A specialist in gearbox and transmission systems for the motorsport industry is branching out into electric vehicle transmissions, and has benefitted with a new manager driving its Edgecam software use up a gear.

Dominic Prinsloo, production engineering manager at Hewland Engineering, works closely with the design team to ensure that all components can be accurately produced through their manufacturing cells.
Hewland has a long history of being the “go-to” company to provide racing gearboxes for vehicles in competitions such as Formula One, LeMans GT, WRC rally, Open-wheel formula and Touring Cars; along with high performance sports cars that are equally at home on the road or track. The company also produces transmission systems for Formula E electric cars, and is now working on a number of projects for electric road cars.
Core business at Hewland comprises gear components that include the box, gears and layshafts – in fact everything that makes up the entire transmission system. Around 95% of parts are programmed through Edgecam, and almost all are complex, with tight tolerances of 5-10 µm.
Since joining the company in September 2017, Prinsloo has introduced new ways of working with Edgecam. “Hewland have used Edgecam for many years, but weren’t utilising it to its full potential,” he says.

Implementing his methods has led to reduced time and tooling costs. On a gearbox selector fork, for example, the cycle time was cut from 65 to 38 minutes, and when tooling costs were also taken into consideration, the savings on that component were “considerable.”
And with a larger fork, Prinsloo’s methods with Edgecam saved around 30 minutes on each individual item. Forecasts show that over a 12 month period, the Edgecam changes will also lead to considerable savings on every type of gearbox fork manufactured at Hewland. “It all means we can offer far more competitive prices to our customers.”
Those changes include bringing in solid models for programming and generating features from the model.
“We also use profile features, either generated from the ‘Features Find’ function, or generated manually. When I came to the company, the system was to input the values manually, which was time-consuming and prone to error. Now, the code is generated by associating the tool paths to the features, so whenever the component is upgraded to the next version and the model manipulated – such as a particular diameter being changed from 32 to 45mm – we just regenerate the feature and the tool path changes automatically.”
However, he says the biggest game-changer was introducing Edgecam’s Waveform roughing, both for the company’s milling and turning cells. “It’s now used for all our face grooves, groove turning and full rad inserts, which has reduced cycle times dramatically.”

Previously, when milling the company’s range of gear selector forks, a high feed method was used, with multiple face cutters for one component. Prinsloo says: “Those step cutters only lasted for three parts before having to be replaced.” He changed the manufacturing process to incorporate Waveform, machining 2.8 m/min minute at 4200 rpm with a 10% step-over, which has cut the number of tools required to produce the component.
“We’ve reduced the cycle time by 20 minutes on stage one machining, and eight and a half minutes on stage two machining, which means we’ve saved around 30 minutes on each fork,” says Prinsloo. “And we cut around 23 billets per carbide, instead of three.”
Many of Hewland’s shop-floor workers were a little wary of Edgecam’s Waveform strategy at first, worrying that the ramped up feeds and speeds would break the cutting tools.
“They’d never seen anything like it,” says Prinsloo. “I introduced it slowly, starting with a low revolution, then gradually increased it until we got to a 10% step-over, and 2.2 m feed. That was on EN36 case-hardening steel, so the team very quickly realised exactly what Waveform could do. I know we can push the machine even more, but this is perfect for our needs. It means the operator can leave the machine running while he goes on to work on another one.”
And those same operators now want Waveform to be the default machining strategy.
“We have what we call legacy components, which were originally programmed a long time ago,” he says. “Shop-floor personnel are asking us to change the programming to Waveform, telling us they find it more reliable, and that it reduces load on the spindle.”
Prinsloo says another Edgecam benefit is its ease of use. “We load the STEP file, and if it’s not a raw casting, we generate stock through Edgecam’s stock library. Then we load a chuck if it’s a turned component, or vice if it’s a milled part.”
After that comes what he calls the real power behind Edgecam – generating the features on the model before the programming sequence is started; loading the machine, and generating the toolkit, which in turn creates the set-up sheet as the live job report.
“We have everything within Edgecam: the stock, the model, chuck, machine, and tool kit. We simply couldn’t run our shop without it.”
Prinsloo predicts that Edgecam is going to be even more vital in future, for prototyping new gear components used on electric vehicles. Design engineer Ashley Craig is currently working on a number of transmission systems for that growing market.

