Mitutoyo seals the deal at CDK

When Yeovil-based CDK Seals won an order for the production of metal components from a new aerospace customer, this manufacturer of seals for the food, pharmaceutical and petrochemical sectors, had to employ new production equipment and methods.
Historically, CDK has produced its seals from a variety of PTFE composites on specialist machines. However, the new £100,000+ order required a three-part assembly featuring steel, aluminium-bronze and PTFE parts. These components include both a concave and convex part, as well as a housing that makes for an assembled measurement of 80 mm diameter and 60 mm height. A major issue for CDK was that the 1500 assemblies, with a total of 4500 parts, had to be machined to a 0.03 mm tolerance. Unfortunately, the company’s micrometers could not measure many of the complex features, especially the curved surfaces. This situation was particularly pertinent for a 4 mm diameter cross-drilled hole that is positioned on one of the
concave surfaces.
After assessing the market options, CDK engineers visited Mitutoyo and it was agreed that the Crysta Plus M433 CMM could provide the solution.
“Mitutoyo installed the machine and did the programming for the three seal components, so we could be up and running instantly,” says managing director Dave Paget. “The training was straightforward and we have the CMM networked to a PC, so we can store any subsequent programs off-line. Mitutoyo also provided a series of 3, 2 and 1 mm diameter ruby probes.
These small probes enable us to get inside the 4 mm diameter drilled hole and check the concentricity as well as the angle of the hole that has a critical tolerance of ±0.1°.”
For further information
www.mitutoyo.co.uk

CMM installed at subcontractor

In addition to stringent final inspection routines performed by dedicated quality staff, production personnel at Luton-based subcontract manufacturer Pact Engineering take responsibility for their own in-process quality control and carry out regular CMM checks.
The mainstay of Pact’s inspection provision is an Axiom Too CNC CMM from Aberlink that was installed two years ago. Shop floor personnel are able to instantly recall the appropriate pre-written program and measure first-offs before beginning a production run. In-process checks on the Axiom Too are also performed when carrying out long production runs.
Despite the measuring speed of the existing Axiom Too, as a result of ever rising production levels, delays were beginning to occur. For instance, occasionally, when it was needed to verify the adherence to specification of a first-off component, the Aberlink machine would be engaged in a lengthy, CNC final inspection routine on a large batch of complex components. The delays incurred by machine operators while waiting for the CMM to complete its tasks, meant that production time was lost. However, the answer arrived in the shape of the recently launched AberlinkXtreme CMM.
The AberlinkXtreme is designed with a novel non-Cartesian structure and uses linear motors and mechanical bearings. According to the company, this configuration ensures that the machine maintains its accuracy at fast measurement rates and does not suffer from the accumulative inaccuracies that occur in conventional three-axis Cartesian arrangements.
“The use of our new Xtreme CMM has released our Axiom Too to concentrate on final inspection routines and put an end to bottlenecks in our inspection department,” states director Steve Banfield.
For further information
www.aberlink.com

Handheld laser scanner introduced

Incorporating blue laser technology, a fast frame rate, specially developed optics and the ability to measure challenging materials, ModelMaker H120 is the next generation of portable laser scanners from Nikon Metrology. The system offers a field-of-view width up to 120 mm and a point resolution down to 35 μm. A frame rate of over 450 Hz is available even when measuring difficult surfaces such as carbon fibre and gloss black, as well as reflective or multi-coloured parts.
With 2000 points per scan line and no reliance on point-to-point interpolation to artificially boost data density, it is possible to measure very small details on large surfaces even when cycle time is critical, says Nikon.
ModelMaker H120 uses advanced optics and a blue, low-speckle laser to generate high-accuracy, low-noise data, making it possible to identify small surface scratches and abrasions. In addition to rapid collection of surface data, sharp edges are represented with clarity thanks to a scanner accuracy of 7 μm and a combined system accuracy with Nikon Metrology’s MCAx articulated arms of up to 28 μm.
The fourth generation of the company’s Enhanced Sensor Performance (ESP4) adapts the laser source intensity, not just for every scan line, but for every point in each scan line, enabling parts with significant colour changes or reflectivity to be measured from any angle. This minimises the need for training, as a single-scanner setting is capable of measuring almost all parts encountered in industrial metrology applications, says Nikon.
For further information
www.nikonmetrology.com

