On stand J275, Kasto will exhibit the smallest model in its range of eight KASTOwin automatic bandsaws.
The KASTOwin 3.3 has a maximum cutting capacity of 330 mm, which rises to over 1 m for the largest model. KASTOwin bandsaws feature a frequency-controlled drive that enables cutting speeds of 12 to 150 m/min. The saw band is hydraulically tightened and looped around hydraulic band guides that have interchangeable carbide inserts, saving the cost of replacing an entire carbide guide. Kasto’s touch-screen SmartControl monitors and controls all relevant order requirements and sawing parameters.
For further information www.kasto.com
At the Kent facility of AD Engineering, a five-figure funding injection from NatWest has seen the company invest in a Muratec MT100i/T2 twin-spindle turning centre to manufacture essential metalwork components that form part of wider engineering structures.
Investment in the CNC machine will enable AD Engineering to meet existing client demands, and help the business operate more effectively and efficiently.
AD Engineering specialises in precision, multi-axis CNC machining for the subsea, aerospace, space and transport sectors. Founded in 1993, the company has consistently adapted its business model to ensure growth and sustainability, including investment in sophisticated CNC technologies. Under the stewardship of owner and managing director Carlos Forlese, the business has plans to grow its workforce to meet increasing demand for international orders.
“Agility has been key to the success of our business, and regular investment in the latest CNC technologies helps ensure we stay ahead of the game,” he says. “NatWest has been invaluable both in its support and the funding it has provided. They had a unique understanding of our business needs and the whole process was smooth from start to finish. Over the next 12 months we plan to grow our business even further, increasing capacities and investing in our workforce.”
Lucas Douch, relationship manager at NatWest, adds: “AD Engineering is a perfect example of a firm which is willing to invest and diversify in order to ensure business longevity. The funding we have provided will not only enable the business to meet current demand, but develop new opportunities and support job creation in the local area.”
For further information www.business.natwest.com
Having worked for several years at two of Scotland’s leading bagpipe manufacturers, Geordie Hunter decided in 2014 that the time was right for him to become his own boss.
Hunter duly started his business, Maverick Ltd, in a small industrial unit with a manual lathe producing practice chanters, an essential accessory for any budding or experienced bagpipe player.
As the only manufacturer of coloured chanters, Maverick’s reputation grew and sales both in the home market and overseas – to countries such as the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Germany and Denmark – quickly developed. With the increase in business it became obvious that further investment would have to be made to keep up with demand, a notion which saw the arrival in May 2018 of an XYZ SLX 1630 ProTURN lathe.
The immediate impact of the SLX lathe was that much of the subcontracted work could be brought back in-house, with lead times now virtually non-existent for machining parts. With the arrival of this XYZ lathe, Hunter was able to expand further by taking on his first employee to help with some of the initial manufacturing processes, such as blocking out the laminate for turning.
“One major advantage of the XYZ SLX lathe is the time it gives back to me; it is the equivalent of having another full-time member of staff, but at half the cost,” he says. “Without the SLX lathe I couldn’t have developed the business in the way I have. The subcontract turning we are now taking on is growing to such an extent that it almost matches the turnover from the chanter work, which is great from a business sense as we are no longer reliant on a single market.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com
Yamazaki Mazak (stand J220) will be exhibiting its Integrex i-400S multi-tasking machining centre, which features a newly designed 1500 mm machining bed, offering higher performance machining and greater workpiece capacity than any other multi-tasking machines in its size range, says the company.
At the heart of the machine is a 30 kW, 3300 rpm main spindle, supported by a 26 kW 4000 rpm second spindle, which combine to machine workpieces up to 658 mm in diameter and 1519 mm in length.
The Integrex i-400S is equipped with the company’s SmoothX CNC, which not only contributes to improved cycle times, but can reduce programming and set-up times, it is claimed. Alan Mucklow, managing director UK and Ireland sales division at Yamazaki Mazak, says: “Our Integrex i-400S combines the capabilities of a high-powered turning centre and full-function machining centre to produce a range of complex parts, from fully prismatic to round or highly contoured components, in a single set-up. The i-400S can be used across small batch prototype work, in addition to volume production.”
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk
GF Machining Solutions has supplied Renault F1 Team with two bespoke five-axis machining centres for the accurate and safe machining of epoxy resin patterns, carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts and Rohacell foam core components.
