SUBCONTRACTING NEWS

Anotronic Installs Sodick ALC600G Premium

Anotronic is a subcontract machining business and manufacturer of EDM fast-hole drilling
and EDM die-sinking machine tools. Founded in 1982, the business started in ECM, ECD and
EDM tooling and machining, evolving to the production and growth of its own ECM and ECD
technology brand. Along this journey, the company has worked with Sodi-Tech UK and the
Sodick brand of machines. The Bedfordshire-based manufacturer currently operates three
Sodick machines, with the latest ALC600G Premium wire EDM with linear motor drive
technology arriving recently.
 
Martin White, managing director of Anotronic, says: “We always buy premium machines
and, as the company has become more experienced, we constantly look to invest in better
technology. This always comes down to machine reliability and the ability to run
unmanned.”
He continues: “We bought this latest machine because we had a project that typically
consists of 40 parts which would maybe take us three months to complete. We suddenly
had an order placed on us last year for 300 components. We couldn’t have done this
without another machine, as we knew we would have to operate 24 hours a day to get the
parts done.”
 
Sodi-Tech UK sales manager Richard Bailey says: “Manufacturers can use the on-board
technology and IQ software system that brings the CAD model into the machine and
draws the profile on-board utilising the U- and V-axis cutting technology. The program is
generated, parts are machined and the job is complete.”

 
White adds: “We’re using a very complex four-axis program to cut a rotary part with 45°
slots in it. We used the on-board software within the CNC of the Sodick machine to create a
3D model and a tool path to cut the part.”
More information www.sodi-tech.co.uk

Bespoke Ceratizit fixture benefits subcontractor

Woodbrook Precision, located in Ashton-Under-Lyne, says that Ceratizit has been instrumental in enhancing the productivity of new machine tools.

A recent case in point involved a repeat order for 100-off stainless steel products for an aerospace industry customer. With the job running frequently, Woodbrook set up six vices in a line on the 3.5 m bed of a Mazak five-axis VTC800/30SR. Upon completing each surface and cycle, an operator would reset the job to process the next face. With a total of four operations, the process was laborious. The company engaged with Ceratizit, which made a bespoke work-holding solution at its technical centre and headquarters in Sheffield.

Visiting the Ceratizit stand at the MACH 2024 exhibition in Birmingham, Woodbrook managing director Stephen Hogg realised that the only cost for Ceratizit’s bespoke service was the price of the aluminium tombstone billet and the cost of the four ZSG4-125 Centric vices that connect to the zero-point single riser tombstone system.

Immediately impressed, Woodbrook Precision ordered a pyramid system to clamp smaller parts in its Mazak CV5-500. The ZSG4-125 Centric vices with serrated jaws enabled Woodbrook to clamp on as little as 3 mm of stock, permitting the subcontractor to hit all five sides of the stainless parts with confidence in the high-torque clamping forces of the vice. With five faces machined in a single operation, the following operation was to turn the parts over to complete the sixth surface. This reduced this 100-off repeat job from four operations to just two.

“The job took over one hour per part from start to finish,” explains Hogg. “The tombstone and Centric ZSG vices immediately took more than 10 minutes off each part, with peripheral benefits such as longer running times without operator intervention.”

More information www.ceratizit.com

Precision Micro wins powertrain contract

Precision Micro, a global provider of chemically etched components, has successfully
secured a series production contract with a renowned German multinational engineering
and technology company. The company has been chosen as the exclusive supplier for a
function- and safety-critical component used in the hydrogen recirculation blower of next-
generation fuel cell/electric vehicle powertrains.
Precision Micro’s etching process will produce the component, which facilitates the
recirculation of unused hydrogen in a fuel cell system. The component requires chemical
etching to achieve stringent customer requirements for flatness, cleanliness and tight
tolerances, making it the only viable production method.
More information www.precisionmicro.com.

Productivity take-off with Starrag machine

By investing in machine tools from Starrag, Missouri-based Seyer Industries has become a major manufacturer of critical aerospace components, evolving a long way from its origins in a farmer’s garage back in 1957.

Today, Seyer is a third-generation family-owned aerospace company that offers four primary product groups. Its activities include supporting customers in the commercial aerospace, military aerospace, military support equipment and maritime industries. The company’s ongoing investment strategy is proving so successful, the AS9100D, ISO9001, ITAR-registered and NADCAP-certified company has grown 20% per annum for the past five years.

Mark Seyer, director of operations, says: “As price and lead time are everything in aerospace, adding the capability of large-capacity machining helps us offer a complete partner solution for more of our customers. To achieve this, we decided to invest in machine tools from Starrag.”

With the project requiring the machining of hard metal parts with dimensions of 1000 x 300 x 300 mm, the billets had to undergo high material removal machining with impeccable precision and surface finishes. The solution was the Starrag Heckert 800 X5 five-axis horizontal machining centre with trunnion design.

Such has been the success of this investment that the company has already committed to machine number two: a six-axis Starrag STC1800-170 set to arrive in autumn 2025. The machine will manufacture large titanium structural parts for the defence industry and, with its 3.3 x 2 x 2 m capacity, the Starrag STC1800-170 will add both capacity and capability to Seyer’s competitive advantage.

“We expect this machine to process stainless steel, titanium and Inconel structural aerospace components, typically in smaller batch sizes in the realm of 2 to 10 pieces,” says Seyer.

More information www.starrag.com

New investment strategy pays major dividends

MACH Machine Tools has recently supplied South Shields-based HQ Fabrications with two new CNC machines. The MACH MDV 1160 vertical machining centre and MACH MDS 845-8T toolroom mill were installed at the company’s 790 m² facility in Jarrow towards the end of last year. Both machines, equipped with the DynaPath control system, have been working flat out machining jigs and fixtures, as well as prototypes, one-offs and small batches of pre-production and production parts for a diverse range of UK customers.

HQ Fabrications regularly monitors and evaluates the performance of its machine tools and, to enable the machining of larger workpieces, made the decision in early 2024 to invest in the new MACH MDV 1160 three-axis vertical machining centre.

“Up to that point we had always invested in pre-owned machines,” says Chris Hall, HQ Fabrications’ owner and managing director. “However, one of our existing used machines that we had identified for machining larger workpieces, wasn’t as reliable as we had originally hoped.”

He continues: “We were a little apprehensive investing in a new machine, but representatives from MACH Machine Tools simplified the whole process from machine identification through to delivery, installation and commissioning. They even offered us a great part-exchange trade-in deal on the previously mentioned used machine.”

The positive experience resulted in the company further strengthening its in-house milling capabilities by investing in a second machine: a MACH MDS 845-8T toolroom mill.

“Our two new MACH machines are proving to be a great investment,” concludes Hall. “MACH Machine Tools’ open and transparent approach, combined with their technical know-how and readily-available support, made the whole process quick and seamless.”

More information www.machmt.co.uk