The disruption of the pandemic for the aerospace supply chain has been catastrophic for some businesses, and for those that remain the challenge is to ramp up production to meet returning demand. Coventry-based Harris RCS Precision Engineering is one business that has successfully navigated this period and is now looking to take full advantage of the upturn with the recent installation of a Nakamura-Tome WT100F from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

Managing Director Graham Harris says: “Primarily working in the aerospace industry, we were inevitably impacted by the pandemic, and we’ve had to ramp up our production with less staff. This has given us the impetus to invest in new technology and automation to meet the rapid upturn in demand. With several twin-spindle, single-turret machines and a twin-spindle, twin-turret machine on the shop floor, we needed to accelerate productivity further and reduce shop-floor operations by completing more jobs in one hit. The Nakamura-Tome WT100F was the perfect solution.”

Commissioned at the start of the year, the WT100F has rapidly made an impact on the machining of aerospace components such as valves, unions and fixtures for wings, fuel control systems and undercarriage. Machining everything from aluminium, stainless steel, Inconel, nickel alloys and other aerospace-grade materials, the Nakamura has increased productivity by upward of 80%.

“We have one operator running two machines in many instances, but with the twin-spindle, twin-turret configuration on the WT100F, it’s like having one operator running four machines as the Nakamura undertakes simultaneous machining on the main and sub-spindle to slash our cycle times,” says Harris. “What’s equally important is that we have significantly reduced our secondary operations.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ (formerly Doosan) machine tools, has recently supplied Takumi Precision, a global engineering solutions provider based in Limerick, with a new flexible automated manufacturing cell. The cell, installed at Takumi’s 50,000 sq ft facility in September 2022, comprises a recently introduced SMX 2100ST multi-tasking turn-mill machine integrated with a Mills CNC SYNERGI Sprint automation system.

The automated manufacturing cell significantly increases the company’s machining capacity and capabilities.

Takumi Precision currently has over 20 Doosan machines at its disposal, with most organised into discrete and dedicated machining cells for fast and efficient part processing.

Donal Galligan, Takumi Precision’s CEO, says: “Doosan machines are reliable, competitively priced and represent great value. They deliver excellent cutting performance and help us achieve the part accuracy, repeatability and surface finish we expect and our customers demand.”

Gerry Reynolds, Takumi Precision’s founder and chairman, adds: “The SMX 2100ST, with its lower turret, is a flexible, high-productivity turn-mill machine capable of processing complex, high-precision parts in one-hit. After discussing our requirements with Mills CNC, we augmented the order for this machine with the integration of a robot to create a flexible, automated manufacturing cell.”

The 8” chuck SMX 2100ST, with its left and right opposing spindles (5000 rpm), B-axis milling function, Y axis and 12-station lower turret, is now integrated with a SYNERGi Sprint automation system comprising a FANUC industrial robot offering 25 kg payload, a part load/unload grid plate (900 x 900 mm), end-of-arm tooling, laser floor scanner technology and a 17” touchscreen HMI.

“The SMX 2100ST/SYNERGi Sprint cell is the first robotic automation system to be acquired by Takumi in its 24-year history,” says Galligan. “We’re currently organising our production schedules to take full advantage of our latest investment.”
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

As the largest supplier of machine tools into the UK marketplace, the service team at XYZ Machine Tools is busy with annual service calls and installations. As such, the team needs reliable transport and the right tools and equipment on-hand to help reduce downtime for customers. The recent arrival of a new fleet of Ford vans will help to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the entire service operation.

XYZ Machine Tools’ branded vans are equipped with the latest Bott storage systems to ensure that each service engineer is fully equipped to deal with regular service calls. The Bott-designed interiors allow for optimum use of space so that XYZ’s 17-strong team of road-based service engineers can carry more spares than in previous vans. To ensure that the interiors met exacting standards, each van was taken to Bott’s Bude facility, where engineers performed a secure and robust fitting in support of minimal machine downtime for customers.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com