For over 30 years Peterborough-based Rivercircle has developed its business as a designer and manufacturer of special-purpose test and assembly machines, and multi-cavity rubber and plastic mould tooling. The company prides itself on being able to provide a complete service, keeping as much as possible in-house, from design, through to final mechanical and electrical assembly and testing. This strategy includes machining.

A policy of continuous investment in people and machine tools has seen Rivercircle create extensive capability, with its machine shop now populated almost in its entirety with CNC machinery. Three- and four-axis machining centres with capacity up to 1700 x 1000 x 1000 mm are complemented by turning centres, grinders and spark-erosion equipment. The one thing missing was five-axis machining capacity.
“Our investments in machining capacity had led us to ever more complex machines and we had been considering five-axis for a few years, but always struggled to justify the price versus capability argument,” explains Jonathan Theobalds, managing director at Rivercircle. “The size of machine we needed always appeared far too expensive, while the machines we felt we could justify on price just didn’t have the performance or capacity, limiting the potential gains for the business. Therefore, when we were introduced to the XYZ UMC-5X, which was in the right ball park as far as price and performance were concerned, we went for it!”
In its standard configuration, XYZ says that the UMC-5X is a highly competitive package, with its gantry-style design and rigid construction ensuring a capable machine. A team from Rivercircle visited XYZ’s headquarters in Devon to see the machine in action and talk through its potential with the company’s sales and applications teams. Given the type of work undertaken by Rivercircle, particularly on its mould tools where materials such as P20 tool steel is commonly machined, spindle performance and overall machine rigidity where vital to the purchase decision.

“There were several factors that swung in favour of the XYZ UMC-5X,” says Paul Langan, Rivercircle’s production manager. “The machine construction and design gave us the confidence that it would perform as we expected and, with our mould tool work, the high-torque (260 Nm), 15,000 rpm spindle is perfect for roughing and finishing tool steel. Another key point was the option of the Heidenhain CNC, as this is a control system that we favour here. Not having that option would have been a barrier to us placing an order. As it was, we only required one day of training to familiarise ourselves with the machine, and our CAM programming engineer, Steve Goodson, has fully embraced the move to five-axis with no further requirement for programming support from XYZ. We have also fully integrated our Mastercam software with the machine control; the post-processors were all updated during the installation of the machine, making it a seamless process.”
The XYZ UMC-5X has the option of either the Siemens 840 DSL ShopMill or Heidenhain iTNC 640 HSCI control, both of which feature traori (transformation orientation)/kinematic functions, respectively, for improved accuracy during five-axis simultaneous machining. In addition, the UMC-5X also benefits from built-in thermal-growth compensation for enhanced accuracy and repeatability, and integrated (and patented) smart machining technology for improved productivity.
Other key features of the machine are its C axis with 90 rpm rotation via direct drive, low-maintenance, high-torque motor; ±120° on the tilting A-axis, with 2.5 sec for full movement, and rigidity aided by the use of identical sized bearing at both ends of the axis; front loading for ease of access; linear scales on the X, Y and Z axes; 600 mm axis travel in X and Y (500 mm in Z); and a 600 mm table diameter with capacity to carry components up to 600 kg.
The arrival of the XYZ UMC-5X at Rivercircle will initially allow the company to improve efficiency by transferring work from three- and four-axis machines that require multiple operations. New opportunities will also be created for the subcontact side of the business.

Ultimately, continuous investment in the latest design and manufacturing technologies with integrated CAD/CAM systems enable full 3-D machining of complex forms to be undertaken. The addition of an XYZ UMC-5X vertical machining centre brings high-precision, high-speed, simultaneous five-axis machining to Rivercircle’s capabilities
“Whether it is for our own production, or for subcontract work, we operate in a very competitive sector supplying first and second tier customers in the automotive, transport, pharmaceutical, construction and petrochemical sectors, among others,” says Theobalds. “Lead-times are often short, so we have to be able to meet our delivery promises at the right quality and at the right price. This move to five-axis machining with the XYZ UMC-5X will enhance our ability to meet customer demands. The support we had from XYZ prior to placing the order and the competitive price for such a capable machine made this transition straightforward.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Even after extending the day shift, Mildenhall-based subcontractor CTPE was still having difficulty producing aluminium covers for a medical housing in two operations quickly enough on an ageing, 40-taper, three-axis machining centre after the customer raised the call-off rate to 100 per week. However, a new production route proposed by Whitehouse Machine Tools based on the supply of a Japanese-built 30-taper machining centre from Brother, also a three-axis model, promised a halving of the cycle time and consequent elimination of the problem.

So, a Brother S700X1 was installed in August 2016. Whitehouse edited the existing program and, although it is still a two-operation job, the cycle time was indeed reduced by 50% to one hour, as had been demonstrated during time trials at the supplier’s Kenilworth technical centre and showroom.
The saving is principally a consequence of four times faster tool changes (at 1.4 seconds), a 16,000 rpm spindle with through-coolant rather than the 6000 rpm of the previous machine, four times faster acceleration (at 2 G) to linear rapids of 50 m/min instead of 18 m/min, and the fact that the program runs much faster in the latest Brother CNC C00 control.
Tool change time on the Brother S700X1 is minimised by optimising the operation of the magazine and improving the Z-axis acceleration, in addition to the shorter start and stop time of the spindle. Further reduction of waste time is achieved by positioning the X/Y and additional axes simultaneously with tool change operations.
Since the machine was installed, CTPE has gone a step further by optimising the program to machine six parts on the table with 14 tools, and adopting new types of cutters. The effect has been to reduce the cycle time per part further to just 30% of the original.
In another example to demonstrate the magnitude of the savings obtained, an aluminium flow housing for a customer in the scientific sector was previously produced in three operations on a three-axis machine in 15 minutes and is now produced in an Op1/Op2 cycle on an S700X1 in six minutes, representing a 60% time reduction.

Alex Taylor, who runs the subcontracting firm with his father Chris, says: “It was our first machine from Brother and also our first 30-taper capacity. We were impressed with the quality, compact footprint and speed of the machine when we saw it in Kenilworth, and comments about Brother both online and by word-of-mouth were complimentary.
“After the S700X1 arrived, we were able to get one to two weeks ahead on the medical cover job, whereas before we were always struggling to keep up with the current week’s production,” he adds.
Such was the success of the project that, when a second multinational company in the medical sector, a long-standing CTPE customer, asked for a new family of 6061 aluminium parts to be produced, Chris and Alex Taylor had no hesitation returning to Whitehouse for an identical S700X1, this time fitted with a two-axis Nikken table. The machine replaced another three-axis vertical machining centre in June 2017.
Previously, the parts were being machined in the USA, but the German-based OEM wanted a single source of supply and was confident of the Suffolk subcontractor’s capabilities. Six components are required, half of which are suited to three-axis metalcutting, while the others benefit from five-face machining in two operations using 3+2-axis cycles, as otherwise they would need eight set-ups on a three-axis machine.
“We like the three-axis Brother and two-axis Nikken combination, as we are able to mount the compound table on one side, leaving the rest of the machine table free for fixturing a second component in a vice for three-axis machining,” says Chris Taylor. “In this way, we can get two-operation components off complete each time we open the doors.”
He adds that, in a similar price bracket the company looked at a number of 40-taper, five-axis replacements for CTPE’s old machining centre, but they could not compete with the speed of the 30-taper machine. The smallest cycle-time saving achieved to date by swapping an existing job on to an S700X1 is 40%. CTPE has also won new five-axis work as a result of having the capacity on the shop floor, and some of those jobs have already repeated.

The Brother machines are especially appropriate for CTPE, which processes a lot of aluminium. One of the new medical parts is quite large for a 30-taper machine at 180 x 50 x 50 mm, but the Brothers cope with it well, despite more than three-quarters of the billet’s material being removed.
Precision is down to ±5 µm positional tolerance, better than is possible on many 40-taper machines. Chris Taylor points out that CTPE also produces components in steels, including stainless on the S700X1s, although a 30-taper machine would not be appropriate if doing that type of operation all day.
On a final note Alex Taylor says: “Before we bought the Brother machines, other users had commented on their reliability. Tooling suppliers, who tend to keep their ear to the ground, reported similarly. Certainly we have not had any downtime on either S700X1 since they were installed.”
For further information www.wmtcnc.com

BCW Treatments in Burnley is an aluminium anodising facility that opened in early 2015 to provide a full service to companies using the subcontract machining services of BCW Manufacturing Group’s machine shops on the same industrial estate. Anodising is carried out in a Galvatek automated finishing line supplied by Turbex, which was deemed to be the best all-round package of three alternatives considered. Currently, an average of 2600 sq m of product per week are finished across more than 240 part lines.

One of BCW’s automotive contracts involves the production of aluminium components, mainly from A365 castings, 6060 extrusion, superplastic 5083, and 5754 sheet for a premium automotive customer in the UK specialising in manufacturing luxury sports cars and grand tourers.
More recently, the subcontractor has received further business from another prestigious UK automotive customer that produces high performance 4×4 and special operations vehicles. The work will start at the end of 2018 and entail the installation in an adjacent factory of a line for passivating components as a corrosion-resistant pre-treatment.
Enquiries have also been received for finishing lightweight components for aircraft, such as cabin seating, and for electric cars, hybrids, amphibious vehicles and trucks. Consequently, by the end of the decade, the firm is destined to become a major force in component finishing in the north of England.
Dr Andrew Wilson, managing director of BCW Treatments, says: “Although more than a century old, modern anodising is an exacting discipline requiring extremely close control to achieve the highest quality and, even more importantly, the correct film properties.

“Some manufacturers’ car parts are adhered rather than welded, and a nominal thickness of the anodic layer of 2-10 µm is required, above which there is a risk of components pulling apart under stress. A tolerance band of 4-6 µm is achieved using the Turbex line, so precise is the process.”
An ERP system drives the finishing process in Burnley, raising each manufacturing order and triggering the issue of material. The line’s control system learns which aluminium products are mounted on which universal or part-specific jig by scanning the manufacturing order. Once the part number is known, the correct program is automatically selected.
There are four load/unload stations at one end of the line, where components are loaded on to flight bars that progress to a buffer station from where they are picked up by one of two overhead transporters and dipped into 15 tanks sequentially. Up to five jobs can be processed simultaneously in the line.
Automatic dosing stations are provided for metered dosing of chemicals into several of the tanks, the quantity being worked out automatically according to the amount of surface area to be anodised on each flight bar. The working environment is clean and fume-free, as each tank is hermetically sealed and the lid is not opened until a transporter is directly above it. Positive pressure pulls the fumes through the handling system and extracts them to a scrubbing unit.
After processing, flight bars are returned to four load/unload stations adjacent to the loading area and the test pieces are taken away for analysis, which includes pull and shear tests after adhesive has been applied. Following each successful test, the ERP system is advised that the components are ready to deliver to the customer.
As a conveyor is not involved in transporting flight bars around the system, the anodising process starts in the centre of the line and progresses away from the load/unload stations. Alkaline degreasing takes up to one hour in the first tank for the most soiled castings and the solution is rinsed off in water in the next two tanks, the water being recycled between the second and third stage.

Tank 4 is a chemical etch using sodium hydroxide to remove pre-existing aluminium oxide from the surface of components. Immersion time is controlled to avoid unduly changing of the geometry of the components. It also precludes the need to plug holes, resulting in a cost saving and eliminating the risk of parts being returned by the customer if plugs are inadvertently left in at the time of delivery.
An eco-rinse cycle in water is performed in the next three tanks, again with recycling between the stages. The following process, which takes place at the far end of the line in tank 8, is the removal in a mix of nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid of alloying elements on the surface of components, especially of castings, that remain after chemical etching. Two further eco-rinse immersions in tanks 9 and 10 bring the pre-treatment to a close, by which time the components have travelled back past the centre tank towards the load/unload stations.
The actual anodising stage of the process is in tank 11, which contains sulphuric acid, and lasts between eight and 10 minutes, during which time a nominal 4-6 µm film thickness is deposited. An ecological feature of the equipment is continuous dosing of the acid, instead of recycling the fluid when the aluminium content reaches say 20 g/l. Avoidance of waste is made possible by employing a pump to recirculate the fluid through a retardation unit, where the aluminium is filtered out.
A clean rinse in three successive tanks containing deionised water, which is produced locally in the line, ends with an ultra-clean rinse to ensure that conductivity requirements are met.
The last stage, prior to the flight bar being taken back to the unload station, is hydrothermal sealing at 96°C in a proprietary chemical blend. Reserved for high-end applications and involving 30 µm particulate filtration, the process seals microscopically small pores created on the surface of components as a result of dielectric breakdown during anodising.
For further information www.turbex.co.uk

The production of hand-held measuring equipment often means large batch runs and high demands on product accuracy. In this context, the selected manufacturing technology is faced with the challenging task of working at speed and with a high degree of precision. With this in mind, the solution chosen by Helios-Preisser in Germany is aided by Blum touch probes, which are used in the company’s machining centres for integrating continuous measurements into the process.

In 2008, Helios-Preisser, a manufacturer of hand-held measuring equipment for professional use, became aware that the capacity of its three machining centres was no longer sufficient. The company was operating around the clock in three shifts to manufacture its micrometers, vernier calipers, dial gauges, and marking and measuring instruments. Due to its positive experience with the company’s existing machine tools, Gammertingen-based Helios-Preisser opted to continue relying on machine tools from Heller fitted with Blum Novotest measuring systems.
A 14-m long pallet magazine connects the company’s machining centres, which are supplied with clamped workpieces by a robot. Helios-Preisser employees already had many years of positive experience with Blum touch probes in the company’s previous Heller machining centres, which still operate with great reliability. As a result, a new Heller four-axis machine was also specified with a Blum measuring probe.
Only the company’s five-axis machining centre used a probe from another manufacturer, a fact that did not meet with great approval at Helios-Preisser. “Where possible, I endeavour to make regional purchases. In Blum, we have found a partner that can offer us high-quality products and corresponding service from a close distance – we like to have just one point of contact,” emphasises CEO Siegfried Lorch. “In addition, we have been extremely satisfied with the Blum touch probes for many years.” As a result, a Blum probe has since been fitted to the five-axis machining centre.

With 120 employees, Helios-Preisser uses TC50 and TC60 touch probes from Blum. The former transmit data via infrared, the latter via radio technology. Each touch probe is fitted on a tool holder and can be substituted if necessary in order to execute measuring tasks before, during and after machining. The infrared system can be used when line-of-sight can be guaranteed between the touch probe and receiver. A measuring system with radio transmission is installed on the five-axis machining centre, which reliably transmits the signals from the touch probe to the receiver – even when the line-of-sight is disrupted by the large swivel head.
Blum touch probes are used for a whole range of tasks at Helios-Preisser. For example, they check whether the workpieces are clamped correctly prior to the commencement of machining. “We also use the probe to measure the result of machining,” says Tobias Weber, foreman of the milling shop. “After casting, the dimensions of cast blanks are often very different, which is why, prior to machining, the position of the blank is captured using the probe, with compensation values for the NC program transmitted to the machine controller. Thanks to the Blum touch probes, we have been able to reduce the rejection rate for these components from 10% to 1-2%.”
Another example is the tailstocks of the company’s bench metrology centres. Here, a hole must be positioned accurately to 0.01 mm for a channel on the same part. Previously, there had always been fluctuations, often due to the temperature response of the machine. If the dimension was correct in the morning with a cold machine and shop floor, by noon, with a hot machine and warm weather, the dimension would be out of tolerance. The channel is now machined and measured before finally being drilled using the measurement data. This strategy enables the desired precision to be reliably achieved regardless of temperature.

The large volumes manufactured in Gammertingen require short cycle times, so measurement must not take too long. Blum touch probes are designed for maximum measuring speed and are not sensitive to coolant, which is simply pushed away by the high measuring pressure. Measurements can also be taken directly after machining.
“The touch probe is moved at a top speed of 60 m/min until close to the component; touching then takes place at up to 3 m/min – so not much time is lost,” reports Weber. “After machining, we check almost all fits using the Blum touch probe.
“Our manufacturing process has now become so precise that we no longer have to grind many parts. Previously, numerous components were milled with an allowance and then ground to the finished size in order to achieve the required precision for our measuring equipment.”
If a machine determines that a tolerance has not been held, the pallet is automatically removed and placed in the company’s pallet store with an inspection record. The next morning it can be inspected to determine where the fault is and, in the meantime, the machine can continue to process further pallets.
With respect to unmanned production, the touch probes from Blum have completely proven themselves at Helios-Preisser. “Overnight, and often for parts of the weekend, the machines run unmanned,” confirms Weber. “We only operate one shift, but we produce more than we did previously in three shifts.”
Lorch concludes: “The systems run reliably during unmanned operation, which relieves the pressure on us and makes it possible to manufacture the required volumes without needing a night shift. Blum probes are essential to unmanned operations, especially as we are also very satisfied with the service offered by the company.”
For further information www.blum-novotest.com

Zinc and aluminium high-pressure die-casting specialist, RD Castings, has used Japanese-built, high-speed, twin-pallet machining centres from Brother since 1989, and currently has nine of them adding value to its products in two machine shops in Mildenhall. Since the mid-90s, the 30-taper machines have replaced manual milling, drilling and tapping, which was both labour intensive and subject to quality variation.