“I liaise closely with Dominic to ensure that the finished 3D model can be accurately machined,” he says. “It gives me total confidence that my designs will be faithfully translated into the finished part, and ensures that Hewland continues to compete at the top level in terms of the gears and transmissions produced. Thanks to Edgecam, we can give our customers competitive prices, because it keeps both development and manufacturing costs to a minimum.”
For further information www.edgecam.com

Leaving the comfort of employment and starting a business is a decision loaded with emotion and taken with cautious trepidation. For the two ex-aerospace engineers that founded GD Precision, re-mortgaging their homes to finance the leap emphasises their confidence and passion. Some 17 years later and the decision has paid dividends for the West Sussex entrepreneurs.

Now operating from a 4400 sq ft facility in Arundel, the company has seven staff, a host of Mazak, XYZ and Dugard CNC machine tools, and a list of clients that span across the Formula One, aerospace, transport and medical industries. Like most subcontract machine shops, GD Precision is continually striving for cost reductions, efficiency, productivity and quality. Luckily, the company has many of these facets covered by cutting tool supplier, Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC).
Recalling life before the cold call of ITC sales engineer Dave Cleeve some 10 years ago, company director Dale Buckthorpe says: “In the early days we were conscious of our spending and watched every penny. We would buy low-cost tools from a variety of suppliers, and when the tools were near burn-out, we would get buckets of tools re-ground. Of course, this was a false economy. When Dave Cleeve came in with tools that were considerably more expensive than the cheap tools we were using, we took some convincing.”
Taking up the story, fellow director and head of the milling department, Gary Short, says: “Dave from ITC reviewed our workload and offered us the 3081 series square-end, three-flute, solid-carbide end mill. At the time, we were using a 20 mm diameter ripper cutter from another supplier to machine an aluminium component at the full 20 mm width – at a depth of 0.5xD – applying a low feed rate. Taking-on-board Dave’s expertise, we applied the 3081 series at full flute depth with smaller cuts, at speeds and feeds that were remarkably high. We were sceptical, but we trusted Dave and immediately realised cycle time reductions of 50%.
“Not only did we achieve 50% cycle time reductions, but the surface finishes and tool life were anything from four to five times better than our previous tools,” he continues. “While we instantly realised the benefits of paying more for tools from a premium brand manufacturer like ITC, we also recognised the technical expertise was invaluable.”
This success noted the arrival of a full line of 3081 end mills from 6 to 20 mm diameter for everything from roughing to finishing applications.
“The 3081 series blew our previous tools away,” says Short. “It’s a general purpose end mill with a high helix that we now use for just about every aluminium machining task. We have recently been machining dental mould tools and the 3081 series is achieving 70+ hours of trochoidal machining on high-grade HE15 aluminium.”
ITC’s 3081 series soon became the tool of choice for all aluminium machining tasks at GD Precision, giving the directors confidence to trial further ITC tools. This followed in the guise of the ITC Widia VariMill range of TiAlN coated four-flute end mills for machining stainless steel and exotic materials. Instantly outperforming previous tools, the VariMill proved every bit as successful on challenging materials as the 3081 showed on aluminium.

