Editor’s Pick

Open house at Axe & Status

Axe & Status Machinery Ltd is hosting an open house at its headquarters and showroom in Holdom Avenue, Bletchley this week (Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 May). Running from 10:30 to 16:30 both days, the event will showcase the many benefits of high-performance machinery such as ACCURL 2D and 3D tube laser cutting systems for tubes, pipes and profiles. Also present will be the compact ACCURL SMART Cube fibre laser cutting system for sheet components. 

Other machines in action at the Axe & Status open house will include ACCURL CNC press brakes and ACCURL CNC guillotine shears. Refreshments and a buffet lunch will be available on both days of the event. Visitors planning to attend can register by calling 01908 647707 or sending an email to sarah.ward@axestatus.com (please express preferred day).

More information www.axestatus.com

Quick-change system for static turning tools

A system for exchanging static turning tools quickly and easily in the turret of a fixed-head turning centre has been introduced by German manufacturer EWS Weigele, whose products are sold in Britain exclusively by GEWEFA UK. The new Varia.VXT quick-change system joins the Varia.VX range introduced a few years ago for the rapid exchange of driven tools in lathes. Existing users of the latter tool holders can utilise a special VXT interchangeable insert to allow the cost-effective incorporation of fast static tool changes into the same turn-mill centres and multi-tasking lathes.

Designed specifically for repeatability, precision and stability during turning operations, the VXT mechanism is particularly compact, enabling machining to take place very close to the turret and subsequently allowing extra flexibility when programming cutting cycles. The holder also exhibits high rigidity, which is important when cutting with the component rotating to prevent deflection of the tool tip and discourage chatter.

At the heart of the tool-holding innovation is a double-cone flex system with widely spaced support points. Elasticity designed into the second cone in the rear part of the adapter, combined with additional clamping screws in the shank area, gives the system its damping properties, minimising vibration and maximising tool life. The dual face and taper fit of the tool holder in the EWS interface, which is mounted in the turret, ensures not only high torque transmission but also precise orientation of the tool tip.

Repeatability of tool positioning is ±2 µm and transmissible torque is up to 160 Nm with the VXT3 interface, or 200 Nm with the larger VXT4, although these figures are likely to be revised upwards following ongoing tests. Maximum through-tool coolant pressure is 80 bar.

More information www.gewefa.co.uk

Kasto system helps automate machining centres

Storage system and sawing machine manufacturer Kasto, through its UK and Ireland subsidiary, is expanding into a new area of activity with the launch of the UNITOWER cnc. This tower storage and retrieval system automates the transfer of plates carrying fixtured workpieces to machining centres, as well as the return of machined components to the store.

Suitable for automating one or more machines of virtually any make, the tower can hold fixtured components of considerable size on multiple levels in a compact footprint to a height of up to 20 m. Operators are able to prepare fresh fixtured workpieces on plates at separate adjacent set-up stations while machining is in progress. In this way, costly downtime is eliminated and productivity and profitability are raised by allowing the entire system, including high-value machine tools, to operate for extended periods.

Each shelf measuring 3 x 1.5 m in the tower accommodates one or two plates, depending on the size of the fixtured workpiece, while load height is anywhere up to 1.7 m, subject to a maximum supported weight per shelf of 5 tonnes. The plates have a zero-point clamping system on the underside for precise location on the pallets of twin-pallet-change machining centres, which saves the cost of having multiple expensive machine pallets in the system.

An overhead gantry crane in the tower automatically accesses a plate loaded with fixtured workpieces, which is transferred to the locations assigned by the controller via shuttle units and roller tracks configured to suit the application. In comparison with a paternoster system, the gantry crane has the advantage that only the targeted shelf is moved, rather than all of them, ensuring fast access times and saving energy.

More information www.kasto.com

Subcontractor takes control with XYZ bed mill

Manufacturing parts used in everything from bakeries and canning lines to subsea submersibles, betting shops and poodle parlours, Leeds-based Industrial Plastics Supplies makes products that are used in the unlikeliest of places and is now aided in its production with the acquisition of a new XYZ RMX 4000 bed mill.

“The need to invest in a CNC milling machine came after we looked at our costings and lead times,” reveals managing director Chris Luty. “Although we had two routers, there was a limitation on thickness of cut, which often left us with no choice but to outsource. Having done the sums, we decided to purchase a machine that could do thicker work in-house.”

Following a recommendation, Industrial Plastics Supplies contacted XYZ.

“XYZ came in to see us straight away, taking the time to look at our work and even provide some cycle time estimations using XYZ bed mills,” says Luty. “After a subsequent visit to the XYZ showroom in Huddersfield we decided to go for the RMX 4000. Delivering 5.75 kW to the ISO40 spindle through a two-speed head ensures the cutting capability is vastly superior to our routing machines.”

He adds: “The machine, moving at 10 m/min rapid traverse, has reduced our non-cutting times tremendously, while the defaults feature in the ProtoTRAK control allows us to set up the machine exactly the way we want to work. It fills in some of the prompts automatically during conversational programming and helps minimise any mistakes as we go. But still one of the greatest things on the ProtoTRAK control is the TRAKing feature. The ability to wind the handles, which in turn run the program, is so confidence inspiring.”

More information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Automating material handling and storage

Architectural Grille manufactures in its Brooklyn, New York City factory an extensive range
of custom architectural metalwork from materials that include aluminium, brass, bronze,
steel and stainless steel. With such a wide variety of sheet metals to process, the company
wanted to streamline storage of its large inventory of materials, with an eye to optimising
material flow and maintaining operator safety.
For the solution it turned to KASTO, installing UNITOWER and KASTOecostore tower storage
systems. The systems were deemed the ideal way to alleviate the previous inefficient
manual storage arrangement. Architectural Grille has now significantly improved its logistics
processes, enhancing both efficiency and safety at its workstations.
More information www.kasto.com