INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Accolade for professor

Dame Xiangqian Jiang, a professor of precision metrology at the University of Huddersfield’s Centre for Precision Technologies has recently been appointed as one of 12 strategic advisors to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The advisors will form the EPSRC’s Strategic Advisory Network (SAN). Their role is to provide the EPSRC Executive with advice to assist in the development, implementation and modification of plans, and to make appropriate recommendations to its council. Professor Jiang is one of the university’s most celebrated engineers.
For further information www.hud.ac.uk

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

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

Maximum machining performance

Open Mind Technologies will present the latest version of its hyperMILL CAD/CAM suite on Stand F20.

The key focus will be the hyperMILL MAXX Machining performance package. MAXX Machining incorporates novel strategies for roughing, finishing and drilling. Open Mind has also been instrumental in developing the next generation of conical barrel cutting tools for the five-axis tangent plane machining strategy within MAXX Machining. The conical barrel cutter has a large radius that enables correspondingly wide step-overs between tool paths.
In addition, Advanced Engineering will give the UK marketplace a first glance at some of the newly developed innovations launched at the recent AMB exhibition in Stuttgart. For instance, in the future, hyperMILL MAXX Machining will be available for 3D-optimised roughing, as well as for turning. Meanwhile, five-axis tangent machining is available for corner filleting, a function that is said to guarantee simple radius programming at surface boundaries.
For further information www.openmind-tech.com

Vericut 8.2

For those seeking out the latest advances in CNC machine simulation software, CGTech will be showcasing Vericut 8.2 on stand R45. Among the major upgrades are those relating to the user interface, force turning and additive manufacturing modules. A modernised user interface now uses a right-mouse-button ribbon to put favourite Vericut functions just a click away, and provide convenient access to external applications that programmers find useful. In addition, the configurable head-up display improves simulation monitoring and visibility by showing the NC program, or machining and cutting status information, overlaid on top of Vericut’s graphical views.
For further information www.cgtech.com