DSM-NE takes Hurco machine tally to seven

Toolmaking and subcontract CNC machining specialist DSM-NE, based in Newton Aycliffe, has increased its stock of Hurco machining centres to seven, including a large three-axis model and an even bigger five-axis machine, the company’s first.
One job in particular has benefited enormously from its arrival. A tool steel (P20) die nest, part of a progression moulding machine, initially took 75 hours to machine in six separate set-ups on a Hurco three-axis machining centre. According to DSM-NE’s technical director, Andrew Wilson, the cycle would have reduced to 50 hours after process optimisation.
However, the same job is completed on the Hurco VMX60SRTi five-axis machine in two operations, taking five hours and eight hours respectively. This is around one-quarter of the best possible time on a three-axis machine and has turned what was originally a loss-making contract into profit.
“We looked first at fitting a two-axis rotary table to a three-axis machine because nobody here had experience of operating a full five-axis machining centre,” says Wilson. “However, we saw the VMX60SRTi demonstrated at a Hurco open house in High Wycombe and were impressed at how easy it was to program.
“We were familiar with the 2D programming capability of Hurco’sWinMax conversational CNC system, but it can also create quite complex 3D/five-axis routines involving two positional axes, which takes only a few days to master,” he adds.
For fully interpolative five-axis cycles, DSM-NE employs two seats of Autodesk’s PowerMill CAM software, which are also used for producing more complex three-axis routines. However, half of all programs at Newton Aycliffe are generated on the shop floor at the HurcoWinMax controls.
The controls allow intuitive, menu-driven data input via a touch screen, with a second screen on the five-axis machine for simultaneously displaying a graphic of the part as it is built up. All controls accept DXF drawing files directly from the subcontractor’s CAD system, lightening the load on the CAM department. WinMax can easily take over programming of mould plates, for example. Wilson points out that with most other control systems, this would not be possible.
Technical manager Steven Guz highlights another benefit of the WinMax control, namely its Ultimotion software algorithm that optimises look-ahead throughout the cycle to speed and smooth the milling process, even around sharp corners.
“Identical programs on our older Hurco machining centres without Ultimotion take half as long again to finish, and the absence of chatter considerably improves the surface finish of machined components,” he says.
Today, DSM-NE’s business is divided into three parts: subcontract CNC machining; manufacture and repair of plastic injection moulds and compression moulds, particularly for the automotive industry; and injection moulding of plastic parts mainly for the automotive, medical and agricultural sectors.
The subcontract milling, turning and wire erosion side of the business has grown steadily since 2011 to account for one-third of turnover. It is largely down to the success of one of the subcontractor’s OEM customers specialising in LED lighting, for which DSM-NE is sole supplier of machined aluminium housings and heat sinks. Other contract machining on site involves producing ancillary parts for moulding machines. Offshore work normally accounts for a reasonable proportion of turnover, although this sector is subdued at present.
The broad base of the firm’s current activities stems from the outflow of toolmaking, mainly to the Far East during the last decade. It is true that significant income was retained by correcting poorly made imported tools, work that sometimes cost half as much as the originals, but it was clear that this could not be relied upon long-term.
Shortly after the company moved into its current premises on the Aycliffe Business Park 20 years ago, the first Hurco vertical machining centre (VMC) was purchased, a VM1, which replaced a manual tool-change milling machine from the same manufacturer. A larger BMC 4020 VMC followed shortly after.
The latter machine ran reliably for 22 years and was eventually replaced by a VM2 during 2008. In the same year, a Hurco TM8 turning machine was installed, the first CNC lathe on site, to streamline the manufacture of parts for compression moulds and to open up general subcontract machining opportunities. Subsequently, in the run-up to purchasing the two big VMX machines, DSM-NE added three Hurco VM20s in as many years to cope with increasing volumes of LED lighting components.
“We continue to buy Hurco machines not only because of the commonality of programming and operation, but also because they are reliable and competitively priced,” says Wilson. “The latest five-axis machine was half the price of a similar model from another supplier we benchmarked.”
Looking to the future, he sees growth opportunities in full five-axis machining. The VMX60SRTi has already taken over three-axis work from other vertical machining centres, which it completes more economically using 3+1 and 3+2-axis cycles in fewer set-ups.
Contracts are being sought that can exploit its simultaneous four- and five-axis machining capabilities, which is enhanced by the B-axis spindle head and rotary C-axis configuration, the latter being flush with the machine table. This arrangement offers a bigger machining envelope than an equivalent trunnion-type, five-axis model, especially for three- and four-axis work, and was the reason that this style of machine was purchased.
For further information
www.hurco.co.uk

CMT introduces new catalogue app

Chester Machine Tools has announced that its new catalogue app for Android smartphones is now live. The new app has been specifically designed to provide customers and agents with quick and easy access to Chester’s extensive machine tool range, whenever required.
Included within the app is Chester’s latest catalogue, along with direct links to individual machines and specifications. Direct contact links are also included. To download the new app, simply visit the App Store at Google Play
and search for Chester Machine Tools.
For further information
www.chestermachinetools.com