Mills CNChas supplied leading precision subcontract specialist Dalloway Precision Engineeringwith two new high-performance machine tools.The machines, both DN Solutions models, comprise a DVF 5000 simultaneous five-axis machining centre and a DNT 2100 8” chuck box-guideway lathe. Both FANUC-controlled modelsarrived at the company’s 3600sq ft facility in Lye, near Stourbridge, this summer, significantly increasing the company’s in-house machining capacity and capabilities.

These new acquisitions took place in conjunction with Dalloway Precision’s recent relocation to larger premises, completed at the end of June 2023, doubling the floor space available. This move provides ample and incontrovertible evidence that the family-owned Black Country company’s investment plans and programmes, somewhat curtailed by the outbreak of the pandemic, are now back with a vengeance.

Current owner and managing director, Gary Dalloway, establishedDalloway Precision in January 2002 by.In the early days the company was based in Bilston, Wolverhampton, where it operated from a small ‘shared’ premises.The company has grown exponentially since then, developing and honing its machining expertise, investing in new technologies and increasing its headcount.

Dalloway Precision is no stranger to investing in machine tools from Mills CNC. From 2017 to 2019, the company purchased three Doosan machines in quick succession: a Lynx 2100 lathe in 2017, a DNM 5700 vertical machining centre equipped with a 4th-axis in 2018, and a Puma GT 2600 lathe in 2019.

Says Dalloway: “We’re always looking to improve and regularly invest in new, advanced machine tool technologies to improve our productivity and process efficiencies.”

Investment in the new DVF 5000, a simultaneous five-axis machining centre and, to a lesser extent, the 8” chuck DNT 2100 box-guideway lathe, helps the company meet a substantial increase in demand from one of its existing UK customers. This contract requires the machining of complex, high-precision and safety-critical rail track piston arrangements – ultimately destined for the Swedish rail sector.A long-standing job that, since 2015, hasseen Dalloway Precision machine 500 piston parts per year was, was due to increase to 1000 parts per quarter in August 2023.

“The increase in demand, notified to us at the start of 2023, meant that we needed to re-evaluate our existing machining methods and processes in order to fulfil the new contract,” remembers Dalloway.“We simply couldn’t rely on the previous process to machine the increased number of parts, as that would seriously tie-up a significant percentage of our existing machining capacity and have a negative impact on our ability to meet the lead times of other customers.As a consequence, we decided to increase our machining capacity and develop a new, high-efficiency process with five-axis machining at its heart to cope with the new contract.”

The rail track piston arrangements are made from EN 19 high-quality alloy steel, near-net forgings supplied by a local metal forgings company. They have a number of intricate and high-precision milled and turned features that include bores and thread forms.With the previous process, Dalloway Precision was not able to machine a series of small-angled holes positioned around one end of each piston, so they were sent back to the UK customer for it to complete along with a number of specific grinding operations.

Says Dalloway:“The new process we developed, using a five-axis machining centre, provided the customer with a real ‘added-value’ solution, enabling us to machine all features, including the angled holes.”

Although Dalloway Precision is no stranger to multi-axis milling, having previously invested in machining centres with 4th-axis units, the acquisition of a full, simultaneous five-axis machining centre was something new.

“As well as being used to machine the pistons, we believed that the investment in a five-axis machine would improve our productivity and process efficiencies across the board,” he says. “It would also be instrumental in us being able to secure more complex work from new and existing customers in the future.”

To strengthen its turning operations, the company, at the same time, looked at investing in a versatile two-axis box-guideway lathe to handle the turned features of the pistons and, more generally, increase and improve its machining resource.With this in mind, Dalloway Precision approached the market with its plans and requirements. The existing relationship it had with Mills CNC meant that the Leamington Spa outfit was one of its first ports of call.

“We have a good relationship with Mills CNC and the three machines we acquired from them in the past, since 2017, are accurate, reliable and perform well,” states Dalloway. “Furthermore, we like the business approach of Mills CNC. They are always helpful and accommodating, and their progressive, customer-focused stocking policy means that when we have placed orders with them in the past – they are fulfilled, almost immediately.As a consequence, it was only natural for us to discuss our future investment plans with them.”

Dalloway Precision placed an order with Mills CNC for a DVF 5000 machining centre and a DNT 2100 lathe in April 2023.The DVF 5000 supplied to Dalloway precision was equipped with a 17kW/12,000 rpm direct-drive spindle and 60-position ATC. It features integrated thermal compensation to ensure high accuracies, even during long machining runs, and boasts 40m/min rapids that help ensure fast part processing and reduced cycle times.
To improve productivity still further, Mills CNC supplied machine with through-spindle-coolant capability (20bar) and a Renishaw RMP 60 compact spindle probe.

The DNT 2100 is one model in a new lathe series. This 8” chuck box-guideway lathe has a rigid design and build, and features a high-torque 4500rpm spindle, a servo-driven, fast indexing 12-station turret, and a programmable tailstock.

“The DVF 5000 and DNT 2100 were installed in the new facility in June and July respectively, and a ‘big shout out’ needs to go to Mills CNC for the quick and seamless relocation of all of our other machines [eight in total] to our new site,” says Dalloway. “The DVF 5000 is currently machining complex fixtures for the piston arrangement and we hope to be in full production in the next week or so.”

Dalloway Precision estimates that the piston contract will take up 50% of its new milling (DVF 5000) and turning (DNT 2100) capacity.Recent contract wins have involved the machining of high-precision, stainless steel rod ends for a number of automotive and motorsport customers; the machining of complex, modular welding fixtures for a luxury car manufacturer; and the machining of intricate packaging solutions for a food and beverage (whisky distillery) customer.

The company, through its commitment to continuous improvement, always has one eye on the future. For instance, to ensure growth and overcome skills shortages, Dalloway Precision operates an in-house apprenticeship programme run in conjunction with local colleges. Furthermore, to help improve business efficiencies, the company is looking to invest in an ERP system in the near future and is exploring specific industry accreditations and certifications to facilitate its entry into the aerospace and medical sectors.

Concludes Dalloway:“The latest investment in two DN Solutions machines from Mills CNC is proof positive that our growth intentions and ambitions, somewhat disrupted by the pandemic, are now back on track.”
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

It is enormously helpful for production managers to check remotely on the status of machine tools in their factory and find out whether or not a cutting cycle is in progress and the reasons for idle times. One subcontractor that has taken advantage of monitoring software that feeds data back automatically from the shop floor to an office is aerospace subcontractor Automatic Industrial Machines (AIM) in Clevedon, Somerset. The company’strio offive-axis automated production centres (YCM, Hedelius and Mikron) and 19three-axis and five-axis stand-alone machines, all controlled by Heidenhain CNC systems, network with the control manufacturer’s StateMonitor software.

Detailed knowledge of what is happening in every machining centre and collection of data for immediate troubleshooting and long-term analysis has increased output considerably. It is now possible to rectify stoppages quickly, while analysis over time of production centre usage allows the company to try different ways of increasing throughput. Operators know the software is installed and relaying information on their actions over the network, so productivity tends to be higher than it would otherwise be. The long-term records are also useful for planning machine maintenance.

Rob Kendall, managing director of AIM says: “Having access to data in real time is part of what Industry 4.0 is all about. It makes you question why things are being done the way they are and prompts you to think of how production might be improved to raise efficiency.”

He describes the analysis of data from one of the company’s automated five-axis machining centres, a YCM NFX380 served by an Erowa Leonardo pallet storage system. It showed that over a 24-hour period of unmanned running, depending on the mix of components and the cycle times, which can be as short as 15 minutes, the machine was often idle for the last three to four hours as it had run out of work. Six extra Erowa pallets were purchased, bringing the total capacity to 66 positions, to enable the cell to run for a full 24 hours, right up to the 07:00 start of the next day shift. The extra parts produced per day have quickly started to amortise the cost of the additional pallets.

Kendall is a long-time user of Heidenhain-controlled machining centres, dating back to the days of operating Bridgeport mills, and has been close to staff at the German control manufacturer’s UK headquarters in Burgess Hill for more than 25 years. Consequently, the subcontractor was chosen in 2018 as a beta test customer to evaluate an early version of StateMonitor. It was less functional at the time and use of the software lapsed.

Since then, Heidenhain has invested heavily into its digital shop-floor department to develop StateMonitor software further, based on machine shop needs and customer feedback. The product is now fully fit for purpose, providing the user with all the tools and information needed to make strategic decisions. When Heidenhain presented the improved software to Kendall in the latter part of 2022, it had progressed to such an extent that AIM was happy to evaluate it again on five platforms, both automated and stand-alone. By January 2023, the subcontractor had purchased 22 licences for all the machining centres on the shop floor.

Heidenhain (GB) provided a turnkey installation and commissioning service, during which it installed the software on AIM’s server where all the subcontractor’s programs are resident. Every machine’s Heidenhain TNC control is connected by Ethernet cable, although not necessarily directly. Two of six factory units on the other side of Concorde Drive in the Clevedon business centre communicate with the other four units over Wi-Fi to allow the server access to data from the remote machines.

AIM is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023. The business has grown organically and consistently over the years, hence the fragmented location of its various operating units. Some 85% of turnover comes from the aerospace sector, the Airbus Filton site being less than 20 miles away. The company mainly machines aluminium structures such as stringers and skin panels up to 6.5 m long, plus some steel and titanium parts for conventional and electric aircraft. AIM also regularly processes aluminium, aluminium-bronze and plastics. The subcontractor additionally supplies the automotive, motorsport, electronics, food processing, packaging and fluid control industries.

Dave Kinch, operations manager at AIM, takes a pragmatic approach to his use of StateMonitor. Although 22 machining centres are connected, he tends to focus on operation of five or six of them, notably the three automated cells, one or two stand-alone five-axis machines and a three-axis model often devoted to the production of a critical titanium aerospace component. Regarding the latter, he was able to spot that the cutting parameters were 1% below optimal and adjust them accordingly. It represented only a small rise in metal removal rate, but over the course of a year it is adding up to a measurable increase in throughput. There would have been little chance of picking up on the productivity shortfall without StateMonitor.

Generally speaking, there is no monitoring of machines that are preparing billets or carrying out minor skimming operations in the Clevedon factory, only those that are performing major finishing operations. However, periodic checks on all the other machines are able to identify inefficiency and trigger intervention. Concentration on keeping an eye on high added-value work avoids having to sift through a large amount of data. So also does restriction of information emailed to Kinch’s smartphone, which essentially only receives a notification if a machine has alarmed out or has been idle for an extended period.

A vast amount of additional data is available if wanted, including job changes, program status and run time, tool changes, spindle speed and feed rates, override settings and other machining parameters, all of which may be useful for some companies but is information that AIM does not presently require routinely. All data is available not only on smartphones but also on tablets, laptops, PCs and on the screen of Heidenhain controls on the shop floor. For the time being, Kinch relies on a single PC in the programming office connected to a wall-mounted screen to monitor the six production areas.

“We have been using StateMonitor for just over six months, so it is still rather early to quantify its benefits,” he says. “However, its utility is clear in respect of our automated prismatic machining cells. For example I have calculated that the YCM NFX380 five-axis production centre, served by the recently expanded Erowa Leonardo store with 66 pallet positions, is already 26% more productive due to the changes we have implemented based on information collected from the Heidenhain StateMonitor software.”

He adds that the output from stand-alone machining centres is more difficult to assess, but his estimate is that they are running and producing parts during the day shift for 83% of the time, versus an industry average of 65%. It is down to better planning of work going on the machines.

While StateMonitor has long been able to connect with many makes of CNC system other than Heidenhain’s via OPC UA, umati, MTConnect, Modbus TCP, or using additional hardware, the latest version 1.5.0 includes for the first time a FOCAS interface for connecting machines with a FANUC control. It means that AIM has the possibility to connect its lathes and turn-mill centres fitted with FANUC CNC systems into the monitoring software to obtain similar optimisation benefits.
For further information www.heidenhain.co.uk