VUE events attract 60 people

Three VUE 2021 (Vericut User Exchange) events held in late 2021 attracted over 60 people from UK advanced manufacturing and technology companies. The events kicked-off at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, followed by Aerospace Bristol and the Nikken Innovation Centre Europe in Rotherham. Technical staff from CGTech used the events to provide customers with a feature review of the enhancements made in the latest release of Vericut, version 9.2.

Attendees were welcomed by Gavin Powell, CGTech UK’s newly promoted managing director. “With the major features of version 9.2, Vericut offers its users even more protection and opportunities for productivity and efficiency gains,” he said. “Version 9.2 includes collision and performance improvements; new graphs and tool use windows that provide visual data in an easy-to-use format; enhanced support for hole-making tools; annotation and section for cutting tools; new cutter types; user-driven changes to improve multi-tool stations; and ‘Force’ and ‘Additive’ enhancements.”

Collision and performance improvements of v9.2 were demonstrated with material removal at tight cutting resolutions carried out up to 30% faster. Deep concave collision penetration has been enhanced, especially against high triangle count models, and an example of an impeller case highlighted the speed of the latest version, reducing the time required from 12 minutes in v9.1, to just 36 seconds.

Regarding hole making the CGTech technical team asked: ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ Very little with the support of Vericut v9.2 as the software now checks for wrong location, size or depth; cut deeper than flutes; motion not along tool axis; pre-drill operation before ream or tap; and incorrect feeds/speeds for tap.

For further information
www.cgtech.co.uk

College installs 21 machines from XYZ

The South West Institute of Technology facility at Truro and Penwith College’s Truro campus has invested £7.2m in a dedicated facility that includes an extensive machine shop equipped with multiple machines from XYZ Machine Tools. Among the 21 XYZ models is everything from manual XYZ 1530VS trainer lathes and XYZ 2000 knee mills with digital readouts, through to ProtoTRAK-controlled mills and lathes, and an XYZ 660 HD vertical machining centre.
Says Andy Foulks, engineering lecturer: “XYZ Machine Tools bent over backwards in terms of the service they provided, from initial quotation through to machine installation and ongoing training and support. They are certainly customer-focussed when it comes to the education sector with nothing being too much trouble. Our students are also welcomed at their factory for visits, additional insights and training on machines. Our role is to ensure that we keep up with industry requirements, hence the investment in CNC machinery.”

For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Dutch steelworker begins digital journey

Bart Kroesbergen, managing director at steel service centre Joop van Zanten is a visionary who states that within 10 years the company’s entire production will be automated.

“To achieve this, we have to break with standards and need courageous partners who can join us on the extraordinary journey towards Industry 4.0,” he says. Messer Cutting Systems became the right partner for that journey.

“We wanted a supplier capable of delivering the full range of specialised machine equipment,” says Kroesbergen. “This includes state-of-the-art technologies for laser and plasma processes, as well as software and material handling experience.

The core of the solution is the software and 4.0 intelligence that links everything together. In workshops, a team with ERP manufacturer Ridder, the ISD Group as supplier of the 2D/3D CAD software HiCAD and Messer Cutting Systems with digitisation solutions from MesserSoft defined the integration of the various IT solutions.

Another important part in the digitisation process are two new machines with the latest cutting technology: a Messer PowerBlade 6500 with laser, 6 KW bevel head, drilling unit with 24 tool changers and LNC nozzle changer; and a Messer OmniMat 6500 with 2* HiFocus 360I, Skew Delta plasma bevel head, OmniScript and drilling unit with 24 tool changers.

With the fibre laser technology, powerful drives, precise linear guides in both longitudinal and transverse directions, and a multi-faceted bevel head, the PowerBlade is equipped for a wide range of applications, while OmniMat is a large CNC cutting machine with a heavy-duty structure and multi-axis control that is suitable for applications that include oxy-fuel, underwater or dry plasma.

“Both machines meet all our expectations for easy handling, low costs and high reliability,” concludes Kroesbergen.

For further information
https://uk.messer-cutting.com/

YLF adopts exclusively Amada solutions

Yorkshire Laser & Fabrication (YLF), a Wakefield-based subcontractor specialising in fine-limit CNC sheet metalwork, has invested £2.2m in the latest high-specification Amada machinery to help increase throughput and quality. New machines installed in the past two years include an Amada ENSIS 6 kW fibre laser with ASLUL-3015 automation tower, and an Amada EML-2515AJ punch/fibre laser combination machine. The company also uses a range of AMADA software suites, completing its transition to a completely exclusive Amada shop.

Clearly seeking more uptime from the company’s laser-cutting capacity, the Amada ENSIS-3015AJ 6kW fibre laser with ASLUL-3015 automation tower arrived in 2020.

“The machine has been fantastic; exactly what we hoped for,” declares Matthew Orford, technical director at YLF. “It’s been very robust and the uptime we’ve been getting is excellent. Sales have been really strong this year, to the point where we started to outsource some of our laser cutting. I didn’t want to install another laser and keep running an old punch. It made more sense to gain the flexibility available from a punch/laser combination machine, so we bought the EML.

The fully electric Amada EML-2515AJ combination punch/fibre laser with RMP- NTK automation arrived at YLF in May 2021.

“We have lots of parts with louvres, forms and countersinks, and we can process these much faster than on our previous punching machine, which has now gone,” says Orford. “The EML has demolished our cycle times. Batches of parts we were previously punching in 40 hours now take 10-12 hours. And the quality of the finish – from what was a very good machine before in the Amada Vipros King – is like night and day.”

For further information
www.amada.eu

Tube and sheet laser-cutting solution

Metal cages, or, more generally, structures for the collection or storage of parts or semi-finished pieces are industrial products made from tube and sheet whose design and creation requires specific know-how.

Céline Hugot is the co-founder of Viollet Industries, a French family company based near Annecy that has developed most of its business on this very structure. The right solution for the company’s production is the BLM LC5 combined tube and sheet laser-cutting system.

“In 2008, we had purchased a laser system for sheet metal,” says Hugot. “Although it was very old, it was fine for us. However, when we started running out of parts we had to look around. We saw the LC5 combined laser cutting system for tube and sheet metal and it immediately went on our list of favourites.

“Last year we felt ready to buy it and a very interesting proposal came from BLM Group,” he adds. “It was the right time; we had time to train people and now that the market is exploding we are using the machine at 120% of its capacity.”

The machine has been running for about 9 months and production is 50% tube and 50% sheet metal.

“In general, I don’t really like combination machines because, while one part is working the other is standing still and it seems wasteful, but with our volumes this is the perfect solution,” says Hugot. “A tube laser would have been excessive for our current needs. With this combo laser-cutting system for sheet and tube, we have flexibility, and this is a good mix for our type of production. Even our regular customers have seen an advantage because they see the difference in lead times.”

For further information
www.blmgroup.com