“It took us a while to adjust to the VariMill’s high speeds and feeds, but we are now hitting jobs faster with smaller cuts while pulling 30-40% less horsepower,” says Short. “We opted for more trochoidal milling and ITC was integral in the evolution of our machining strategies. With the VariMill generating 30-40% productivity improvements, and tool life gains of beyond 50%, we have phased out the majority of tooling from alternate suppliers.”
For dedicated high-speed roughing of challenging materials, GD Precision is now utilising the ITC 6051 series of six-flute centre-cutting end mills. As Short recalls: “The long length 6051 has a 60 mm flute length that permits higher material removal rates with excellent reach characteristics. There is very little depth in the flutes of the 6051 series and this increases strength and eliminates vibration, enabling us to run at 3 to 4 m/min. On materials like stainless, we are machining at feed of 0.2mm per tooth using the full 60 mm flute length.”
The success of the 3081 series, the VariMill and the 6051 series has seen GD Precision continually implement new machining strategies and tooling lines from ITC. Recent additions include the 4071 series for deburring and chamfering, 4011 series radius tools and 2001 series necked back tools for 3D and profile machining.
A newly added Dugard Eagle 1000+ machining centre with a Big-Plus logo on the spindle housing, is something which did not go unnoticed by Cleeve, who recommended that GD Precision should purchase a Big Kaiser face and taper contact Hi-Power milling chuck to complement the spindle interface.
“When Dave recommended we try the BBT40 Hi-Power milling chuck, we trusted his judgement based on previous results – we were not disappointed,” says Short. “The Dugard machines are very robust and stable, but we were struggling to reach ITC’s recommended speeds and feeds. As soon as the Big Kaiser Hi-Power milling chuck arrived, we knew the weak link was our old milling chucks. With the Big-Plus we can reach the recommended speeds and feeds with no chatter and vastly improved surface finishes. Without the Big-Plus chuck, we have to reduce our cutting parameters by at least 25%.
“The Big-Plus Hi-Power has improved our tool life by at least 20%, increased our machining performance and cutting parameters by over 25%, and the run-out is well below 5 µm. In fact, we don’t have equipment accurate enough to measure how little run-out there is.
“The Big-Plus milling chuck allows us to run the VariMill 12 and 16 mm diameter tools with a trochoidal strategy on stainless steel at machining feeds of 100 m/min and a spindle speed of 2000 rpm. In fact, since applying the chuck, we have realised there is little point in buying high-end tools without this rigid system. By using the chuck with trochiodal strategies, we have reduced our cycle time on dental mould tools from 12 minutes to 6 minutes 45 seconds, a 45% cycle time improvement.”

Despite all the strategic, purchasing and manufacturing enhancements instigated by ITC, there is one habit the company has not dropped, as Short concludes: “We still collect boxes of used solid carbide end mills. The difference now is that ITC is a UK manufacturer, and we are returning the cutting tools to the OEM for regrinding. The benefit is that ITC has the geometries of all its tools and the regrinds are conducted on the same machines that produced them in the first place. This means that we get our re-ground tools returned in an ‘as-new’ condition at a fraction of the cost of new tools.”
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Built in 1903, the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway served communities along the winding valley that joined the mainline at Welshpool. This narrow-gauge railway allowed livestock, coal and timber to be transported easily, as well as providing a passenger service until the early 1930s. The line operated until 1956 when British Rail deemed it uneconomic.

A regular steam-hauled public service once again returned to the line in 1963 when a group of enthusiasts took on the challenge of making it into a successful tourist attraction. Key to that success was the retention of two original locomotives and the acquisition of rolling stock from railways both in the UK and Europe. Now almost 120 years old, this historic collection requires regular maintenance and care, which is where the railway’s engineering workshop comes in to its own.
A little bit of catching up was required as the first maintenance workshop was not built until 1968 and the locomotives lived outside in the elements until 2000. An extension to the workshop in the 1980s saw the development of the machine shop, with machine tools being ‘begged, borrowed or stolen’ from supporters of the railway. Things improved in the 1990s when a Heritage Lottery grant allowed some additional machines to be purchased, but when mechanical engineering manager Richard Featherstone joined the railway in 2016 he recognised an adequate, but not ideal situation.
“We had a lot of manual machines and work on them was laborious, and given that we rely on some skilled volunteers, time is at a premium,” he explains. “What we needed was bigger and faster milling and turning capacity that also had to be user-friendly to cater for the skills and work we have.”
An appeal for funds went out and, as a result, the railway was able to order two machine tools from XYZ, an SMX 4000 bed mill and an SLX 425 ProTurn lathe. These machines have made an immediate impact on the way that Featherstone is able to support the maintenance of the engines. One example involves spark arrester plates for the smoke boxes, which are made up of a sandwich of stainless-steel plates and mesh held in place by 28 M6 screws.

“The M6 drilled and tapped holes would traditionally have been marked out, centre popped and manually drilled, then adjusted by the fitters for assembly,” says Featherstone. “We now machine them on the SMX 4000 and every hole is in the right place; the time savings are significant.”
Similarly, the SLX 425 ProTurn lathe is generating major benefits for Featherstone and his team of volunteers. Each of the couplings between the engines and rolling stock has an adjusting nut which features an 11/4 4TPI round thread form. A batch of 15-off has been manufactured by a semi-skilled volunteer in an afternoon on the SLX 425. Previously, using manual machines, this task was a week’s work. For traceability, these parts are then put on the SMX 4000 and etched with the relevant details. Again, this operation would previously have been done by hand with letter and number punches.
“Maintenance and refurbishment is a continuous process here as the engines and components are subject to an aggressive environment; we are either boiling things or burning things,” says Featherstone. “For example, after every 28 days of being under steam we have to replace/rework the two fusible plugs in each boiler. These are bronze plugs with a 99.9% purity lead core. Their job is to act as a failsafe if water levels drop in the boiler – the lead melts and the flame is doused. Making these plugs was a black art as they feature a taper thread, which must be accurate, and a specific length as four complete threads should be showing on the inside of the firebox, a situation complicated by the fact that the female thread is occasionally re-tapped and opened-up.”
Today, this operation is a straightforward procedure as the program can be called up on the ProtoTrak control of the SLX 425 and offsets adjusted to instill confidence that accurate parts will be produced first time. Again, with the focus on availability of labour and time, with Featherstone currently being the only full-time member of staff in the workshop, these fusible plugs used to take a skilled-man four hours to produce a pair. In contrast, a pair of plugs can today be machined in under 15 minutes.

At present, programming is done at the machine by Featherstone; he is then happy to hand over the operating of the machines to semi-skilled volunteers, although this situation should improve when he recruits an additional full-time machinist. One feature that Featherstone is particularly enthusiastic about on the SLX Lathe is the TRAKing facility, which allows him to use the handles to move through the program, while remaining in full control.

“I love the TRAKing feature as you know you can back off if you have any uncertainty about the tool path,” he says. “That said, using step-by-step instructions on the ProtoTrak control, it is so easy to get things right first time.”
The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway is always
looking to recruit skilled engineers on a voluntary basis. Any expressions of interest can be made by calling the railway on 01938 810441.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

For more than 20 years, Königsee Implantate based in Königsee, deep in the Thuringian Forest in Germany, has been developing and producing implants and instruments for traumatology, orthopedics and spinal surgery with enormous success. In the course of continuous process improvements, two new Tornos EvoDeco 16 machines have been purchased.

