Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied Coventry-based precision machining specialist, MNB Precision, with a large-capacity Doosan SMX 3100 multi-tasking machine and a Doosan DNM 6700 vertical machining centre. Installed at MNB’s 36,000 sq ft facility in May 2021, the machines’ arrival forms part of a larger technology investment package that, over the next seven months, will see MNB take ownership of four more Doosan machines (two lathes, a vertical machining centre and a mill-turn machine). By the end of the year, MNB will have 20 Doosan machines at its disposal, representing a sizeable proportion of the company’s 55 total machine tool resource.

Says commercial director Elliot Benton: “We are committed to continuous improvement and, as such, are no strangers to making strategic and prudent investments in advanced manufacturing and machining technologies. The sectors where we operate are ultra-competitive and the investments we make are intended to help us improve quality, productivity and operational efficiencies.”

Doosan’s SMX 3100 is a high-productivity multi-tasking machine equipped with a 12” chuck, a 30 kW/4000 rpm spindle, a B-axis milling spindle, a 40-tool magazine, a servo-driven tailstock, linear scales and the latest FANUC 31iB5 control. As part of the investment, Mills supplied the machine with an SLU-X4 steady rest, which in conjunction with the tailstock, enables the reliable and high-accuracy machining of long workpieces.

The SMX 3100 is the first Doosan turn-mill machine acquired by MNB, but the company is no stranger to the technology itself.

“Turn-mill technology enables us to machine complex, high-precision parts in one hit,” says Benton. “The technology can make jobs previously considered unprofitable, a more attractive proposition and helps significantly reduce job set-up and part cycle times. The investment in the SMX 3100 comes specifically from the need to machine high-precision oil and gas plug-type components. Manufactured from low-alloy steel, the parts are required in large volumes for a customer in Norway.

“The SMX 3100 is a powerful, flexible and accurate turn-mill machine,” states Benton. “The price and performance of the machine, its reputation in the market and the fact that it’s backed by Mills CNC’s aftersales service and support, made the investment decision a relatively straightforward one to make.”

Doosan’s DNM 6700 is a large-capacity vertical machining centre equipped with a 12,000 rpm directly-coupled spindle, a 30-position ATC, roller LM guideways, thermal compensation systems, and the latest Fanuc 0iMP control with the advanced iHMI touchscreen. To increase productivity and ensure machining flexibility, Mills supplied the DNM 6700 with an integrated four-/five-axis rotary table.

Says Benton: “We invested in a Doosan DNM 5700 vertical machining centre in 2017 and can vouch for the machine’s accuracy, speed and reliability. Our latest DNM 6700 provides us with a larger travels [1300 x 670 x 625 mm] and a bigger work table [1500 x 670 mm]. The DNM 6700 increases the machining capacity of i8 Ltd, a new, precision engineering subsidiary we created and absorbed into MNB in 2019 following the purchase of the assets of Integr8, a local engineering subcontractor. The machine was acquired to machine complex parts for a water treatment customer.”

MNB Precision and Mills CNC have a partnership that dates back to 2012 when the former invested in its first Doosan machine, a large-capacity Puma 800XL lathe. Since then MNB has regularly invested in Doosan lathes and machining centres from Mills.

“Doosan machine tools deliver best-in-class performance,” says Benton. “They are reliable and competitively priced.”

Established over 40 years ago MNB Precision, a family-owned business, is a provider of manufacturing and precision engineering services to a growing number of OEM and tier-one companies operating primarily, but not exclusively, in the oil and gas sector. Other industry sectors served by MNB Precision include power generation, rail, defence, nuclear and automotive.

The company manufactures a range of different-sized components, from handheld parts up to others that measure 11 m in length and 1 m in diameter, weighing up to 8 tonnes.

In addition to CNC turning and milling, MNB provides other in-house machining services that include jig boring, grinding and EDM. The company has impressive testing and inspection capabilities located in a temperature controlled environment and, to further differentiate itself in the market, offers customers a range of secondary services that include shot peening, NDT, magnetic particle inspection and liquid dye penetration. In the near future, MNB is considering further augmenting its services by opening up separate materials and surface treatment divisions.

Serving the oil and gas sector for four decades has meant that the company has experienced and survived a number of industry downturns. In response to the sector’s perennial volatility and to enable the company to have more control over its own destiny, MNB’s current leadership team has, over recent years, implemented a number of innovative and interrelated business strategies.

The company’s strategies are working. Sales turnover, prior to the pandemic, increased from £3.3m in 2016/17 to £20m in 2019/20. Such outstanding sales success has not gone unnoticed, with the company earning a number of recent and well-deserved accolades and awards. For instance, in 2020, MNB appeared 30th in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table of UK companies with the fastest-growing sales.

MNB’s recently introduced business strategies, across all of its operations, have been transformative. These include the adoption of a ‘servitisation’ business model, proactive and aggressive sales, and diversification.

In summary, MNB Precision is clearly a manufacturing company that thinks outside, and inside, the box.

Recent and future investment in advanced machine tool technologies combined with its servitisation business approach has helped, and will help, the company compete and win more work in the oil and gas sector which, independent forecasters have predicted will bounce back strongly in the second half of 2021.

MNB’s more proactive and targeted sales strategies are driving demand for its services, and the creation of a manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia will put the company in the box seat in one of its primary markets. Furthermore, MNB’s move into other sectors and the recent creation of i8 Ltd, are further evidence of its forward-looking and focused business approach.

All three strategies rely on MNB having access to class-leading, high-performance machine tools, which is why the company continues to invest in Doosan machines from Mills CNC.

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

At the Barnstaple subcontract machining facility of Witon Engineering, the turn-milling of relatively complex components from 16 mm diameter bar previously took place on 32 mm capacity sliding-head lathes, rather than smaller capacity models, to take advantage of the extra CNC axes and tools available on the larger machines. The company has now transferred this type of work to a more nimble, 25 mm bar capacity Citizen Cincom D25-VIIILFV sliding-head turning centre, installed in January 2021. The first two jobs have shown cycle time reductions of 20% or more.

Since the mid-90s, Witon Engineering has bought 17 bar-fed lathes from Citizen Machinery, of which one was a 42 mm bar capacity Miyano fixed-head machine, the others being various Cincom sliding-head models for turning up to 32 mm stock. There are currently 11 Citizen machines on the shop floor, following the replacement of earlier models over the years. Lathes from this supplier therefore account for approaching half of the 25 of bar autos in the factory, comprising 13 sliding-head models, eight single-spindle fixed-head turning centres and four CNC multi-spindle automatics.

The first component transferred to the D25 was an EN1A steel shaft for a lawnmower. Previously, the machining of this part took place on an L32-VII, of which there are three on site. As 180,000 have to be produced to fulfil the current contract, the 20% cycle time reduction leads to a significant production cost saving.

Another component benefiting from machining on the D25 is a 304 stainless steel fuel inlet fitting for an automotive customer. It used to be turn-milled on a pair of Cincom M32s in a cycle time of 72 seconds, but this has been cut to 53 seconds, representing a 26% saving. With 55,000-off needed, the economy gained is significant.

Ian Clapp, workshop manager at the Barnstaple factory, says: “We operate a couple of 20 mm capacity, dual-platen sliders of another make and knew this configuration offered quick cycle times. However, we saw what our long-standing sliding-head lathe supplier Citizen was offering in the D25, a machine with larger bar capacity plus the ability to carry out work up to 32 mm diameter without the guide bush for more economical material usage when producing shorter components. The model also has the benefit of a programmable B axis, so we decided to go for this option.”

Notably, the gang tool platens are in front of and behind the spindle centreline, with Z-axis motion provided on the rear carrier to allow balanced turning, milling or drilling, or simultaneous rough and finish turning. The B axis on the front post, carrying up to four driven tools on either side to service either the main or counter spindle, swivels by up to 135°. A further feature of the lathe is the potential to control three axis groups simultaneously via the Mitsubishi 800 CNC system (so three tools can be in cut at the same time).

Another benefit of this 12-axis CNC turn-mill centre is that it incorporates Citizen’s programmable LFV (low frequency vibration) chip-breaking technology in the control. LFV automatically breaks into smaller pieces the long, stringy swarf produced when machining materials such as copper, plastics and high alloy steels. Bird-nesting around the tool and component – and the consequent damage – is therefore avoided. Although LFV cycles have not been included in programs run so far on the D25 at Barnstaple, it is nevertheless there to use when appropriate jobs come along.

Witon Engineering underwent a change of management at the end of 2016 when second-generation owner and managing director Ian Sheldon retired. The firm is now run by Ian’s son-in-law Tom Courtney, who is general manager, alongside Sheldon’s daughters, Hayley Neate and Gemma Courtney, who are both directors. Operations still predominantly centre on precision turned parts production using CNC lathes, the cam multi-spindle auto shop having closed in 2018. Two three-axis, vertical-spindle machining centres are also in use.

Large batch runs are the norm: Witon Engineering produces one electrical connector part at a rate of 100,000 per month, and even one of the machining centres is currently completing a contract for 500,000-off prismatic components.

Says Neate: “We are keeping Witon Engineering basically on the same trajectory, with the accent on turning and long periods of unattended running during the day through to the end of a twilight shift finishing at 00:30 every weekday.

“The onset of the pandemic reduced business early on, especially as work for the automotive sector, traditionally a large proportion of our business, was badly affected,” she continues. “However, we have gained extra contracts in other sectors to compensate, such as parts for lubrication systems and household goods. When the automotive work returns, our production throughput will be at a record high and we will carry on investing in top quality plant like Citizen lathes to meet demand.”

For further information
www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied Stourbridge-based HCM Engineering, a precision toolmaker and die-casting process technology specialist, with a new large-capacity three-axis vertical machining centre.

The machine – a Mynx 9500/50 – is a box-guideway three-axis machining centre for heavy-duty operations, including interrupted cutting and long machining runs.

“It is,” according to Mike Hanson, HCM’s operations managing director, “a versatile machine: a real all-rounder.”
HCM’s new Mynx 9500/50 was installed in February 2021 at the company’s 12,000 sq ft facility, where it is being used to machine complex, high-precision die-cast mould tools for a number of leading OEM and tier-one customers – predominantly, but not exclusively, from the automotive sector.

The die-cast mould tools machined on the new Mynx 9500/50 are complex and characterised by intricate and high-precision features such as thin walls, ribs, tapers and cavities, and increasingly by their large size. Specific mould-tool elements machined on the Mynx include 3D ‘component’ forms and features, 2D plates, mould inserts, cores and slides. The elements are made from hardened tool steels and machined to tight geometric tolerances (0.025 mm), high surface finishes and exacting quality standards.

Established in 1969, HCM Engineering is an independent, privately-owned precision toolmaking company that has over 50 years’ experience and expertise in the moulding and die-casting business.

The company provides customers with complete ‘concept to completion’ tooling solutions, offering design consultancy and design for manufacturing services, through to the production and supply of high-pressure, low-pressure and gravity die cast mould tools. As part of its services the company also provides machined or 3D-printed prototypes for test builds.
HCM is committed to continuous improvement and achieving best practice and, as such, regularly invests in its people, plant and equipment to improve performance and competitiveness. Part and parcel of the company’s improvement programme is its willingness and readiness to invest in the latest advanced manufacturing technologies.

Says Mike: “We regularly monitor and review our performance. If, and when, we see any area for improvement, we act quickly and decisively to rectify the situation.”

The company’s progressive, and some may say ‘bullish’, ethos and approach is evidenced by its move, back in 2003, to create HCM India (a 50:50 joint venture enterprise) from scratch.

Says Simon Hanson, HCM’s commercial managing director: “To help combat tooling contracts from migrating to China and the Far East, we set up a new company in India. The joint venture has been, and is, a huge success: it has helped us remain competitive and has been instrumental in us securing new business.’ with: The joint venture has been, and is, a huge success: it has helped us to remain competitive and been instrumental in securing new business. HCM India has provided us with significant flexibility. We can design and manufacture hybrid mould tools, using both our UK and Indian facilities.”
The company’s ability to keep ‘one eye on the future’ is also evidenced by its successful five-year apprenticeship programme run in partnership with local FE colleges and training providers.

HCM’s investment in the Mynx 9500/50 was made for a number of reasons. Firstly, to increase the company’s machining capacity and capabilities: specifically its ability to produce large die cast mould tools increasingly required by, and used in, the automotive sector. HCM also wanted to improve the company’s productivity and efficiency by enabling it to adopt lights-out, unattended machining operations and, as a consequence, improve cost competitiveness and lead time fulfilment.

