Tigfusion Ltd, a manufacturer of high-precision vacuum chambers, is the first UK company to order the next-generation CV5-700 five-axis machining centre from Yamazaki Mazak.

The Hastings-based company, established in 2013, has significantly expanded its manufacturing capabilities over the past five years, tripling the size of both its facility and workforce.

“Having invested in a five-axis machine from another supplier four years or so ago, we’ve already greatly expanded our capabilities,” explains Jack Walsom, Tigfusion’s managing director. “Our focus has been not only on increasing our output by orders of magnitude, but also on optimising the quality of our products and delivery time.”

Manufactured at Mazak’s European facility in Worcester, the CV5-700 is part of the latest generation of the company’s UK-built CV5 series, alongside the revamped CV5-500. It can accommodate workpieces up to 700 mm in diameter, 450 mm high and weighing up to 400 kg.

The machine incorporates an optimised structure designed to improve static and dynamic rigidity, subsequently enhancing performance, accuracy and thermal stability. Simultaneous five-axis machining is standard.

“The old machine had an extremely large bed, which effectively meant you could be machining an item that’s only the size of a cup lid on a bed that’s 2.5 m wide,” says Walsom. “This restricted us from boring certain chambers.”

The CV5-700’s more appropriate capacity will allow Tigfusion to increase production while expanding its machining capabilities.

“Our goal was to push capacity ever further while continuing to focus on premium quality,” he adds. “Simultaneous five-axis machining opens the door to producing other parts and finishes that we couldn’t do before, while enabling us to offer a more standardised product range to our customers.”More information www.mazak.com/uk-en