FEATURE ON CNC LATHES AND TURNING CENTRES

Quest for productivity leads to Nakamura

Based just outside Dundee, Quest Precision Engineering has been on a trajectory of continuous growth. The Scottish manufacturer acquired two Nakamura-Tome turning centres through the pandemic and has recently added two more to the plant list.

Now with four Nakamura-Tome WT150II turning centres from Engineering Technology Group’s (ETG) Scottish distribution partner RAM Engineering & Tooling, the facility is filling fast. Quest Precision is well versed in machining everything from simple to the most complex of components. It is this requirement for one-hit machining of complex parts from challenging materials that led to the installation of the first Nakamura-Tome turning centre in December 2019, a twin-spindle, twin-turret WT150II. The impact of the Nakamura-Tome WT150II resulted in the installation of a second machine four months later, followed by two more in 2022.

Before Quest installed its first Nakamura-Tome WT150II, it was machining valves for the oil and gas industry in five operations on four machine tools. The production of the complex 2-inch diameter Inconel 718 valves that control the flow of oil from wells was time-consuming and not cost-effective enough to compete with an existing Chinese supplier. To increase productivity and reduce costs, Quest invested in its first Nakamura-Tome WT150II.

Managing director Gordon Deuchars says: “There are 25-30 different valves in the family of parts and, for us to win more business, we had to increase throughput and reduce costs to be cost-competitive with China. RAM Engineering discussed the merits of a Nakamura turnkey solution for the valves and our decision was made. It has been such a success; the first two machines made a huge impact and brought us significantly more business. To support subsequent growth and undertake more R&D work, we bought the next two machines.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Turn-mill centre with automation options

German lathe manufacturer Index has developed a new twin-spindle turn-mill centre with 76 mm bar capacity, 230 mm chuck diameter and a turning length up to 900 mm. The Traub TNX220 has a vibration-damping mineral cast bed and generously dimensioned linear guideways in the X and Z axes, a combination that delivers accurate machining and high productivity. UK availability is via Kingsbury.

With a Y/B-axis tool spindle rated at 40 kW/207 Nm/6000 rpm above the work spindle centreline, and two 12-station (VDI30) or 15-station (VDI25) live turrets below, the lathe is suitable for the one-hit machining of complex parts in cycles that can include five-axis milling.

A magazine with 139 positions for HSK-T63 or HSK-T40 cutters serves the top tool carrier. The magazine is accessible from the front and the rear, from where it is possible to replenish one of the two magazine chains while the other is in use.

Notably, the two lower tool carriers also have Y-axis movement in addition to X- and Z-axis travels, and every station is driven. All tool carriers can operate simultaneously at either of the identical, fluid-cooled main and counter work spindles, which also carry a rating of 40 kW/207 Nm/6000 rpm.

Automation options include an Index MBL 76 bar feeder, tailored to match the new machine design and quick to change over to a new size of stock. The loader offers good damping properties and easy set up. As a purely electric solution, there is no requirement for hydraulics.

An integrated gantry-type loader with a double gripper and/or an Index iXcenter robot cell provides automatic load/unload of billet or shaft parts. The control system is a modified Mitsubishi TX8i-s V8.
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

One-hit turn-milling boosts throughput

Four members of the Toyne family, managing director Chris, his wife and company secretary Christine and two other directors – their son Jason and his wife Julie – runsubcontracting firm Mintdale Engineering of Chesterfield. The company specialises in the CNC turning of bar, tube and billet, as well as CNC milling on five VMCs.

Take, for example, an aluminium gas regulator base produced on the company’s latest turning centre, an Italian-built Biglia B465 T2 Y2 twin-spindle, twin Y-axis turret model supplied by sales and service agent Whitehouse Machine Tools. The 1.25 inch high cuboid part is machined from 2 inch square bar fed by an LNS Quick Load Servo 80 S2 short bar magazine.

This component, which Mintdale Engineering has been producing for 22 years, was latterly machined 20 at a time on a twin-pallet-change VMC. Op 1 involved machining three sides, milling a circular pocket, drilling various holes and then tapping them, while Op 2 after pallet change completed similar features. The floor-to-floor time per base was two minutes.

On the Biglia, Mintdale produces the part in one hit and requires only a small amount of face turning and parting off, the remainder of the cycle being prismatic machining. Both live turrets are deployed at the main spindle for some of the time, followed by simultaneous machining at both spindles using the two tool carriers. Although the cycle time is three minutes, 50% longer per part than before, the big advantage (and saving) is that production is unattended, unlike on the VMC. The finish-machined components pass through the counter spindle onto a conveyor feeding a Hydrafeed Rota-Rack parts accumulator.
For further information www.wmtcnc.com

Subcontractor turns to SMEC turning centre

With the turned components at DGF Engineering increasingly needing secondary milling operations on machining centres, the Royston-based subcontractor recently acquired a SMEC SL 2000M turning centre from Dugard.

“We picked this machine as we needed an upgrade,” states Liam Fernard workshop manager at DGF Engineering.“The machine that we had was only a two-axis machine and we were getting more and more work needing additional milling work. As we were happy with the service we had received from Dugard on our previous acquisition, a Dugard 1000 three-axis VMC, we naturally looked at their lathes and this one ticked all the boxes.”

The SMEC SL 2000M slant-bed CNC turning centre has a 570mm swing over bed and a 460mm swing over the cross slide with a maximum machining diameter of 360mm and a machining length up to 540mm. The 8inch chuck machine has a bore diameter of 76mm that accommodates a maximum bar capacity of 68mm. As with all machines in the SMEC range, Dugard says that the SMEC SL 2000M is a powerhouse with its 15/18kW spindle motor that drives the spindle at a speed up to 4500rpm and a 3.7/5.5kW motor that drives the driven tooling stations in the 12-position tooling carousel.

Discussing the components machined on the new Dugard SMEC turning centre, Fernard says: “We’re a typical subcontract company, so batches are varied and volumes of up to 200 parts is a big batch for us. We will machine a bit of everything on this machine;it will help our production move much faster. Dugard have been excellent and the investment is 100% worth it.”
For further information www.dugard.com

Mazak to build Swiss-type lathes in USA

To support the production of yet another new Kentucky-designed and built line of machine tools, Mazak has expanded the company’s Florence manufacturing campus with the addition of its new Syncrex assembly plant. The 27,000 sq ft building combines engineering, production and applications support for Mazak’s recently launched Syncrex series of Swiss-type turning centres for the precision machining of small parts.

With an output capacity of up to 10 machines per month, the Syncrex building features all the necessary overhead cranes and equipment its employees need to produce 16 different models within the series for the North American market. The machines come in four bar stock capacities (20/25/32/38) and four different axis configurations, up to a 9X model with full B-axis contouring capabilities. Production flow through the building starts with a machined base that progresses through assembly operations and on to alignment, testing, inspection and run-off procedures prior to shipping.

Kevin Sekerak, plant manager at Mazak, says: “Within the new building’s production flow, we’ve incorporated applications support, which is extremely critical for this particular type of machine. That support entails integrating various forms of automation and other ancillary systems together with the machines, then proving them out to make sure they all operate to customer performance requirements and specifications. Often, applications specialists will work side by side with assembly technicians during customer machine run-offs.”

The sliding-headstock Syncrex machines all sit on Mazak high-damping composite castings (HDCC) produced in the US and machined at Mazak Kentucky. This high-rigidity base provides greater vibration damping characteristics, less thermal growth and greater part surface capabilities when compared to cast-iron base machines, says Mazak. The company also produces Syncrex spindles, headstocks, sheet metal and other key components in Kentucky.
For further information www.mazakusa.com