Where innovation meets design

GF Machining Solutions has recently supplied Luzzo Bespoke, a designer and manufacturer of customised products, with a new Mikron MILL E 700U five-axis machining centre. The machine, which features an integrated seven-station automatic pallet changer (APC), is now operational at the company’s 10,000 sq ft facility in Brackley, where it is being used to machine, in low volumes, a range of high-precision components that go into bespoke products for high-end automotive, motorsport and lifestyle customers.

Luzzo Bespoke machines these parts from materials that include aluminium, brass, stainless steel, carbon fibre, wood and plastic. Tolerances are typically ±0.1 mm.

The MILL E 700U is also being used to machine work-holding and fixtures, as well as numerous prototypes and pre-production parts – integral to the company’s ‘design for manufacturing’ services.

Luzzo’s new machine joins, and has been installed adjacent to, another Mikron five-axis machining centre, a HEM 500U, acquired by the company in 2016. Together, these two five-axis machining centres provide the company with fast, efficient and reliable milling capabilities.

Like many other manufacturers, Luzzo Bespoke felt the impact and effects of the pandemic. Staff were furloughed and several orders and contracts were postponed, while some were cancelled altogether. However, during the summer of 2020, business began to pick-up and has been on an upward trajectory ever since.

Says Brian Challenger, Luzzo Bespoke’s managing director: “Since the beginning of 2021 things have improved considerably, so much so that if we didn’t strengthen our existing milling capacity and capabilities – sooner rather than later – production pinch points would occur which could detrimentally affect our operational efficiencies and productivity. As a result of these deliberations we decided to invest in a new machining centre.”

To address its potential milling capacity shortcomings, the company spent time identifying the ‘need to have’ specifications and capabilities of the new machine. Luzzo Bespoke is a keen advocate of five-axis machining, and of automation.

“Over the past 12 years our machine shop has changed and improved dramatically from having no CNC machine tools to one that boasts high-performance CNC multi-tasking lathes and three- and five-axis machining centres,” states Challenger. “We believe that five-axis machining is the way to go. The technology makes our company more flexible and enables us to machine parts in fewer set ups, often in one hit. This makes us more efficient and productive.”

He continues: “Machines with integrated automation have the ability to run lights-out overnight and at the weekends. A machine with integrated pallet change capabilities can give us up to 14 hours additional machining time per day: a massive boost to our productivity.”

Further machine requirements included: a high-speed, high-torque spindle; full simultaneous five-axis machining capability; good sized working envelope with easy part loading/unloading; generous sized ATC; efficient and effective swarf management; and the latest Heidenhain control.

The decision to invest in a Mikron five-axis machine from GF Machining Solutions was not a foregone conclusion, although the company’s “existing relationship with GF Machining Solutions put them in the box seat”.

Luzzo Bespoke has invested in a number of Mikron three- and five-axis machining centres over the years and, prior to the arrival of the new MILL E 500U, had two three-axis machining centres (VCE 800 Pro) and one five-axis machine (HEM 500U) at its disposal.

“We approached GF Machining Solutions and other companies with our requirements,” recalls Challenger. “Taking the machine cost, its availability and its technical specifications into account, as well as the applications and service back up of GF Machining Solutions, we invested in the Mikron MILL E 700U.”

The MILL E 700U five-axis machining centre has a rigid C-frame construction, large-sized guideways, a double-supported (trunnion-type) direct-drive rotary tilting table and an integrated seven-station APC. Further features include a Heidenain TNC640 control and a 36 kW/20,000 rpm OptiCool spindle with oil-air lubrication.

Says Challenger: “The machine’s advanced spindle technology with oil-air lubrication enables us to maintain part accuracies and keep within tolerances during long machining runs, while its direct-drove rotary table technology, in combination with the StepTec spindle, means we can achieve super-fine surface finishes on machined parts. All in all, the MILL E 700U is a versatile, high-productivity machine – and is a real asset to the company. The future is five-axis machining and over the next few months, we intend to make further investments in this technology.”

Luzzo Bespoke designs and manufactures a range of high-quality customised products for a diverse range of markets and industries. One of the most important of these is the luxury car market, for which the company produces high-end products that include drinks cabinets, picnic hampers, under-seat fridges, humidors, bespoke clocks, dials and instrumentation panels. Among the prestigious car makers to benefit from these products include Rolls-Royce, Bentley, McLaren, Bugatti and Jaguar Land Rover.

The company also manufactures a range of motorsport and classic car parts and, to lessen a potential over-reliance on the automotive sector, has diversified its operations by designing and manufacturing products for the marine and furniture markets.

Many products manufactured by Luzzo Bespoke, especially for its luxury car customers, are supplied as ‘finished’ products with all manufacturing and assembly taking place at its Brackley facility.

“We are a ‘one-stop shop’ design and manufacturing solutions provider,” states Challenger. “In addition to our comprehensive machining capabilities, we provide a range of other manufacturing and finishing services and specialisms in-house, which include wood veneering, laser engraving/marking, spray painting and polishing.”

Bringing all these services and specialisms under one roof helps the company maintain its high-quality standards, and keep control of its operational costs and customer delivery schedules.

“We made a conscious decision some years ago to avoid outsourcing,” he says. “This move has helped us become more competitive and provided positive market differentiation.”

A good example that helps highlight the range of Luzzo Bespoke’s in-house capabilities is the Rolls-Royce Champagne Chest. Part of Rolls-Royce’s accessories portfolio, the chest, made from machined aluminium and carbon fibre, comes wrapped in natural grain black leather and oak. The chest opens at the touch of a button, with the illuminated central bay exhibiting four hand-blown crystal champagne flutes, which Rolls-Royce says are “arranged to evoke memories of a V12 engine”, and the owner’s choice of Champagne – kept at the ideal temperature thanks to black anodised aluminium and carbon-fibre coolers.

For further information
www.gfms.com

Matsuura Machinery Ltd expands UK facility

Matsuura Machinery Ltd, based in Coalville, is significantly expanding the company’s operational capacity following the purchase of the site adjacent to its existing facility.

The additional premises, covering 1 acre, which possesses 11,500 sq ft of space, consists of a large showroom, substantial office space, stores and a loading dock. Matsuura will fully refurbish the site over the next two years. The company says this expansion and investment is a demonstrative sign of its confidence in UK manufacturing, reflecting the current pressure at Matsuura Machinery Ltd for more operational capacity.

For further information www.matsuura.co.uk

Decom targets oil and gas industry

Decommissioning solutions specialist, Decom Engineering, is expanding its operations with a new base near Aberdeen, which will improve access to key oil and gas clients. The £200,000 investment will establish a test centre and office facility on the doorstep of Europe’s oil capital. Established in 2011, the Northern Ireland-based company offers technologies which provide greener, faster and safer solutions for decommissioning in the energy sector. For instance, the company’s PCR equipment can strip and clean decommissioned or surplus pipelines of multiple coatings ready for repurposing on other projects.

For further information
www.decomengineering.co.uk

AFRC opens in Sheffield

The University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, is opening an office in Sheffield. The development will provide local forging and forming houses with easy access to support from the AFRC, which is located near Glasgow Airport in the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland.

Supported by Sheffield City Council and operating out of an office on the Olympic Legacy Park, the AFRC’s new base will help South Yorkshire companies tap into the AFRC’s metallurgy capabilities, numerical and analytical process modelling tools, as well as some of the most advanced industry-scale forging and forming equipment in the world. The decision to open its first office outside of Scotland marks a crucial stage in the centre’s evolution as it continues to build strong relationships with the UK forging community.

For further information
https://is.gd/ezuhan

Grinding true to form with Okamoto

Leicester-based Taylor Hobson is a globally renowned, ultra-precision technology specialist operating at the highest levels of accuracy within the field of surface and form metrology. The company’s advanced grinding capabilities enable the manufacture of components with industry-leading surface finish, straightness and form standards. The latest addition to Taylor Hobson’s grinding department is an Okamoto 208 ACC-CHiQ double-column surface and profile grinding machine from DF Precision Machinery.

“In order to achieve the required stability and ultra-precision performance, we installed our new Okamoto grinder on a 0.8 m concrete foundation, with a further 14 piles that reach deep into the bedrock beneath the machine,” explains Mark Bent, chief manufacturing engineer at Taylor Hobson. “Our challenging flatness value target across the entire working surface of the new machine was to reach a sub 2 µm figure. Following the machine’s installation and precise adjustments by the installation engineers, we were delighted to achieve a flatness value of just 1.2 µm.”

He adds: “Our choice of machine, its solid foundations, the fine-tuning of its working surface and the skill of our staff, has resulted in our ability to achieve remarkable levels of grinding flatness. For example, we now grind our 600 mm long columns to a straightness value of 0.5 µm. In addition to the precision of the Okamoto ACC-CHiQ, the machine’s speed is enabling us to boost production efficiency.”

Used throughout the world in some of the most challenging grinding applications, Okamoto’s ACC-CHiQ series of double-column machines satisfy the demands for high-accuracy grinding while also providing the production speeds required by today’s manufacturers. As the accuracy of a double-column grinding machine depends largely on the precision of its cross-rail, Okamoto has developed a novel cross-rail mechanism that facilitates small mechanical adjustments following a machine’s installation.

For further information
www.dfpmach.com