Work to start on £17m wheel lathe facility

The train operator for the East of England, Greater Anglia, says that a £17m project is underway that will deliver a brand-new wheel lathe facility at its Clacton Rail Depot in Essex.

Working alongside delivery partner Spencer Group, which will build the new facility, it will be the first time Greater Anglia has had its own permanent wheel lathe facility.

A wheel lathe allows the train operator to service its fleet on-patch and transform how trains are prepared ahead of service. Trains undergo daily wear and tear that can result in small flat spots on the wheels. To correct this damage, a wheel lathe is used to re-profile each wheel with precision. It begins by measuring the size of each wheel, before calculating how much metal to remove. The wheel then undergoes re-profiling accordingly to restoreits roundness. After the cutting process, the lathe measures the wheels again to ensure their quality before the train returns to service.

The lathe itself (pictured during tests) has been produced by Hegenscheidt-MFD, a German-based specialist in machine tools for the railway and automotive sectors. Greater Anglia’s new 5000 m² facility is expected to open in summer 2025 and has support from the Department for Transport.

Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia client &programme director, says:”Not only will this £17m investment into Clacton improve the performance and reliability of regional services, it will also provide many new highly skilled jobs.Once complete, we will also be able to service trains much quicker than before, allowing them to return to passenger service faster.”

The wheel lathe facility will be used by the entire Greater Anglia fleet, including its class 745, class 720 and class 755 units.

More information www.hegenscheidt-mfd.com/en

Mills CNC to showcase a medical marvel

Mills CNC will showcase a DN Solutions SMX 2100SB large bore multi-tasking turn-mill centre at Seco Tools’ ‘Aerospace & Medical Inspiration through Innovation’ event taking place at the company’s facility in Alcester on 16-17 October.

The FANUC-controlled machine, equipped with opposing 22kW/5000rpm spindles, a 12,000rpm B-axis milling head, a 40-tool position ATC, a 12/24 position turret with driven tooling capabilities (5000rpm) and integrated thermal compensation, processes complex, high-precision parts in a single set-up.

Mills selected the SMX 2100SB to appear at Seco’s Inspiration through Innovation event to demonstrate the machine’s inherent flexibility, productivity and efficiency in producing medical parts.Following its selection, pre-sales engineers from Mills CNC, working closely with partners from Seco Tools (cutting tools), Hainbuch (work holding) and Open Mind (CADCAM software), began to design and develop a secure, repeatable process to machine a small, high-precision medical implant part in small volumes over the two-day event.

The part selected for the live machining demonstration is a shoulder implant stem made from a solid titanium bar/billet with individual part dimensions of 74mm in length and 50mm diameter. In total, the part cycle time is 45 minutes, including all front- and back-end machining operations. As well as parting-off, other operations include roughing and finishing (front and back-end), OD profiling, slotting, face and side milling, three-axis turning, five-axis simultaneous milling, drilling, and countersinking.

For the Seco event, a number of 600mm length titanium bars will be available which, using a bar puller, will enable continuous production.Mills CNC pre-sales engineers will be available to explain the machining process.

More information www.millscnc.co.uk

Dugard launches Mylasmulti-axis turning centre

At the top of the Mylas portfolio of turn-mill centres available in the UK from Dugard is the new MTY series of twin-spindle, twin turret, triple channel machines. Designed to create productivity gains, the Mylas MTY range can simultaneously engage three cutting tools on the workpiece through a range of configuration options.

The Mylas MTY is available in two models, the MTY 51 and the MTY 65 that offer 51 and 65mm bar turning capacity. Within the two models are a series of different configurations. For instance, the MTY 51A or 65A configuration offers a single Yaxis with two tools cutting in tandem; the B-type machine offers a single Yaxis, tailstock and two tools in simultaneous cut; whereas the MTY 51C and 65C type provides two tools on the part with double Yaxis.

The MTY D is a double-channel machine with a double Yaxis and tailstock, while the MTY51E and 65E offer three tools in simultaneous cut with double Yaxis and tailstock.

Within these options, Mylas offers a 5500rpm main spindle on the MTY51 and 4000rpm on the MTY65 with a power rating of 7.5/11kW plus NN bearing type and roller bearings at the front and rear of the spindle to deliver cutting power directly to the cutting surface – resisting axial and radial forces. Complementing these capabilities on the sub-spindle is a 6000rpm unit offering 5.5/7.5kW that sits alongside an optional tailstock with 100mm travel to increase turning length up to 5xD.

To offer maximum flexibility, the two BMT55 tooling turrets each provide 16 tool stations with a maximum tool capacity of 64 positions.

More information www.dugard.com

Mazak debutsthree-turret turning centre

Yamazaki Mazak unveiled the latest addition to its range of high-volume turning centres at the AMB 2024 exhibition in Stuttgart recently. The new HQR-200/3 NEO promises increased levels of productivity alongside high accuracy and efficiency.

Mazak’s HQR-200/3 NEO features three turrets and two spindles. With manufacturers striving for productivity and profitability, the additional third turret achieves a faster return on investment by reducing cycle time by approximately 25%, based on an example component produced using a two-turret configuration. The added tool stations enhance processing capabilities to complete complex parts in a single set-up.

Suitable for medium-to-high batch sizes across the aerospace, automotive and general subcontract industries, the new machine design – which is only 120mm deeper than the two-turret version –increases the maximum workpiece size for lower-turret chuck work from 212 to 320mm diameter. 

The HQR-200/3 NEO on show at AMB was part of a model series comprising two spindle sizes and three turrets. Complementing the standard 65 and 80mm diameter bar-working capability, the HQR-200/3 NEO is available with an optional enlarged 112mm spindle bore for bar work up to 102mm diameter. Unique to Mazak, this enlarged spindle bore option facilitates the machining of prismatic components from bar material using only a turning centre – work that otherwise would require a machining centre to complete. 

Enhanced automation features include a redesigned unloading hand that contributes to a 20% reduction in unloading time compared with previous models, while the Smooth Oscillating Cutting function automatically breaks up chips and swarf to prevent unwanted build-up. 

More information www.mazakeu.co.uk

G-Tech invests in new Nakamura-Tome

When the turning department at Merseyside-based G-Tech Engineering was having difficulty keeping pace with demand, the company recognised it needed to reduce cycle times and lead times, and add one-hit machining that could take place lights-out. The answer to these dilemmas arrived in the shape of a Nakamura-Tome AS200LMSY turn-mill centre from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

As a high-precision subcontract machine shop, G-Tech Engineering has a host of machine tools from a variety of vendors, but two stand-out machinesinclude a 30+ year-old Nakamura TW10 and an ageing Nakamura WT150. Both purchased second-hand, these machines justify their place on the shop floor as they still retain their precision, productivity levels and reliability. So, when it came to buying a new machine, it was an obvious choice for the Wirral company.

Andy Kirkwood,senior production engineer at G-Tech Engineering, says: “We needed to replace a reliable but ageing two-axis chucking turning centre with something more up-to-date. We selected a Nakamura-Tome AS200LMSY to join our already mission-critical Nakamura TW10 and WT150 multi-axis turning centres.”

Undertaking a lot more one-hit machining of parts, the new Nakamura-Tome AS200LMSY saves both time and labour. 

“It also allows us to maintain demanding geometric tolerances consistently and repeatably, such as flatness concentricity of less than 0.03mm between spindle transfers over a diameter of 150mm,” says Kirkwood. “Another new feature proving invaluable is the Y-axis travel of 80mm (±40mm). This is excellent for the footprint of the workstation and saves us time by enabling us to complete a lot more milling operations in the same set-up, reducing the need for secondary milling operations.”

More information www.engtechgroup.com