ActOn Finishing recently supplied a sand-blasting machine to Special EFX, a designer and manufacturer of bespoke awards and trophies for clients in UK and worldwide. To produce the matt, brushed, polished or a satin finishes, the company was using a sand blaster in-house. However Special EFX wanted to update its finishing equipment as it needed a blasting machine with a pressure fan that would provide more constant flow.

After contacting different suppliers on the market, the company decided to work with ActOn Finishing. Tony Darby, production manager at Stratford-upon-Avon based Special EFX, states: “ActOn’s customer service was very helpful, very friendly; they showed us around their facility in Coventry and that’s where we made the decision to invest with them. We had spoken to other suppliers as well, but ActOn seemed like people we wanted to work with.”

Further to carrying out trials, ActOn decided that the best option to achieve a matt sand-blasted finish prior to anodising was the ECO MP pressure-blast cabinet. This sand-blasting machine is a compact system built to achieve a rapid and efficient finish. Moreover, ActOn says that ECO blasting systems allow users to minimise their investment while enjoying the benefits of a good-quality blasting solution.

The speed at which Special EFX can now blast its parts has increased, while component finish has improved and the results are repeatable.

“The aftercare was also very good,” states Darby. “Any problems we had, they are at the other end of the phone. I would recommend ActOn due to the professionalism of their team, the quality of the cabinets they provide, and for the friendliness and helpfulness they provide during the purchase process.”
For further information www.acton-finishing.co.uk

Nagel and Gehring presented their technologies and new products in the fields of honing, superfinishing and electromobility at AMB 2022 in Stuttgart last month.

New standards in efficient honing, maximum flexibility in the superfinishing of flat, concave and spherical surfaces, and efficient internal and external honing of workpieces: this is how machine builders Nagel and Gehring presented themselves at the exhibition. On the joint stand of the two companies everything revolved around the EcoHone HRX horizontal honing machine, the NaSphere and the deephone 3000.

With the EcoHone HRX, Nagel says it is setting standards in terms of efficient honing in the diameter range from 2 to 40 mm. It is even possible to undertake multi-stage honing processes fully automatically on the machine’s high-end honing spindle. Measuring, brushing, cleaning, tool change in case of wear, or even a change from pre- to finishing honing tool: the integrated robot unit handles all of these functions. An innovative and flexible fixture and clamping jaw concept, adaptable to any workpiece geometry, enables working with a wide range of workpieces.

The NaSphere can machine flat, concave and spherical surfaces and bores, on multiple vertical or horizontal modular workstations. For standard tasks, it offers tool speeds of up to 12,000 rpm. The machine achieves maximum flexibility thanks to optimally co-ordinated process combinations of external and internal grinding, superfinishing, honing, brushing and polishing.

Gehring says that its deephone series of horizontal honing machines combines optimal performance with a well-balanced, compact design. The deephone 3000 stands for efficient internal and external honing of precision or telescopic cylinders and similar workpieces. Depending on the series, the honing diameter is up to 1150 mm, while the workpiece outside diameter is 65 to 1200 mm.
For further information www.nagel.com www.gehring-group.com