Mazak has responded to market demand for a high-specification entry-level machining centre with a large Y-axis stroke by launching the new VCE-600.

For its category, the UK-built VCE offers a generous table size of 1300 x 600 mm with a large machining envelope, while retaining a compact floor space. Specifically, the VCE-600 offers increased versatility due to its X, Y and Z-axis travel of 1050, 600 and 600 mm respectively, maximising space for workpieces and fixtures.

With productivity at the forefront, the new VCE boasts a 12,000 rpm/18.5 kW/119.4 Nm spindle with an electronic two-speed shift. This specification makes it a versatile choice for a range of materials, with power and speed for machining non-ferrous materials and torque and power for steel.

The VCE-600, the first model of a new range of vertical machining centres, is produced to Mazak’s global manufacturing standards with no compromise on build quality. According to the company, the level of specification mirrors that usually found on premium-priced machines and includes pre-tensioned ballscrews, direct-coupled servomotors and linear roller guides on all axes, resulting in high-accuracy agile machining performance with 36 m/min rapid feed rate on all axes. The machine is equipped with a 24-tool magazine as standard, with options available for 30 and 48 tools.

Mazak’s VCE-600 is equipped with Mazak’s latest CNC, SmoothEz, a high-specification CNC developed for entry-level machines that offers intuitive programming to deliver increased productivity through faster set up, programming and operation.

The 15-inch touchscreen enables programming in two languages, Mazatrol and EIA/ISO for G-code, and is customisable to the operator’s own preferences with a full keyboard.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

When Autocraft Solutions Group, Europe’s largest independent engine builder and remanufacturer, purchased the land and assets of an existing but redundant machine shop in Wellingborough, in June 2018, the company retained four existing Heller four-axis, twin-pallet horizontal machining centres (HMCs) that were already on site. Within weeks, Autocraft was using them to produce cylinder heads and blocks both for its own engine assembly and for delivery to its customers’ production lines on a just-in-time basis.

Autocraft co-owner Mike Hague-Morgan says: “Once we started using the Hellers, we saw how quickly they responded to our requests for aftersales service, including the supply of replacement spindles within 24 to 48 hours. It gave us such a high level of confidence that we decided to take all the stock out and purchase additional Heller HMCs to produce more parts, increasing our profitability.”

Autocraft produces cylinder heads and blocks in medium to low volumes for a range of three- to six-cylinder inline and V6 to V12 engines for automotive and off-highway applications. The four Heller H2000 machining centres were soon joined by another three. Then two further orders, each for three more, were placed during the pandemic to bring the total to 13.

Hague-Morgan says: “During an incredibly difficult trading period, we were still able to grow the business partly because of the service level provided by Heller. We deliver hundreds of engine blocks per week to major production lines and it costs millions of pounds if they stop, so continuity of supply of heads and blocks is critical. Having machines up and running within a day or two after a spindle failure is worth a huge amount to me.”
For further information www.heller.biz

The use of a Heckert H55 machining centre from Starrag has enabled renowned hand-tool manufacturer SWM to not only reduce cutting times by around 40% on certain parts, but identify new machining concepts there were previously impossible.

By way of example, SWM recently recognised the potential to optimise the production of its large pliers. Clamping of the plier heads was taking too long, as was the milling of these workpieces due to the limited spindle speed available with existing machinery, which also severely limited product variety and made retooling very time consuming.

The way to shorten the production process – to 30 seconds per plier head – and minimise the set-up times of 26 different workpieces was, SWM discovered, to capitalise on the capabilities of a Heckert H55 machining centre boasting high levels of rigidity (and therefore accuracy), fast traverse rates of 80 m/min and an ability to handle loads of 800 kg on pallets of 500 x 500 mm (optionally 500 x 630 mm).

But why use such a high-precision machining centre on components where tolerances are usually only a few tenths of a millimetre? In SWM’s case, machining accuracy was not the decisive factor; what is important is machine stability (for machining repeatability) and flexibility (to handle a range of component types/batch sizes), as well as the need for minimal space requirements (the H55 is a compact machine occupying a floorspace of just 6.8 x 2.9 m).

Another example of the benefits to SWM of the Heckert machine concerns certain very large parts that previously required half a shift to machine manually. Today, because the Heckert table can easily handle the required half-tonne fixture, it enables the company to redeploy the machinist formerly required.
For further information www.starrag.com

In the production of many optical components such as lenses and mirrors, the specified form accuracy and surface roughness are generally an order of magnitude higher than for other machining processes. That is why Son-x GmbH in Aachen, Germany, a spin-off from the renowned local Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology, uses a five-axis machining centre built by another German firm, Roeders. The manufacturer’s machines are available in the UK and Ireland through sole agent, Hurco Europe.

Son-x manufactures metal components made from various alloys, including high-strength steels, as well as parts made of clear plastic. Quantities range from single pieces to several hundred per year, while dimensions extend from a few millimetres up to half a metre diameter in the case of metal mirrors, for example.

Dr Olaf Dambon, a director of Son-x, says: “Our early work involved ultra-high-precision diamond turning, but parts started coming along that needed a prismatic machining platform able to achieve similar accuracies. We drew up a specification sheet for the machine we wanted and designed a challenging test part for prospective suppliers to produce. Five machining centre manufacturers were shortlisted, including three from Japan, but we chose the Roeders because its trial machining results were the best.”

An order was therefore placed for a Roeders RXP 601 DSH five-axis machining centre.

Dr Benjamin Bulla, another director of Son-x, says: “We have many jobs that run for extended periods, so the long-term stability of the machine’s reference point is crucial. In one instance we had to mill moulds for arrays of hundreds of plastic lenses whose shape required control to within 316 nm. This tolerance was reliably maintained throughout 50 hours of machining.”
For further information www.hurco.co.uk