SUBCONTRACTING NEWS

Subcontractor takes up five-axis machining

Based in County Cork, Maas Precision Engineering performs its CNC milling on seven Hurco vertical machining centres. The first arrived more than 20 years ago and is still running today. Mass Precision caters for all quantities, with the company manufacturing anything from one-offs and small batches up to 20,000 or more.

Managing director Tadhg Hurley says: “We owe our business success to Hurco and are confident in the machines. I know we can turn parts around quickly, making prototypes in one day or a maximum of two days. Every person here can program every machine. Whether it be a 20-year-old machine or a new five-axis model, we usually program directly at the machines and can process orders quickly because we know they’re going to be right.”

The machines play their part, but Maas Precision sets out to make the right investment at the right time. In 2018 the company purchased its first five-axis VMC, a Hurco VMX42SRTi with swivelling B axis and rotary C axis set in the table. The main benefit was the ability to complete more operations in a single set-up.

The transition to five-axis machining was clearly a success as a second five-axis model is now in place: a Hurco VMX30Ui of more compact design with a swivelling trunnion carrying a rotary table. Mass Precision can easily transfer programs between the Hurco machines, new and old, to balance capacity utilisation. The company must respond quickly to changing customer demands, so being able to swap production runs between machines helps to build confidence in attaining challenging targets.

For further information www.hurco.co.uk

Bryken trebles automated milling capacity

A long-time user of two automated machining centres that exchange parts fixtured on pallets, in 2022 subcontractor Bryken installed a Hermle C12 machining cell with an integrated RS05 robot for loading billets directly into the working area and unloading finished components. It was supplied by Kingsbury, the sole sales and service agent in the UK for the German machine manufacturer.

The installation was followed one year later by a second cell, this time with drawer rather than tray storage. A similar, even more advanced system with gripper exchange and vice jaw change system arrived in early 2024, allowing multiple different parts to run without operator intervention overnight and at weekends.

Bryken purchased the first Hermle cell after an oil and gas OEM placed an order for 600 new types of manifold, bringing the total number of different parts produced for this customer alone to nearly 1400. Almost all manifolds are made of 316 stainless steel.

The company’s director Phillip Taylor explains: “We don’t have any allegiances to machine tool suppliers, always choosing the most appropriate, high-quality kit for the intended purpose. We opted for an automated cell from Hermle as it was the only solution that was a true billet-handling, five-axis machining cell with a fully integrated robot. The other systems offered either had bolt-on component handling or were pallet-exchange configurations.”

At Bryken’s Knowsley factory, the Hermle cells work 24/7 and delivers an OEE above 90%. Taylor says that the machines hardly ever stop. The first two cells produce around 2000 parts per month. One machines about two-thirds of these components spread across 15 different part numbers, while the second has a more diverse workload involving smaller batch sizes.For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

£10m heavy engineering plant

Subcontract manufacturer, WEC Group, is constructing a state-of-the-art 60,000 sq ft heavy
machining and fabrication facility in Blackburn. The development marks a significant
milestone in the group’s ongoing expansion strategy and is set to become one of the largest
subcontract machining plants in Europe, serving sectors such as nuclear, defence, offshore
and general engineering.


The facility will feature six large CNC machining centres capable of handling components up
to 20 m in length and 5 m in diameter. This will significantly expand WEC Group’s existing
capabilities, which include a trio of large Correa and an Asquith Butler travelling column
milling machines. The new plant is expected to create 60 new jobs, including 10 additional
machining apprentices.
For further information www.wec-group.com

Injection mould maker automates machining

Based in Budapest, Euroform provides an injection mould-making service from design to
production. The firm currently uses eight machining centres from DMG Mori for tool
production, including DMU monoBLOCKs, an HSC 75 linear and, most recently, a DMU 100 P
duoBLOCK. The latter features a PH Cell 2000 automation system for pallet handling to allow
unattended production at night and during the weekends.
The five-axis simultaneous machining of workpieces up to 1100 mm in diameter by 1600
mm long and weighing 2200 kg has already taken place on a DMU 100 P duoBLOCK.
Euroform’s experience with the machining centre was consistently good, leading to the
purchase in 2022 of a latest-generation model with a 1000 × 1250 × 1000 mm working
envelope.
When Euroform ordered the new DMU 100 P duoBLOCK, DMG Mori already had a large
pallet handling system in development, based on the smaller PH Cell 300. The bigger
capacity automation system handles pallets measuring up to 1100 mm in diameter, so is
able to deploy Euroform’s 1000 × 800 mm pallets. The PH Cell 2000 has 12 pallet positions
on two levels and can accept workpieces up to 1350 mm tall.
As Euroform almost exclusively manufactures one-offs, pallet handling such as the PH Cell
2000 is the optimal solution. Operators set up jobs offline on several pallets using a zero-

point clamping system while machining is in progress on another mould, so production
downtime is minimal, even at night.
Another focus area that supports business development at Euroform is digitalisation. The
mould maker is an enthusiastic adopter of the digital ‘my DMG MORI’ app when it comes to
online service requests.
For further information www.dmgmori.com

The die is cast

Phase two of a demolition project has started at Sheffield Forgemasters to make way for the
UK’s largest open-die forging line. Unused buildings on the Sheffield Forgemasters site,
north of Brightside Lane, are being removed as the second phase of work gets underway to
create space for a new 13,000 tonne heavy forge and its 12,700 sq m housing. Victorian-era
forge and foundry buildings will make way for the new facility, creating one of the most
efficient open-die forging operations in Europe and the largest in the UK. The demolition will
eventually expose the whole footprint of the new facility, which will dominate the skyline.
For further information www.bit.ly/3Ubjxyq