To cope with the different demands of machining composite materials, both machines were significantly modified and supplied with integrated, high-efficiency extraction systems, as well as fully enclosed and sealed working areas. The machine modifications were implemented seamlessly as part of the long-standing technical partnership agreement that exists between the two companies.
The two Mikron HPM 1350U machines have been installed at Renault F1 Team’s manufacturing facility in Enstone, Oxfordshire, within the team’s expanding Composites Department. Both machines were acquired, initially, to machine high-precision patterns (made from epoxy resin tooling board), which are used to make moulds for CFRP body parts.
However, owing to the machines’ versatility and performance attributes, the HPM 1350Us are also being used (now) to machine carbon inserts, and Rohacell foam (used as a structural filler to strengthen CFRP parts), as well as a range of jigs and fixtures.
The decision to invest in the two Mikron HPM 1350U machines was made as a direct result of accuracy issues being experienced in Renault F1 Team’s Composites Department, and the inability of existing equipment to meet increasingly stringent part precision requirements.
Explains Renault F1 Team’s composites manager Keith Dunsby: “We are committed to continuous improvement and striving for excellence. So, when it became apparent to us in 2016 that two of our machines were not able to meet the accuracy and repeatability requirements demanded by our design engineers, we acted quickly to rectify the situation.
“Since being installed, the machines have been working around the clock – including at weekends – and haven’t missed a beat. From struggling to hit 0.5 mm positional accuracies previously, we are now, since investing in the HPM 1350U machines, achieving 0.1 mm accuracies or better.”
The working envelope of the HPM 1350U machines (1350 x 1150 x 700 mm) enables Renault F1 Team to machine a majority (up to 60%) of these parts. For larger components, like the car chassis itself or a rear crash structure, Renault F1 Team relies on big gantry-type machines with a 4 x 3 m working area.
Renault F1 Team has a long-established technical partnership agreement with GF Machining Solutions. The partnership has been instrumental in Renault F1 Team investing, over recent years, in a number of AgieCharmilles wire and die-sink EDM machines, and Mikron five-axis machining centres. To address the accuracy issues being experienced in the Composites Department it was therefore natural that Renault F1 Team first approached GF Machining Solutions.
Explains Richard Ferguson, Renault F1 Team’s composites supervisor: “This was, to all intents and purposes, a different requirement in that previously, the Mikron machines acquired for the machine shop were for machining metal components. We explained the issues and our requirements to GF Machining Solutions and they recommended the HPM 1350U machines for their size, power, versatility and performance, but with a number of significant modifications to make them more suitable for machining composite parts.”
These modifications included the integration of a high-efficiency extraction system
on the table of the machines.
“Machining carbon fibre composites and Rohacell foam essentially creates a significant amount of dust,” says Ferguson. “This dust needs to be removed quickly and safely from the interior of the machine and the wider machining area and environment. Positioning the extraction units on the tables delivered an effective and optimal solution.”
The modifications to the HPM 1350U machines also included the removal of the swarf conveyors, enclosing the Y-axes and providing additional guarding to prevent dust ingress and escape. A final modification on both machines was the inclusion and integration of the more advanced Renishaw RMP600 – a compact workpiece probing system featuring radio signal transmission which, working in conjunction with Renault F1 Team’s MSP software, ensures improved process reliability, faster and more accurate set-ups, and reduced scrap.
Says Dunsby: “The customisation of the HPM 1350 machines demonstrates the power of the positive partnership, and the way in which specific needs can be quickly addressed and solved through collaboration, and by thinking outside the box.” Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Renault Sport F1 Team RS18. Japanese Grand Prix, Friday 5th October 2018. Suzuka, Japan.
The HPM 1350U machines’ arrival has enabled the Composites Department to improve its own productivity, as well as having a direct and positive impact on Renault F1 Team’s performance. The team finished fourth in the 2018 season’s Constructors’ Championship – two places higher than in 2017.
“Our HPM 1350U machines are reliable high-performance machines,” concludes Dunsby. “They are equipped with high-torque spindles that enable us to ramp-up feed rates and achieve big depths of cut which, as a result, have helped us improve our productivity levels, reduce part cycle times and meet tight lead times.
“The configuration of the machines also has a positive impact on productivity [and accuracy] as complex and intricate parts can be machined in fewer set-ups using 3+2 and full simultaneous five-axis machining operations,” he continues. “Although initially acquired to machine bodywork patterns, the machines’ versatility and all-round performance has meant that they are being used to machine a wide range and variety of parts, which has clearly resulted in a better ROI than was originally imagined.”
For further information www.gfms.com