Within the medical industry, Königsee is a significant manufacturer with a history that dates back to the end of World War I. In 1919, orthopedic technician Otto Bock founded the company in Berlin to provide disabled war veterans with prostheses and other orthopedic products. Shortly after, the company moved to Königsee. This was the origin for Königsee Implantate GmbH, which was established by Erich Orschler in 1993.
Königsee’s success story started with a small machine inventory and the strong determination of its employees. Initially, the company focused exclusively on the development and manufacturing of osteo-synthesis systems for traumatology and orthopedics. For more than 10 years now, the company has also been offering solutions for spinal surgery.
The products for almost all bone sections, from the collarbone to the toes, accelerate the healing process of fractures compared with conventional methods of treatment. New solutions constantly arise from close collaboration with physicians and surgical teams. The development projects comprise the complete path of the value chain, from the idea and development of a prototype, to the manufacture of the product. During this process, painstaking attention is paid to quality, since it is the basic requirement for the long service life and safe use of implants. This is why the company purchased two new EvoDeco 16 machines from Tornos.
In layman’s terms, an osteo-synthesis system consists of a plate that is matched with the anatomy and fastened to the bones with a variable number of screws of different lengths and diameters. Königsee offers the entire manufacturing process, from purchase and planning, through milling, turning, grinding and galvanizing, to the final inspection and warehousing.

Pricing pressure has reached the medical industry and this means that top-quality produce from Germany can only be competitive by applying a sophisticated manufacturing strategy. For this reason, Königsee has invested in Tornos.
All the screws are produced in the turning shop. Fractures require screws of different lengths and diameters, and with different properties. Depending on their use, the screw types produced are self-tapping, self-drilling or reverse-tapping. The threads are either full threads up to the head or partial threads. Threads are whirled with various pitches, while heeding the tightest shape tolerances. The head faces usually have a hexagon or hexalobular (Torx) socket. Most of the screws are cannulated, featuring a channel to drain the tissue fluid.
The material used is usually titanium or implant steel. Even if it is not difficult to machine titanium, it offers up two special challenges, low thermal conductivity and difficulty in breaking the chips, which requires special cooling strategies. Tool wear is very high due to the extreme toughness of the material.
Varying lot sizes are between 25 and 150 pieces. All screws must be as burr-free as possible in order to minimise rework. Although Königsee had already been well positioned with seven Tornos machines, the company decided to purchase two new EvoDeco 16 machines.
Thanks to their kinematics and tooling, Tornos EvoDeco machines are pre-destined for manufacturing complex workpieces with high quality. Christian Hedwig, manufacturing engineer for turning operations at Königsee, emphasises the decisive reason for purchasing these machines: “Up to then, we had been using Deco 13 and Deco 20 machines. On the two new machines, we can produce a larger diversity of parts, which makes us much more flexible.
“On the other hand, the large number of tools opens up new possibilities in terms of machining even more complex workpieces in one set-up,” he adds. “This purchase has enabled us to improve our processes.”
To do so, the EvoDeco 16 machines have been further optimised by Königsee. A high-pressure coolant system by Müller Hydraulik has been installed with a pressure of up to 150 bar to feed directly to the individual tool blocks through a manifold block. This configuration significantly improves chip breakage and evacuation. As a consequence, tool life and process stability are extended. Stability is said to be a major advantage of the Tornos machines.

EvoDeco 16 machines are designed to operate with high reliability and produce parts with dimensional accuracy over a long period of time. Another interesting point is that the new EvoDecos have reduced production times by up to 30%.
The employees of Königsee are full of praise after having started series production. They soon became familiar with the machine, since the TB-Deco control functions are user-friendly and were already known to the company. At present, the machines are running across three shifts.
For further information www.tornos.com

New cutting tools are continuously being introduced to the market, but what is the process to get a product from concept through to the spindle?
Tooling manufacturer Dormer Pramet tasks its product management and development department with creating new tools every year.

A member of the team is product and development engineer Jan Bittner. In January 2015, Bittner joined Dormer Pramet and became part of the company’s project to develop an assortment of high-feed milling tools. Almost three years later, a new range of SBN10 cutters and BNGX inserts was launched into the global market.
The time taken to introduce a cutting tool is an indication of the investment a manufacturer makes to create a new product which will add value to customers for many years.
At Dormer Pramet, the process of creating a new tool begins with its product management department, which identifies the market needs and gaps in the company’s current assortment. Karel Tiefenbach is the company’s product manager for indexable milling and he created a concept brief and clear objective for the development team.
Dormer Pramet’s aim was to create an assortment of tools for its double-negative cutters, which allow high feed rates for increased productivity. The design needed to be for double-sided inserts to maximise the economic value (four edges) and provide good chip control, allowing for a higher ramping angle. At the same time, the tools needed to offer process security and a versatile range for mould and die operations, covering roughing to finishing.
Bittner began the process with Jan Vlcek from the company’s product design and information department, which is responsible for all aspects of tool development. This includes creating high quality data on every tool produced, the design of products and supporting manufacture.
The department’s first task in designing a new high-feed milling tool – later known as SBN10 – was to research what products were already available in the market from competitors and how Dormer Pramet could be different, while still meeting the needs of customers.
“We started with a series of preliminary studies and initial prototype designs, putting a number of ideas forward before we could start to produce samples,” explains Bittner. “There are always difficulties and challenges to overcome, but some small changes at this stage can have a big impact.

“For example, with one of the first samples created, we realised there was a conflict with an existing patent from a competitor,” continues Bittner. “With many companies creating new inserts all the time, it is a very crowded market. However, we worked with the designer to modify our concept and make it unique, while still fulfilling the original brief. This led us to liaise closely with colleagues in Sweden and North America to make sure our designs did not conflict with any patents.”
Bittner discussed with colleagues in IP how the company could make its design unique. He needed to confirm the company was within patent pending at every point and not conflicting with others already submitted. Eventually he was given the all-clear to proceed.
“At the start of the process in 2015, we had a schedule to follow and aimed to launch the BNGX inserts by November 2017,” says Bittner. “We had pressure from our sales teams who wanted it earlier. Our aim was to keep the process going as fast as possible and we kept to schedule. By the second quarter of 2016, we were able to start the testing stage. This included several on-site tests with customers as this is the best way to check how good a product really is.
“We were confident it was a good product, but no amount of in-house testing can match trying it out in the real world,” he adds. “We learned so much from these tests, which allowed us to identify areas of further improvement.
Dormer Pramet conducted more than 20 tests with customers in France, Brazil, Poland, China, Italy, Czech Republic and Germany. Although 15 of the tests showed highly impressive results, five did not match expectations, which prompted the team to go back and look at what needed improving. This is an important process and can only help enhance product performance and reduce limitations.
“The crucial part is to react quickly during the testing process; speed is crucial,” says Bittner. “Any issues need to be eliminated and the design of the tool improved as soon as possible, before putting it back in for more tests.
“In July 2017, we returned to Germany, to a customer where one of the tests did not go as well as the others. Going back to the same location meant we could perform the exact same trial in the same conditions as before. This was important to verify if the improvements we made had worked. The application ran very successfully and it was great to show the customer the new and improved version.”
Bittner realised at this stage that the company was ready to launch the product into the market. He had further discussions with IP to make sure the patent was in place and everything was prepared.
“This led to meetings with production to ensure enough inserts were manufactured for the time of launch and liaising with marketing and communications department on creation of all the support material, such as brochures, images, videos, press releases and online content.”
Dormer Pramet launched its range of BNGX inserts and SBN10 cutters in November 2017, almost three years after the initial design brief was prepared.
During 2018, the company will manufacture more than 30,000 BNGX inserts, comprising of different sizes and chip breakers, alongside 450 cutters, in three different variants: end mills with threaded shank, end mills with parallel shank and shell mills.

“Product development is very much a team effort,” states Bittner. “There are many people from around the world involved in the creation of new cutting tools. From product management to design, to the technology team, production, testing, through to sales and marketing. Each department is not independent from the rest; we are all connected and one area cannot be successful without the support of the others. They all must work together to get a product to market.
“Also, any new product created will become the future work for our production department. Sometimes we can be focused on today and what is new now, but it is our job to look at the future and what will be important in five to 10 years’ time.”
For further information www.dormerpramet.com