Mazak to build Swiss-type lathes in USA

To support the production of yet another new Kentucky-designed and built line of machine tools, Mazak has expanded the company’s Florence manufacturing campus with the addition of its new Syncrex assembly plant. The 27,000 sq ft building combines engineering, production and applications support for Mazak’s recently launched Syncrex series of Swiss-type turning centres for the precision machining of small parts.

With an output capacity of up to 10 machines per month, the Syncrex building features all the necessary overhead cranes and equipment its employees need to produce 16 different models within the series for the North American market. The machines come in four bar stock capacities (20/25/32/38) and four different axis configurations, up to a 9X model with full B-axis contouring capabilities. Production flow through the building starts with a machined base that progresses through assembly operations and on to alignment, testing, inspection and run-off procedures prior to shipping.

Kevin Sekerak, plant manager at Mazak, says: “Within the new building’s production flow, we’ve incorporated applications support, which is extremely critical for this particular type of machine. That support entails integrating various forms of automation and other ancillary systems together with the machines, then proving them out to make sure they all operate to customer performance requirements and specifications. Often, applications specialists will work side by side with assembly technicians during customer machine run-offs.”

The sliding-headstock Syncrex machines all sit on Mazak high-damping composite castings (HDCC) produced in the US and machined at Mazak Kentucky. This high-rigidity base provides greater vibration damping characteristics, less thermal growth and greater part surface capabilities when compared to cast-iron base machines, says Mazak. The company also produces Syncrex spindles, headstocks, sheet metal and other key components in Kentucky.
For further information www.mazakusa.com

MITSUBISHI WIRE EDM CUTS CYCLE TIMES BY 60%

When JVD Engineering realised that its subcontract EDM supplier was looking to wind down the business, ambitious business owner Matthew Abraham-Thomas spotted an opportunity and bought the company, bringing it under the JVD Engineering umbrella. As a manufacturer that continually invests in new technology, JVD soon spotted an opportunity to improve EDM productivity with the acquisition of a Mitsubishi MV2400S EDM machine from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

Founded in 1991, the Yorkshire-basedcompany, which occupies a 20,000sqft factory in Morley near Leeds, has been on a continuous investment run, turning the company from a manual machine shop to a full CNC facility since Abraham-Thomas acquired the business from the previous owner.

“When our EDM supplier announced they were closing their business, we stepped in to ensure continuity of EDM services for our customers,” he says.“It was a simple choice – either bring the work in-house by buying the company or lose the business from our existing customers.”

Continues Abraham-Thomas: “The business we bought had six ageing EDM machines and only three were fit for daily use. Although we incorporated three of these machines into our business, we also wanted to upgrade the technology. With all of the existing EDM machines supplied by the same vendor, we wanted to invest in the same brand and technology.”

However, this all changed when Eric Tollet from ETG introduced the Mitsubishi EDM machines to JVD Engineering.

“I’ve known Eric for years and we were adamant we were buying a different brand, but Eric persuaded us to look at Mitsubishi and have a demonstration with Scott Elsmere,” says Abraham-Thomas.“Scott demonstrated the Mitsubishi with passion, pride and unfathomable expertise. This was evident when he emphasised all of the positive points of the MV2400S. Not only did he highlight the positives, but without emphasising the technical shortcomings of other brands, Scott showed us where Mitsubishi won-out over its rivals. When we eventually had demonstrations from alternative vendors, the inadequacies of other brands compared to Mitsubishi were evident and our decision was made.”

The Mitsubishi MV2400S EDM machine arrived in August 2022 and the benefits for the 16-employee business have been significant. As a general subcontract machinist, JVD Engineering produces components for a wide variety of sectors from a diverse range of materials. While EDM currently remains a small element of turnover, it is essential for producing challenging features and complex components such as keyways with very tight tolerances on tool steels and other difficult-to-process materials. It is this continuous throughput of challenging parts that previously required subcontract EDM services and eventually led to the acquisition of an EDM business.

