Subcontractor takes off with five-axis VMC

When McGreevy Engineering made a strategic decision to move into the aerospace industry, the company realised it needed to take its first step into five-axis machining. The machine of choice was a Vcenter AX800 from Victor CNC.
Works manager Tommy Hanna says: “The reason we bought the AX800 was because it has a bigger capacity than most of its competitors, with 1.6 m in the X-axis. This capacity allows us to use it as a large-bed three-axis machine, as well as a versatile five-axis. The machine also has a 15,000 rpm spindle, which means we are conducting high-speed machining on a lot of our work. Providing jobs are set-up correctly, we can hit all five sides of the workpiece at high speed, which is making a huge saving for our business.”

The company has a variety of three-axis machining centres, but with the five-axis AX800 McGreevy needed more tool positions, as Hanna recalls: “Obviously, with five-axis we need more tool stations to hit the job from all directions, and the AX800 has 40 tool positions.”
The machine installed at McGreevy was specified with the through-coolant facility and swarf conveyor system, which supports large-capacity machining, as Hanna explains: “With 700 mm in the Y axis and 1600 mm in the X axis, plus the 800 mm rotary table, we can machine some particularly large parts. This is especially the case with the rotary table as we can machine one side of a long part and then rotate it to do the other side.”
For further information
www.victorcnc.com

Steel mill sale

Industrial and technology group Thyssenkrupp has reached agreement with Ternium on the sale of the CSA Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA) steel plant in Brazil. The purchase price (enterprise value) is €1.5 billion. “With the sale of CSA we are parting fully with Steel Americas. This is an important milestone in the transformation of Thyssenkrupp into a strong industrial group,” says Dr Heinrich Hiesinger, CEO of Thyssenkrupp AG. “We now generate over 75% of our sales with our profitable capital goods and services businesses.”
For further information
www.thyssenkrupp.com

The grease experts

xxonMobil has launched ‘The Grease Experts’, an educational video series for industrial operators who want clear and concise answers to technical grease questions. The series features in-house grease experts Chris Decker and Toby Hlade, who are certified lubrication specialists at the Society of Tribologists and Lubricant Engineers (STLE), each with more than 20 years of field experience. Decker and Hlade answer questions sourced from real operators, including those concerning colour, viscosity, consistency and re-greasing frequency. After watching the videos, viewers can submit their own grease questions online.
For further information
www.thegreaseexperts.com

Sigma invests $1m to expand capabilities

Sigma Components has invested over $1 million across its manufacturing facilities in the UK and China to increase capacity and meet growing customer demand. The investment follows hot on the heels of the company’s spend of over $1m in a new manufacturing facility in Chengdu last year. This latest investment includes specialist equipment to boost Sigma’s fabrication and pipe manufacturing capabilities. It has also led to the creation of over 50 jobs in Nuneaton, Hinckley and Farnborough, including shop floor positions, engineers, HR and finance roles.
For further information www.sigmacomponents.com

XYZ recruits sales trio

XYZ Machine Tools has announced the appointment of two new area sales managers and an additional sales engineer to strengthen its team. The appointments are Chris Jones, Dave Rawson and Lloyd Pennington, and they bring to XYZ a wide range of experience gained in manufacturing environments and capital equipment sales.

Dave Rawson introduces to XYZ his experience gained on the shop floor as a machinist/programmer and, more latterly, in sales with a supplier of sliding head lathes. He will be supporting customers across East Anglia and north and west London. The second area sales manager is Lloyd Pennington, who has been involved in the engineering manufacture and design sector for almost as long as he can remember. His area covers the northern Home Counties and part of the M40 corridor. Chris Jones joins XYZ as a sales engineer from a background of machine sales in the laser profiling sector.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com