Fort Vale reduces set-ups with Okuma

Fort Vale Engineering, Burnley, is a manufacturer of stainless steel valves and ancillaries used in the tank container industry for the transportation of bulk liquids and gases by road, rail and sea. The company had been making one particular type of valve for several years in four sequential operations on lathes and machining centres in a lead-time of 24 hours.
To speed throughput and raise profitability, the manufacturer was keen to find a production solution that would see a billet enter a machining platform and a finished component emerge after a much shorter time. Considerable research and trials led to the discovery of the ideal process, which takes just eight hours.

It required the purchase of a Japanese-built Okuma Multus U4000 multi-tasking turn-mill centre with B-axis milling spindle and twin-opposed work spindles from sole UK agent NCMT. The supplier turnkey-engineered the cell with Turn-Cut (interpolation turning) software in the control and a chip reader to keep track of tools on the shop floor.

Stephen Maher, process improvement engineer at the Burnley factory, says: “To manufacture this product in one hit, we needed a turn-mill centre with a long Y-axis movement. This prerequisite was satisfied by the 300 mm Y axis on the relatively compact U4000, saving us having to buy an unnecessarily large and expensive machine.

“However, the most notable attribute of the production centre is Okuma’s Turn-Cut software in the proprietary OSP control,” he continues. “It allows one port in the valve to be machined to an accuracy of +25 µm -0 µm, by exploiting a second mode of turning [interpolation turning] using the milling spindle and a boring bar with a Sandvik CoroTurn carbide insert.

For further information
www.ncmt.co.uk

Cost-effective mill-turn for small parts

Starrag UK (Hall 20, Stand 563) says visitors to its stand can learn about Bumotec’s new cost-effective 191neo mill-turn centre for small, complex parts. Targeted particularly at users in the medical, luxury goods and micro-mechanics industries, the seven-axis Bumotec 191neo can accommodate bar of 42, 50 and 65 mm diameter. Furthermore, with up to 90 tools and an intuitive HMI control system, Starrag says that the machine enables users to achieve a new standard in cost-per-part for high added-value small components produced in a single set-up.

For further information
www.starrag.com

MACH first for new Victor machines

GM Group (Hall 19, Stand 619) is using MACH to introduce the Victor Vturn-A20YCM and the Vturn-S26/60CM single-spindle turning centres. The compact Vturn A20-YCM offers Y-axis milling capability and an 8-inch chuck with a swing over bed of 700 mm, while a 52mm diameter bar can pass through the headstock for bar-feeding applications.

The Victor Vturn-S26/60CM offers 600 mm swing over bed and 640 mm between centres. A 12-position live tooling station can drive the 25 mm maximum tool diameter at 6000 rpm with its high-torque 4.5 kW motor. Furthermore, with a bar capacity of 75 mm through the drawbar and a maximum turning diameter of 420 mm, GM Group says that the Vturn-S26/60CM is suitable for both one-off components and production runs of everything from small to medium sized parts.

For further information
www.gm-cnc.com

Citizen highlights LFV technology

Citizen Machinery (Hall 20, Stand 150) is showcasing its LFV (low frequency vibration) chip-breaking software, which forms part of the operating system in the controls on some of the manufacturer’s sliding- and fixed-head turn-mill centres. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the technology’s launch. According to Citizen, the principle of operation is distinct from, and superior to, pecking macros programmed into individual machining cycles. Citizen is gradually rolling out the patented system across the company’s Cincom sliding-head lathes, initially on the main spindle and more recently on the sub-spindle. There are five Cincom machines on show equipped with LFV. A pair of Citizen’s Miyano fixed-head lathes also benefit from the technology, one of which is on display.

For further information
www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

MACH Machine Tools: on a mission

From the eight machine tools on display from MACH Machine Tools (Hall 20, Stand 370), seven are equipped with the versatile DynaPath WinDelta control. Visitors to the stand will not only be able to appreciate the high performance and productivity levels of the machines and recognise the value they represent, but also familiarise themselves with the DynaPath control.
A new addition to MACH Machine Tools’ product line-up is a high-speed machining centre that is said to perform as stylishly as it looks. The MACH MDHS-65S is for the fast processing of high-precision components, mould tools and copper electrodes. It features a fixed, rigid and thermally-stable double column structure, roller-type linear guides, a high-speed HSK40E spindle (7.5 kW/24,000 rpm), a specially-designed spindle chiller system, a servo-driven 12-tool ATC and, of course, the DynaPath WinDelta control that provides 10,000-block look-ahead capability and dynamic path smoothing.

For further information
www.machmt.co.uk