“The Mitsubishi is a large-bed machine that has a 300 mm Y axis compared to 150mm on our existing machines,” explains Abraham-Thomas.“We wanted this for processing larger parts and laying multiple components on the machine for simultaneous non-stop production. However, this larger footprint meant we had to remove two of our previous EDM machines to make space for the Mitsubishi MV2400S. As the previous machines didn’t have the Mitsubishi CNC control or auto-wire feeding, the MV2400S was instantly more productive than the two models it replaced. We kept one of the old machines to fall back on – but since the Mitsubishi arrived, we haven’t even turned it on.”

Although the previous machines may have been past their best years, the new Mitsubishi MV2400S is at least four times more productive than its predecessors.

“We recently completed one repeat order and the EDM running time was 38 hours, which is now less than 16 hours on the Mitsubishi,” states Abraham-Thomas.“While the cycle time on this part has been reduced by more than 60-70%, it is the non-cutting time that’s making a difference. Previously, we would have an operator paying constant attention to the machine and having to frequently re-thread the wire – losing valuable processing time and absorbing excessive man-hours. With the auto-wire feeding on the Mitsubishi, the part is set up to run, and we take a finished part off the machine with no intervention.”

Although the company has seen a drastic reduction in machining times, it is the non-cutting times that are paying huge dividends for JVD Engineering. With technology incorporated such as Mitsubishi’s Corehold, E-Packs and D-Cubes – EDM has never been so user-friendly.

Intuitive operation arrives courtesy of the large screen with modern gesture control that boosts comfort, while the configurable user interface allows free arrangement of the main functions during daily work. With step-by-step dialogue guidance, users are piloted through the entire process, from programming to the start of machining.

Visible ‘at a glance’ features include machining status, elapsed production times, state of maintenance and other data. During the preparation of pending machining tasks, support comes from overviews of the remaining wire, state of filter cartridges, deionisation resin and other parameters. This prevents outages caused by finite consumables or worn parts, optimising machine run times. The complete machine documents inclusive of maintenance instructions are also available with the aid of photos and 3D depictions.

Discussing the innovation behind the machine, Abraham-Thomas adds: “With the previous machines, we would have to enter all our cutting parameters manually, whereas with the Mitsubishi, we load a DXF file of the part into the machine, enter the material type, thickness and area we want to cut and the control system simulates the cutting path and ideal cutting parameters – it’s that easy. It’s remarkably quick and simple; and once the machine conducts a simulation, it gives an accurate cycle time, so we can quote our customers accurately. Providing a precise quote very rapidly gives our business more confidence and it has also seen us win more work from both new and existing customers.”

He adds: “The intuitive software gives us the running hours and expected lifecycle of all consumables, but more impressively it provides a lifecycle for machine components based on running hours for preventative maintenance purposes. It machines faster and smarter than any of our other machines and it uses less wire and has a lower power requirement– it really is an incredibly intelligent machine.

“The machine has a host of additional attributes that impress us daily. We recently had to produce a hydraulic valve guide with a 15° taper. The EDM work on this batch of four parts was previously subbed-out at £800 per component, as we couldn’t find many suitable suppliers. Now, we can do this work in-house on the Mitsubishi. The reduction in our subcontract costs is one reason why this machine is paying dividends to our business. We couldn’t be happier with the machine, its technology or the expert service and support from Scott and all the team at ETG.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Chocolate system producer opts for Hwacheon

MacIntyre Chocolate Systems, located in Scotland, is a worldwide supplier of chocolate manufacturing and processing equipment – offering ancillary equipment for chocolate manufacture that includes transfer pumps, filters and storage vessels. After agreeing a purchase on a new Hwacheon Hi Tech 850LYMC, Ward Hi Tech’s high levels of stock meant that the company was not waiting for long.

Managing director Joe Gorman says: “Purchasing the new Hwacheon Hi Tech 850LYMC allowed us to remove the risk of external supply chain, price pressure from market volatility and the need to monitor external quality for being ‘right first time’. We now have the ability to turn-mill our main drive shafts, pressure-adjust shafts, pressure sleeves and many other components on one machine.This new capability will drive us to become even more efficient – via improved cycle times – compared to ourprevious machine tools. The new Hwacheon Hi Tech 850LYMC will also give us the capability to offer an internal supplier solution to group partners based in Germany.”

As well as increasing productivity, the Hwacheon Hi Tech 850LYMC meant that where there was a need for three machine tools to cut parts – now only oneis necessary. This provides MacIntyre Chocolate Systems with a long-term cost effective solution.

“The onsite and offsite training sessions were first class and the installation was very quick and professional,” says Gorman.“This allowed us to moveseamlessly into full production.”

The Hwacheon Hi Tech 850 LYMC is a horizontal turning centre suited to large and hard workpieces. According to Ward Hi-Tech, the machine allows users to master demanding machining tasks that require large milling and turning operations.
For further information www.wardhitech.co.uk

Investments critical to future growth plans

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ (formerly Doosan) and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has supplied subcontract specialist JTB Pressings with two new, FANUC-controlled CNC lathes.The machines, a 6”chuck/51mm bar capacity Lynx 2100LYSA and, a similarly sized Lynx 2100, are now in place at one of the company’s three production facilities in Willenhall.

Since their arrival, both lathes have been put through their paces machining, almost exclusively, a range of small, precision turned parts for JCB. These high-volume, short-cycle parts, include six individual components made from a range of materials that include steel, bronze andnylon.

JTB’s decision to invest in the two Doosan lathes was made to help the company increase the range of manufacturing services it provides to existing customers, as well as spearheading a drive to secure new business from different sectors.

Explains Ivan Evans, JTB’s managing director:“We are always looking to improve, diversify and grow.We did consider sliding-head as well as fixed-head models, but ultimately decided on the Lynx 2100 LSYA from Mills CNC owing to its compact size, proven reliability and multi-tasking capabilities.”

With both Lynx lathes’ capacity taken up machining parts for just one customer, JTB has now made the decision to invest further.

Says general manager Steve Lounds: “To free-up capacity on our Lynx machines we hope to invest in another two pre-owned Emi-Mec CNC lathes in the near future. These two-axis lathes will handle the high volume of turned parts currently machined on the Lynx lathes and, as a consequence, enable us to fully exploit the true potential of the Lynx machines and diversify our operations – as was originally intended.”
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

First automated measuring machine for micro-tools

Walter says that its new Helicheck Nano is the world’s first automated measuring machine for micro and nano tools as small as 0.1 mm diameter.Available from Walter Ewag UK, the Helicheck Nano measures the small diameter tooling increasingly required to meet miniaturisation trends in electronics, micromechanics and medical technology. According to the company, the comprehensive measurement of tools with diameters of less than 1 mm is usually fraught with challenges, where even the use of microscopy sees human operation posing the greatest risk of error.

Walter’s Helicheck Nano takes a different approach, offering non-destructive and operator-independent tool measurement using transmitted and reflectedlight. The process is possible thanks to the use of new variable optics having up to 800x magnification, the origins of which lie in microscopic incident light measuring technology.In combination with high-resolution cameras, these microscopic optics are the basis for measurements in the nanoscale.The variable magnification also allows measurements on standard tools of up to 16 mm diameter.

Complementing Walter’s other fully-automatic tool measuring machines Helicheck Pro and Helicheck Plus, the new Helicheck Nano has a solid granite base for high-standard, certified measuring accuracy and reliable results, while its permanent cameras are protected from dust and extraneous light by an encased measuring chamber.

Importantly, the new machine offers the possibility of automation with a pallet system enabling the automatic measurement of up to 7500 tools without operator intervention.
Walter adds that it will expand the Helicheck Nano’s capabilities in the future to include functions such as cutting edge rounding, 3D digitisation and surface finish measurement.
For further information www.walter-machines.com