Mouldmaker adopts automated five-axis machining

Established in the west of Ireland in 1984, Lawrence Engineering specialises in the manufacture of injection mould tools, extrusion tooling, jigs and fixtures for global suppliers in the medical device industry. At its factory in Loughill, County Sligo, the business also builds special-purpose equipment and provides contract manufacturing services, while at another facility in nearby Collooney, medical component manufacturing takes place in a Class 8 cleanroom.

Precision, quality and rapid turnaround times are hallmarks of the family-owned company’s success. Commitment to constant investment in cutting-edge machinery keeps it ahead of the competition. This philosophy is immediately evident when visiting the Loughill site. Purpose-built in 1995, the facility houses an impressive range of machine tools, including machining centres from Hurco and Roeders. Hurco Europe supplies both brands in the UK and Ireland.

In the Hurco cell are a three-axis VM10i vertical machining centre and a larger VM20i, with capacity for machining components up to 1 m long by 500 mm. Lawrence Engineering selected the machines as much for their reliability and ease of programming, as for their metal-cutting capabilities in tool steels.

Managing director James Lawrence says: “We try to keep everything in-house. When we consider the next investment, we’re looking to increase our capabilities, filling any gaps in capacity and aiming to achieve constant improvement.”

A prime example of this is one of two five-axis Roeders RXP500DS high-speed machining centres with linear motors driving all axes. The bridge-type design includes features necessary for ensuring component accuracy and high-speed dynamic motion. The 42,000 rpm spindle enables Lawrence Engineering to machine mould tools directly in hardened metals, often with cutters less than 1 mm in diameter. Moreover, it removes the need for time-consuming electrode manufacture, EDM and subsequent hardening.
For further information www.hurco.co.uk

Tooling Intelligence moves to new facility

Tooling Intelligence, a specialist in industrial inventory and asset management, has moved to a new cutting-edge facility in Honiley, Warwickshire as part of strategic expansion plans. Previously operating from three different sites, the expansion almost doubles the floor area to 5000 sq ft with an additional 3000 sq ft of offsite warehousing.The relocation facilitates increased assembly capacity and improved workflow to streamline production, better serving the company’s growing customer base. Furthermore, the facility provides a demonstration area and customer meeting suite, supported by a service and support hub.
For further information www.toolingintelligence.co.uk

Investment at Ficep UK

Ficep UK is investing in its offices and stockholding capacity as a direct response to growing demand from clients who rely on the company’smachines. Newly added storage space holds more stock by introducing 44 pallet spaces to its 17,000 sq ft warehouse in West Yorkshire. The installation of an additional carousel system will double holding capacity, ensuring that essential components and spare parts are readily available to meet customer requirements. Ficep UK has also created new office space, located within the warehouse, to serve as a hub for the company’s tooling and consumables service team.
For further information www.ficep.co.uk

30-taper machine is clear choice for SPE

These days, 30-taper machining centres are more robust and fast than formerly, and can also cut tough materials. One company discovering the merits of this type of prismatic machining equipment is Staffordshire Precision Engineering (SPE) of Newcastle-under-Lyme. The subcontractor recently purchased a Brother R650X2 30-taper four-axis machining centre with a table-mounted indexing trunnion from the Japanese manufacturer’s sole sales agent in the UK and Ireland, Whitehouse Machine Tools. Programming support and unlimited training formedpart of the deal.

The machine is the subcontractor’s first 30-taper machine and is today producing aluminium parts for the aerospace, Formula 1, high-end automotive, scientific, medical and other industries. The material currently accounts for about 60% of prismatic component production in the factory. However, it so happened that the first job put on the Brother involved the production of a batch of 304 stainless steel pivot blocks for an aerospace customer.

It was at this point that Phil Smith, joint managing director of SPE (alongside brother Gary), realised that he had been harbouring an incorrect view that 30-taper machines are unable to cut tough metals productively. He is now convinced that modern Brother machines, with their high-torque spindles, are far more robust than he thought.

There are numerous 40-taper VMCs on site that are between 10 and 15 years old.The company will gradually replace these machines with more capable and productive plant. Smith predicts that the four-axis Brother will do the work of two of these older models. For instance, the R650X2 produced the aerospace pivot block in just two operations in a cycle time of 15 minutes, whereas one of the older machines took 38 minutes to produce the part in four operations. Moreover, there is now far less workpiece handling and work-in-progress.
For further information www.wmtcnc.com

ETG launches 5AX double-column machining centre

Now available from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) is the new DC12 model, a 5AX double-column vertical machining centre from Axile. The DC12 is the largest machine in Axile’s portfolio, suitable for handling heavy, lengthy workpieces. With a maximum table loading weight of 2500 kg, a maximum component length of 2.2 m and a workpiece diameter of 1.3m on a proprietaryintegrated rotary table of 1.2m, the DC12 takes on larger, heavier parts common in the aerospace, power generation and mould and die industries.

The double-column bridge construction provides greater rigidity, as well as better control over thermal deformation based on its sizeable RAM built as a box-in-box concept. Therefore, the DC12 is capable of both heavy-duty cutting and complex contouring while maintaining impressive precision levels, reports ETG.

With larger workpieces come more chips, meaning the DC12 features chip-removal efficiency to prolong tool life and ensure no residual interference. The DC12 has a chip auger, chip conveyor, through-spindle coolant, four coolant outlets at the spindle nose, air flushing and a chip wash-down facility.

Despite its dimensions, the DC12 incorporates directly driven servomotors, roller-type linear guideways, pre-loaded double nut ball screws and linear scales on the X, Y and Z axes to support 0.1 µm resolution. According to ETG, these features ensure that regardless of component size, the DC12 will deliver high levels of precision and repeatability.

From a flexibility perspective, the DC12 presents an HSK-A63 swivelling head B axis as well as a rotary C-axis table built into the large machine bed. This combination provides flexibility for large-part machining. The spindle is available with up to 90 or 120 HSK-A63 tools or 60 HSK-A100 tools.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com