CPE wins £85m Rolls-Royce contract

Rolls-Royce has awarded Glasgow-based Castle Precision Engineering with a contract worth more than £85m for the manufacture and supply of precision-machined rotating aero engine parts. The new agreement, which was endorsed by the UK Government’s Scottish Secretary and runs through to the second half of the decade, continues a 40-year relationship with the firm. Formalising the continuation of the long-standing relationship with Castle Precision Engineering, reiterates the commitment of Rolls-Royce to the UK supply chain and UK skills.

More information www.rolls-royce.com

Plans for landmark machining plant

Sheffield Forgemasters has submitted a planning application for a landmark 30,000 m²machining facility on brownfield land in Sheffield’s Meadowhall district. Located on a 16-acre plot at Weedon Street, the new facility will form one of the world’s most advanced large machining facilities, supporting the company’s manufacture for the UK defence programme.

With work on the site planned to start in Q4 2024, the building will cover a space equal to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools and contain 17 new machines, including some of the largest and most advanced five-axis vertical turning lathes (VTLs). Gareth Barker, COO, says: “The planning application covers an ambitious new project to create a facility that will deliver some of the world’s most advanced, large-scale machining capabilities.”

More information www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

Online Tool For Volume Manufacturing

Quickparts, a provider of custom manufacturing solutions, is launching a new online tool to
streamline the request process for volume production. The new QuickQuote tool caters in
particular to customers with large-scale or complex projects in CNC machining, injection
moulding and additive manufacturing. The user-friendly interface allows customers to
upload files and enter details such as proposed production scheduling, lead times, quality
requirements, design specifications, materials, accreditation needs and preferred processes.
This approach triggers a rapid response from a dedicated project team at Quickparts.
More information www.quickparts.com

MTT invests in Nakamura-Tome WT150

When an ex-employee of the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) had the ambition of setting up his own business, the company provided both its blessing and support with a Nakamura-Tome machine tool. While working as an applications engineer at ETG, Mike Jerdin’s personal circumstances changed and he needed to be close to his family, not on the road as the role required. Jerdin subsequently launched MTT Engineering and bought a Nakamura-Tome WT150 multi-tasking turn-mill centre. The results are nothing short of phenomenal.

“Most start-ups begin with a second-hand machine or two, but working with Nakamura users during my 10 years at ETG meant I knew that these machines deliver a competitive edge,” says Jerdin. “I spoke with the team at ETG and they helped me with a finance and support package that you wouldn’t get from any other machine tool supplier.”

Initially having challenges acquiring a local industrial unit, MTT Engineering co-located with a fabrication business in Macclesfield – a partnership that is proving beneficial for both parties. As part of the start-up strategy, the company is offering a fast-turnaround service to the subcontract and tier-one supply chain in the local area. MTT’s early customer base is reaping the rewards of the twin-spindle, twin-turret Nakamura-Tome WT150.

“I started the business with customers that would give me their overspill work when they are running at capacity,” explains Jerdin. “However, with its twin-spindle and twin-turret capabilities, I can manufacture the parts faster, with higher precision and more cost-effectively than my clients. They recognise the benefits and profitability they are yielding from my service, so they continually provide us with more work. This service is enabling my clients to reduce their lead times and, in turn, win kudos from their customers.”

More information www.engtechgroup.com

Citizen helps subcontractor raise efficiency

Subcontract machining firm Apel, which specialises in the manufacture of precision components for the aerospace industry, began investing in Citizen CNC turning centres in the 1980s to help raise efficiency. Over time, the company has continued re-investing in modern, productive lathes purchased exclusively from Citizen Machinery UK.


At its Wilmslow facility, Apel today operates nine Cincom sliding-head lathes and one Miyano fixed head model. Together they produce around 50,000 components per month across more than 3000 part numbers. Utilisation of these Citizen CNC lathes and related technologies has led to higher levels of productivity and profitability.

The technology providing the biggest contribution to raising production efficiency at Apel is Citizen’s proprietary LFV (low-frequency vibration) chip-breaking software, which is part of the operating system in the control of three of the six 20 mm capacity Cincom L20s on site. Upon activation, the function breaks what would otherwise be long, stringy swarf into short, manageable chips. Around 50% of material processed by Apel is aerospace-grade stainless steel bar and LFV is especially effective when processing this alloy.

Paul Bowker, Apel’s quality director, says: “We were an early adopter of LFV in 2018 following a visit to Citizen Machinery’s technical centre in Bushey to witness demonstrations. LFV reduces the metal removal rate slightly, so we don’t use it all the time, but it’s really useful to be able to pick and choose when we activate this function.”

Apel also uses Citizen Machinery’s adaptive guide bush (AGB) system, which automatically compensates for variation in bar diameter, preventing stock seizing in the bush. In addition, AGB constantly maintains concentricity to prevent run-out. The user is able to avoid downtime and maintain tight machining tolerances.

More information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk