Quality on show from Sempre

The Sempre Group (Hall 18, Stand 400) is demonstrating how manufacturers can harness Quality 4.0 to improve their productivity. Quality 4.0 begins at the preparation stage, which involves using automated solutions to balloon and populate inspection reports such as FAIRs. From there, manufacturers can develop measurement routines and minimise manual inspection. AR tools can then guide operators through the assembly process and reduce errors by projecting instructions for them to follow. After assembly, manufacturers can bring all their data together in one electronic QMS.

For further information
www.thesempregroup.com

Fort Vale reduces set-ups with Okuma

Fort Vale Engineering, Burnley, is a manufacturer of stainless steel valves and ancillaries used in the tank container industry for the transportation of bulk liquids and gases by road, rail and sea. The company had been making one particular type of valve for several years in four sequential operations on lathes and machining centres in a lead-time of 24 hours.
To speed throughput and raise profitability, the manufacturer was keen to find a production solution that would see a billet enter a machining platform and a finished component emerge after a much shorter time. Considerable research and trials led to the discovery of the ideal process, which takes just eight hours.

It required the purchase of a Japanese-built Okuma Multus U4000 multi-tasking turn-mill centre with B-axis milling spindle and twin-opposed work spindles from sole UK agent NCMT. The supplier turnkey-engineered the cell with Turn-Cut (interpolation turning) software in the control and a chip reader to keep track of tools on the shop floor.

Stephen Maher, process improvement engineer at the Burnley factory, says: “To manufacture this product in one hit, we needed a turn-mill centre with a long Y-axis movement. This prerequisite was satisfied by the 300 mm Y axis on the relatively compact U4000, saving us having to buy an unnecessarily large and expensive machine.

“However, the most notable attribute of the production centre is Okuma’s Turn-Cut software in the proprietary OSP control,” he continues. “It allows one port in the valve to be machined to an accuracy of +25 µm -0 µm, by exploiting a second mode of turning [interpolation turning] using the milling spindle and a boring bar with a Sandvik CoroTurn carbide insert.

For further information
www.ncmt.co.uk

Cost-effective mill-turn for small parts

Starrag UK (Hall 20, Stand 563) says visitors to its stand can learn about Bumotec’s new cost-effective 191neo mill-turn centre for small, complex parts. Targeted particularly at users in the medical, luxury goods and micro-mechanics industries, the seven-axis Bumotec 191neo can accommodate bar of 42, 50 and 65 mm diameter. Furthermore, with up to 90 tools and an intuitive HMI control system, Starrag says that the machine enables users to achieve a new standard in cost-per-part for high added-value small components produced in a single set-up.

For further information
www.starrag.com

Citizen highlights LFV technology

Citizen Machinery (Hall 20, Stand 150) is showcasing its LFV (low frequency vibration) chip-breaking software, which forms part of the operating system in the controls on some of the manufacturer’s sliding- and fixed-head turn-mill centres. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the technology’s launch. According to Citizen, the principle of operation is distinct from, and superior to, pecking macros programmed into individual machining cycles. Citizen is gradually rolling out the patented system across the company’s Cincom sliding-head lathes, initially on the main spindle and more recently on the sub-spindle. There are five Cincom machines on show equipped with LFV. A pair of Citizen’s Miyano fixed-head lathes also benefit from the technology, one of which is on display.

For further information
www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

MACH first for new Victor machines

GM Group (Hall 19, Stand 619) is using MACH to introduce the Victor Vturn-A20YCM and the Vturn-S26/60CM single-spindle turning centres. The compact Vturn A20-YCM offers Y-axis milling capability and an 8-inch chuck with a swing over bed of 700 mm, while a 52mm diameter bar can pass through the headstock for bar-feeding applications.

The Victor Vturn-S26/60CM offers 600 mm swing over bed and 640 mm between centres. A 12-position live tooling station can drive the 25 mm maximum tool diameter at 6000 rpm with its high-torque 4.5 kW motor. Furthermore, with a bar capacity of 75 mm through the drawbar and a maximum turning diameter of 420 mm, GM Group says that the Vturn-S26/60CM is suitable for both one-off components and production runs of everything from small to medium sized parts.

For further information
www.gm-cnc.com