With its own press shop serving the production facility of a major automotive plant in Eastern Europe, Essex-based Alpine Tools recently entered the market for a new wire EDM machine. Faced with a requirement to manufacture tools for its in-house press operations and various subcontract customers, the company selected a Sodick VL600Q CNC wire-erosion machine from a shortlist of six.

“Our previous wire EDM [not Sodick] was reaching the end of its useful life, so it was time to invest in another,” explains managing director Keith Chetland. “I used an Excel spreadsheet to cross-reference and benchmark six EDM machines. We chose the VL600Q from Sodi-Tech EDM for a number of reasons, notably the 10-year positioning accuracy guarantee, which shows confidence in the technology.”

Since arrival, the machine has been busy with a variety of tasks, including the manufacture of high-precision press-tool punches and dies. Alpine Tools also usesits new Sodick wire EDM to undertake press-tool maintenance.

In addition, the machine serves the company’s subcontract tool-room operations. Here, the company produces fixtures for machining and welding, along with inspection gauges and other tools from materials such as tool steel, stainless steel and even aluminium. These tools end up in sectors such as medical, heating and lighting.

“We’re an independent toolroom so we’ll take on anything that comes through the door,” says Chetland. “The new Sodick gives us greater accuracy, better economy and a somewhat larger working envelope than we had previously.”

He adds: “We’ve not run lights-out yet, but we plan to. It will be nice to go home at night knowing that we’ll arrive next morning and find the machine still running, without stoppages due to a failed wire re-threading operation, for example.”
For further information www.sodi-techedm.co.uk

A Kent-based precision engineering specialist has completed a major investment drive as its eyes a £2m opportunity in electric vehicles.HV Wooding, which employs 98 people at its facility in Hythe, has spent more than £250,000 on creating a dedicated manufacturing cell for producing bonded stators and rotors, as well as optimising its rapidly expanding busbar production capabilities.

The investment boost has seen it install new ovens andacquire anAgieCharmilles Cut E 600 wire-erosion machine. Notably, the new wire EDM will help the company deliver highly accurate results in metal cutting, reducing turnaround times in the process and supporting orders to the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors.

Matt Lacey, sales and marketing manager at HV Wooding, says: “There’s so many opportunities for us in the EV market and this investment gives us the capacity to go after millions of pounds of new work.The unit refurbishment, coupled with the new AgieCharmilles wire EDM, will allow us to support our global customer base with the production of prototype and small series bonded stators and rotors with the best possible lead times.

He continues: “Having the additional wire-erosion capabilities will also support the highly complex and intricate parts we are increasingly producing, not to mention boosting our capacity for manufacturing bonded stacks. Sales are up about 20% over the past two years, so now is the perfect time to invest in our factory and make sure we position ourselves for the next decade of growth.”

HV Wooding, which has a turnover of around £12m, has over 50 years of experience in providing precision engineering solutions for clients in over 25 different countries.
For further informationwww.hvwooding.co.uk

To support the flexible manufacture of bespoke work-holding solutions, Coventry-based Hyfore has taken delivery of a Mitsubishi MV2400R wire EDM machine. Hyfore produces bespoke work-holding jigs and fixtures for a diverse range of OEM manufacturers in the aerospace, automotive, medical and motorsport industries, as well as the associated subcontract supply chains.

The day-to-day operation of the business requires a fast turnaround of bespoke projects with a significant proportion of its workload encompassing prototype, small volume and subcontract manufacturing.It is for these very reasons the company selected the Mitsubishi MV2400R, a machine that will enhance the precision and accuracy of complex fixtures, expedite throughput from design to delivery and subsequently benefit the end user.

Mark Covill, product manager – bespoke work holding, says: “Before the arrival of the EDM machine, we had to subcontract some of our complex work to external suppliers. The wire EDM will enable us to bring this work in-house and gain greater control over our quality, lead times, costs and overall manufacturing processes. The machine will also give our design department greater freedom to experiment with exciting concepts and solutions for customers.”

He adds: “In addition, the wire EDM will complement our existing CNC machining offer, which is fully supported by our internal ISO 9001 quality control procedures that are undertaken with the company’s in-house CMM. The wire EDM expands our service offering to customers and will enable Hyfore to attract more subcontract work with a complete service package. We can help subcontract manufacturers that are at capacity, have urgent jobs, or simply do not have their own in-house EDM expertise.”
For further information www.hyfore.com

Erodex Group, a UK specialist in the design and manufacture of graphite electrodes, tooling and fixtures, is celebrating 50 years in business by investing £400,000 in automation at its machining facility in the West Midlands.

This year marks half a century of trading for the family-owned firm, whichis looking to the future with the purchase of an automated pallet loading system to work in co-ordination with its existing high-speed machining centres.As a result of the investment, the company expects to maximise efficiencies and output within a high-volume area of the business; creating capacity without the need to layer-in additional shift patterns.In addition, the alignment of existing machining capacity with automation provides Erodex with a portfolio that it has previously been unable to offer customers, therefore creating new business opportunities.

The company’s state of the art machining facility in Wednesbury has been established for over 35 years, enabling Erodex to machine its wide variety of graphite grades into highly complex components for a range of industries.

Steve Rolinson, director at Erodex Group, says:“Further investment in our machining facility represents the next stage of business evolution. Since the mid-1980s, the Erodex Group has enabled customers to benefit from the capabilities of our ISO9001-accredited graphite machining facility, which is widely regarded as the best graphite machining facility in Europe.Continued planned investment as part of our continuous improvement programme – including in automation – means we’re well placed to capitalise on market opportunities moving forward and further reinforces our position as UK leaders in the design and manufacture of graphite electrodes, tooling and fixtures for the aerospace and IGT sectors.”
For further information www.erodex.com