A specialist supplier of components to the aerospace, automotive and oil and gas sectors has invested in the latest five-axis technology and CADCAM software to reduce set-up times and achieve lights-out manufacturing.

Rotec Engineering, which offers fixed-head and sliding-head capabilities from its facility in Evesham, has installed a Nakamura NTRX 300 from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG), building on a long-term relationship with the machine tool supplier.
“In our endeavour to move forward and expand, we wanted a machine with all of these attributes that we could also program directly from our CAM system with full five-axis turning,” says Paul Butler, managing director and owner of Rotec. “We found that just focusing on cycle time wasn’t the right way forward for our business. There is often a lot of downtime between jobs, so the whole idea of this investment is to apply the CAM system and machine flexibility to reduce our set-up times.
“Now, we can set-up complex jobs very quickly and, with a bar feed and auxiliary loader, we can run these challenging parts unmanned and they come off the machine complete,” he adds.
ETG, which is the UK’s exclusive supplier of Nakamura technology, worked with Rotec to source a machine that matched its exact requirements, with the NTRX 300’s milling head and two rotating spindles proving extremely attractive. The challenge was to get all the technology to work seamlessly for the company so that the machines could be trusted to run when employees are not on site.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

“Achieving superlative levels of component quality, price and delivery, and working with consignment stock and just-in-time supply, are almost taken for granted nowadays,” says Mark Bevan, managing director at MJB Precision Engineering.

“So, any subcontract operation which wants to stand out and continually win new business must bring other USPs to the table.
“Above all, we invest in the appropriate, high-class machinery and supporting equipment to suit specific components and contracts,” he adds. “That said, each machine must also be versatile enough to meet any future new work from perhaps different industry sectors.”
It is a philosophy that today sees the MJB shop floor adorned with a range of quality machinery for both shaft-type and prismatic workpieces, and much of the turning/turn-mill capacity is accompanied by bar feeds or gantry loaders, including a pair of Takisawa Japan turning centres, both with gantry loaders.
“We’ve had experience of Takisawa Japan machines stretching back for 15 years or more, and our team are well-versed in their Fanuc CNC systems,” says Bevan. “So, when we needed to expand our turning centre capacity in response to new contract demands, we had no hesitation in investing in the brand by contacting Ward CNC. From experience, we know that the machines are well-built and very reliable.
“The machines were initially purchased to satisfy specific machining tasks including, in one case, the manufacture of an aircraft power component that is produced in batches of 50 to 100-off. But such is their flexibility in terms of spindle operation and capacity – the newer machine, the TCC1100GA with 6” chuck, can accommodate workpiece diameters and lengths of 220 and 171 mm – they are ideal for additional new work.”
For further information www.wardcnc.com

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied brake and clutch system specialist Alcon Components with three new Doosan vertical turning lathes (VTLs).

The trio of Doosan V8300 VTLs were installed at Alcon’s Tamworth facility as part of a process improvement solution to manufacture the company’s range of high-performance brake discs.
Prior to the acquisition of the Doosan lathes, and the implementation of the new manufacturing process, Alcon machined its brake discs on three horizontal fixed-head lathes. These ‘legacy’ machines, while still performing satisfactorily, are relatively old having been purchased in 1983 when Alcon Components was first established. As a consequence, the machines are slow and increasingly prone to breakdown.
Explains Brian Cutler, Alcon Component’s production engineering manager: “Our business is growing and demand for our braking systems is at an all-time high. So it was clear that we needed to invest in and significantly upgrade our brake disc manufacturing cell.”
The new flexible manufacturing cell at Alcon comprises three new Doosan 15” chuck V8300 VTLs with Fanuc controls. Each is positioned in close proximity to the next, enabling rapid part transfer. A range of different sized brake discs is being produced. The discs are made from cast iron and machined to tight tolerances and high surface finishes. Alcon currently machines approximately 500 to 600 discs per week in the new cell. Brake disc diameters vary in size (from 200 to 405 mm) depending on the end application.
“The machining process using the three V8300 VTLs has enabled us to ramp up production and reduce part
cycle times by up to 40%,” concludes Cutler.
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

Teixidó has been specialising in the mass production of precision parts since it was founded in 1952.

Based in Catalonia, the bar turning company is the largest of its kind in Spain, supplying sectors that include automotive, pneumatic and aerospace. Teixidó produces over 300 million parts every year with an average PPM of 3.
The bulk of the company’s production covers diameters from 0.5 to 20 mm. As Spanish group sales director Xavier Teixidó Pont explains, “many bar turners are capable of producing these diameters, but what distinguishes us from our competitors is our ability to adapt to the tightest tolerances”.
Teixidó has relied on Tornos and its machines since its outset, today running several dozen Tornos CNC machines, including two EvoDeco 20 models that replaced two old Deco 20s.
“We’ve a number of multi-spindle machines as well as our Deco, Delta and EvoDeco fleets,” states production manager Josep Colina Vidal. “We have SAS 16, SAS 16.6 and BS 20.8 cam-type multi-spindles, MultiAlpha, MultiSigma and MultiDeco CNC machines, and several recently acquired MultiSwiss 6×16 machines, including two machines with a Y axis.
“These machines can exceed the specifications required of single-spindle models, offering stable, highly precise machining,” he adds. “And their six spindles make them extremely productive; we can produce far more parts per square metre. This means a MultiSwiss can easily replace three single-spindle turning machines. It’s a very high-performance machine, and I think it’s fair to say we have been seduced by its performance.”
For further information www.tornos.com

The installation of five more Cincom CNC sliding-head turning centres from Citizen Machinery at Renishaw raises the metrology equipment producer’s tally of lathes from this supplier to 58. Renishaw’s annual output of components from the machines exceeds 2.5 million.

Three of the latest 12 mm capacity Cincom B12 lathes fitted with Iemca Elite 112 bar magazines were installed at Renishaw’s Miskin plant in Wales, where 20 Citizen sliding-head turn-mill centres are already in use. The other two went to the company’s Stonehouse factory in Gloucestershire.
Robert Horsley, senior production engineer, says: “This latest investment in Citizen lathes, which raised the number we use by nearly 10%, was driven by increased demand for our measurement technology. The B12 lathes are mainly used for turning and milling 303 stainless steel bar to manufacture styli and other probe components. We normally produce a month’s worth for stock, which can be anything from 1200- to 30,000-off, before we change over a machine to start a new batch. Run times are at least eight hours.
A number of different materials are processed, ranging from mild, stainless, carbon and low-alloy steels, through brass and aluminium, to corrosion-resistant copper-nickel-zinc alloys. According to Horsley, all of the lathes hold tolerances down to ±20 µm parallelism and squareness, and ±50 µm on milled features. Surface finish down to Ra 0.4 is easily achievable, doing away with the need to cylindrically grind cosmetic features.
Head of communications for Renishaw, Chris Pockett, says: “We have standardised on Citizen sliding-head turning machines since the 1980s, when the company demonstrated what, at the time, was ground-breaking technology. The commonality of lathe layout ensures ease of training and complete flexibility for our production engineering staff to develop processes and program any machine.”
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk