In 1992, Dublin-based Pressco Precision Engineering purchased its first Haas machine, a VF-0 vertical machining centre, followed by a VF-1 two years later. Both machines are still a regular part of the production process and continue to hold tolerance.

Today, Pressco is a global company supplying to some of the biggest life-science companies in the world. Around 40% of work is in the healthcare sector, with much going to mainland Europe and the USA. Aerospace makes up 25%, reaching as far as China and South America. Central to this growth is the company’s relationship with Haas, with the business currently operating 23 Haas machines. In 2015 Pressco invested in a VF-5SS Super Speed vertical machining centre, followed by a UMC-750SS Super Speed five-axis machining centre in February 2017.
“Multi-axis is the future,” says the company’s Stephen Hayes. “We’ve moved up the food chain of customers and are now considered tier 1 by our major clients. Using Haas machines has cut down our handling times and reduced costs, allowing us to be more competitive when quoting.
“The 15,000 rpm UMC-750SS has halved our cycle times,” he adds. “Its full simultaneous five-axis motion is perfect for cutting complex components for our healthcare customers. Moreover, the ability to cut five faces in a single set-up means we load once and the part is finished.
It cuts the labour right down.”
First attracted by the competitive price of Haas, Hayes says it is the high level of service that brings them back each time: “The machines are very reliable, but if there is an issue, the engineer and parts arrive next day.”
For further information www.haascnc.com

A second automated production cell has been installed at the Tamworth factory of Alcon Components to cope with worldwide demand for its monobloc brake calipers. The calipers are machined from aluminium or lithium billet for motorsport race cars and high-performance road cars, as well as from cast iron for military vehicles.

Similar to the original automated system installed in February 2007, the latest configuration is based on a bigger Hermle five-axis vertical machining centre, a model C32U with 650 x 650 x 500 mm axis travels, reflecting the fact that brake calipers have become larger over the past decade. Supplied by Geo Kingsbury, UK agent for the German machine manufacturer, the C32U has been equipped with an Erowa Robot Easy that stores 12, 210 mm diameter pallets, which are transferred to and from the working area by a horizontally travelling load/unload arm.
As on the previous Hermle C20U, the latest five-axis machine is equipped with Blum laser tool-breakage monitoring and length setting, Renishaw part probing, an 18,000 rpm HSK63 spindle, 80-bar through-tool coolant and a 117-position tool magazine. Swarf management has also been provided, consistent with unattended machining of light alloy parts. Designs are produced in SolidWorks, while Open Mind’s HyperMill CAM software is used for creating the cutter paths prior to program transfer to the Heidenhain control.
Brake caliper production is a natural application for five-axis machining, as Alcon discovered 10 years ago. Compared with four-axis metal cutting, it is not only faster but also inherently more accurate, as approach angles can be adjusted to allow shorter and hence more rigid tool holders to access awkward component areas.
For further information www.geokingsbury.com

A Staffordshire engineering company has continued its investment in advanced CNC machining following a string of recent contract wins. Staffordshire Precision Engineering, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, has purchased a VTC-800/20SR vertical travelling column five-axis machining centre from Yamazaki Mazak UK. The investment will enable the company, which turns over £3m, to move into the manufacture of larger, high-precision components for the automotive and aerospace industries, as well as the medical and scientific instrument markets.

“We’ve already won new business off the back of the purchase,” says director Gary Smith. “We can now also machine bigger parts, such as housings, to go alongside the medical and scientific instrumentation components we manufacture for existing customers, which means clients can consolidate their subcontract work into one supplier.”
Staffordshire Precision’s purchase of the VTC-800/20SR follows a successful period of expansion and investment. The company, which currently employs 49 people and runs a successful apprenticeship programme, recently moved to a new 28,000 sq ft site and created nine new jobs, with a further six likely to be added in the coming 12 months.
This investment in the VTC-800/20SR represents the fourth Mazak machine on site, the company having purchased two Quick Turn Smart 250M lathes and one Variaxis i-500 five-axis multi-tasking machining centre in 2016 as part of expansion plans.
“We like the fact that we can go to one supplier and source multiple machining solutions,” says Smith. “The two lathes were needed to service an aerospace contract, and the Variaxis has also been a huge asset. We have paired the machine with a pallet loader to increase production efficiency and it has already generated a lot of enquiries for highly complex aerospace parts.”
For further information
www.mazakeu.co.uk

The catastrophic failure of a five-axis machining centre, coupled with a requirement to continue supplying 12 aircraft seat-tray table assemblies per day that it was producing, is a nightmare scenario for any subcontractor. However, this situation was exactly that being faced by Dorset-based FGP Systems.
A solution was quickly found, however, namely the acquisition of a new Hermle C400 machining centre, which was supplied by sole UK agent Geo Kingsbury in a lead-time of just two weeks. After commissioning and training, the five-axis, vertical-spindle machine was producing parts within three weeks from time of order. Three months later, the supplier moved it to a new, permanent location in the company’s Weymouth facility over a period of just four days prior to Christmas.

Simon Griffiths-Hughes, director of engineering at FGP, says: “No other potential source of a quality five-axis machining centre could react so quickly. Around 14 to 16 weeks is a normal lead-time from a factory if a machine is built to order, but Geo Kingsbury had the Hermle C 400 in stock. As luck would have it, the machine was perfectly specified for our requirements with spindle nose probing, laser tool setting, HSK 63 tools, an extended 87-station magazine and an 18,000 rpm spindle for aluminium machining.
“Before we placed the order we spoke with several UK users of Hermle equipment, from blue chip firms to small subcontractors, and all endorsed the brand,” he adds.
FGP says that the C 400 has excelled, especially in respect of the surface finish being achieved on machined components. Many hours of manual polishing were previously needed to remove cutter marks. Now, components go straight from the Hermle to anodising without any further work.
For further information
www.geokingsbury.com