Burnley-based Fort Vale Engineering is a specialist in the design and manufacture of valves and fittings for ISO, gas and offshore tank containers. The company’s owner, Ted Fort OBE, started buying Okuma machining centres and lathes more than 40 years ago. An ex Rolls-Royce engineer and chairman of his company, he recently stated: “Machine tools are our artillery and we always buy the best, without exception.”

Andrew Bryce, the company’s innovation director, who joined as a machinist in the late 1980s, continues to buy Japanese-built Okuma machines from UK agent, NCMT. One-fifth of the 40 CNC machine tools in the factory are currently from that source. Most recently, he purchased an MA600 horizontal machining centre with the ability to ‘turn-cut’, Okuma’s terminology for interpolation turning. Circular movement of the machine’s X and Y axes, coupled with synchronous rotation of a turning tool in the spindle and forward feed in Z, can execute either internal boring or external turning, even on parts with highly complex features.
Process improvement engineer Stephen Maher says: “Interpolation turning is an extremely useful addition. Previously, when producing a newly designed component with a stepped cross bore containing radii, counterbores and chamfers, to generate that single profile we had to specify and purchase up to six special form cutters, and they could take typically up to six weeks to arrive.
“Now, with turn-cut, we can produce the part immediately,” he continues. “One roughing and one finishing boring bar with indexable inserts does the same work, saving on expensive cutters as well as shortening programming and cycle times. It also significantly compresses lead-time from concept to finished component.”
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk

Roscomac invested some £750,000 with Citizen Machinery UK in the first six months of 2017 for the installation of a Miyano BNE-51MSY multi-axis turn-mill centre and two Cincom sliding head turn-mill centres – a top-of-the range M16-V and a L20-VIIILFV. However, such was the immediate productivity uplift and problem-solving from using low frequency vibration (LFV) technology on the L20, that managing director Joe Martello ordered two further Cincom machines, a duplicate specification L20 and a smaller capacity L12-VII, both with LFV.

Says cell leader of the Worthing-based subcontractor, Sean Keet: “We had been experiencing constant problems with swarf when machining certain difficult components made from high-grade alloy and some stainless steels, plus copper, plastics and even difficult specification aluminium. Despite constant monitoring, we often faced significant levels of scrap or reworking, in particular due to swarf marks on critical features.”
Now, however, he maintains that production of these parts has been totally transformed following the installation of the Citizen Cincom L20-VIIILFV turn-mill centre in July, and such was the level of realisation that within weeks Martello insisted we bring forward 2018 investment plans and immediately ordered two further machines with LFV. He adds: “Our production people are now insisting that any further sliding- or fixed-head machine installations must involve LFV as it is such a game changer.”
The technology is based on initiating selectable sequences programmed at the machine control through G-codes to impart the size of chip to be produced. LFV can be switched in or out of the programmed cycle as required.
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk