Tooling firm has ally in Haimer

Located in Poole, Allied Tooling is a business that has completely evolved its cutting-tool services over almost 40 years of existence.

The company offers a comprehensive range of services, from the supply and sharpening of TCT saw blades, to bespoke CNC and PCD tooling for the woodworking and metal-cutting industries. Allied has recently spent almost £1.2m on new equipment, including Vollmer and Anca grinding machines, and three machines from Haimer.
The company acquired a Haimer Tool Dynamic TD Comfort balancing machine, a UNO 20/70 Microset pre-setter and a Power Clamp Economic Plus NG heat-shrink machine.
As to why the company opted for the Haimer UNO 20/70 Microset pre-setter, Allied Tooling’s Rod Knight says: “It is simple to use, the software is very user friendly and we even selected a version with the extra travel height of 700 mm for our particularly long tools.”
Looking at the heat-shrink system, Knight states: “With the Haimer Power Clamp Economic Plus NG, we can now offer a service where we heat-shrink customer tools into holders for them. What we do is re-lap or re-grind tools in the holders, which are perfectly concentric. This is a service that has taken our business into an area that we didn’t have before. We can provide a complete refurbishment service on the tools.”
Moving on to the arrival of the Haimer tool balancing system, Knight says: “Everything we do on our Vollmer machines has to be balanced to within 2.5G. It’s essential, especially as some of the machines using these tools are now running upward of 24,000 rpm. If you have a tool that isn’t balanced when working at those speeds, it won’t be long before you have a spindle that is out of sync.”
For further information www.haimer.biz

ITC combats milling challenges with Widia

The VSM890-12 face and shoulder milling series from Widia is now available in the UK from Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC).

VSM890-12 cutters are said to be among of the very few eight-edged, double-sided tools with genuine 90° milling capability.
Widia’s VSM890-12 cutter is able to conduct operations that include face milling, shoulder milling, Z-axis and contour plunging, and 100% radial engagement slotting. This operational diversity is credit to the availability of a course, medium or fine-pitch insert density that corresponds with a newly developed pocket seat design which enhances stability and rigidity during roughing applications.
VSM890 is available with a 32 mm diameter Weldon end-mill configuration, while the shell mill tool bodies come in diameters from 40 to 250 mm, with a cartridge face mill providing a 315 mm diameter. Each tool diameter is offered in the aforementioned course, medium and fine-pitch variants, whereby the course-pitch tool bodies are the optimal choice for low spindle power machines that may have an unstable set-up. For machine shops that have reasonably robust set-ups and spindle power, the medium-pitch tool body is first choice, while operators using heavy-duty machine tools with high spindle power will find the fine-pitch variant to be the optimal solution.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of the WSM890 tool is its true 90° cutting for wall and step milling. With an integrated wiper facet and positive rake design on the inserts, the VSM890 cutter generates high levels of surface finish and an efficient and smooth cutting action for low-power machines. Furthermore, with eight-edged inserts, ITC can offer a cost-effective milling solution.
During the remainder of 2019, Widia will be extending the range with the introduction of 7, 9 and 15 mm insert dimensions.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Permanent place for Floyd Automatic at Citizen

Having supported users of Citizen sliding-head turning centres for almost 30 years, Floyd Automatic Tooling now has a permanent presence at the new Citizen Machinery UK facility in Brierley Hill.

The company kicked off its residency by exhibiting at the recent open house staged by Citizen in Brierley Hill, which attracted around 300 visitors.
“The expansive range of collets, guide bushes, grippers and machine accessories are continually expanding into specialist solutions that can solve issues for sliding-head turned-part producers which no other UK company can supply,” says managing director Richard Floyd. “This capability has been acknowledged by Citizen with this permanent booth. We probably have the most comprehensive range of tooling and accessories for sliding-head machines in the UK, and our ever-closer partnership will provide opportunities in the future to combine the resources of Floyd Automatic and Citizen Machinery for product presentations, machining trials, project support, and assistance with special applications.”
For further information www.floydautomatic.co.uk

Positive start to financial year at XYZ

Beginning the financial year with an open house event at its Slough showroom in May saw XYZ Machine Tools exceed sales of £500,000 in one day, which in turn helped boost company turnover for the month to over £3m.

Managing director Nigel Atherton says: “The positive attitude from customers that saw us post an 11% increase in sales in the last financial year appears to be continuing. Booked orders remain strong, with May exceeding expectations. This gives us confidence that the trend will continue here in the UK.”
Sales to UK manufacturing customers were also bolstered by continuing growth in business from mainland Europe, which showed an increase of 33% in 2018/19, along with a rise in sales to the UK education sector of 40%. This positive start to 2019/20 bodes well for the company, which has ambitious plans for the coming year with new machine and automation launches, along with expansion plans to its existing network of UK showrooms. XYZ will also create a new service centre and used machine facility, and has plans
to further expand in mainland Europe.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Chester completes multi-machine installation

Chester Machine Tools has completed another large installation of machines in the Middle East for a company specialising in oil refinery.

The engineering team from Chester completed the build, commissioning and training on a 3.2 m double-column vertical boring machine with 30-ton table load capacity. This machine was supplied in addition to a large 1 m stroke slotting machine, three 80 mm radial drills, several lathes with up to 6 m centre distance, and universal milling machines.
Anthony Edwards, sales and operations Director says: “We specialise in the supply of machine tools to the international energy sector, providing a product range and network of customer support that meets the highly specific manufacturing requirements of our clients. The construction of the bespoke Chester 3.2 m double-column vertical boring machine and large-scale installation of metal-working machines is a testament to our engineers and the products we supply. We export to over 70 countries worldwide and are proud to add this installation to our increasing blue-chip portfolio.”
For further information www.chestermachinetools.com