FEATURE ON CNC LATHES AND TURNING CENTRES

GCH wins business with large-capacity lathe

Fortune favours the brave, so they say, and there is no doubt that GCH Precision Engineering is reaping the rewards of investing in a Hyundai-Wia heavy-duty, large-capacity CNC turning machine.

After realising that OEMs across a number of industries were struggling to locally source (within Scotland) large-capacity machining for complex parts requiring milling as well as turning operations, Graham Hawthorne, CEO of the East Kilbride (Glasgow) based company, knew that GCH could secure this work if he installed the Hyundai-Wia L500LMA slant-bed lathe with C axis and driven tools.
The result is that GCH is now cost-effectively processing a wide variety of work that falls within the turning length and diameter capacities of 2109 and 690 mm, respectively, on the machine supplied by TW Ward CNC Machinery.
Included in the order book are workpieces being machined from most materials – from EN3A steel to EN36 high-tensile steel, aluminium, super duplex, Inconel and plastics for clients in the aerospace, oil and gas, food and drink, and pharmaceutical sectors, for instance, as well as parts for robotic machinery and components for the onshore drilling industry.
“Knowing that such work was increasingly being outsourced either overseas or south of the border, I knew that we had the in-house skills to handle such projects – all I needed was the machining capacity,” says Hawthorne. “At the same time, we needed to replace some ageing machines – a radial arm drill, a manual lathe and an older, smaller capacity CNC lathe – and while the Hyundai-Wia has effectively replaced all these, it has, importantly, also extended our capacity to satisfy this larger work.”
For further information www.wardcnc.com

Diamond investment for tooling business

Astley Diamond Tools is a two-person business based in Witton, Birmingham that recently made a significant investment in the latest Low Frequency Vibration (LFV) turn-mill technology from Citizen Machinery UK.

And, within just three months of installation, proprietor Ben Astley has been able to transform the firm’s blank-turning operations for its diamond-tool production and open a door to new revenue
by using his sliding-head machining platform to provide
a subcontract turn-milling service.
“Swarf problems totally controlled our business of machining silver steel blanks to which we then electro-plate diamond finishes,” says Astley, who is progressively appreciating the benefits accruing from the installation of a Citizen Cincom L20-VIIILFV turn-mill centre. He describes a recent example of 500 rotary diamond burrs used to fettle cast iron. Astley relays how he had to almost stand by his previous aging Citizen sliding-head machine and stop it every five or so parts to clear the tangled bird’s nest of swarf that had accumulated.
“It would take at least 70 hours to produce the batch, but now, with LFV, I can complete the same order well inside 16 hours. I can now concentrate on the electro-plating, packaging and other duties such as paperwork. Most surprising, perhaps, is that new machine has opened a new door in providing customers with a subcontract turning service. Customers who often just call
in to collect parts or give me
an order for diamond tools or plating work are immediately impressed by the new machine and giving me orders for other turning work.”
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

The all-round solution in machining

MS40C-8 is the name given to an eight-spindle machine tool from Index for the fully automated production of complex components.

Indeed, there are a number of good reasons why the CNC multi-spindle machine, made near Esslingen, Germany and driven by Kollmorgen servo technology, is seen as a true all-around solution in machining technology.
For instance, the optimum speed and feed rate can be programmed for each spindle location and each cutting edge, and these can even be modified during the cutting process. Moreover, the eight fluid-cooled motor spindles integrated in the spindle drum are infinitely variable, require no maintenance, and are driven with synchronous motors. Kollmorgen AKM permanent magnet servomotors are installed in the cross slides.
Index uses the Kollmorgen motors, in part, as positioning axes for the tools. High-power density enables compact designs that take up less space when installed in the work area. Furthermore, the good torque density of the AKM synchronous servomotors allows Index to convert the rotational movement of the motors into a linear motion without gears. The ball bearing spindles are connected directly to the motor shaft for this purpose.
A lack of gears means there are fewer moving parts, and improves the zero backlash and overall stiffness of the drive. Index needs zero backlash and stiffness, especially with multi-stage thread cutting, so that the tool always completes the next machining step precisely using the threading attachment.
Fitting with Drive-CLiQ is an example of how the synchronous servomotors from Kollmorgen can adapt to the diversity of CNC and automation technology, particularly for machining. This design configuration lets machine builders use drives outside of closed systems, without losing any of the convenience or performance benefits.
For further information www.kollmorgen.com

P&T invests in Nakamura to surpass £2m sales

A fast-growing County Kildare manufacturer is settings it sights on smashing the £2m sales barrier after investing in CNC machine technology. P&T Precision Engineering, which currently employs 15 people at its Naas Industrial Estate facility, has purchased a Nakamura AS200 LMY twin-spindle lathe that will help it take on new orders and work with harder materials.

The company made the decision during a ‘Smart Machining’ event held by the Engineering Technology Group in Newbridge, and will take delivery of the machine in July, where it will be installed and a number of components proven out. It is anticipated that the sub-spindle capability will give the firm the opportunity to build on its expertise in design for manufacture, and should lead to new contracts in the food, packaging, print and medical sectors.
“Our relationship with ETG goes back to 2016, when we made the conscious decision to invest in upgrading our machining capabilities with the acquisition of a Quaser MV184 vertical machining centre,” says Darragh Walsh, who runs the company with his business partner Kevin. “The technology lived up to its reputation, but what we were really impressed with was the level of service, support and understanding delivered by the team in Newbridge.
“Following the success of the first purchase we decided that we would take on another CNC machine in 2018 and jumped at the chance of attending the Smart Machining event so we could see the technology we had in mind first-hand,” he continues. “We were not disappointed. The demonstration was world class and we had no hesitation in placing the order for the Nakamura AS200 LMY there
and then.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Industry 4.0-enabled bar feeds

1st Machine Tool Accessories has revealed that all bar feeds produced by its principal Iemca can now be Industry 4.0 enabled.

Wireless data communication allows much more information to be transmitted in comparison with a hard-wired connection. According to the company, the solution is unlike those offered by competitors in that it allows customers to integrate the equipment more conveniently: instead of requiring connection into a factory’s intranet to achieve wireless data flow, the Iemca bar feed and lathe communicate via the cloud. In Italy alone there are already more than 300 Iemca Industry 4.0 bar-feed installations.
Reliance solely on an Internet link simplifies set-up. The configuration also has the advantage that equipment status and performance can be monitored on a PC, tablet or a smartphone away from the factory.
In a further development from Iemca, the company has launched what it says is the first bundle loader capable of being added to a bar feed already installed and running in a factory. Called the Caddy F, the device is capable of accommodating a 250 mm diameter bundle of bars weighing up to 2.5 tonnes. The loader is of open design so can easily be replenished with new stock material.
Availability has also been announced of a Caddy P version, which is a multi-rack system capable of providing up to 2 m of additional capacity. Both the Caddy F and the Caddy P have been designed to allow access to the bar feed by means of a rail system mounted on the floor.
For further information www.1mta.com