Alan Spargo invests in Bruderer press

A specialist supplier to the Formula 1, automotive and aerospace sectors is increasing its tool try-out capacity by purchasing the company’s first Bruderer press. Alan Spargo Ltd, which will celebrate 50 years in business in 2025, has invested in a BSTA 40-tonne machine to help provide its growing list of customers with the option to test tooling solutions at high speed before they go into production.

The technology can offer up to 1000 strokes per minute at precision accuracy and will support the High Wycombe firm’s desire to increase sales past the £3m mark before the end of 2024. The investment also builds on a long-term tooling relationship between the company and Bruderer UK, which culminated in the development of a turnkey production line for Bruderer’s stand at the MACH 2024 exhibition in Birmingham earlier this year. Alan Spargo developed specialist tooling in just six weeks to run on a Bruderer BSTL 350-88 high-speed press.

Peter Spargo, director, says: “Our customers are continually pushing the boundaries when it comes to tool performance, and we must respond. One of the ways we can do this is by giving them access to even more tool try-out capabilities and that’s why we’ve pressed the button on our first investment in Bruderer technology. This complements our other presses and, importantly, gives us a press that can deliver high-speed performance, testing the tool to its maximum. We’ve already got several existing and new customers who can take advantage.”

He continues: “The past 12 months have been very good for us. We’ve extended the workforce to 22, with the opportunity to recruit more staff, including new apprentices.”

More information www.bruderer.com

£900,000 machine investment at KMF

KMF has placed a significant £900,000 order for a Trumpf TruPunch 5000 large-format (S12) CNC punching machine to enhance its sheet metal fabrication capabilities. This pivotal investment will see the replacement of an existing punching machine during the upcoming Christmas shutdown period to minimise disruption.  

The technology behind the TruPunch 5000 means that KMF will have the ability to punch at up to 1600 hits per minute, and mark parts at 2800 hits per minute. Trumpf TruPunch 5000 machines also boast a number of additional features which meet KMF’s long-term requirements. These include active die technology, where a descending die enables scratch-free punching and forming processes. Also noteworthy is condition monitoring, a digital solution which identifies equipment anomalies using live machine data analysis to improve preventative maintenance and reduce downtime. 

The TruPunch 5000 will take its place at the company’s High Carr Business Park sheet metal fabrication facility in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. This advanced machinery is part of the next phase of KMF’s investment programme, which will strengthen the company’s reliability and service provision for the long term.  

Adam Ellis (pictured), head of business development at KMF, says: “Our investment in the Trumpf TruPunch 5000 marks a new chapter at KMF. As we move forward, we’re committed to implementing business objectives that will increase performance, automate processes and complement digitisation”. 

More information www.kmf.co.uk

ASG TGM expansion doubles footprint

ASG TGM (Techni-Grind Machining) has undertaken a major expansion of its operations in Preston, doubling its footprint by acquiring an additional 1022 m² adjacent to its existing facility. This strategic move, led by the ASG Group and supported on site by managing director Sarah Stephens, positions the company for future growth as it capitalises on new contracts and investment in advanced manufacturing technology. The additional space has already seen new machinery investment, including the arrival of a £500,000 Mazak travelling column five-axis machining centre.

More information www.asg-group.co/tgm

Mayor visits A&M EDM

Precision engineering company A&M EDM welcomed Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, to commission a new CNC machining centre funded by a UK Government grant to accelerate growth at manufacturing SMEs. The investment in a three-axis Hurco machining centre increases A&M’s capabilities to produce complex Inconel parts for aerospace customers. From a two man start-up in 2002, the company has grown to a current workforce of 84 and sales over £8m. Since 2014, A&M EDM has trained 23 apprentices, with eight apprentices currently on the books.

More information www.amedm.co.uk

Toolmaker invests in high-speed machining

Located on the Ballymote Business Park in County Sligo, Ireland, Mito Precision Engineering provides a toolroom service to manufacturers in the medical device and automotive industries, as well as jigs and fixtures to the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. Since the company’s establishment by Malachy Towey and Michael Taheny in 2010, manufacturing capacity has steadily expanded and now encompasses surface grinding and EDM, in addition to turning and milling. Mito Precision mainly sources the latter machines from preferred supplier Hurco.

In total, the company operates 11 Hurco CNC machining centres and two Hurco CNC lathes. They range from early models of the compact VM10 milling centre to a TM8i turning centre purchased last year and the latest investment, a VMX42HSi vertical machining centre with 20,000 rpm HSK63A spindle. The combination of straightforward programming, robustness and high power make Hurco machine tools suitable for manufacturing one-off, often complex parts in tool steel or stainless steel.

Mito now has three different model variations of the Hurco VMX42. This 1-m X-axis machine offers 610 mm of Y-axis travel and the same in Z plus a table load capacity of 1750 kg, allowing the company to produce large mould tools. Recent design enhancements mean that direct drives are provided in X, Y and Z, and roller guideways support all axes for precise, rigid dynamics. The machine cabinet has full washdown in addition to the spindle coolant ring, while chip evacuation is via a swarf conveyor.

Attention to detail in the tools it supplies and ongoing investment in new machinery and technology underpin success at Mito Precision.

More information www.hurco.co.uk