes and one-offs through to small-medium batch production.
A significant proportion of Aerotech’s work is in highly regulated markets and the company, not surprisingly, has invested heavily in ensuring it has the correct accreditations and certifications to operate and grow within these sectors, such as AS9100 (Rev C), ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Fit4Nuclear.
Aerotech prides itself on the quality of the parts it supplies and adopts a ‘right first time, every time’ approach. The company also invests significant resources into both achieving, and often exceeding, customers’ tight delivery deadlines.
The emphasis on quality, lead-time fulfilment and cost competitiveness explains, to a large extent, the company’s recent investment in the Doosan VCF 850LSR.
“We operate in highly competitive global markets and, as such, you simply cannot afford to stand still,” says business development manager Aaron Houston. “As a consequence, we regularly audit and review our engineering and technical capacity and capabilities, benchmarking where we are against where we need to be. If there’s any disconnect between the two, we make strategic investments in the latest technology to bridge the gap.”
As part of the company’s continuous improvement programme, Aerotech made the decision to replace one of its existing large-capacity three-axis machines with a new five-axis machining centre. The investment was intended to help the company reduce job set-up times and part cycle times via adopting a one-hit machining strategy and, in so doing, improve its productivity and process reliability.
Explains Aerotech director Allan Redfern: “Although we decided on the five-axis machine tool route, there are so many different types and models available that we made sure we gave ourselves sufficient time to investigate the market thoroughly and thus ensure we selected the right machine for our requirements.”
To a large extent, the sectors served, materials used and type and complexity of components machined by Aerotech, narrowed the choice down to a large-capacity five-axis machine equipped with a Heidenhain control and swarf evacuation/chip management system. However, the machine also needed to deliver excellent cutting performance by maintaining high volumetric accuracies in roughing operations and guaranteeing high surface finishes, while enabling the company to produce parts using three-axis, 4+1 and full five-axis simultaneous machining.
“We had previously invested in a Doosan Puma 480L lathe from Mills CNC in 2013, and were impressed with its reliability and performance, as well as Mills’ aftersales service and support,” says Redfern. “As part of our five-axis machine tool selection process we attended a Mills open house and visited the company’s stand at an exhibition. On both occasions we were able to see the VCF 850LSR in action, and to talk to Mills’ sales and engineering staff about the machine and our plans.”
The moving-column VCF 850LSR has X-, Y- and Z-axis travels of 3000 x 850 x 800 mm, a B-axis (±110°) built-in ‘swivelling head’ milling spindle (32 kW/12,000 rpm) and an 800 mm diameter rotary table integrated into the machine’s 3500 x 870 mm long bed.
Doosan’s VCF 850LSR also features roller LM linear guideways, a 60-position servo-driven chain-type ATC, the Big Plus face and taper tool shank configuration and on-board cooling systems that help minimise thermal displacement during long production runs.
“The VCF 850LSR represents a sound investment, and is being used to machine complex, high-precision components for aerospace, defence and nuclear sector customers,” says Redfern. “One of the components being machined is used in advanced, remotely operated underwater vehicles [ROVs] used in the detection, assessment and destruction of sea mines.
“The components are made from aerospace grade aluminium alloy and machined from solid, first on our lathes and then four-/five-axis machined on the VCF 850LSR,” he adds. “Components are rough-machined in the first instance, which requires significant high-accuracy stock removal, before being finish-machined to realise a Ra 0.4 surface finish. Since machining these parts on the new Doosan machine, cycle times have been reduced dramatically.”
Now, a few months after installation, the VCF 850LSR is, naturally enough, taking on more and more work as Aerotech directors and managers become increasingly familiar with the machine, its capabilities and potential. The VCF 850LSR has also become a focal point for customers and prospects visiting Aerotech’s 2500 sq m facility.
“When visitors see the machine up close and in action, they are impressed,” concludes Houston. “The VCF 850LSR provides them with confidence and the certainty that Aerotech can achieve the part quality and lead times they demand. With advanced machining technologies such as the Doosan five-axis machining centre, we are prepared for most, if not all, eventualities in these challenging times.”
For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

Rapid supply of machining centre saves the day

The catastrophic failure of a five-axis machining centre, coupled with a requirement to continue supplying 12 aircraft seat-tray table assemblies per day that it was producing, is a nightmare scenario for any subcontractor. However, this situation was exactly that being faced by Dorset-based FGP Systems.
A solution was quickly found, however, namely the acquisition of a new Hermle C400 machining centre, which was supplied by sole UK agent Geo Kingsbury in a lead-time of just two weeks. After commissioning and training, the five-axis, vertical-spindle machine was producing parts within three weeks from time of order. Three months later, the supplier moved it to a new, permanent location in the company’s Weymouth facility over a period of just four days prior to Christmas.

Simon Griffiths-Hughes, director of engineering at FGP, says: “No other potential source of a quality five-axis machining centre could react so quickly. Around 14 to 16 weeks is a normal lead-time from a factory if a machine is built to order, but Geo Kingsbury had the Hermle C 400 in stock. As luck would have it, the machine was perfectly specified for our requirements with spindle nose probing, laser tool setting, HSK 63 tools, an extended 87-station magazine and an 18,000 rpm spindle for aluminium machining.
“Before we placed the order we spoke with several UK users of Hermle equipment, from blue chip firms to small subcontractors, and all endorsed the brand,” he adds.
FGP says that the C 400 has excelled, especially in respect of the surface finish being achieved on machined components. Many hours of manual polishing were previously needed to remove cutter marks. Now, components go straight from the Hermle to anodising without any further work.
For further information
www.geokingsbury.com

Most precise robot machining ever?

Work has completed on a £850,000 project to give the UK aerospace sector an advanced capability for high accuracy robotic machining. ‘The Flexible Robotic Machining in High Accuracy Applications’ project was launched by the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), with backing from the Aerospace Technology Initiative (ATI). AMRC is combining an existing robotic solution with expertise in CNC machine tool dynamics. “This will create the most accurate large volume machining robot in the world,” says Ben Morgan, who heads the AMRC’s Integrated Manufacturing Group.
For further information www.amrc.co.uk

Three times faster roughing on super alloys

A ‘world first’ in manufacturing has created a commercially viable process to produce critical aerospace components such as engine blisks and compressor blades from nickel-based super alloys that enables them to be rough-machined out of solid up to three times faster, while saving up to 70% on tooling costs.
The machining operations are being carried out at General Electric Aviation’s manufacturing facility in Detroit, in partnership with Japanese machine, cell and system builder Mitsui Seiki with its prototype HW63-TD hybrid five-axis machining centre. Mitsui Seiki is represented in the UK by 2D CNC Machinery.
The patented Blue Arc process uses electro-erosion to enable ultra-high speed roughing cycles whereby electrical energy creates the spark between the tool and workpiece, and strategically melts the material against a programmed cycle which is followed by intense flushing to remove the molten material.
Says Tom Dolan, vice president sales and marketing of Mitsui Seiki (USA): “The process is akin to reverse welding using thermal cutting techniques, and opens up a vast array of potential savings for producing traditional difficult-to-machine components across sectors such as oil and gas, nuclear, medical and power generation. Blue Arc is also able to reduce the need for expensive, large and high-powered machine tools for rough machining, thus reducing capital investment costs by up to a third, plus the ongoing costs attributed to expensive cutting tools.”
He follows on to explain how machine tool footprints could be reduced by up to 50% compared with the highly rigid nature of a conventional multi-axis machining centre used for roughing.
For further information
www.2dcnc.co.uk

Precision Edge fills capacity gap with LPM

What goes around comes around, and the XYZ Lean Production Machine (LPM) is a case in point for specialist manufacturer of industrial blades and machine knives, Horsham-based Precision Edge and its director Ross Candfield.
“We initially considered buying an XYZ LPM machining centre five years ago, but after due consideration we decided our workload wasn’t quite right for the machine and went for an XYZ SMX 5000 bed mill with ProtoTrak SMX control instead,” says Candfield.
As time went on, workloads changed, and Precision Edge needed additional capacity,
with the LPM still in mind it returned to XYZ, but came away with one of its XYZ 2-OP machining centres.
After having the 2-OP for 18 months, business growth meant a need for further machining centre capacity, and the advantages seen from the XYZ 2-OP, with its ProtoTrak control and Jergens Ball Lock table, finally created the opening for an XYZ LPM to complete Precision Edge’s machining capabilities.
“As we already had the 2-OP, the addition of the LPM was straightforward as the programs are compatible between the two ProtoTrak controls, while the fixture plates that we had invested in were also transferrable between the two machines,” says Candfield. “The extra spindle power means that we can also maximise cutting data and we are seeing cycle times and productivity improve dramatically as a result. The capability of the LPM goes beyond improved cutter performance as we can now machine a part from blank to finish-machined in a single set-up. Prior to the LPM’s arrival this would have been completed on three machines.”
For further information
www.xyzmachinetools.com