SUBCONTRACTING NEWS

CNC machine improves toolroom productivity

Sustainable injection moulding specialist Great Central Plastics (GCP), which is committed to continuous improvement, has strengthened its in-house toolroom’s machining capabilities by investing in a new three-axis vertical machining centre from MACH Machine Tools. The machine’s arrival has had a direct and immediate impact on the company’s toolroom productivity, improving floor-to-floor times and optimising process efficiencies.

The machine, a DynaPath-controlled MACH MDV 855-S, was installed at GCP’s facility in Northamptonshire in December 2024, and is the first production-oriented CNC machine tool acquired by the company in its 27-year history.

Post installation, the machine has been put through its paces producing a range of high-precision mould tool components that include bolsters, plates, cavities, core inserts and supporting fixtures for GCP’s custom-designed and built mould tools. The machine was selected after conducting cutting trials at MACH’s Bristol facility.

Says Phil Brown, GCP’s toolroom manager: “We were impressed with the machine’s ability to deliver the accuracies, surface finishes and processing speeds we need.”

MACH Machine Tools’ MACH MDV 855-S features the DynaPath CNC control with a 15.6” LCD touchscreen. It can be used for conversational and ISO programming, and has 8 GB of memory and a 10,000 block look-ahead capability for fast and smooth contouring and profiling. The control also enables customers to access MACH’s 24/7 (Wi-Fi) remote service and support facility for real-time diagnostics, troubleshooting and applications advice.

“The remote assistance function is really useful, and I’ve had occasion to use it when I had an issue with the machine’s tool changer,” says Brown. “I’d made a programming error but, after logging into our company’s account was able, via the ‘What’s App’ link, to talk directly with MACH’s technical support staff to solve the problem quickly.”

More information www.machmt.co.uk

Subcontractor takes control with XYZ bed mill

Manufacturing parts used in everything from bakeries and canning lines to subsea submersibles, betting shops and poodle parlours, Leeds-based Industrial Plastics Supplies makes products that are used in the unlikeliest of places and is now aided in its production with the acquisition of a new XYZ RMX 4000 bed mill.

“The need to invest in a CNC milling machine came after we looked at our costings and lead times,” reveals managing director Chris Luty. “Although we had two routers, there was a limitation on thickness of cut, which often left us with no choice but to outsource. Having done the sums, we decided to purchase a machine that could do thicker work in-house.”

Following a recommendation, Industrial Plastics Supplies contacted XYZ.

“XYZ came in to see us straight away, taking the time to look at our work and even provide some cycle time estimations using XYZ bed mills,” says Luty. “After a subsequent visit to the XYZ showroom in Huddersfield we decided to go for the RMX 4000. Delivering 5.75 kW to the ISO40 spindle through a two-speed head ensures the cutting capability is vastly superior to our routing machines.”

He adds: “The machine, moving at 10 m/min rapid traverse, has reduced our non-cutting times tremendously, while the defaults feature in the ProtoTRAK control allows us to set up the machine exactly the way we want to work. It fills in some of the prompts automatically during conversational programming and helps minimise any mistakes as we go. But still one of the greatest things on the ProtoTRAK control is the TRAKing feature. The ability to wind the handles, which in turn run the program, is so confidence inspiring.”

More information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Press provides 60% more production at Weldmac

Established in 1968, Weldmac Manufacturing is a job shop that offers laser cutting and welding for stainless steel, aluminium, titanium, Inconel, Hastelloy and other alloys, as well as machining, press-brake forming, hydroforming and spinning. The company’s latest machinery purchase, a custom 800 T triple-action hydraulic press from Beckwood, supplements its existing 150 and 450 T triple-action presses.

“At double the tonnage of our other triple-action presses and with a larger bed size, we’ve already increased capabilities by 50%,” says Weldmac president Marshall Rugg. “Ease of use due to programmability should push capabilities to a 60-70% increase. Operator capability enters into it, but the controls on this press only will make jobs easier for a good manual press operator.”

The triple-action press consists of a punch or forming tool on the main draw ram, a clamp ram in the middle, and a knockout cylinder and/or bed cushion on the bottom. The clamp ram, which offers individual tonnage control on each cylinder, is engaged throughout the forming process to control material flow and reduce wrinkling and tearing within the part. By giving operators the ability control material flow, they achieve greater success in forming parts.

Proportional control valves regulate the bed cushion, enabling dynamic control through four different travel zones. Through the HMI and recipe settings of the press, the operator can specify a desired bed cushion force at any position within each zone.

“We excel at building complex components and assemblies, and that work continues to increase,” says Rugg. “We’ve added customers that usually come to us with one problematic part or assembly, and that leads to more business. When we do a good job, a new customer gives us more things to do. New press capacity and capability helps us handle that.”

More information www.beckwoodpress.com

Brandauer Investment Aids Future Plans

The boss of a UK metal pressings and tooling specialist has hailed the power of
apprenticeships after reducing the average age of his workforce to just 44. Rowan Crozier,
CEO of Brandauer, has steered the company to invest more than £400,000 into vocational
learning since 2016, helping nurture new toolmakers, engineers, quality specialists and
experts in logistics.
Crozier believes the influx of youth and energy has been fundamental in helping the
business evolve into its position as a major supplier of precision-stamped components and
tooling to customers in more than 26 different countries. Many of the youngsters have
continued to be sponsored to complete degree courses and HNCs.
More information www.brandauer.co.uk

Into the future with precision and innovation

In May 2024, Alfred Wagner Stahl-Technik & Zuschnitt GmbH took a significant step towards technological innovation and increased productivity by investing in an Element cutting machine from Messer Cutting Systems. Building on this success, the company decided to further modernise its machinery park. This time, the choice fell on the OmniMat from Messer Cutting Systems, a particularly robust cutting machine for complex applications.

“Our existing system has become outdated,” explains Christian Aufreiter, operations and project manager at Alfred Wagner Stahl-Technik & Zuschnitt. “Moreover, for the first time, we wanted to integrate a drilling unit into the cutting machine to enhance our productivity.”

After careful evaluation of market offerings, the company selected the OmniMat from Messer Cutting Systems for CNC oxy-fuel or plasma cutting. The machine is equipped with a drilling unit, a three-fold tool changer and four Alfa torches, enabling cuts up to 300 mm. The company selected this model for its modern technology, intuitive operation and

high precision.

“The OmniMat was the logical choice for us,” states explains Christine Wagner, the company’s managing director. “We already had an excellent experience with the first machine from Messer Cutting Systems, the Element. Its quality and Messer’s service convinced us.”

The OmniMat is a robust CNC cutting machine designed for demanding applications in metalworking. It offers working widths of up to 13 m and supports various cutting processes such as oxy-fuel, underwater or dry plasma cutting, as well as marking and drilling. The open OPC UA interface on the Global Control system allows easy integration into Industry 4.0 environments, enabling the efficient monitoring and control of machine processes.

More information https://uk.messer-cutting.com/