Productivity boosted 30% at Alvan Blanch

Wiltshire-based Alvan Blanch, a specialist in the design and manufacture of machines and integrated systems for the processing of agricultural produce and waste materials, has installed two of the UK’s highest specification E-Brakes from SafanDarley. The purchase was prompted by a bottleneck in the company’s press bay following investment in automation for its laser-cutting and punching machines.

“Due to our growth and the acceleration of other processes on site, we had little choice but to invest in new press brakes,” explains production manager Neil Connor. “We looked at suitable machines across the market, including those from our existing supplier. However, the E-Brake 200-4100 NS machines from SafanDarley were the most advanced, not just in terms of their servo-electronic technology, but the user-friendly CNC. We’re based in a small village, so finding skilled labour is really difficult. If we lose a skilled operator through sickness, for example, we sometimes need to assign a replacement who isn’t necessarily familiar with the technology.”
The ability to program the SafanDarley E-Brakes offline allows Alvan Blanch to assign unskilled labour to the machines, safe in the knowledge that they simply have to follow on-screen instructions to complete the task successfully.
“To emphasise this point, we have recently recruited two brand new operators who have never used press brakes before,” says Connor. “However, they’ve taken to the E-Brakes really well and are working away quite happily now – after just four weeks in the job!”
Alvan Blanch traded-in two of its four previous press brakes as part of the investment, so there are still four machines in total on site. However, despite this, the two new E-Brakes have boosted productivity by 30% to relieve the previous bottleneck.
For further information www.safandarley.com

Strong showing from RK principals

RK International Machine Tools will be well-represented at EMO through its numerous principals and partners. For instance, grinding machines will be on display from Perfect, Robbi, Delta and Jainnher, with large-capacity CNC milling machines on show from RK’s most recently added partner, Lagun.

Perfect will be exhibiting the X36 surface grinder, which now benefits from an upgraded PLC (Hall 11, Stand A20), while over on the Delta stand there will be a number of machines on display, including the newly introduced Mini 7 travelling-column surface grinder and the Rotax 7 automatic, rotary-table, horizontal-spindle grinder (Hall 11, Stand A78). Robbi will be highlighting its large-capacity CNC cylindrical grinding machine range with the Omicron 3615 Industry 4.0 Edition model taking pride of place on the stand (Hall 11, Stand A82). Centre of attention on the Lagun stand will be the BM bed-mill series, with the BM 3 on display (Hall 13, Stand A56-A58).
For further information www.rk-int.com

Full Industry 4.0 solution

Industry 4.0 will be placed at the centre of the EMO display from Yamazaki Mazak, where the company will be unveiling its iSmart factory concept (Hall 27, Stand B56). The stand will also feature 25 new machines, including 15 making their world debuts. The iSmart factory concept utilises Mazak’s Industry 4.0 infrastructure, which enables machine users to make the step-up from automated cell manufacturing to a completely connected factory of the future. Three key pillars form the solution: Mazak Smooth CNC technology; the new SmartBox, which provides fast data analysis with increased security; and the MT Connect standard communication protocol.

Taking centre stage from a machine perspective will be the latest addition to Mazak’s flagship Integrex range. The Integrex i-500 extends the capacity of the i series and features a modular design concept. This machine will be joined by another model shown for the first time, the Integrex i-800V/8, which combines full five-axis milling, turning and pallet-changing capabilities on a vertical platform.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

Wire EDM duo unveiled

Sodi-Tech EDM will be using the exhibition to unveil two new wire-erosion machines, the Sodick ALC800G and VL600QH (Hall 13, Stand A86). The newly announced ALC800G incorporates all the features and benefits of Sodick’s Premium wire range, as well as offering a three-sided automatic door and 1500 x 1040 mm work tank. A high-column (optional) version of the machine provides an extended Z-axis stoke of 800 mm. Meanwhile, the new VL600QH, which incorporates an extended Z-axis stroke of 500 mm – making it suitable for tackling tall workpieces – is a development of the VL600Q linear motor driven wire-cut EDM.
For further information www.sodi-techedm.co.uk

Grinder debut

Matrix Machine Tool will be demonstrating the capabilities of two of the company’s new CNC gear-grinding machines at EMO (Hall 11, Stand A16). The Matrix MGG-0300 CNC continuous generating gear grinding machine has been designed for the high-volume production of gear forms, while the Matrix MBGC-100 CNC is a bevel gear cutter that can be configured as a bevel gear grinder – making an MBGG-100. Also at EMO, Matrix will be exhibiting a new ‘Tapping Module’, which will allow the company’s 0550 CNC machine to create back-off angles for the grinding of taps.
For further information www.matrix-machine.com