Automotive manufacturers under pressure to make vehicles lighter, more energy efficient and ‘cleaner’ are increasingly looking to make more parts from lightweight aluminium, zinc and/or magnesium alloys manufactured via the die-casting process.

“Customers’ tooling requirements are constantly changing,” says Mike. “Over the past 10 years the trend within the automotive sector is towards larger and more complex mould tools. It’s a trend, certainly with the rapid growth of electric vehicles, which looks set to continue well into the future.

“This is good news for toolmakers, as long as they have the requisite machining capabilities available to manufacture large-sized dies,” he continues. “To stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive, we identified that we needed to increase and improve our machining (milling) resources – specifically relating to the size and weight of parts (tooling) we could machine. Although we have a number of 2 and 3 m bed machines at our facility, we realised that it would be a strategically sound move to invest in another machine to enable us to succeed in a constantly-changing and ultra-demanding market. With the trend towards large mould tool production we decided to invest in the Mynx machine.”

Doosan’s Mynx 9500/50 is a large-capacity machine with a work envelope of 2500 x 950 x 850 mm that can accommodate workpieces up to 3500 kg in weight. The machine’s 2500 x 950 mm work table is being used by HCM to produce large workpieces, as well as multiple smaller jobs. These parts can be machined in a single set up and, such is the reliability of the Mynx 9500/50, unattended overnight and at the weekends.

Says Mike: “To help us increase our productivity and operational efficiencies, and to ensure we were able to meet customers’ often stringent delivery deadlines, we needed the machine to run lights-out.”

The machine features a BT50 built-in spindle (22 kW/10,000 rpm/452 Nm) with Big Plus dual-contact face and taper configuration.

“The Mynx’s rigid design and build, combined with its advanced spindle technology, enables us to ramp up feeds and speeds and to take aggressive depths of cut, all of which help reduce cycle times,” says Mike. “Its technical prowess, in addition to its 40-position servo-driven ATC with 2.5 second tool changeover time, gives us the ability and confidence to run the machine unattended.”

HCM is no stranger to Doosan machine tools or Mills CNC having invested in two DNM 650 Mk II vertical machining centres in 2014.

“Mills CNC knows our business and we have a good relationship with them: the previously acquired Doosan machines have performed well over the years,” states Simon. “In mid-October 2020, Mills made contact to inform us that they would soon have a large-capacity Doosan machine arriving in stock in the very near future. “The size and technical specification of the machine appeared to match our requirements perfectly and, when we found out its price and that it could be delivered, installed and be up and running in early 2021, we were, to put it mildly, very interested,” he adds. “Following further discussions with Mills we placed the order and the Mynx was installed in February. From order to delivery took just 10 weeks.”

Concludes Mike: “The productivity benefits we are experiencing from the Mynx investment are dramatic and significant. Just when machining 2D plates we estimate that we are now 800% faster.”

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

Founded in 1995, Point CNC has provided a high quality and flexible CNC machining service to customers in the medical, aerospace, surveillance and automotive sectors since it opened its doors for business. The evolution of the company down the years has seen the manufacturer invest in high-end machine tools from YMT and CAM software from Open Mind Technologies.

Based in Sevenoaks, Point CNC produces components and sub-assemblies for high-precision surveillance and ANPR camera systems in use by police forces, security agencies and rescue services, as well as high-technology parts for the motorsport and specialist road-car sectors.
With the ever-increasing complexity of components, Point CNC has invested in hyperMILL from Open Mind, a CAM solution for five-axis machining. The ISO9001-accredited subcontract manufacturer has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years, consolidating several facilities by bringing them into one large factory that houses all of the company’s 20 CNC machine tools.

“We are implementing more automation to maximise our output and undertaking more automotive, audio and MoD work at present,” says Joseph Goldsmith, CADCAM programmer at Point CNC.

Referring to the implementation of CAM software from Open Mind Technologies, Goldsmith states: “When I first came here, we were using different software and I had come from a hyperMILL background. The software we had was nowhere near as good as hyperMILL, so I put my case forward to the directors of the business, highlighting that our current growth rate and the turnaround requirements from customers meant we needed to be adopting hyperMILL.”

