Within six months, Schuler Service repaired two machines damaged in a fire at the plant of Mühlhoff Umformtechnik in Uedem, Germany. Now, part production on a new 2000-tonne press from the Schuler TSD series can also start on time at the automotive supplier. In the record-breaking time of just 12 months, Schuler delivered the line, assembled it at the customer’s site, and provided quick commissioning to keep downtime to a minimum.

As the drive components with long delivery times were already in transit, Schuler was able to shorten the time to commissioning by a quarter of a year – and this despite the fact that experts on site had to contend with challenges such as the foundation, which was designed for the previous and significantly smaller 800-tonne line.

“With our decades of experience in press construction and the necessary flexibility, we always succeed in overcoming these challenges,” says Schuler managing director Frank Klingemann.

“We had been discussing such an investment for some time,” adds Christian Pennekamp, production and project manager at Mühlhoff. “When we could no longer manufacture from one day to the next, this future-oriented step was implemented.”

The firm’s courage has paid off: orders have already been received for the largest system to date and the run on the system “continues to be great”, reports Matthias Stockmans, head of sales and development.

Mühlhoff managing directors Markus Wermers and Pascal Hagemann also attach high importance to the latest technologies. The line features some solutions from Schuler’s ‘Digital Suite’ for process monitoring and predictive maintenance.

For further information
www.schulergroup.com

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has reported that its Q1 sales performance has been strong, with managing director Kevin Gilbert acknowledging that machine-tool orders, “whilst not at pre-pandemic levels, were certainly not far off”.

He adds: “Clearly there was some apprehension at the beginning of the year but, after a difficult 2020, it does look as though manufacturing in the UK and Ireland is bouncing back. What was, and still is apparent, is the sustained demand for our DVF five-axis machining centres, and for our SMX and MX multi-tasking mill-turn machines. As a result, it’s fair to say that we are cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the year.”

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

XYZ Machine Tools says it is breaking sales records with its start to 2021. The company reported its highest order intake for 18 months in February, only for March to exceed that figure. In the last week of March alone, the deliveries of over 30 machines took place. XYZ says that the first quarter of 2021 has proved to be very encouraging and, with the benefit of the Government’s ‘super deduction’ incentive for capital equipment, the company is hopeful that this positive trend will continue.

“February and March have been extremely encouraging, and are confirmation of the positive conversations we’ve been having with customers since the end of 2020,” says Nigel Atherton, managing director of XYZ Machine Tools. “The increase in business has meant we’ve reinstated overtime in the factory and employed additional staff for machine assembly, with further recruitment in the pipeline.”

For further information
www.xyzmachinetools.com

Despite the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions, Newbury-based precision subcontractor Cadmatic Engineering Services is demonstrating its resolve and ambition by investing in a new Doosan multi-tasking lathe from Mills CNC.

The 8” chuck Lynx 2100LMB is equipped with a 15 kW/4500 rpm main spindle, driven tooling capability (3.7 kW/6000 rpm), a tailstock and the latest Fanuc i series control with a 15” touchscreen. As part of the investment, the Lynx lathe also features a CNC bar puller.

Since its arrival in December 2020, the Lynx 2100LMB has been machining a range of press tool components, such as pins, pillars and shanks, for press tools used in the automotive industry. The Lynx is also machining a diverse range of press tool replacement parts, as well as associated jigs and fixtures and, increasingly, low-to-medium volume production of small, high-precision parts.

Says director and co-owner Mark Humphrey: “We needed to improve our turning capabilities but, rather than just acquire additional like-for-like capacity, we decided to invest in a compact, multi-tasking machine that, with its integrated driven tooling functionality, could machine precision parts in one hit – helping us reduce cycle times and lead times.

“I particularly like the Doosan machine’s fast turret indexing, which helps reduce cycle times, and the machine control’s 15” touchscreen, which doesn’t just look the part, but improves visibility and facilitates fast and more reliable data input,” he adds. “Mills were able to supply the Lynx lathe with a large Grippall CNC bar puller, which has enabled us to use the machine for bar work and run it unattended during the day shift.”

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

A new white paper from Soraluce sets out how to maximise productivity when manufacturing parts for industrial vehicles and forestry machinery, including bulldozers, harvesters, forwarders and mobile cranes. In these demanding applications, the development of technologically advanced manufacturing solutions that reduce machining times and offer high availability and accuracy is key to meeting the sector’s production challenges.

Machine tool manufacturer Soraluce (represented in the UK and Ireland by long-term partner Ward CNC) offers a range of machining solutions to manufacture industrial vehicle parts. Thanks to its development of milling solutions, and expertise and experience in machining, Soraluce is able to deliver customised machine tools adapted to each application. Based on this knowledge, the company has produced a new white paper, revealing the keys to improving productivity in the machining of industrial vehicle components.

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