Having a working volume of 2200 x 1700 x 750 mm, the Hurco DCX22i twin-column, bridge-type VMC with 8 tonne table load capacity is now the largest item of prismatic machining equipment on the shop floor at Jones Nuttall Precision Engineering in Warrington. The machine features a 40-station tool magazine, 12,000 rpm/18 kW spindle and rapids of 32 m/min in the X and Y axes, and 24 m/min in Z.

Jones Nuttall’s new DCX22i brings to 12 the number of machining centres in use on the shop floor, all of them supplied by Hurco, there being eight VM30i models and other VMCs also in operation. Additionally, a third of the lathes on site are Hurcos, both of them bar-fed. The TM10 has a 10-inch chuck while the 8-inch chuck TMM8 includes live tooling and a C axis.

Metals processed include Inconel, titanium alloy, stainless steel, steel, brass, aluminium, copper and even silver. Engineering thermoplastics such as nylon, acetal and PEEK are also common, as well as composites. Batch sizes range from one-offs to runs in excess of 1000.

Founded in 1971, Jones Nuttall has been a Hurco user since 2000, at which time the subcontractor decided to progress from manual tool-change mills to machining centres. The company opted for Hurco equipment due to the high build quality and spindle power of both the machining centres and lathes.

Geoff Brown, a machine operator at Jones Nuttall, says: “Hurco machines are very easy to program, set-up and use. The twin-screencontrol on the DCX really helps as I can program and edit on one screen, while the other screen displays the component and toolpath. The programming of all our Hurco machines is the same, so often one operator can run two or three machines.”
For further information www.hurco.com/gb

Toolmaker SJ Dimmock has upgraded its manufacturing capabilities with the purchase of the company’s first UK-made Yamazaki Mazak VCN 530C vertical machining centre.The family-owned firm, based in Dunstable, was set up in 1985, since building a reputation for manufacturing high-specification injection moulding tools for the aerospace, medical, food and drink, automotive, and Formula One industries.

Company director Jamie Dimmock says: “Following the retirement of one of our long-serving employees, I found myself in the position of having three machines that I’d need to train myself to operate. As they were older machines, I thought it would be more effective to sell the machines to finance a new, larger vertical machining centre.After a lot of careful consideration and time spent evaluating the performance of comparable machines, I chose the VCN 530C vertical machining centre from Mazak. Each day that goes by confirms it was a fantastic decision.”

The VCN 530C is a high productivity vertical machining centre made at Mazak’s European manufacturing facility in Worcester. Equipped with a 40-taper spindle, Mazak says the machine excels at delivering high-speed machining with maximum stability and rigidity thanks to its heavy-duty casting.

Typically, SJ Dimmock is working to exceptionally tight tolerances of ±0.005 mm to meet the surface finish requirements of its customers. Here,Dimmock says the VCN has transformed the company’s machining operations. “We’ve replaced three machines with one and vastly improved the surface quality of the moulds, while reducing the volume of second operation work. The processing speeds are exceptional with the Mazak, which has not only helped with the quality of work, but has also doubled our capacity.”
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

In its 20,000 sq ft, purpose-built factory in Hayes, near London Heathrow airport, subcontractor Wellington Engineering uses 45 CNC machine tools to produce parts for sectors as diverse as aerospace, medical, semiconductors and cryogenics. The latest machine to arrive on the shop floor isa Hurco VC500i machining centre.

Owner and managing director Daimon Wellington says: “We recently adopted a strategy of looking to take on more complex prismatic machining work and had already identified a number of contracts. It was just a question of finding a suitable machining centre.Full five-axis capability was the next step up for us in terms of technology and, as we use a lot of Hurcos, we decided to source our first true five-axis machining centre from them.”

The cantilever-type VC500i is ergonomic for easy operator access, has a 520 x 450 x 400 mm working volume and a ±100° swivelling trunnion carrying a rotary table, suitable for machining five faces of a component in a single set-up. It reduces the number of separate operations needed compared with using the subcontractor’s three- axis machines, including those fitted with single- or two-axis dividing heads.

Wellington says: “Our other machining centres were taking too long to produce the increasingly complex components. Productivity drives profits and we’ve had excellent results in this respect since the five-axis Hurco arrived. Parts come off much quicker and we’re not tying up the capacity of our other machines and their operators. Also there are far fewer issues with workholding and there is less deburring and hand fettling, all of which saves time.With five-axis strategies, jobs are coming off more economically in shorter cycle times.”
For further information www.hurco.co.uk