Automation futureproofs business at Unitrunk

A UK specialist in the design and manufacture of cable management solutions has invested in shop-floor automation as it looks to capture further market share and spur even more growth. Unitrunk, which is based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, says recent investments in automated Amada technology are saving time and introducing greater levels of flexibility at this progressive and ambitious engineering business.

“Our growth over the past decade has been driven through production efficiency on the shop floor, as well as manufacturing automation, without any increase in additional labour,” states process engineer Mark Cartmill.
A recent case in point is the installation of the Amada CS stockyard automation system, linked to two Amada EM series punch presses (one existing and one new) that are fed by LIII loaders and unloaded by TK-3015R part picker/removal units.
“Previously we had stand-alone punch presses with Amada MP load/unload systems, but with the CS stockyard we now have no waiting for material to arrive or leave,” says Cartmill. “In addition, we can process a much wider range of material without any manual intervention whatsoever.”
The system offers full unmanned production, easy stock management, part picking/stacking and, with the addition of the new Amada EM-3612ZR T punch press, full automated tool selection in approximately 10 seconds (in hidden time while the sheet is running), providing high levels of flexibility.
Unitrunk completed a thorough review process, assessing a number of stockyard automation systems before opting for the Amada CS from a final shortlist of two. The company is currently in the process of writing upwards of 15,000 programs for the new system, but is hopeful this task will be complete within 12 months.
For further information www.amada.co.uk

High-pressure waterjet deburring

Ecoclean has introduced EcoCvelox, which offers high-pressure waterjet deburring combined with low-pressure cleaning processes, in a one-piece flow system.

Process-reliably and repeatable quality when it comes to deburred and cleaned parts are crucial for the success of subsequent processes such as bonding, sealing and assembly, as well as for perfect product function. With the completely new system concept EcoCvelox, Ecoclean introduces a flexible, modular solution for cost-efficient, high-pressure waterjet deburring and cleaning in a single procedure.
The process-dependent, configurable and expandable machine with integrated linear transport system enables the processing of parts with dimensions up to 200 x 200 x 200 mm in cycle times of only 15 seconds per palette. An integrated CADCAM interface allows for quick and easy programming of the high-pressure deburring process, either with a single spindle or a high-pressure turret featuring up to five tools.
In combination with a system for parts handling, process operations for new workpieces can be implemented in short timeframes, says the company. Component cleaning and drying can be carried out by means of injection flood washing, spraying, controlled rinsing and ultrasound, as well as high-speed blowing and vacuum drying. Furthermore, the system can be loaded automatically with a robot or portal system, as well as manually.
For further information https://ecoclean-group.net/

Coupling suits laser cutters

CadCam Technology, which provides laser cutting machines to the automotive, medical, military and education sectors, ensures the precision of its machines by using Huco Flex M couplings.

Thin-pressed, heat-treated steel membranes allow the Flex M to help tolerate and compensate for any slight misalignment, with torque resolved to simple tensile stresses in opposing segments of the membranes. In the double-stage version specified by CadCam Technology, the two membranes provide even greater misalignment capacity, which effectively insulates the laser element from any transmitted stresses the shaft may produce, maintaining a precise cut during operation.
This capability is highly advantageous, as the Huco coupling enables the accuracy of the X axis (the axis on which the laser moves) to be maintained by its action on the driveshaft. As a result, machine accuracy is kept to within 0.025 mm.
Huco’s Flex M coupling sees use on CadCam Technology’s certified Class 1 machines, which use water or air-cooled CO2 lasers. Software controls the adjustment of both cutting speed and laser power output, which results in a fine, accurate depth of cut. In addition, closed-loop servo motors and hardened steel rails combine to provide precision movements with up to 2G of acceleration.
High-speed operation is supported by the Flex M’s dynamically balanced construction, which delivers a maximum speed of up to 5,000 rpm. Torque range extends from 0.9 to 11.3 Nm. In addition, the coupling’s kinematic properties and its low bearing loads ensure that it places minimal stress on associated components and assemblies, safeguarding overall service life of the machine. These characteristics mean the Flex M is suitable for dynamic position and velocity control systems, making it a popular choice in precision applications across the engineering spectrum.
For further information www.huco.com

ITI success

Seco’s recent ‘Inspiration through Innovation’ manufacturing best-practice event, which focused exclusively on the aerospace sector, attracted a total of 747 visitors over the two days.

Says Mike Fleming, Seco’s strategic marketing, products and services manager: “Over 22% of visitors were from outside the UK. We welcomed people from as far afield as China, South Korea, Australia, India and the US, as well as from mainland Europe. We deliberately targeted this year’s event at key decision makers in aerospace component manufacturing companies.
For further information www.secotools.com

Milling times cut by a quarter

David Watt, owner of subcontractor DW Engineering, has trebled the size of his business since the beginning of the decade, with most of that growth taking place last year, when turnover doubled. He puts this success partly down to winning contracts for machining batch sizes up to 10 times larger than previously, which he largely fulfils using four Hurco vertical machining centres. Orders are now frequently received for thousands-off rather than hundreds.

New work in the electronics and gas detection sectors has been secured, as well as in the resurgent oil and gas industry, while 80% of throughput is repeat business, some of which has been retained practically since the company was formed.
A further contributor to increased turnover and indeed profitability is Adaptipath high-speed machining software, which includes novel routines for rest-material removal in the latest version of Hurco’s WinMAX conversational control. Program cycles are significantly faster, especially when pocket milling.
Established in 2005 in Blantyre, near Hamilton, the subcontractor started using Hurco equipment from the outset with the purchase of a machining centre of nominally half-metre-cube capacity, and two CNC knee-type mills.

Together with a Hurco VM10 machining centre acquired five years later, these four machines were subsequently traded in for three of Hurco’s latest VM10i CNC vertical machining centres. One arrived in 2018 and was joined by two more this year. Additionally, there remains on the shop floor a smaller Hurco VM1 with 4th axis purchased in 2009, as well as a bar-fed Hurco TM8 CNC lathe that was installed six years later.
The Hurco VM10i offers travels of 660 x 406 x 508 mm in the X, Y and Z axes respectively, with a spindle nose to table distance of 102 mm. The 762 x 406 mm table is designed to span the entire Y axis, providing sufficient flexibility to produce a high mix of parts. Table loads of up to 340 kg can be accommodated. The machine is served by a 10,000 rpm spindle offering a power output of 11 kW and torque of 73.6 Nm at 1450 rpm. A rapid traverse rate of 24 m/min is offered in all three axes. Also provided as standard is an electric, side-mounted, 20-tool ATC. The swing-arm design means the ATC stays out the way, maximising the size of the work cube.
Comparing the performance of the nine-year-old VM1 with that of his three modern, slightly larger capacity Hurco VM10i vertical machining centres, Watt refers to an aluminium housing for an electronics industry customer that he has produced in two operations on both types of machine.

On the earlier model running a previous release of WinMAX programming software that included Ultipocket milling routines, the total cycle time was 165 minutes. However, that was before Hurco introduced Ultimotion software to control axis movements on its machines, without relying on hardware-based motion control. This addition has helped to reduce the cycle time for producing the electronics housing to 120 minutes, a saving of more than 27%.
Contributing especially to this increase in efficiency is the Adaptipath pocket-milling software with its new rest machining routines. The conversational pocketing feature is a module within Ultipocket in WinMax 10, mirroring that used in high-end CAD systems. This feature smooths the motion of the tool path and keeps chip load between a user-defined maximum and minimum, improving surface finish and extending tool life.
In addition to the two standard pocketing cycles involving inward and outward spiralling of the cutter, Adaptipath includes two extra rest machining routines, zig-zag and one-way, both of which involve alternate periods of climb milling. The amount of material encountered by the cutter is controlled, often allowing a full depth of cut rather than peck level milling, for higher metal removal rates that Watt says can be up to double.
With rest machining, a larger diameter tool than usual is used after roughing to remove most of the remaining unwanted material efficiently, followed by a finishing pass that automatically swaps the tool for a smaller diameter cutter to reach areas of the feature which the larger rest milling tool is unable to access. Watt considers this to offer a six to eight fold speed increase compared with previous machining methodology.
Looking back at his company’s progress over the past 14 years, he says: “The variety of materials we are asked to process is vast, ranging from stainless and mild steel, through titanium, copper, bronze, brass and aluminium, to PTFE, PEEK, acetal and nylon. Accuracies of ±0.1 mm are routinely achieved, but some parts have drawing tolerances down to ±10 µm.

“We have never needed a CAM system to prepare programs for the Hurco machining centres, as the on-board conversational software is so powerful at creating the cutter paths – and there is no need for post processing,” explains Watt. “If any particularly complex geometry is included in a CAD model supplied by a customer, we use AutoCAD or SolidWorks to produce a DXF file that WinMAX imports directly.
“The Hurco machines, which continue to evolve and improve, have supported our diverse work and underpinned our success,” he concludes. “They are key to our ability to offer top-quality work, quick turnaround times and competitive prices.”
For further information www.hurco.co.uk