Sunnen relocates BTA Heller

Last year’s acquisition of BTA Heller by Sunnen now sees the BTA Heller division relocated to Sunnen’s long-time headquarters in St Louis.

Sunnen says that the move will allow further development of deep-hole tooling, systems and processes for precision bore applications. The relocation from Troy, Michigan will be completed by 31 March, with key personnel making the switch.
“The transfer of knowledge between the two companies has already created unique value propositions, and Sunnen’s strong sales and service network will deliver this expertise to our customers,” says Chris Miltenberger, Sunnen president and COO.
For further information www.sunnen.com

Chester Machine Tools meets WWETB needs

As specialists in the supply of machines to the education market, Chester Machine Tools (via Irish partner Central Technology Supplies) recently provided CNC and conventional machines to the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB) in Ireland.

The machines supplied were a Chester EDU360 CNC lathe and a Chester V6L Delta three-axis CNC machining centre, both of which were installed in the education workshop facilities to help young engineers complete their prototyping and design projects utilising the latest technology.
Chester’s engineers undertook the final commissioning and training on site at the WWETB facilities as part of the company’s ongoing support package to education customers. The installation of these machines follows recent Chester machine installations in Ireland of a CNC mini machining centre at the Institute of Technology in Tallaght, Dublin, and 16 conventional lathes and turret
milling machines at the Regional Skills and
Training Centre in Dundalk.
For further information www.chestermachinetools.com

Guhring UK business is “Brexit ready”

Guhring UK has confirmed that it is ready for the looming ‘deadline day’ of Brexit and, regardless of the outcome, the company is in position to ensure there is no impact on the UK customer base.

Nadia Rose Performs at the Birmingham Pride Weekender 2017 in Birmingham UK, 27/05/2017

Guhring UK’s managing director Chris Weston says: “If we get a deal or remain in Europe, there will be no change to business and we can all continue as before. If there is no deal, Guhring is still in a fantastic position. We have large stock levels on the shelves in the UK, which are full of standard product lines. Also, as we manufacture and service here in the UK, this strengthens our position even more.”
For further information www.guhring.co.uk

Another machining cell at Alcon

When Tamworth-based Alcon Components was awarded a contract to supply the lightweight monobloc brake calipers for a new hybrid electric hypercar, the subcontractor turned to Kingsbury to supply an automated, turnkey machining cell that would produce the aluminium components.

Comprising a Hermle C32U five-axis machining centre fed with pallets from an Erowa Robot Easy 250 automated storage and handling system, the cell has already started producing calipers, as the job had previously been proved out on a near-identical cell installed in 2016. Essentially, the only difference is that the latest machine has extended tool capacity.
The hypercar has one brake caliper per wheel, the set of four requiring in excess of 24 hours to be machined from solid aluminium billets. Four operations are needed: pre-milling on another vertical machining centre, op 1 on the Hermle C32U, transfer back to the other machining centre for simple boring cycles, and finish machining on the C32U. Fully Interpolative five-axis machining of freeform surfaces accounts for less than 10% of cycles on the Hermle machine, with 4+1 and 3+2 strategies used
wherever possible.
A limited number of road-going hypercars will be produced, while a few track-only versions are also planned. Alcon is responsible for the full foundation brake system, pedal box and actuation, as well as a number of precision chassis components. When the contract has been completed, Alcon will split its ongoing production of calipers for high-performance road cars, race cars and defence vehicles between the two automated Hermle-Erowa C32U cells. A smaller C20U on the shop floor, purchased in 2007 with an Erowa automated pallet storage offset to the side rather than positioned directly in front of the machine, will then be reserved for producing prototypes.
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

Entry-level five-axis machining centre

Machine shops looking to progress from three- or four-axis CNC prismatic metalcutting and invest in a five-axis facility can now consider the affordable UQ400 vertical-spindle machining centre from Wele of Taiwan, whose machine tools have been offered in the UK and Ireland since mid-2018 under a sole agency agreement with Whitehouse Machine Tools. Wele is part-owned by Japanese machine tool manufacturer, Toyoda.

Wele’s UQ400 has an installed weight of 6.5 tonnes and occupies a compact footprint of 2.95 x 2.35 m. Capable of interpolating four of the five axes simultaneously, it is intended for the five-face machining of workpieces weighing up to 200 kg (with fixture). A Fanuc 0iMF control allows an easy gateway into five-axis operations for users more familiar with this CNC system than others on the market.
The working envelope is defined by 400 x 650 x 485 mm ballscrew-driven travels in X, Y and Z, together with two rotary, hydraulically clamped axes, which are facilitated by a 360° C-axis table and a +30/-120° A-axis swivelling trunnion.
The BT40 direct-drive spindle, served with cutters exchanged from a 24-station tool magazine, offers 11 kW of continuous power (15 kW for 30 minutes) and speeds up to 12,000 rpm, or optionally 15,000 or 20,000 rpm (HSK-A63). High production output is assured by a cutting feed rate of 10 m/min, and rapids of 36 m/min in X, 24 m/min in Y and 10 m/min in Z.
Standard equipment includes chip wash-down for the table and twin augers in the Y axis, plus one in the X axis to evacuate swarf, while bed wash-down and different styles of chip conveyor are available.
For further information www.wmtcnc.com