FEATURE ON CNC LATHES AND TURNING CENTRES

Efficient turning and milling of technical plastics

Ament plastics GmbH from Wernberg- Köblitz has been producing complex precision components from technical plastics since 2005. Long-standing customers from the automotive, medical and aerospace industries rely on the know-how of the 25-strong team, particularly its expertise in the machining of thermoset plastics. Components made from this material account for a good 70% of day-to-day business. Ament plastics has now purchased a CLX 450 TC from DMG Mori as part of its capacity expansion and process optimisation. Thanks to six-sided complete machining, the company is drastically reducing throughput times, achieving higher quality and increasing its flexibility.

“The CLX 450 TC is a milestone in our production: we now produce on one machine, instead of two machines with several manual re-clampings,” says company founder and CEO Klaus Ament.

Ament plastics relies on modern CNC technologies to machine often complex component geometries. Five-axis simultaneous milling and six-sided turning and milling are now standard. Erik Fleischmann, production manager, believes that complete machining on turn-mill centres is the right way forward: “The original production process involved at least two machines and repeat manual re-clamping. This takes much longer, ties up machine capacity and the accuracy is more variable.”

The investment in a CLX 450 TC was therefore a major milestone. Together with a colleague, Fleischmann was responsible for the acquisition of the turn-mill centre. Good experience with older turn-mill machines from Gildemeister led him to DMG Mori. The choice was between the CTX beta 800 TC and the CLX 450 TC.

“As space is limited, we opted for the smaller model,” he recalls. “Integrating several machining processes into one work area is a good way to expand capacity.”

More information www.dmgmori.com

Smithstown acquires Bumotec turn-mill centre

Machine tool manufacturer Starrag will present its latest innovations on stand T7 at the Manufacturing Solutions Ireland exhibition on 11-12 June. The stand’s centrepiece, a Starrag Bumotec 191neo turn-mill machine, will be delivered to Smithstown Light Engineering immediately after the show.

Smithstown opened its doors for business 50 years ago with just four toolmakers; today it has three manufacturing sites and over 285 employees. With two sites in Shannon and another in Rzeszow, Poland, Smithstown has invested in the Bumotec 191 to streamline its throughput and maximise efficiency.

The company transitioned to medical manufacturing in 1990, and it continually invests in the latest technology. This sees Smithstown work with clients such as Stryker, Boston Scientific, Zimmer Biomet and Cook Medical, to name but a few. Producing over 14 million components every year, the manufacturer adopts stringent quality measures that are a necessity for ultra-precision medical device parts used in life-saving surgery. It is here that the Bumotec 191neo will create an impact.

CEO Gerard Henn says: “We’ve been interested in Starrag machines for several years, and it was a case of finding the right opportunity for our business. The Bumotec 191 is perfect for small intricate turn-mill parts, and we bought it for a number of reasons. Primarily, it will support our NPI [New Product Introduction] team, which will eventually dovetail into production.”

At Manufacturing Solutions Ireland, Starrag experts attending the show will also be keen to discuss the merits of other solutions that include the Heckert H Compact and STC series of horizontal machining centres, as well as the new Droop+Rein FOGS HD, a six-axis overhead gantry-type machining centre.

More information www.starrag.com

New Star SR-20RIV Type E sliding-head lathe

Star Micronics is set to launch the SR-20RIV Type E, the latest evolution of its long-established SR-20RIV sliding-head lathe. Building on the success of the Type A and Type B variants, the new model has been developed to meet even broader application requirements across sectors such as automotive and medical manufacturing.

Since the original release of the SR-20RIV in 2012, over 2400 machines have been sold worldwide, thanks to key attributes like reliability and versatility. The new Type E introduces enhanced functionality with a customer-requested B-axis tool post capable of simultaneous four-axis control, enabling more complex machining tasks such as 3D milling. UK availability is scheduled from September 2025.

Alongside the powered tool unit featuring a B-axis with NC-programmable angle control, further features of note include a front-end gang-type tool post that incorporates Star’s proprietary uniform-load cross-guide structure. Here, eight linear guide bearings are evenly arranged around the guide bush, which is the cutting point where load generates during machining. By distributing the load evenly to eight linear guide bearings, the load applied to each linear guide bearing is minimised and tool post rigidity improves. The employment of this tool-post structure enables extended continuous operation with stable accuracy, while prolonging the service life of linear guide bearings.

Importantly, the machine can be switched between guide bush and non-guide bush configurations depending on part length. This capability optimises material use: guide bush mode offers support for long parts, while non-guide bush mode minimises bar remnants for short components, reducing waste and cost.

With capacity for up to 41 tools on a 27-position station, the Type E supports a wide range of complex and multi-process machining applications.

More information www.stargb.com

Turned parts subcontractor continues expansion

The installation in April 2025 at Dawson Precision Components of a Citizen Cincom L20-XLFV sliding-head lathe brings the subcontractor’s tally of CNC turn-mill centres to 21, most of which are bar-fed and feature driven tooling. This high-precision turned parts specialist is required by some customers to hold tolerances down to single-figure microns.


Dawson Precision’s additional Cincom lathe brings the proportion of sliding-head lathes – as distinct from fixed-head models – in its Oldham factory to nearly three-fifths, or more if taking into account a Citizen Miyano BNA-42GTY. This model is a hybrid fixed/sliding-head lathe capable of operating like a slider in guide bush-less mode, with the headstock able to move in and out of the working area.

A vast array of materials is machined by Dawson Precision Components for customers in the medical, life sciences, space, defence, communications, rail, motorsport, leisure and other sectors. They include plastics like PTFE, PEEK, acetal and nylon, which collectively account for up to 15% of production output. The ability of Citizen’s LFV operating system software to break what would normally be stringy swarf into short, manageable chips is a key reason for the subcontractor choosing the chip-breaking option on its three latest Cincoms, as well as the Miyano. It is similarly effective when turning copper and numerous types of aluminium.


Managing director Simon Dawson says: “There’s no doubt Citizen lathes last a long time – we have one on the shop floor that’s still producing components and holding tolerance after 25 years. Our policy, though, is to replace them regularly to take advantage of the higher productivity that modern, faster machines allow, as it makes it easier to compete for new work.”

More information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Advanced automation for sliding-head lathes

Iemca, a brand of Bucci Industries, has introduced its Boss Superfast+ bar magazine, a new solution that the company says enhances further the performance of sliding-head lathes. Process automation and userfriendliness have been the guiding principles in its design, ensuring optimised cycle times and performance.

The new Boss model configuration includes an innovative feature to notify the remaining bar quantity in the single-rack magazine. This information is displayed on the new operator panel, exclusive to Superfast+, which features a capacitive touchscreen and a completely redesigned HMI interface. Additionally, the notification is immediately visible through the illumination of one of the machine’s signal tower lights.

The operator receives alerts at two stages: when an intermediate bar stock level is reached, and when the last bar is being processed, signalling an empty magazine. These notifications simplify workshop operations, allowing for more efficient material replenishment and maintenance scheduling.

To enhance further the ‘Plus’ variant of the Boss model, automatic adjustment of the single-rack magazine based on the bar diameter and shape ensures instant time savings. In the standard version, the operator must manually intervene and verify the adjustment. With motorised regulation, users simply input the diameter value on the operator panel, and the magazine automatically adjusts, eliminating manual operations and significantly reducing downtime.

A combination of reduced re-tooling times and increased productivity is achieved with the self-adjusting front bushing holder. There is no longer a need to manually replace the front bushing pair when changing bar formats. Instead, users simply enter the bar diameter and shape on the operator panel, and the bushings automatically adapt to the bar and pusher. This capability simplifies the process and reduces operator intervention.

More information www.iemca.com