With a well-made case and business leadership that is always striving to enhance its capabilities, service and performance, the company invested in the hyperMILL CAM system.
“The facility to use things such as the tool library in hyperMILL and to teach our apprentices all the cutting speeds and feeds in a simplified format to build their confidence, has been invaluable,” says Goldsmith. “hyperMILL helps to give the apprentices a good grounding in every-day processes. Additionally, skilled engineers do not have to watch the apprentices all the time, giving our younger employees the responsibility and confidence to evolve.”

Alluding to some of the savings that hyperMILL has generated, Goldsmith says: “Another advantage with the tool library is that it will calculate and optimise all of our speeds and feeds. Once the information has been entered, the speeds and feeds calculated by hyperMILL determine how hard we can be hitting the workpieces. It really has accelerated our programming. By reprogramming existing components in hyperMILL we’ve shaved a lot of time from our processes.”

He adds: “Essentially, we can input tool data from the cutting-tool manufacturer into hyperMILL and it will crunch the numbers and push the machining strategy to its limits. Every time I program hyperMILL I generally think we won’t get away with running at such extremely high speeds and feeds, but we do. It works without fail. On one of the first jobs where I really pushed hyperMILL, it was probably running 20% faster than I would have liked. In fact, it was running so fast there was steam coming off the chips and evaporating out of the machine. It really is helping these machines achieve what they are made to do.”

Referring to how hyperMILL helps to conserve tool life, Goldsmith says: “There are a lot of different factors in play here. For example, the benefits depend upon the type of tooling and what materials you are cutting, but hyperMILL goes a long way to helping with things like that. It creates greater tool engagement, which improves material removal rates, cycle times and tool life.

“Since coming to this company and helping migrate to hyperMILL, cycle times have improved by at least 20% and programming times have improved even further,” continues Goldsmith. “I can program jobs significantly faster as the previous software didn’t have all the facilities and tools I needed to do the job. This is especially the case with 3D work; the previous CAM system just wasn’t capable of doing what we needed.”

From a collision avoidance and security perspective, Goldsmith states: “One of the beautiful things about hyperMILL is that when we are putting all of our models together, we can build up a library of all our machine tools, fixtures, vices, chucks and cutting tools. We can put all of this information into the system and it will give us a 100% accurate picture of what is going to happen before we push the button. This allows us to avoid collisions and highlight things we might have missed.”

With three seats of hyperMILL and a significant investment in CNC machining and turning centres, Goldsmith alludes to the capabilities of hyperMILL with regards to the company’s turning activities, saying: “hyperMILL has had a major impact on our turning operations. Basically, it’s now allowing other people to undertake programming tasks. Before, all the programming for turning was done on CNC consoles on the shop floor. This is very time consuming and, during programming, the machines are not running or making any money. Now that we have hyperMILL we can program all of the turning in the office while the machine is running. After offline programming we just pop the program into the machine, run it through to make sure it works and we’re good to go. This has drastically reduced non-cutting times in the CNC turning department by virtually eliminating on-machine programming.”

Asked if the software is as important as hardware when investing, Goldsmith concludes: “I believe that software is an equally important investment as the hardware. hyperMILL demonstrates this with its significant savings, which are being created both in the programming office and on the shop floor.”

For further information
www.openmind-tech.com

As a supply-chain partner to a multitude of blue-chip OEMs that are household names, Unilathe has been providing a complete engineering service to industry since its inception in 1977. Applying the latest generation of machine tools, the Stoke-based tier-one subcontract manufacturer has recently invested in a Kitamura Mycenter HX500iG horizontal machining centre from Dugard, adding to its three previously installed Kitamura machines.

As a company that specialises in the oil and gas, rail, construction equipment, IGT and aerospace industries, Unilathe installed its first Kitamura machine more than 11 years ago. Recalling the start of the Kitamura journey, Unilathe’s managing director Andrew Sims says: “Our first Kitamura was a second-hand machine. That dipped our toe in the water with the brand regarding the twin box-way slides, the high speed and rigidity. In fairness, the performance and the reliability we got from that machine really started to pave the way for thinking about our machine purchasing strategy moving forward. We started asking whether we should go down a one-brand machine acquisition route.”

Following the first Kitamura Mycenter, Unilathe has since invested in two horizontal Mycenter 630iG machines from Dugard in 2018 and 2019 respectively, with the latest Kitamura Mycenter HX500iG commissioned at the start of 2021.
“We’re a tier-one supplier to major OEMs throughout the UK, Europe and worldwide,” says Sims. “So, generally speaking, we machine a lot of gearbox components and other parts from cast iron, cast steel and other materials where rigidity and performance, coupled with high-speed and advanced technology, is really crucial. The Kitamura machines from Dugard fit the bill. When we’re looking at new machines, the main consideration is reliability, speed, performance and accuracy, as we have to produce these components in the most competitive nature possible while maintaining very high quality. At the moment, we’re currently running 100 hours a week, but if we need to get up to 24/7, the Kitamuras will certainly do it.”

The latest Kitamura to arrive at Unilathe, the BT50 spindle taper Mycenter HX500iG has a 500 x 500 mm table with travel of 870 x 930 x 500 mm in the X, Y and Z axis respectively. The accuracy and repeatability noted by Sims is demonstrated in the 0.001° indexing of the 4th axis, as well as the spindle and tool probing, and other features such as zero backlash, built-in encoders and linear scale feedback. A patented twin ball-screw system with cooling, hand-scraped surfaces and induction-hardened box ways offer additional assurance.

Commenting on the twin-pallet Mycenter HX500iG, Unilathe machine operator Louis Purchase says: “There are so many things I like about the Kitamura machines. For instance, the speed is incredible. I have been at Unilathe for over three years and worked on a wide variety of machines, but I’ve never seen anything like the new Kitamura models.”

Underpinning this testament to the speed of the Kitamura brand is 60 m/min rapid traverse rates, a B-axis rapid of 43,200 deg/min, an 8.8-second pallet change and 2.1 second tool-change time.

The majority of the work on the new Kitamura machines at present is cast-iron components for the agriculture industry.

“I work across the latest Kitamura machines and they just tear through cast iron – that’s the best way to describe it,” says Purchase. “We’re machining a range of different parts and there is flexibility and interchangeability between the 630iG and 500iG machines.In addition, the tool carousel moves extremely quickly. When it comes to production jobs, we want accuracy and speed, and we have both of them with our Kitamura Mycenter machines.”

The new Kitamura additions also incorporate probing, which ensures complete consistency.

“With the probing system, we know that the last job in a production run will be the same as the first because we are probing the datums on every single job,” explains Purchase.

Unilathe produces a number of precision turned parts that it subsequently transfers to the Kitamura Mycenter machines for secondary milling operations.
“The turned parts are held to tight tolerances before loading on the Kitamura machines, so if we didn’t probe the jobs every single time, we would not be able to guarantee the same result,” says Purchase. “However, having the probing system means that we know the exact tolerances of the part and its positioning on the Kitamura machine before we start cutting metal.”

He continues: “The Kitamura machines also have a ‘tool life calculation system’ incorporated into the machines that is perfect for production jobs.

Essentially, it counts how many jobs each tool has done. This is hugely helpful for production when we use a lot of tools. We calculate a tool life parameter and once the tool has hit this parameter, we receive notification to change the tool or inserts, reset and start again. For example, we may calculate the tool life based on 10 production-run components. While we know that anything can happen in manufacturing, the system is always right, and it helps with long-running parts. This is another feature that is all about speed and ease-of-use, which is the best way to describe the Kitamura machines.”

Taking a closer look at the work envelope of the BT50 spindle Kitamura Mycenter HX500iG, Purchase says: “The work envelope is easy to access. Everything turns very easily and we can reach the part without problems. It’s just a delightful machine to work on.”

From a productivity standpoint, the Kitamura Mycenter HX500iG is a twin-pallet machine, which minimises downtime for Unilathe.

“The twin pallet allows means we can run two different jobs at the same time and this flexibility enables us to double our production output.”

Finally, commenting on the ease-of-use, Purchase says: “The new Kitamura machines have probably been the easiest machines that I have worked with so far. The Arumatik control panel is intuitive and guides you through all the steps, which makes it easier for everyone, regardless of whether you’re an engineer with 20 years of experience or someone new to CNC machining. The touchscreen configuration is very easy to use, but one thing that I really like is the PC keyboard. This makes it so much faster to type anything in, as everybody nowadays has an understanding of a keyboard and its key positions.”

For further information
www.dugard.com