C&C Fabrications boosts deburring capabilities

C&C Fabrications, a Yorkshire-based steel fabrication specialist and recipient of the Business of the Year 2023 award, has invested in a Loewer SwingGrinder deburring andedge-rounding machine. The new machine is the latest addition in an ongoing series of investments as the company continues to adapt to ongoing growth. Speed, precision and efficiency will all receive a boost from the Loewer SwingGrinder.

The Loewer SwingGrinder represents a significant advancement in metalworking technology, enabling C&C Fabrications to deliver top-tier solutions across a wide array of sectors, including warehousing and logistics, retail, commercial, industrial, and general engineering at an even more impressive rate, reports the company.

This latest investment from C&C is yet more evidence of its commitment to excellence and innovation as the new SwingGrinder provides the business with an array of advantages. These include a user-friendly design, increased versatility, and a safer and cleaner workspace.

Chris Wallage, owner and managing director, says: “This new investment will play a vital role in enhancing our product quality and workforce efficiency, and enables the future expansion of C&C Fabrications. We’ve made a series of investments in cutting-edge machinery to ensure the delivery of first-rate products and services to our clients, and see C&C remain at the forefront of our industry for years to come. As we continues to redefine steel fabrication, this strategic investment showcases our ongoing dedication to innovation and excellence.”
For further information www.candcfabricationsltd.co.uk

Nakamura extends next-level machining

Following hot on the heels of the new Nakamura-Tome SC-200II machine that recently launched as an evolution beyond its predecessor, the SC-200, Nakamura is now introducing the new SC-200IIL. This latest iteration is available in the UK from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

The SC-200IIL turning centre inherits many of the main specifications of the SC-200II and its concept of ‘next-level machining’. However, the SC-200IIL expands the distance between centres, evolving into a machine capable of producing long workpieces. This development allows users to select the R-side specifications from the sub-spindle or NT tailstock units. While the SC200II has a maximum turning diameter of 390mm and a 510mm distance between spindles, the new SC-200IIL increases this distance to 715mm between centres, with 800mm between spindles.

Like the SC-200II multi-tasking lathe, the SC-200IIL provides a powerful and stable machining platform under challenging conditions. Despite the machine being in the 8” chuck size class, it has a swing over the bed of 620mm diameter, providing a large machining area for a small footprint machine.This configuration also enables the machine to accommodate a 10” chuck if required. The output of the spindle motor is now to 15/11kW, with the option of an 18.5/15kW motor.

Similar to the SC-200II, the SC-200IIL has high acceleration rates that enable the operator to machine larger parts and expand the scope and variety of components considerably.

Nakamura-Tome CEO Shogo Nakamura says: “Since this machine is capable of processing large billets and bars that would normally require a machine one size larger, the SC-200IIL has arrived to deliver favourable changes to factory floors.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Life on Mars?

A European mission to explore life on Mars has received a major boost after a UK firm was awarded more than £10m to replace Russian components in the Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover.The rover, built by Airbus in Stevenage as part of a European Space Agency programme, was due to launch in 2022 before collaboration with Russia’s space agency was cancelled following the illegal invasion of Ukraine.Now, the UK Space Agency will provide an additional £10.7m to a UK team to replace a Russian-made instrument on the Rosalind Franklin rover, with the aim of launching to Mars in 2028.
For further information www.gov.uk

Machine Tool Indonesia opens this week

Machine Tool Indonesia will open its doors later this week (6-9 December) at the Jakarta International Expo Centre and look to build on the success of last year’s show.The 2022 exhibition edition saw more than 840 exhibiting companies from 33 countries take part. Alongside a variety of onsite activities, including business matchmaking, ‘Tech-Talk’ sessions, live demonstrations and product presentations, last year’s event attracted over 25,300 trade attendees from more than 10 countries. Some 44% were first-time visitors.

Co-located with three other industries events, including Manufacturing Indonesia, Tools & Hardware Indonesia, and Industrial Automation & Logistics Indonesia, the exhibitions have become the largest manufacturing trade show for machinery, supplies and equipment exhibitions in Indonesia – all under one roofspanning 17,800 sq m.Some 78% of visitors at the 2022 show said they would return this year.
For further information www.machinetoolindonesia.com

Turnover more than quadruples in three years

Historically, a majority of subcontractor Reginson Engineering’s turnover came from the aerospace sector, with oil and gas generating most of the remainder. However, when Covid struck in early 2020 the aerospace contracts dried up. While ventilator work took off, the company knew this was only temporary, so the family-run business owned by Steve Hatch set about finding business elsewhere. What transpired altered the company’s fortunes entirely, as a contract from a jewellery manufacturer combined with strong growth in aerospace conspired to increase turnover so dramatically that by 2023 it was 447% higher than before the pandemic.

Even better is to come. The jewellery company is so pleased with the quality of the mainly titanium jewellery pieces already supplied that it has signalled its intention to increase the annual quantity of parts from 100,000 to 1 million per month over the next few years. The machine tools underpinning both the quantity and quality of the jewellery parts produced at the Nuneaton factory are yet more Citizen Cincom sliding-head lathes.

Reginson Engineering is a long-time user of these Japanese-built sliders dating back to the early 1990s. In October 2020, the lathes were joined on the shop floor by the subcontractor’s first Citizen fixed-head model, a 64 mm bar capacity Miyano ABX-64SYY twin-turret, twin-spindle turn-mill centre. The user describes the machine as “fantastic”, as it has allowed the company to slash cycle times compared with using other turning plant on site.

The upturn in throughput generated by the jewellery contract required much more sliding-head capacity, so the subcontractor has bought 14 new Cincoms in the past couple of years. They are now seven 20 mm bar capacity A20-VIIs on site and the same number of 12 mm capacity L12-VIIs.
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk