FEATURE ON CNC MILLS & MACHINING CENTRES

HMC is powerful and accurate

With experience gained from installing over 6000 NH and NHX series horizontal machining centres, DMG Mori has introduced a further model, the NHX 6300 2nd Generation.

Users achieve short machining times with the new Fanuc control, while the CELOS app-based user interface enables consistent administration, documentation and visualisation of orders, processes and machine data.
Improved rigidity ensures productive cutting performance. In the aerospace sector, for example, up to 462 cm³ of titanium can be converted into chips every minute with an 80 mm diameter porcupine cutter in a PowerMaster series spindle offering up to 1,413 Nm of torque. Even the standard spindle is rated at 12,000 rpm/807 Nm, while a third version with 16,000 rpm is intended for customers needing higher speeds for even better surface finishes.
The 50 taper (optionally HSK-A100) horizontal spindle machining centre achieves a rapid traverse rate of 60 m/min over its 1050 x 900 x 1030 mm axis travels, while the NC rotary table is designed for pallets up to 630 x 630 mm. Workpiece height can be up to 1300 mm and maximum table load is 1500 kg. DMG Mori’s standard wheel magazine has space for 60 tools, with optional magazines accommodating up to 330.
The twin-pallet design enables preparation of the next job while the previous component is being cut and allows the NHX 6300 2nd Generation to be connected to a linear pallet pool. Eight machines can be linked into a flexible manufacturing system with up to five set-up stations and space for a maximum of
99 machine pallets.
For further information www.dmgmori.com

Trio of Haas five-axis machines at Abbey Precision

Milton Keynes based Abbey Precision has been a Haas user for over 22 years.

The company’s 20 Haas machines make up almost the entire workshop, from the two mills purchased in 1996, which are still in use on a daily basis, through the turning section, to its latest collection of three UMC-750SS five-axis universal machining centres.
Managing director Steve Spicer sights a number of reasons for Abbey’s continued return to the Haas brand. “The prices are very competitive,” he explains. “I always get at least one other quote but Haas can’t be matched. Their response to queries is good, machine delivery times are fast, and we’re impressed by the feature sets.
“We prefer the continuity of the Haas control because it’s universal throughout the models,” he adds. “It makes it simple to move a job from one machine to another, while operators can be transferred from mills to lathes, and vice versa when necessary.”
Abbey recently invested in its third five-axis machine, another Haas UMC-750SS, which is equipped with an integrated high-speed two-axis trunnion, 15,000 rpm spindle and 40+1 side-mount tool changer as standard.
“Haas gave us some five-axis training; they were very patient, very knowledgeable,” says Spicer. “We have three UMCs now and two VF-2SS models with five-axis trunnions, so we have plenty of experience behind us. With our most recent machine, we were cutting metal an hour after the engineer had finished the installation.
“We always use Haas WIPS [Wireless Intuitive Probing System], which cuts set-up times and is useful for tool breakage detection,” he adds. “WIPS guides our operators through
the job set-up process with easy-to-use templates.”
For further information www.haas.co.uk

£600,000 Chiron investment at Shawpak

A manufacturer of thermoforming machinery has made its biggest ever capital investment to help it target new business in the food and medical sectors.

Shawpak, which is a division of Derby-based Riverside Medical Packaging, has spent £600,000 with Engineering Technology Group (ETG) on purchasing a five-axis Chiron 1250 vertical milling machine that will help the company almost halve cycle times on the 80-off customer tools it will produce over the next 12 months.
The high-speed spindle, rotating bed and bespoke workholding from Hyfore means Shawpak can machine up to 20 parts at any one time, with production set to take just 40 hours, instead of the previous 80. This time reduction is a major breakthrough for the firm, which will now be able to make more tailored machinery for food customers that could generate in excess of £2m of new business over the next 12 months.
Alan Wade, works and engineering director at Shawpak, says: “Demand for our thermoforming technology is growing rapidly, which means we need to manufacture more parts within the same amount of time to keep up with demand. We initially hired a XT630 and that showed us the type of performance we could get out of a five-axis machine. However, we knew we needed an even better solution and that’s when ETG suggested the Chiron 1250 five-axis machine.
“It’s our largest-ever single purchase, but one that has the potential to really help us drive forward within the food sector,” he continues. “One contract – to build a machine that seals a double burger pack – has already been won and this wouldn’t have been possible
with the previous machinery.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Mikron machines help win back work

Portsmouth-based Di-Spark, a precision manufacturing subcontractor has built on its ethos of continuous investment in the latest technology by installing two Mikron HPM 450U machining centres from GFMS.

Says managing director David Light: “If you’re not constantly moving forwards, the chances are that you’re going backwards. The manufacturing environment is dynamic; it is constantly evolving and changing. In my experience, companies that are unable or are unwilling to change have limited prospects. Fortunately we are not in that position.
“We operate 24/7 and do everything in our power to improve productivity and eliminate inefficiencies,” he continues. “The HPM 450U five-axis machines help us achieve both. The machines
give us proven, simultaneous five-axis machining performance and, with their integrated automatic pallet changers and generously sized automatic tool changers, enable us to run unmanned. These advantages, coupled with the machines’ ability to reduce set-up times and produce complex parts in ‘one hit’, further increase our productivity and flexibility.”
Di-Spark’s investment in the new Mikron HPM 450U machines reflects an increasing demand among customers for the company’s high-level milling capabilities.
“Our machine tool investment strategy based on acquiring new, state-of-the-art technology instead of merely replacing existing machines with like-for-like technology, continues to pay dividends,” says Light. “This year, for example, we were able to win back pre-production and production work from an aerospace customer who had initially placed a machining contract in India, only to find that they were soon experiencing quality and lead time issues.
“Having sophisticated five-axis machine tool capacity at our disposal enabled us to win back this work and provide a world-class machining solution for
the customer.”
For further information www.gfms.com

Starrag meets Metalex’s big machining plans

In a significant investment for the future, Metalex Manufacturing located in Cincinnati, Ohio, has selected Starrag to supply a large-capacity, multi-axis Droop+Rein portal-type machining centre for its newly created Center for Advanced Large Manufacturing.

The machine – the largest ever installed by the contract manufacturer – will provide it with flexible production capacity to meet all foreseeable demands in terms of producing precision milled and turned workpieces in a single set-up. Indeed, the six-axis Droop+Rein T series machine – with its machining envelope of up to 19 m table length, 9.5 m between the columns and 7 m under the spindle – will also help attract new work.
Established in 1971, Metalex specialises in producing complex workpieces for a range of customers in the aerospace, energy, marine and consumer goods industries.
Metalex’s desire to source a machine that would not only satisfy current production needs but also meet all projected demands in the years ahead saw it make contact with a number of machine builders, including Starrag, which in the past has supplied it with a number of machines (a Dörries vertical turning lathe and two Starrag STC horizontal five-axis machining centres).
To help meet application demands at Metalex, Starrag added the two rotary tables and turning tool holders for in-cycle turning operations, and expanded the horizontal and vertical clearances of the Droop+Rein T series machine. Also included was Balluff tool identification, Renishaw probing, Blum laser tool measuring, video monitoring of the work area using four cameras, ARTIS tool and process monitoring, and Brankamp collision monitoring – all integrated via the machine’s Siemens 840 D SL CNC.
The machine is due for delivery in 2020 and production is scheduled to commence in 2021.
For further information www.starrag.com