The micro-machining capabilities offered by a Bumotec machining centre have recently been demonstrated by AMRC engineers who used the Swiss-made mill-turn machine to reproduce a series of tiny brass portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.

Indeed, the intricate detail of Her Majesty’s head can only be seen clearly through a powerful microscope.
It is a major achievement for University of Sheffield AMRC engineers Emma Parkin and Joe Thickett, who wanted to create the miniature artwork to demonstrate the AMRC Machining Group’s capabilities with the goal of bolstering industry knowledge on micro-machining to help UK firms win business.
Supplied by Starrag UK, the Bumotec s191 – one of eight Starrag machines in-situ at the AMRC and its sister centre, the Nuclear AMRC – was used by Parkin and Thickett to produce four highly-detailed Queen’s heads with diameters of 11.2, 7, 2.8 and 1.4 mm, on a single circular piece of 25 mm diameter brass. The pair used Sandvik micro-end-mills to achieve the basic shape of the design before switching to tiny ball-nose cutters – the smallest of which was just 0.2 mm diameter – for detailed contouring.
“We wanted to show our partners and wider industry what is achievable; that we can work to an accuracy of 0.001 mm on workpieces as small as 1.5 mm, and maintain detail,” says Parkin.
She is hoping the ‘coin’ demonstrator will lead to further micro-machining R&D and commercial projects for the AMRC.
“At the moment, when people come to the AMRC, and here to Factory of the Future, what they generally see are massive aerospace components and huge machines. I want people to also say ‘wow, the AMRC can make some really small parts, let’s work with them’.”
For further information www.starrag.com

Two recently introduced milling machines from Nicolás Correa are leveraging the benefits of the latest-generation rack and pinion drives technology from Redex.

The company says that choosing the Redex drivetrain was the way to enable superior dynamic performance for users of the new Fox-M gantry-type CNC milling machine, and the Fenix travelling-column CNC mill.
One of the main differentiators with Correa Fox-M milling machines is the head technology. For instance, the company´s UAD universal and OAD orthogonal indexing milling heads are said to be unique in the market, with patented technology allowing rotation every 0.02°, while the Correa two-axis ´twist-type´ contouring head can be supplied to those seeking five-axis machining solutions. This head type features a high-performance electro-spindle or a spindle geared transmission.
Typical applications for the Fox-M include construction machinery components, railway parts, machine-tool components and wind energy frames.
The Fenix is another recent addition to the Nicolás Correa portfolio. Introducing a new concept of travelling-column machine, the Fenix is based on a system of L-guided RAM technology, which is precision-enabled through a mechanical system of RAM droop correction.
A common denominator between the Fox-M and Fenix machines is that they both leverage the benefits of the latest Redex planetary drive-train technology in the rack and pinion X-axis drive. This development is an example of how Redex continues to centre its efforts in challenging areas, for instance by focusing on planetary gear trains to reduce vibration, noise and transmission errors.
Moving forward, Redex gearbox solutions will be at the heart of many future machine-tool developments from Nicolás Correa.
For further information www.redex-andantex.com

An entirely new brand of cost-effective yet high-quality machine tools has been launched by the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

The Vulcan brand has been entirely designed and developed by ETG to target the ‘volume’ sales market, while complementing the company’s existing high-end machine-tool brands, which include Chiron, Quaser, Nakamura, Hardinge and Bavius.
ETG’s group managing director Martin Doyle says: “We’ve worked tirelessly and diligently to create a range of machines that are designed from the ground up by ETG. The pricing structure for the brand, which will be supported by ETG’s service and support structure, will certainly disrupt the UK’s machine-tool market.”
Manufactured in Taiwan, the Vulcan range is the result of a long-standing relationship with a high-quality machine-tool builder.
ETG’s Steve Brown says: “To enter the market segment where customers purchase machines at a particular price point, we wanted to ensure that we have a high-specification machine construction that will give ETG a unique selling point. With a team of engineers permanently based in Taiwan to work in synergy with the machine-tool builder, we can meet our core competence of ETG-assured quality and performance at a price point that will appeal to every machine shop.”
The Vulcan brand incorporates a series of seven turning centres with capacity for the very smallest parts to components beyond 1 m diameter and 5 m in length, all available with UK-manufactured barfeeds. Vulcan machining centres come in nine heavy-duty box-way VMCs that range from a table length of 800 mm to 2.6 m, with many more models in the linear guide series. The Vulcan brand also incorporates double-column box-way and linear machines with X-axis capacity up to 6 m and beyond 10 m respectively.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

The success of a Heckert HEC 800 X5 five-axis machining centre for the machining of a titanium part at Hyde Group’s Hollygate Aircraft Components has subsequently led to the installation of a similar Heckert machine at sister Group company Victoria Production Engineering, for processing stainless steel components.

Both X5s, supplied by Starrag UK, have enabled the companies to ‘work smarter’ by introducing twin-pallet machining instead of single-station, three-axis working. This strategy provides for high utilisation levels as the machines’ twin pallets enable extended hours of machining.
In addition, not only do attributes such as integrated spindle monitoring, high-pressure coolant and effective swarf removal allow for unmanned working, but improved tool-holding stability has led to improved tool life.
Both companies are part of the Aero Products division of the Hyde Group – the northwest-based engineering service provider that specialises in design, manufacture, tooling and support for customers that include Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Embraer, GKN Aerospace, Leonardo and Rolls-Royce.
Paul Mellor, divisional technical director, explains that rising demand for the titanium workpiece at Stockport-based Hollygate spurred the search for “an improved way of working where we could effectively gain more from the same” in terms of replacing machine-for-machine with regard to floor space and manpower requirements, which led to the installation of the initial Heckert HEC 800 X5.
Mellor also outlines how similar process improvement strategies were employed for the stainless steel workpieces being machined by Victoria Production Engineering in Manchester.
“Two aspects were of particular significance,” he says. “These were: Starrag’s introduction of special hydraulic ‘sleeve’ clamping [via the machine’s hydraulics system] to consistently hold – yet not deform – the thin-wall tubular parts; and the application of long-reach angle milling heads on the Heckert HEC 800 X5.”
For further information www.starrag.com

In March, a Mills CNC custom-designed and built automated manufacturing cell was installed at Lenane Precision’s facility in Smithstown, Shannon. The cell represents a significant investment for Lenane and, at full capacity, will run 24/7, delivering significant productivity gains and process efficiency improvements to the company.

The cell, comprising two Siemens 840D-controlled Doosan DVF 5000 five-axis machining centres and a Fanuc industrial robot, includes a robot positioning track (also known as a RTU – Robot Transfer Unit) that runs between the two adjacently positioned DVF 5000 machines, enabling the robot to service both.
Integrated racking systems hold up to 36 standard size pallets on to which workpieces are clamped and then loaded into the DVF 5000 machines. Machined components are also unloaded from the machine and stored here.
Additionally, 2 m high safety caging/fencing encloses the robot track, restricting access to the DVF 5000 machines’ loading/unloading operations.
At the heart of the system is a touchscreen HMI that uses Mills’ proprietary SYNERGi software to control the cell, providing a seamless interface with the machine tools and robot.
“Continuous improvement is a journey not a destination,” states Jim Lenane, managing director. “My vision and ambition has always been to exploit the true potential of automation – the objective being to achieve continuous and seamless production in our facility, and to reduce as far as possible the labour component from our machining processes.
“We already had a good relationship with Mills CNC,” he adds. “We know them and they know us, so there isn’t a learning curve involved as there would be if we had selected a new supplier.”
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk