FEATURE ON CNC MILLS & MACHINING CENTRES

Brother machining centre halves cycle times

Aylesbury-based R&A Engineering won a contract in early 2023 to produce several hundred aluminium parts per month (across six variants) for assembly into sensors that optimise the orientation of wind turbines. The job was tying up a pair of BT 40-taper vertical machining centres on the shop floor and impacting the subcontractor’s ability to take on other work. So the decision was taken to transfer production to a 30-taper, high-speed VMC, prompting an order for a Brother M200X3 with 16,000 rpm spindle from Whitehouse Machine Tools.

The new Brother Speedio M200X3 five-axis VMC has on average halved the time it takes to complete post-anodising milling, drilling and tapping operations on the six components. The machine is therefore able to perform the same work as the two VMCs used previously.

Ed Piotrowski, operations manager at R&A, says: “The Brother performs very well. Cycle times are now between 90 seconds and four minutes, half of what they were before. Moreover, the machine holds the ±0.05 mm tolerance all day long without any problem. It’s a really accurate machine.”

Reviewing the characteristics of the respective BT spindle machines, Piotrowski observes that while power and rigidity are higher in a 40-taper VMC, modern, smaller-taper counterparts such as the Brother have a reasonably well specified spindle motor with good torque, even in the medium- to high-speed range. The drive motors are also consistent with robust machining, while face-and-taper-contact tool retention assists further, as in R&A’s case.

He says: “Although the machining of light alloys is really the province of this type of machine, using CAM software to create intelligent cycles involving light depths of cut and high-speed contouring means it can also tackle tough and difficult-to-machine metals.”

More information www.wmtcnc.com

Higher productivity and increased efficiencies

In May 2024, Mills CNC supplied Winsford-based PRS Engineering, an air rifle accessory design and manufacturing specialist, with a new DN Solutions SVM 4100 vertical machining centre. The new machine is producing PRS-designed accessories and options predominantly, but not exclusively, for air rifles manufactured in the UK by Daystate and BRK (Brocock). These include extension rails, adjustable butt plates, cheek risers, cocking levers, hand grips and silencers.

The SVM 4100 is a compact, high-speed vertical machining centre that facilitates the fast processing of aluminium, light duty steels and engineering plastics. It features an 18.5 kW/12,000 rpm spindle, a 30-position ATC and a large worktable (920 x 410 mm) with a 600 kg maximum load. The machine model supplied to PRS features FANUC 0iMP control, 4th-axis interface, 20 bar through-spindle coolant capability, Renishaw probes and a Filtermist extraction unit.

Says Gavyn Jones, PRS owner and director: “We part-exchanged our existing Doosan DEM 4000 for the SVM 4100 but kept the 4th-axis unit and transferred it over to the new machine. The SVM 4100 has a compact footprint and – with its powerful and fast spindle, large worktable and tool changer – the machine significantly improved our milling capabilities.”

PRS is a company that does not rest on its laurels. As well as investing in new high-specification machine tools, the company is always looking to improve its productivity and process efficiencies. Indeed, the business is now actively looking at investing in automation.

“The company is at a watershed,” states Jones. “Business is growing but we are tight for space. We’re looking at a potential investment in automation systems in the near future to help us become more efficient and productive, and to help us respond more quickly to emergency jobs.”

More information www.millscnc.co.uk

Lights-out milling of multiple small batches

The benefits gained from automating the machining of prismatic components in a high-mix, low-volume production environment are no better exemplified than at Alitech Precision Parts in Silverstone. Since 2019, the subcontractor has invested in four German-built Hermle five-axis, trunnion-type machining centres from UK agent Kingsbury. Two are equipped for automatic exchange of pallets (with fixtured workpieces) between a storage system and the machining area.

Alitech’s owner and managing director Darren Cudd says: “The essence of making this type of production profitable is to buy a high-quality, powerful, reliable machining platform, equip it with accurate zero-point clamping systems and use high-end carbide tools that we can push to the limit of their performance. You must also have the confidence to program and simulate a new cycle in CAM before leaving it to run overnight without anyone present.”

This is exactly what Cudd has been doing since a Hermle C 22 UP machining centre, equipped with a PW150 storage and handling system for 18 square pallets (320 mm), was installed in 2020, six weeks before the start of the Covid pandemic. Two years later, a Hermle C 42 U arrived on the shop floor. Then in October 2024, a second automated Hermle cell was installed, a 650 x 600 x 500 mm capacity C 32 U machining centre featuring an HS Flex two-level store housing 12 square pallets (400 mm).


Cudd calculates that, disregarding this latest purchase, the other automated C 22 UP cell accounts for less than 30% of the site’s machine tool investment, yet has for the past few years generated up to 50% of Alitech’s turnover, a performance-to-cost benefit approaching 2:1.

More information www.kingsburyuk.com

Heller expands five-axis machine range

Following the introduction of its F 5000 and F 6000 five-axis machining centres, Heller has extended the company’s latest-generation series with the addition of a larger capacity model, the F 8000. According to Heller, the F 8000 is suitable for everything from single part manufacture to flexible series production, 24/7.

The machine is capable of producing parts within a 1400 x 1200 x 1400 mm working envelope, the X-axis stroke being 150 mm longer than that of its predecessor. Nevertheless, the new machine occupies a 25% smaller, narrower footprint, thanks in part to a new design of rack-type tool storage. Users can now place four machines side by side, rather than the previous maximum of three.

If a manufacturer purchases an optional, enhanced-specification PRO version, it will benefit from a machine with 50% higher linear axis acceleration at 6 m/s², reducing chip-to-chip time by approximately 30%. The PRO package also offers greater precision, with positioning tolerance in X/Y/Z of 6 µm, representing a 25% improvement over the former model.

Equipped with an automatic pallet changer as standard, the new machine utilises 800 x 800 mm pallets, although it also is possible to use larger 1000 x 1000 mm pallets. The maximum load is 2000 kg, but from the start of 2025 an optional pallet load of 3000 kg will be available. In addition, Heller can offer extended automation with linear/rotary storage systems or robots.

The F 8000 uses the same modular system as the entire F series for key components such as heads, spindles, pallets and tool magazines. Machine structure is also consistent across the series, ensuring compatibility – not only with previous five-axis generations – but also with Heller’s new H series of four-axis horizontal machining centres.

More information www.heller.biz

Setting the course for high precision

Some 15 years ago, Ammann AG changed its strategic business orientation from a contract manufacturer for machined switch and track parts to Ammann Components, a system supplier specialising in complex, high-precision workpieces. Success and growth followed – thanks in part to the company’s high-quality machinery, which is dominated by several Heckert machining centres from Starrag. Now, the of Tägerwilen, Switzerland-based is expecting a further boost from its recently delivered Heckert H75.

The successor model to the successful Heckert HEC 500, the H75 comes with various improvements and promising options. The machine produces large aluminium gearbox housings for which the customer specifies centre distances with a tight tolerance.

Managing director Paul Ammann is especially enthusiastic about the machine’s spindle with its maximum torque of 950 Nm and speed up to 12,500 rpm. This capability makes the BAZ spindle equally suitable for aluminium and heavy machining. To maximise flexibility and keep set-up times to a minimum, the Heckert H75 features extensive tool storage: with its four coupled towers, the magazine has a capacity for almost 400 tools.

As the company plans long term for all its investments, the imminent move to a new location will have an impact on the Heckert H75, as Ammann explains: “At the moment, automation is neither necessary nor possible. At our new location, however, we’ll expand the Heckert H75 and our existing Heckert HEC 500 with a pallet system to create a low-manpower production system. It was therefore important to us that the H75 is fully compatible with the Heckert HEC 500 so that a second set-up station is not needed. As expected, our partner Starrag was extremely flexible and made the necessary adjustments to the Y-axis travel and pallet changer.”

More information www.starrag.com