Traditionally a three-axis vertical machining centre user, Singer Instruments in Watchet installed its first five-axis CNC machine at the start of 2019 to streamline the manufacture of aluminium components.

The German-built Spinner U5-630, a 40-taper machine, was supplied through sole UK agent Whitehouse Machine Tools, and is equipped with high-pressure coolant through the spindle and a separate clean tank, as well as Blum spindle-mounted workpiece probing and a tool-setting probe.
Cycle-time savings have been dramatic and there has been a considerable reduction in the number of set-ups needed across a raft of different parts. This positive outcome is a result of using the two additional rotary CNC axes provided by the swivelling trunnion and rotary table to reposition components automatically. In one case, a table for Singer Instruments’ Rotor automated screening instrument used in the biological sciences sector, is produced in three set-ups, whereas previously it required nine separate prismatic machining operations on a three-axis VMC. More typically, components formerly needing six operations are now produced in two.
Investment in five-axis capacity was instigated by Steve Maconnachie, CNC machinist at Singer Instruments. Maconnachie previously ran his own subcontract machining business with his brother in the Midlands and had used five-axis technology for many years. He was familiar with all the leading makes of machine, many of which were reviewed before deciding on the Spinner purchase.
“Some of our components are tightly toleranced to ±5 µm, so we maintain the temperature of our production area to within a couple of degrees,” he says. “It’s true that many of the five-axis machines we considered could hold this tolerance, as does the Spinner, whose price was also competitive. It was little more than half the cost of one of the other production centres shortlisted.”
For further information www.wmtcnc.com

When Peterborough-based Rivercircle invested in one of the first XYZ UMC-5X gantry-style simultaneous five-axis machining centres just over 12 months ago, its ambition was to gain efficiency by transferring work previously performed on three- and four-axis machines.

Such was the company’s success in doing that, it has won numerous new contracts for five-axis work, resulting in the arrival of its second UMC-5X.
“We had no work that demanded full five-axis capability when we bought the first XYZ UMC-5X, but knew we could reduce set-up time and cycle time by moving work from other machines,” explains Paul Langan, Rivercircle’s production manager. “Furthermore, we had no expectation of keeping the machine busy 24/7, but as word spread, customers began to recognise the capability that we now had, and work kept coming in.”
The influx of orders from existing and new customers for dedicated five-axis work meant that additional capacity was required. However, due to the success of the first machine from XYZ, there was no reason for Langan to look anywhere else for the second.
“Work is continuing to move towards five-axis machining and, with the two XYZ UMC-5X machines, we can combine operations and become far more efficient, which will ultimately lead to more work as we are more competitive,” he says. “The ease of use of the machines, with the Heidenhain control that we are familiar with, along with support from XYZ Machine Tools, made our decision to double-up straightforward.”
The arrival of the second XYZ UMC-5X was enhanced by investment in several seats of Mastercam five-axis software to ensure there were no bottlenecks in processing the increased amount of work generated by the additional machining capacity.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

From the largest structural parts to the smallest workpieces, including blades and blisks, and in all materials, especially aluminium and titanium, Starrag’s display at the Paris Air Show (17-23 June) will demonstrate how the company can provide machining solutions for the global aerospace market.

Underpinned by guaranteed uptimes (up to 96%) and low piece-part costs, whether the need is for a large-capacity Ecospeed five-axis machining centre or the smaller capacity five-axis Heckert 500 X and STC 800 X machining centres – and including the dedicated blade (LX) and blisk (NB) machines – Starrag says it has expertise in meeting all machining demands in a cost-effective and productive manner.
With a large product range of machines available under the Starrag brand – Berthiez, Bumotec, Dörries, Droop+Rein, Ecospeed, Heckert, Scharmann, SIP and Starrag – and what the company describes as a “world lead” in Industry 4.0 strategies, the Starrag stand will be manned by like-minded experts who have only one thing on their minds – the mantra of ‘engineering precisely what you value’.
The Paris Air Show follows on from another aerospace event that took place last week, when Starrag joined forces with tooling expert Kennametal to present an informative ‘Optimised Titanium and Inconel Machining’ event at the AMRC in Sheffield, UK. A variety of technical presentations were staged, along with demonstrations of best-practice machining involving Inconel and titanium workpieces. For example, pocketing routines on titanium were performed using a Starrag STC 1250 machining centre.
For further information www.starrag.com

Burkhardt + Weber (B+W) has launched a horizontal-spindle model, the MCC 800, to sit alongside the smaller MCC 630 that was introduced in 2017. Availability in the UK is through sole sales and service agent, Kingsbury.

The stiffness and power of B+W’s heavy-duty MCX range has been incorporated into the compact MCC models. In the case of the latest 800 mm (optionally 1000 mm) pallet machine, the company says it has created a rigid and powerful metal-cutting centre for producing prismatic components weighing up to 2.5 tonne (including the fixture).
B+W’s four-axis machine, including C-axis rotary table, has twin pallets and a 1400 x 1200 x 1400 or 1600 mm working envelope, and a footprint of 8.8 x 3.5 x 3.8 m. MCC series models are also the first standard machines to enter series production at the company’s Reutlingen factory in southern Germany, which until now has built machining centres to customer order.
The MCC 800 can deliver 1300 Nm of torque continuously if a 41 kW gear-driven spindle is chosen instead of a 30 kW/300 Nm motor spindle. There is a further alternative of a +45/-110° tilting spindle of identical power that adds a fifth CNC axis. Spindle speed is up to 6000 rpm, optionally 10,000 rpm, while an ISO50 tool interface can be specified instead of the standard HSK-A100. The tool changer, which has few moving parts, serves a tool magazine with 64 pockets that can be expanded to 320 on request.
Productivity is promoted by a cutting feed force of 17.5 kN and 7 m/s2 acceleration to 60 m/min rapids in the linear axes, which are fitted with linear scales for feeding positional data back to the Siemens Sinumerik 840D sl control.
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

Since its formation in 1979, Newcastle Tool & Gauge (NTG) has adapted to change. Originally a tool room manufacturing press tools for local industry, NTG has evolved into a precision engineering machine shop.

Along the way, the company has gained a reputation as a preferred supplier to customers across a range of sectors, including oil and gas, power generation, subsea, and thermoforming. As its customer profile continues to change, so does its requirements for machine tools, and during 2018 NTG identified a need for simultaneous five-axis machining.
“A group of us visited MACH 2018 with the brief to look at every five-axis option,” says Mark Withycombe, operations manager. “We all came back from that trip of the same opinion – that the XYZ UMC-5X was the right option for us.”
Among the key features that drew the team to this conclusion were the use of a trunnion table that provided the weight-carrying capacity needed as well as ease of access for loading. Overall
build quality also impressed, especially when matched to the competitive price.
With the UMC-5X now installed, the initial expectations of the team at NTG are being fully met, with the build quality and accuracy of the machine helping to reduce cycle times. One particular job that would normally have taken six operations to complete, is now down to two, while the cycle time has been halved.
“The move to five-axis simultaneous machining with the XYZ UMC-5X is a first for us and it has definitely opened up new opportunities, with the capability of the machine allowing us to machine parts that we couldn’t have considered before,” says
Bryan Larvin, works manager.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com