FEATURE ON CNC MILLS & MACHINING CENTRES

Starrag machines make turbine gearboxes

With over 100,000 gearboxes already produced for wind turbines, the NGC Group from
China has eight machines supplied by Starrag at its main factory. This historical success was
reason enough for the Chinese specialist in wind turbine powertrains to increase the
number of Berthiez, Dörries and Heckert machines to 20.
 
China wants to be carbon neutral by 2060 and wind power plays an important role in this
plan. Huai’an, NGC’s third factory in China (in addition to production facilities in Nanjing and
Baotou), will set the course for a carbon-free future. Units for the large offshore wind
turbines with 15, 18 and 20 MW capacity have also recently been built there. This is where
Starrag comes in, with its ‘Renewables’ market segment, which has made a name for itself
with machines for manufacturing wind turbine drivetrains. Since 2006, 100 machines have
been delivered to China, of which about one in five went to NGC.
 
“In 2007, we won NGC as our first Chinese customer in the wind power industry there,”
recalls Jörg Heinrich, director of the Application & Technology Department at Starrag
Shanghai Co Ltd. “After successfully handing over the first machine, a Heckert horizontal
machining centre in 2009, NGC immediately ordered three more Heckert machines.”
According to NGC, the machining centres can process workpieces 25% faster than
competitor models. The production technology and the special on-site service were well
received in China and, since 2022, NGC has increased the number of Starrag machines in its
factories to 20.
 
A Dörries vertical turning machine has gone to Baotou and nine machines from Starrag’s
Berthiez, Dörries and Heckert product ranges have been shipped to the new factory in
Huai’an.
More information www.starrag.com

Strategic realignment at Fair Friend Group

The Fair Friend Group (FFG) has initiated a comprehensive strategic realignment to address the current global challenges in the industry and strengthen its competitive position. As part of this transformation, FFG has appointed Dr Sebastian Schöning as its new CEO.

Schöning, who holds a PhD in mechanical engineering, brings over 20 years of professional and management experience. Since 2021, he has served as the group’s COO and as CEO of MAG IAS GmbH. In his new role, Schöning will spearhead global strategy development and lead the group’s operations.

As a global turnkey supplier, Fair Friend Group (FFG) delivers machine tools and machining centres for the manufacturing of internal combustion engines, electric motors, crankcases, axles and wheels. A key element of the realignment is the increased leveraging of synergies among Fair Friend Group’s globally operating companies. This enables FFG to provide customers with even more integrated and custom solutions.

Additionally, FFG plans to expand its range of standard machines and develop new technologies in emerging industries such as humanoid robotics and energy. By integrating AI, smart manufacturing, energy efficiency and decarbonisation, FFG aims to ensure future-oriented and environmentally friendly production. Customers will benefit from a wide range of highly specialist machines and production systems, allowing manufacturing companies to respond flexibly to both regional and global market demands.

“Our clear vision, strong management team and relentless drive to help customers succeed are the keys to future growth,” says Schöning. “With the measures we are now implementing, we’re ideally positioned to expand FFG’s market presence in the global machine tool industry.”

More information www.ffg-ea.com/en

Quaser fits the bill at Beechwood Engineering

As a family-run business that started trading from a small unit near Blackpool town centre, Beechwood Engineering has evolved into a major local manufacturer with a capital investment of more than £1m in the past 12 months. Part of this acquisition trail has seen the company invest in a Quaser MV184EH machining centre from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

Managing director Stewart Churchill says: “We produce everything from one-offs to batch runs in the thousands, machining materials from plastics to exotic alloys. While the majority of our machining is complex five-axis work, we produce many jigs, fixtures and parts that do not warrant motion in five axes. For this, we wanted a new three-axis machining centre with a Heidenhain control to replace an older machine as part of our continuous improvement programme.”

Beechwood Engineering has bought several machines from ETG down the years, including a Quaser MV204CPL machining centre back in 2012.

“While that machine has since been moved on, we were very impressed with its performance, rigidity, stability and reliability,” says Churchill. “So, when it came to buying a new three-axis VMC, we didn’t look any further than ETG.”

The 23-employee ISO9001-certified manufacturer still has other machines from ETG on its shop floor, such as a Nakamura-Tome NTRX-300 multi-axis turning centre, so it is fully aware of the quality and service available. Both were factors in the company’s latest acquisition.

“The key drivers in installing our Quaser MV184EH were an updated and more productive platform for programming, setting up jobs and holding tight tolerances. Since the machine was installed, it’s been running day and night, machining parts such as complex jigs and fixtures. It also produces valves, plates and other parts for the oil and gas industry.”

More information www.engtechgroup.com

Drury increases automated component production

Established in 2003 as a subcontractor, Drury Precision Engineering started two years later to manufacture its own range of mainly aluminium motorcycle accessories for road and racing bikes, and now no longer takes on external machining work. The company sells its aftermarket bike components globally under the Evotech Performance brand. The past eight years have seen exceptional year-on-year growth in turnover that necessitated careful planning of production capacity on the shop floor to keep pace with demand.

A user since 2015 of 16,000 rpm, high-efficiency machining centres from Brother, supplied through sole UK and Ireland agent Whitehouse Machine Tools (WMT CNC), Drury has over the years used various manually operated, twin automatic pallet change (2APC) models of the three-axis, 30-taper, machines, of which only two remain. That is because, to raise throughput, the company decided in 2015 to transition to automated Brother production cells with the purchase of two five-axis Speedio M140X2s.

One featured a Brother 4 m Feedio vision-based, robotic component handling system, while the other was connected to a System 3R WorkPartner Plus storage and handling system accommodating 180 pallets.

Now the company has gone a step further along the automation route with the installation of a larger capacity Brother Speedio U500Xd1 five-axis machining centre offering pneumatically-operated zero-point pallet location, again served by a WorkPartner Plus storage and handling system, but this time for 60 heavy-duty pallets.

It proved so successful that a second, almost identical cell has been ordered for delivery in October 2024, complete with its own WorkPartner Plus, as sharing one storage system between the two machines would reduce unmanned running hours to below the required 14 hours per machine.

More information www.wmtcnc.com

Hurco machines drive growth at Factory 33

Factory 33 was established in 2016 at Carterton, Oxfordshire, as a subcontract manufacturer of medium-to-large batches of components to fine tolerances in short leadtimes. The company processes an extensive variety of materials principally on machining centres and a CNC lathe from Hurco Europe.

Factory 33 invested initially in a Hurco VMX30Ti three-axis vertical machining centre with a 4th-axis rotary table and a Hurco TM8i lathe, since when additional three- and five-axis VMCs have arrived on the shop floor.The most recent purchase is a Hurco VMX30UDi five-axis machining centre supplied with linear scales and through-spindle coolant as standard, as well as a 40-station magazine with swing-arm toolchanger. The direct-drive SK40, 15,000 rpm spindle can deliver 15 kW of power and travels are 763 x 508 x 520 mm. Control is via the proprietary WinMax 5 twin-screen CNC system.

Managing director Martin Krzywina says: “We love the Hurco control and especially its graphics. You can show not only solid models but also the toolpaths. It gives so much confidence when running five-axis programs.You can follow the actual cutting cycle in real time on the screen, so you always know where a tool is in the machining area, even if you cannot see it through the coolant.”

He is impressed by the coolant delivery system, which he says is one of the best he has ever seen, particularly as there is no loss in pressure irrespective of the coolant level in the tank. He also sings the praises of the direct-drive spindle on the five-axis machine, which produces surface finishes that he describes as “impeccable”.

More information www.hurco.co.uk