FEATURE ON CNC LATHES AND TURNING CENTRES

Automation supports contract machinist’s growth

Contract machining specialist Unicut Precision Engineering of Welwyn Garden City reportsan increase in annual turnover from £3m in 2016 to £8m currently, underpinned by investment of £1.7m in new production and inspection equipment over the past two years.
Around half of this investment went on two more Cincom sliding-head lathes and two additional Miyano fixed-head lathes from Citizen Machinery UK, bringing the totals of the bar-fed lathes on site to 24 and 11 respectively. The remaining funds supported the purchase of three new items of inspection equipment and an extension to the automatic pallet storage and retrieval system, linking three five-axis machining centres on site.

Regarding turning, which currently accounts for 85% of Unicut’s turnover, Jason Nicholson, owner and managing director, says that standardisation on Citizen lathes with their user-friendly, intuitive Mitsubishi controls greatly helps to mitigate the current shortage of skilled setter-operators. Use of this CNC system throughout the factory also speeds the training of staff and allows operators to swap easily between machines.

Programs are normally prepared offline with Esprit CADCAM and via Citizen Machinery’s own Alkart CNC Wizard programming aid. The latter guides operators through creation of part programs with the help of a built-in code library for machining processes, reducing the amount of time spent typing in G and M codes and consulting manuals or other programs.

Unicut’s latest turning centre additions are two 65 mm bar capacity Miyano BNE-65MYY models, each featuring a pair of Y-axis turrets and the latest Mitsubishi 15-inch touchscreen control. These machines joined five smaller fixed-head lathes in the same series to form a seven-machine cell for producing hydraulic and pneumatic components in volumes up to 10,000-off.
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

New models launched by Hyundai Wia

Hyundai Wia is revealing a number of new products for next-generation machining, including several turning centres, multi-tasking machines and multi-axis turning centres. Hyundai Wia machine tools are available in the UK from TW Ward CNC Machinery.

For instance, regarding turning centres, Hyundai Wia is launching the SE2600 that offers both high-speed and complex machining capabilities. The SE2600 series comprises the SE2600, SE2600M, SE2600Y and SE2600SY models, all of which feature a 10-inch spindle for machining short-length materials, along with SE2600L, SE2600LM, SE2600LY and SE2600LSY for machining materials longer in length.

The series is available at a price range that is more competitive than other products that offer the same capacity, and offer a higher travel speed for improved productivity through high-speed machining. Furthermore, all models feature roller bearing-type LM guides, which deliver superior rigidity over previous models. There is even a model equipped with sub-spindle and Yaxis, which previously did not exist in the company’s range of high-speed 10-inch spindle machine tools, offering a solution that can achieve both high added value and complex machining.

Hyundai Wiais also significantly expanding its multi-tasking machine line-up for high added value product machining. The company’s new XM seriesmulti-tasking machines combine the structure of both turning centres and machining centres. The XM series features XM2600, XM2600S and XM2600ST models, which feature a 10-inch spindle, and the XM3100, XM3100Sand XM3100ST, which have a 12-inch spindle.

In addition, Hyundai Wia is planning to launch its LM2200TTSYY and LM2200TTSYYCmulti-axis turning centresbefore the end of 2023. The LM2200TTSYY and LM2200TTSYYC are multi-axis turning centres that feature 8-inch and 10-inch spindles respectively, and come equipped with two spindles, turrets and a Yaxis.
For further information www.wardcnc.com

Lontra takes advantage of ‘green’ machine tools

There is an unusual parallel between a new, low-pressure air compressor (blower) manufactured by entrepreneurial British firm Lontra and the Japanese-built turn-mill centre from Okuma that machines one of the fundamental components of the Lontra LP2. Both pieces of equipment are engineered to deliver maximum environmental sustainability during operation and both harness Industry 4.0 connectivity to make them even more efficient. Okuma’s UK and Ireland sales agent NCMT describes the multi-tasking turn-milling application.

An Okuma Multus B550 turn-milling centre performs finish-machining operations on the blower rotor, a high-value component critical to LP2 operation. Adrian Pratt, manufacturing engineer at Lontra, says: “We approached NCMT for a turnkey solution. There are not many factories globally that have the machinery or skillset to manufacture a part like this. The Okuma is a very clever, multi-tasking machine that has the size, robustness and technology to machine our large, heavy rotors accurately and repeatably in fewer set-ups. The repeatability aspect is very important as we need to keep all the rotational parts concentric.”

He continues: ” We can machine multiple features in one go on the Multus B550, allowing us to meet the high drawing tolerances by avoiding repeated re-fixturing of the rotor. Without this advanced equipment, we would need 10 operations to complete the rotor component. With the aid of Okuma machinery, we’ve successfully reduced the number of operations by half, further cementing our commitment to lean, smart and sustainable manufacturing practices and continual improvement.”

Greig Underwood, NCMT’s regional sales manager, adds: “What interests me about this installation is the alignment between Lontra and Okuma in their commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices, as well as their shared focus on energy-saving designs for their respective product solutions.”
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk

Subcontractor takes-off with 18th Nakamura-Tome

West End Precision is now in possession of its 18th Nakamura-Tome turning centre from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG). The Bideford-based subcontractor serves the automotive, aerospace and general subcontract manufacturing supply chain; all industries that have faced challenges in recent years – but business is certainly booming now. In 2022, the company took delivery of a Nakamura-Tome NTY3-150, a WT150II and it has just added to the plant list with a Nakamura WT150IIF, the third WT150 series machine in 18 months. With over 15 sliding head lathes, multi-spindle autos, centreless grinding and 18 Nakamura machines, West End Precision is no run-of-the-mill manufacturing business.

Alex Dziurzynski from West End Precision says: “We are predominantly a high-volume manufacturer and we’ll typically set the machine and run it for a long time. We do all the programming at the console; we don’t do any offline programming and the onus is that once the machine is set, it will keep running. This means we can have one operator running multiple machines and, as long as spindles are turning, we’re making money. The Nakamura machines give us that ability.”

The latest Nakamura-Tome is machining a family of aluminium 6026 components for a brake system manufacturer.

“We machine two different parts in batches of 10,000 to 20,000-off, with the WT150IIF producing around 6000 parts a week,” says Dziurzynski. “The 60mm diameter cast billets were previously machined on a gantry-loaded machine and the major saving has arrived from our ability to change to bar stock and bar-feed the parts on the Nakamura WT150IIF – slashing component loading times.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Two new entry-level lathes from DMG Mori

A pair of competitively-priced CNC turning centres, T1 and T2, are now available from DMG Mori aimed at the entry-level market. Both machines have a 12-station turret, with VDI 30 tooling on the smaller lathe and VDI 40 on the larger model. They are available as two-axis lathes and in three-axis configuration with a C-axis spindle and driven tools.

The T1 has an 11.7 kW/4500 rpm/140 Nm spindle and an 8-inch chuck, whereas the T2 features a 19.5 kW/3500 rpm/319 Nm spindle and a 10-inch chuck.Bar capacities are 65 and 80 mm diameter respectively, whilethe X-axis stroke is 232 and 300 mm, and the Z-axis figures are 410 and 730 mm. The lathes are highly productive; the T1, for example, is able to achieve a best-in-class depth of cut of 4 mm in carbon steel at a cutting speed of 240 m/min.

A robust machine bed and linear guideways in all axes ensure dynamic and accurate turning. Both lathes feature a linear scale for feeding back the X-axis position to the Siemens Sinumeric One control, which has touchscreen data input and ShopTurn programming. The machines are pre-equipped with IoTconnector networking for integration into a digitalised manufacturing environment.

Each turning centre is available in three versions, Complete, Plus and Pro, to suit the user’s production requirements. Both lathe types are available under DMG Mori’s PAYZR equipment-as-a-service subscription offering, based on pay-per-use rather than ownership. It allows manufacturers to acquire a new machine tool by paying a monthly subscription plus a fee per spindle hour used (no minimum number of hours specified).
For further information www.dmgmori.com