SUBCONTRACTING NEWS

From seven operations down to two

It is only within the past five years that Nuneaton-based subcontractor Oaston Engineering, which specialises in work for the aerospace and biotechnology industries, has embraced sliding-head turning. July 2018 saw the arrival of the firm’s first sliding-head lathe, a 20 mm bar capacity Cincom L20-VIIILFV from Citizen Machinery UK. It was followed in October 2022 by a second, larger model, a 32 mm capacity Cincom L32-VIIILFV.

Oaston Engineering’s managing director Sean McCarthy says: “We were always led to believe that sliding-head lathe operation was a dark art and that you need to produce large batch quantities, say 50,000, to justify setting them for a new run. We had been looking at the technology since MACH 2008 and, a decade later, when the Cincom L20 was delivered, we discovered the myths were untrue.”

Oaston Engineering had a particular job in mind for the Cincom L32: the production of a light aircraft pump camshaft from martensitic stainless steel.

The component, which is produced from 1.25-inch bar, formerly needed seven separate operations: outside diameter turning and grooving; milling on a machining centre; two separate turning operations in offset fixtures to machine the cams to a dimensional tolerance of 0.07 mm; drilling a longitudinal bore on a machining centre; cross drilling a tooling hole in another operation; and off-site grinding of two spigots to within 0.015 mm.

The camshaft produced in this way required a total of 18 minutes 30 seconds of cutting time, plus inter-machine handling, as well as 30 to 60 seconds for deburring and more time for inspection at each stage. Now, six of the operations are performed in one hit in less than 15 minutes on the Cincom before the part goes out for grinding.

For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Huge time savings achieved with Sylvac solution

Excel Precision, a prominent player in the UK’s EDM sector, recently worked with Bowers Group to address a complex machining challenge faced by a machine tool company. The solution cut the client’s component setting time from around a week to less than an hour, also resulting in a 12-week reduction in production time.

Steve Batt, technical director at Excel Precision, says: “Our innovative solution transformed a complex and time-consuming process into a highly efficient one. By incorporating innovative technology from Bowers Group and smart engineering from our team here at Excel, we not only met the client’s precision requirements but also significantly increased their annual production capacity by reducing production time.”

The client had a precision issue with a deep-seated bore. The initial approach involved using a conventional DTI but proved inefficient, taking 5-8 days to achieve the required runout. This lengthy timespan was primarily because of the inability to observe the part’s movement during adjustments in the confined bore, which extended to a depth of 350 mm.

Available from Bowers Group, the Sylvac D62S digital display and PS12D digital probe were the solutions identified. The D62S sits on a carbon-fibre tube with a wire passing through, connecting it to the two digital probes. A specially developed mechanism allows one probe to take measurements in the X direction and the other in the Y direction, ensuring precision despite the tight confines of the bore.

Immediate feedback shows a dramatic reduction in set-up time, enabling the client to set the component within an hour, a significant improvement from the initial 5-8 days. Additionally, when combined with a custom fixture, it improved the client’s production capacity by reducing production time by at least 12 weeks.

For further information www.bowersgroup.co.uk

Subcontract market ends year on a high

The latest Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) shows that the UK market for subcontract manufacturing ended 2023 on a strong note, with the market up 106% compared to the previous three months. Overall, the market concluded 7.5% higher than at the end of 2022. Fabrication was the strongest area, up 160% on the previous quarter and 12% on the previous year. Growth in machining was less strong but still significant, up 51% on the previous quarter and 2.4% on 2022.

Sourcing specialist Qimtek produces the CMI, a reflection of the total purchasing budget for outsourced manufacturing of companies looking to place business in any given month. The CMI represents a sample of over 4000 companies that could be placing business, which together have a purchasing budget of more than £3.4bn, and a supplier base of over 7000 companies with a verified turnover in excess of £25bn.

For further information www.qimtek.co.uk

£2m investment at Alucast

A £2m investment drive is helping a UK aluminium foundry pass the £10m sales mark as it looks to make the most of new opportunities.Alucast, which has increased its workforce by 20% to more than 120 people at its base in Wednesbury, has commissioned six CNC machines, a HDTD low-pressure machine and boosted its ‘new core’ capabilities. It is the company’s largest investment drive in nearly a decade and reflects an increase in demand for Alucast’s casting expertise and machining capabilities. Headlining the recent funding boost is an 800-tonne LK high-pressure die-casting machine.

For further information www.alucast.co.uk

Sheffield Forgemasters acquires more space

Sheffield Forgemasters has acquired a10,000 sq ft two-storey office building close to Meadowhall that will house increasing staff numbers.Located at the junction of Brightside Lane and Weedon Street, the 1980s-built Riverside Court complex, will become a new base for project leaders and associated contractors working on the company’s new 13,000-tonne forging line and proposed machining facility.With Sheffield Forgemasters undertaking a multi-million-pound recapitalisation project, its workforce has almost doubled through the presence of around 500 on-site contractors.

For further information www.sheffieldforgemasters.com