Installation by Citizen Machinery of a fixed-head Miyano BNE51-MSY twin-spindle, twin-turret turning centre at electrical wiring conduit manufacturer ABB Cable Management Product, Coleshill, is heralding a fundamental change in the way the company turn-mills its cable end fittings.

Cycle time savings of up to 70% with more to come, reductions in manufacturing cost, scrap and returns, and elimination of the need to outsource 10% of production to subcontractors, will combine to amortise the cost of the Miyano well within 18 months of its installation in January 2019. Manufacturing unit manager Andrew Fellows describes this payback time on a major item of capital expenditure as “brilliant”.
“In the first two weeks of the Miyano arriving, we transferred on to the new machine the manufacture of four fast-moving products, all of which benefitted from drilling on both end faces simultaneously at the main and counter spindles,” says Felllows. “Average cycle time saving was 59%, while the largest reduction was 70% in the case of a conduit fitting that previously required 133 seconds to produce. The turn-mill cycle now takes 40 seconds on the Miyano.”
Senior operator Dan Gardner says: “We’ve only taken advantage so far of cutting with two tools at a time, but the superimposition function in the Mitsubishi M730VS control, coupled with Y-axis movement of the upper turret and X-axis travel of the counter spindle, allows three tools to be in cut at the same time.
“After five days’ training from Citizen, both on- and off-site, we carried out a time study on a complex fitting that will see an 80% reduction in cycle time, from 230 to 46 seconds.”
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

German machine-tool manufacturer Index has introduced the second generation of its G200 turn-mill centre for the complete machining of components from bar or billet.

Available in the UK through sole agent Kingsbury, the machine offers extensive improvements, including increased turning length, up from 400 to 660 mm, a second lower tool carrier and a higher power milling spindle.
Providing cycle-time reductions of up to 30%, the compact machine offers significantly improved performance in a footprint virtually the same as that of its predecessor. New also is the vertical orientation of the heavily ribbed, low-vibration cast bed, which optimises chip flow and provides more space in the working area, especially for the lower tool turrets. Arranged in mirror image, each has an independent, ±45 mm Y axis, as well as 14 live tool stations rated at 16 kW/16 Nm and 7200 rpm maximum speed.
The identical main and counter motor spindles are fluid-cooled, have a bar capacity of 65 mm and a chuck diameter of 165 mm. Rated at 31.5/32 kW and 125/170 Nm, they provide rotational speeds of up to 6000 rpm.
A notable feature is the upper tool carrier, which has a ±65 mm Y axis and a 360° B axis. On one side there is a tool turret with another 14 positions, and on the other an HSK-A40 milling spindle. The spindle’s drive comes with a considerable increase in speed. Whereas the previous G200 was limited to 2000 rpm, the latest 22 kW/52 Nm version provides speeds up to 7200 rpm.
For maximum productivity, it is possible to utilise all three turrets simultaneously at either the main spindle or counter spindle, without interference.
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com