Machining progression pays dividends

The recent installation of what is Holt Broadcast Services’ third machine, an XYZ 500 LR vertical machining centre from XYZ Machine Tools, is already paying dividends, with improved cycle times, reduced post-machining operations and greater versatility.

Founded in 1994, Holt Broadcast Services is a specialist manufacturer of sheet metal enclosures, whether they are standard 19” rack mounting enclosures common in the broadcast industry or customised solutions. While much of the company’s production can be generated using conventional sheet metal forming equipment and skills, there is also a requirement for machining. This is generated through the extensive use of extruded material and the individual requirements of customers, where the design and manufacture of specialist tooling, such as punches, makes machining much more cost-effective and efficient.

Holt Broadcast Services initially purchased a two-axis ProtoTRAK mill from XYZ Machine Tools for this work, then progressed to a three-axis ProtoTRAK bed mill for greater efficiency. The latest development is the arrival of a XYZ 500LR vertical machining centre that has again transformed how this work is undertaken.

“Typical of this work are vent panels, which can have up to 400 holes in them,” explains Jon Sturgess, workshop manager. “We normally produce these in batches of 100 off and, by utilising the tool changer and 12,000 rpm spindle on the XYZ 500LR, we are reducing the cycle time per panel by up to 30 minutes, a significant saving.”

Further benefits of machining these parts compared with punching include the elimination of secondary operations. Punching caused distortion that required correction, as well as burring on both sides. Machining eliminates distortion, while deburring is reduced to just one side as holes are deburred as part of the machining process and included in the cycle time saving.

For further information
www.xyzmachinetools.com

Ward CNC expands sales network

As part of the company’s growth plans, TW Ward CNC Machinery (Ward CNC) has enhanced its sales presence across the UK with the appointment of three new sales team members: Wayne Beadle joins as regional sales manager – northeast; Jamie Brighton is technical sales engineer – Midlands; and Paul Wallace joins as regional sales manager – southeast.
Ward CNC’s managing director Simon Whitworth says: “We are delighted to appoint such high calibre individuals with experience from a variety of our core sectors. Our new colleagues will only enhance our proud customer offering by enabling further opportunity to demonstrate our extensive range of CNC machines from some of the world’s leading manufacturers. Our goal is to set high standards of customer service and, with recent developments at Ward CNC, we are making excellent progress.”

For further information
www.wardcnc.com

MTG Dolphin invests in shipbuilding automation

Bulgarian shipbuilding company MTG Dolphin Plc has placed an order for an automated PEMA welding solution. The package includes a PEMA Flat Panel Line with two integrated welding portals, one side welding station and the company’s panel transport system. Significant investment in a modern automated welding production solution is part of MTG Dolphin’s bigger development initiative and future strategy. When it arrives in spring 2022, the system will optimise plate joining and stiffener welding processes, increasing production capacity, reducing manual work and producing high-quality finished products.

For further information https://pemamek.com

Motorcycle accessory manufacturer automates machining

Automated machining cells are the route to high production output in a small footprint with minimum operator attendance, and in hot pursuit of this goal is Alford, Lincolnshire-based Drury Precision Engineering. Although the firm carries out a small amount of subcontract machining, its main business is the production of its own globally-recognised motorcycle accessories for road and racing bikes, which it markets under the Evotech Performance brand name.

Between March 2020 and February 2021, the company installed three automated, Japanese-built Brother machining centres from sole UK and Ireland agent Whitehouse Machine Tools. Supplied with two of the machines were the same manufacturer’s Feedio vision-based, robotic systems for component load/unload, while the other machining centre integrates a System 3R WorkPartner pallet storage and handling system.

In the area of turn-milling, Drury has long used a bar-fed, single-turret lathe, and there has been a succession of different makes on the shop floor. In place of this lathe today is a more efficient Biglia B438-Y2 twin-spindle turn-mill centre with two Y-axis turrets, also supplied by Whitehouse Machine Tools.

The company decided in early 2015 to transition from conventional 40-taper machining centres to 30-taper models to raise production efficiency in line with rapidly increasing demand for its Evotech products, which are mainly produced by taking light cuts from aluminium billets of rectangular cross section.

First to be delivered was a Brother Speedio R450X1 twin-pallet, 22-tool, 30-taper machine for three-axis work. Output from the machine equalled that of two 40-taper machining centres. A typical crash protector, for example, took 20 minutes to machine instead of 40 minutes. This dramatic improvement was due to the minimisation of idle times through linear rapids, tool change and pallet change all taking place simultaneously, coupled with fast ATC and APC, a 16,000 rpm spindle and 200-block look-ahead in the Brother control.

The tool change in particular is so fast, delivering a chip-to-chip time of typically 2 seconds, that Drury has not only boosted production output but additionally been able to allow its designers more flexibility in SolidWorks. A couple of extra tools are introduced into a cycle, for instance, to add cosmetic features with very little time penalty. To do this on a 40-taper VMC would have unacceptably impacted productivity.

The doubling of throughput and the extra design flexibility were a revelation for Drury. Unsurprisingly, there are no longer any 40-taper machines on site and four further 30-taper Speedios followed the R450X1. The company’s first R650X1 arrived soon after, equipped with a Nikken two-axis table to provide five-axis machining capability.

Next to take its place on the shop floor was another three-axis R450X2, a three-axis R650X1 and, at the end of 2019, a five-axis S700X1 with Nikken table to provide a larger working volume. This machine was originally reserved for prototyping but was diverted into production due to ever increasing demand. All five machines sit in a line on the shop floor and are manually operated.

In early 2020 the three engineers who jointly run the company, Dan Rack, Chris Vines and Nick Cooper, recognised that prismatic machining capacity needed to be increased further, but space on the shop floor was tight. So in March that year, having had good experience with the other Brother machines, they purchased a Speedio M140X2, another five-axis machine, and decided to automate it with a Feedio component storage and robotic handling system developed jointly by Brother and ABB.

The Feedio is designed specifically for Brother machines, rather than being a generic solution provided by a third party, although a couple of other potential automation suppliers were briefly considered at the outset. The unit communicates with the machining centre control via a Profibus interface, while a smart ABB teach pendant incorporating a customised Speedio page is available for programming the six-axis robot.

Notably, the Feedio version supplied with this machine at the outset had a pair of standard, 2 m long conveyors, which are positioned one above the other. However, Drury soon realised that insufficient components could be accommodated to last for the whole of the ghost shift. So to avoid losing night-time hours, the company asked Whitehouse to extend the conveyors to 4 m in a simple exercise that took less than a day. The extra capacity also had the effect of allowing the entire weekend to be utilised for production. In fact, when machining certain parts, up to three days’ uninterrupted production is possible without manual intervention.

A camera and PC built into the Feedio unit allow the robot to detect the position of billets on the upper input conveyor. After machining, components return to the output conveyor below. This particular cell is for Op 1 work on parts weighing up to 10 kg in batches from 100- to 2,000-off; the completion of Op 2 taking place on the manually-loaded Speedios. To ensure system reliability, the M140X2 has been equipped with two Blum probes, one to check the tool and the other to confirm the correct loading of each billet before machining commences.

Careful attention is paid at the component design stage to maximise Op 1 time and thereby minimise the amount of Op 2 metal cutting. In one instance, Cooper, who manages the machining department at Alford, achieved a 9.5-minute Op 1 and a 22-second Op 2. So far, the company has produced around 50 different component types in the cell.

Nearly one year later, the two other automated Speedio cells arrived. One was a larger three-axis S700X2 with a 700 x 400 x 300 mm working volume, a Schunk pneumatic centric vice and a 4 m Feedio system capable of handling heavier components up to 20 kg, again for Op 1 work. The other was an additional five-axis M140X2, but this time fitted with a System 3R WorkPartner 108-pallet storage and handling system. Supplied as a turnkey installation by Whitehouse, the latter is a closed cell to target Op 2 inefficiencies within the factory. Six motorbike parts required in left- and right-hand versions were identified as ideal for production in this cell. They are set up permanently so that both Op 1 and Op 2 are completed automatically, unattended for up to 20 hours.

The former turning machine at Drury, which dated back to 2016, was capable of turning components up to 65 mm diameter from bar. However, its single turret meant that productivity was low and the machine was inefficient at producing small turned parts. So the decision was taken to concentrate on the in-house turn-milling of sub-38 mm diameter components, which accounts for around one-third of throughput, and outsource the remainder of turned parts production.

Drury considered two alternatives but decided in favour of the Biglia B438-Y2 due to the high level of service it receives from Whitehouse on the prismatic machining side. Other points in favour of the Biglia were the ready availability of a post processor and the machine’s ability in its standard configuration to extract up to 150 mm long components without the need for special handling equipment, which would have introduced delay at the end of some cycles.

The machine is the most recent to be installed by Whitehouse at the Alford factory. It has proved to be highly efficient at producing spacers for bar ends and crash protection brackets, for example, in a cycle time of around 1 minute compared with 3 minutes previously. Rack advises that every turned and turn-milled part seems to be produced in around one-third of the time it took before on the single-turret lathe.

Although turning in Drury’s factory has always been automated by a bar feeder, the inception of automatic loading and unloading of prismatic machined parts has seen a step-change in production efficiency. Six years ago the company employed 22 staff, yet today with only three extra operators and in the same shop floor area, turnover has more than doubled.

For further information
www.wmtcnc.com

Two new models expand EDM range

The Engineering Technology Group (ETG) has introduced a new addition to the Gantry Eagle series of die -sink EDM machines with the arrival of the Eagle G50 and G80 Competition from OPS Ingersoll. OPS Ingersoll has taken the ergonomics and bridge design of the Gantry Eagle platform and combined it with the generator and programming of the G5 Precision.

With the new Eagle G50 and G80 gantry concept, featuring three open sides and a programable rise and fall four-sided tank that arrives full of dielectric, OPS Ingersoll says it is introducing a production technology with astounding electrode usage – even in graphite to VDI 8.

In developing the Eagle G50 and G80, the aim was to create a machine capable of delivering the highest surface finish capability and remove many of the known issues in graphite usage. The Eagle G50 and G80 now provide multi-cavity, low-wear machining that OPS Ingersoll says was not available in this class of machine until now.

From a specification perspective, the Eagle G50 has a 750 x 650 mm table with work tank dimensions of 770 x 670 x 440 mm and a dielectric level height of 450 mm. Within this envelope, the new machine offers 525 x 400 x 450 mm of travel with a distance from the head to the table ranging from 135 to 585 mm. OPS Ingersoll says that no other machine can offer this amount of useable volume within these movements, allowing the machining of small and larger workpieces from one reference.

The G80 has a work tank of 800 x 1100 mm and maintains the same useable field philosophy as the G50.

OPS Ingersoll’s G50 and G80 Competition both incorporate the new Eagle Powerspark One control system and Eagle Powerspark Editor (PSE) programming software.

For further information
www.engtechgroup.com