Running the company are siblings Anthony and Michael Pateman, who were interested when Brother’s UK agent, Whitehouse Machine Tools, suggested they see a demonstration of the new ISO control with 12” colour LCD screen, the CNC-C00, a significantly faster and more user-friendly CNC system fitted to its latest machines.
After they visited the agent’s Kenilworth showroom and technical centre, they came away not only with up-to-date information on the new control’s capabilities, but also having ordered another Brother machining centre, a Speedio R650X1 with Nikken rotary 4th axis. It was not their intention before the visit, but the machine was so productive and such a good fit for RD Castings’ needs that they placed the order on the day and invested in a second identical model within six months.
Numerous facets make the machine particularly applicable to machining light castings, one being its outstanding speed. Workpiece changeover is completed entirely within the 3.4-second rotation of the twin-pallet ‘Quick Table’, while the 21-pocket magazine’s 0.9 second tool-change time, 50 m/min rapids in X Y and Z, and rotation of the 4th CNC axis, are carried out simultaneously.
The first tool is ready to cut the next component immediately it arrives in the machining area, and little time is wasted on each subsequent exchange of the cutter due to the rapid tool-to-tool time and spindle acceleration from zero to 16,000 rpm in 150 ms, with similarly fast stop time.
“The speed of tool change on the R650X1 mirrors that of our Brother 324N and R2A models, where the tool carousel encircles and travels with the spindle, which does not have to move away to pick up a new cutter as on the Brother TC32A and 32B machining centres that we also have on-site,” explains Michael Pateman. “It results in very high productivity that is enhanced by faster processing of existing programs in the new CNC-C00 control. For example, we recently reduced a 3.5-minute cycle by 20 seconds with no change to the original program. If we are machining say 20,000-off parts annually, the saving runs into thousands of pounds.”

Anthony Pateman pointed out another advantage of the R650X1; the generous axis travels of 650 x 400 x 305 mm in X, Y and Z. The table accepts RD Castings’ 500 x 350 mm base plates on the trunnion fitted to both machines, allowing multiple components to be fixtured for two- and three-axis machining, relieving the load on the 324Ns and R2As, which are always filled with work.
He adds: “There is a trend towards larger castings these days and we have just installed a 500-tonne casting machine to meet the requirement. In order to perform machining, the ability of the R650X1 to swing our 400 mm diameter parts in the rotary axis means that we are often able to finish these bigger castings in one hit and save on a second set-up operation, which hugely decreases the cost of production.”
To underline this comment, he points to a casting of about the size that used to need a second operation but is now machined in one four-axis process, saving 70p per part.
Simon Hale, CNC machine shop manager, stated that the productivity of another part – an aluminium die cast housing for the rail industry – has been nearly doubled using the larger machine compared with the other Brother models featuring similar tool carousels. Some 17 castings per hour were drilled and tapped using 12 tools on the latter machines, whereas with a trunnion fixture on an R650X1, 32 parts per hour come off the machine after each pallet rotation. Furthermore, just eight tools are needed.
The increase in output is partly because, by routing coolant at the uprated 30-bar pressure on RD Castings’ latest machines through an indexable-insert drill rather than employing a twist drill, it is possible to produce larger holes above 18 mm diameter in one spindle movement, rather than having to spot and then peck drill the holes multiple times.
Michael Pateman asserts that manufacturing costs are increasing in Asia while the lower pre-Brexit value of the pound is helping UK competitiveness.

He sums up: “By employing ultra-high speed machining techniques on 30-taper rather than 40-taper machines, with extensive use of PCD inserts clamped in dynamically balanced tool holders, the cost of producing a casting is now about the same in Mildenhall as it is in China – and we are winning back business as a result.
“The latest Brother Speedios with their larger working envelope have added considerable versatility to our shop floor, as they can economically machine anything from the simplest, smallest casting up to the largest and most complex. Productivity is also up due to the faster control and by allowing more flexible production planning.
“All of our Brother machines work flat out eight hours a day and their speed, accuracy and reliability are fantastic. Coupled with the high level of support from Whitehouse, it has been an unbeatable package for us.”
For further information www.wmtcnc.com