The £7.5m advanced manufacturing technology centre opened recently by Queen’s University Belfast provides manufacturers in Northern Ireland and beyond with services that include consultancy, collaborative R&D, industrial training, and intervention for problem solving and cycle time reduction. Also, the facility can take manufacturing processes from product inception through to pre-production.

Acquiring the new equipment to populate the facility, which opened last year, took 21 months and saw the installation of seven new metal-cutting machine tools and a host of inspection and scientific equipment. The only lathe ordered in the first round of investment was a twin-spindle Index G220 turn-mill centre, supplied by Kingsbury, which was immediately put to use optimising a production process for an air bearing manufacturer in England whilst the company waits for its own G220 machine to arrive.
Head of the facility, Colm Higgins says: “The Index turn-mill machine is currently being used to evaluate the possibility of raising the efficiency of rough-turning stainless steel bar. In collaboration with our customer, we are hoping to develop a technique that replaces single-point turning with a process that instead uses a milling cutter in the B-axis spindle.
“Spreading the cutting load across several inserts rather than just one, as the bar is turning, would considerably increase the feed per tooth and hence metal removal rate, leading to reduced cycle times,” he adds. “Admittedly, accuracy and surface finish would not be as good, but for a roughing operation it does not matter. We are also reviewing other turn-milling processes for this manufacturer.”
The B-axis spindle on the G220 is positioned above the spindle centreline and is supplied with cutters from a 140-tool magazine. There is also a lower turret with 18 driven stations.
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

At the Kent facility of AD Engineering, a five-figure funding injection from NatWest has seen the company invest in a Muratec MT100i/T2 twin-spindle turning centre to manufacture essential metalwork components that form part of wider engineering structures.

Investment in the CNC machine will enable AD Engineering to meet existing client demands, and help the business operate more effectively and efficiently.
AD Engineering specialises in precision, multi-axis CNC machining for the subsea, aerospace, space and transport sectors. Founded in 1993, the company has consistently adapted its business model to ensure growth and sustainability, including investment in sophisticated CNC technologies. Under the stewardship of owner and managing director Carlos Forlese, the business has plans to grow its workforce to meet increasing demand for international orders.
“Agility has been key to the success of our business, and regular investment in the latest CNC technologies helps ensure we stay ahead of the game,” he says. “NatWest has been invaluable both in its support and the funding it has provided. They had a unique understanding of our business needs and the whole process was smooth from start to finish. Over the next 12 months we plan to grow our business even further, increasing capacities and investing in our workforce.”
Lucas Douch, relationship manager at NatWest, adds: “AD Engineering is a perfect example of a firm which is willing to invest and diversify in order to ensure business longevity. The funding we have provided will not only enable the business to meet current demand, but develop new opportunities and support job creation in the local area.”
For further information www.business.natwest.com

Having worked for several years at two of Scotland’s leading bagpipe manufacturers, Geordie Hunter decided in 2014 that the time was right for him to become his own boss.

Hunter duly started his business, Maverick Ltd, in a small industrial unit with a manual lathe producing practice chanters, an essential accessory for any budding or experienced bagpipe player.
As the only manufacturer of coloured chanters, Maverick’s reputation grew and sales both in the home market and overseas – to countries such as the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Germany and Denmark – quickly developed. With the increase in business it became obvious that further investment would have to be made to keep up with demand, a notion which saw the arrival in May 2018 of an XYZ SLX 1630 ProTURN lathe.
The immediate impact of the SLX lathe was that much of the subcontracted work could be brought back in-house, with lead times now virtually non-existent for machining parts. With the arrival of this XYZ lathe, Hunter was able to expand further by taking on his first employee to help with some of the initial manufacturing processes, such as blocking out the laminate for turning.
“One major advantage of the XYZ SLX lathe is the time it gives back to me; it is the equivalent of having another full-time member of staff, but at half the cost,” he says. “Without the SLX lathe I couldn’t have developed the business in the way I have. The subcontract turning we are now taking on is growing to such an extent that it almost matches the turnover from the chanter work, which is great from a business sense as we are no longer reliant on a single market.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

German lathe manufacturer Index has introduced a turn-mill centre, the G420, which is capable of producing large components in one hit within a compact footprint of about 15 sq m. Availability in the UK is through sole agent, Kingsbury.

Despite weighing 23 tonnes, the machine does not need any special foundation as the polymer monobloc bed has inherent mechanical stability. The lathe offers the best deflection resistance of any comparable machine on the market, claims the company, and has good damping properties thanks to generously dimensioned linear guideways in the X and Z axes. A ratio of static masses to moving masses of greater than 5:1 not only provides high stiffness levels, but enables dynamic movements with low vibration.
Workpieces up to 1.6 m long can be machined from bar up to 102 mm in diameter, while the chuck diameter is 315 mm (optionally 400 mm). Precision is assured due to the thermal stability provided by extensive cooling circuitry throughout the machine’s structure, moving elements and peripherals. Stored energy can be used for other purposes, such as additional process steps or heating the user’s factory.
Index’s G420 features a 26 kW/12,000 rpm milling spindle moving in the X, Y, Z and B axes at the top of a vertical bed. A 58-position (optionally 115-position) magazine is supplied for HSK-T63 or Capto C6 tools.
The Z-axis slideway of the milling spindle, and the Y/B axis with hydrodynamic bearing support and linear scale feedback of quill movement, are symmetrically designed for stability. A Y-axis stroke of ±170 mm, B-axis swivel of ±115° and large X-axis travel of 750 mm, together with the Z-axis movement and C-axis on the main/counter spindles, allow up to 5-axis simultaneous machining of complex components.
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

Okuma’s new two-saddle lathe – the LU7000 EX – which is available in the UK from NCMT, is equipped with a high-power spindle and allows for the turning of large workpieces.

Providing a wide variety of features and modifications, the four-axis lathe can be customised in accordance with the client’s individual requirements, making it suitable for a multitude of applications.
Especially when turning large and heavy workpieces with diameters of up to 900 mm, Okuma’s LU7000 EX reveals its true potential. Equipped with a bed that is 2 m long, even very long parts can be machined, aided further by a self-travelling tailstock. These specifications make the LU7000 EX a good choice for the manufacturing of oil and gas parts.
The machine is equipped with two turrets that can be utilised simultaneously. Said to be a first for this class of machine, the lathe offers a milling turret which allows for a high chip removal rate of up to 120 cm³/min. For ideal cutting conditions, manufacturers can choose from different main spindles featuring sizes ranging from a bore diameter of 200 mm with a maximum spindle speed of 1500 rpm, to a bore diameter of 560 mm with a maximum speed of 350 rpm.
When designing the LU7000 EX, Okuma also focused on achieving high dimensional accuracy. The lathe’s high constructional rigidity, but also Okuma’s Thermo-Friendly Concept contribute to this goal. The application avoids any generation of immoderate heat during the manufacturing process, detects changes in temperature and compensates for thermal deformation. This way, inaccuracies due to thermal fluctuations can be prevented.
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk