Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ (formerly Doosan) and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied ABG Rubber & Plastics, a precision subcontract specialist and part of the Oadby group of companies, with two high-performance, multi-tasking lathes.The machines, both 10” chuck, FANUC-controlled Lynx 2600SY turning centres, are now in situ at ABG’s 20,000sq ft manufacturing facility in Northampton.

The new Lynx lathes which, incidentally, are the first DN Solutions’ (Doosan) machines to be acquired by ABG in its 48-year history, have significantly strengthened the company’s, already impressive CNC machining resources.

Since installation, the lathes, fitted with bar pullers to increase their productivity and facilitate a measure of automated operation, have been put through their paces machining a wide range of high-precision parts and components. ABG makes these bushes, bearings, shafts, wheels, rollers and camsfrom a wide range of engineering plastics that include PEEK, PVDF, nylon 6 andpolyethylene.

The parts, machined and supplied in medium to large volumes, are often characterised by their delicate and intricate features and tight geometric tolerances.They are machined for a diverse range of customers operating in, and serving, a multitude of industries that include automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, materials handling, construction, and food and beverage, to name but a few.

Despite their relatively recent installation (three months), the lathes have already made their mark helping to improve ABG’s productivity and process efficiencies.

Says Chris Woolley, ABG’s general manager:“Our Lynx lathes are powerful, accurate, flexible and reliable.They are equipped with a number of productivity-enhancing technology features that include a ±52.5 Y axis, a 6-inch chuck sub-spindle (4500rpm) and driven-tooling capability (5.5 kW/5000 rpm). These features enable us to machine complex, high-precision parts in one-hit.”

He adds: “This ability to reduce set-up and part cycle times, in particular, is helping us improve our process efficiencies and is already having a positive impact on customer lead times and the cost-per-part.”

ABG Rubber & Plastics, acquired by the Oadby group of companies in 1998, is a processor of engineering plastics and industrial rubber with a reputation based on quality, technical excellence and customer service. The company is ISO9001 and ISO14001 certificated, and is the CNC machining specialist within the Oadby Group.As such, the company has a well-resourced production facility which, combined with the considerable technical skill and experience of its staff, enables it to offer a complete one-stop shop, including design for manufacture (DfM) services, to customers: everything from prototypes through to large-volume batch production.

To maintain its leading position in the market, ABG is committed to continuous improvement and, as a consequence, regularly invests in its people, plant and equipment, as well as its processes and systems.

With business returning to pre-pandemic levels the company, back in early 2022, made the decision to further increase and improve the capacity and capabilities of its machining operations by investing in two new CNC lathes.

Says Anthony Morbey, ABG’s technical manager:“The pandemic did have an adverse effect on certain sectors that we serve, and this naturally caused a hiatus in our investment plans.Thankfully, this was short-lived and, with demand returning for our machining services, we moved quickly and decisively to upgrade and strengthen our CNC turning resource.”

Having previously invested in a lathe with driven-tooling capabilities, as well as in sliding-head technology and a number of five-axis machining centres, ABG did not need to be convinced about the productivity and performance benefits of multi-axis machine tools and the competitive edge they provide.

Continues Morbey:“After careful analysis of our machining operations we determined that we needed two new high-performance CNC lathes and, in order to meet our immediate and future turning requirements, both would need Y axes and sub-spindles.”

In addition to their multi-tasking capabilities, ABG also required the two new lathes to have a small footprint and be available relatively quickly after the time of order.

“Space is at a premium within our production facility, which is why both lathes needed to be compact in size and, because of the high demand for our turning services, we needed the new lathes to be delivered as soon as was practically possible,” explains Morbey.

Although ABG had not previously invested in DN Solutions’ or Doosan machine tool technology, the company placed an order for two Lynx 2600SY machines.

“We did our homework and researched the market by talking to a number of suppliers, customers and third parties”, explains Woolley.“It soon became apparent that DN Solutions’ machines have great reputation in the market for their performance and reliability, and that Mills CNC’s after-sales service and support [including its machine tool servicing and its wear and replacement part provision], as well as its progressive machine tool stocking policy are also highly regarded and well respected.”
He continues: “As a consequence, we approached Mills with our machining needs and requirements and, through working collaboratively with them, fine-tuned the details of the turning investment.”

According to Mills CNC, Lynx 2600SY lathes are the number one choice for small precision turned-part processing.The 10” chuck machines are compact, have a rigid design and build and feature a powerful, high-torque main spindle (18.5 kW/3500rpm), roller-type LM guideways and 30m/min rapids. In addition to their Y axes, sub-spindles and live tooling, Lynx 2600SY lathes also feature servo-driven, 12-station turrets and were supplied to ABG with the new Doosan FANUC iPlus control with 15” touchscreen iHMI.

Concludes Morbey:“The new Lynx lathes have been placed opposite to one another in our production facility and, since their installation, haven’t missed a beat.The decision to invest in two Y-axis, sub-spindle lathes has paid dividends. We’re able to machine high-precision, complex parts faster, better and more economically than previously, and are considering investing in more Lynx lathes in the near future.
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

When Medley Precision won a contract to produce fire suppression assembly systems, the Mansfield-based subcontract manufacturer was initially producing the parts on a single spindle turning centre. However, as the required quantities quickly escalated, the company sought a better solution, turning for help to the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) and the Nakamura-Tome brand.

Like many subcontract manufacturers, Medley has a plant list of high-end machine tools that epitomises the quality demanded by its equally prestigious customers in the offshore, power generation, rail, medical, aerospace and defence sectors. With the aluminium fire mist nozzle systems consisting of a family of four components, the initial requirement was for 200 parts (x4) per month – a volume sustainable for the existing turning centre. However, the volume rapidly exploded from a total of 800 parts to 6000 (1500-off x4) and a solution was needed urgently.

Medley Precision’sproduction manager Stuart Solomon recalls: “The volume rapidly expanded and we looked at a sliding-head lathe, but one of the parts in the assembly was over 50mm diameter – beyond the realm of a slider. We then looked at a range of other manufacturers, but it was the pedigree, quality and the price-to-performance ratio of the Nakamura-Tome brand that sold it to us.”

The AS9100-certified Nottinghamshirecompany purchased a twin-spindle, twin-turret Nakamura-Tome WT15II turning centre at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to cruise through the 6000 part per month order.

“For us, having the facility for one-hit, ‘lights-out’ machining via a barfed turning centre was crucial to our investment decision,” says Solomon.“Moving from a chucking single-spindle lathe to the Nakamura WT150II was a complete revelation. On the four parts, we more than halved the cycle times. The cycle time for the aluminium nozzle body was cut from 14 minutes to 6, while the time for the other three parts were cut from 8, 6 and 4 minutes, to 4, 3 and 2 minutes respectively. But this wasn’t just about cycle time improvements, we wanted to create a stable and efficient process.”

The results were immediately evident. Medley went from one operator permanently located on the single-spindle lathe to one operator on two machines. The quality and consistency of the parts improved vastly, as did the surface finishes. Notably, the same Nakamura stability that improved surface finishes and consistency also prolonged tool life significantly with operational costs falling sharply.

“With the cycle time savings, we could also introduce a deburring cycle for each part and still be more than 50% faster than before,” explains Solomon.“The deburring cycle eliminated the need for the parts to be put through a post-machining rumbler. Our operator would put 200 parts per hour into the rumbler for deburring while running a single-spindle machine full-time. Not only have we eradicated this additional process, but our consumable costs and the energy efficiency of running one machine instead of two is evident.”

With the first Nakamura-Tome WT150II proving such a success for Medley, the company once again turned to ETG when the order books in the turned parts department continued to bulge.

Says Solomon: “With the first Nakamura dedicated to 24 hour, five days a week production of the fire-suppression system, we were noticing our remaining single and twin-spindle turning centres were increasingly close to hitting full capacity – we needed another Nakamura.”

The manufacturer was witnessing a surge in rail work with an increasing demand for fuel systems and associated parts for trains in batches of 100+, as well as an increase in high-value oil and gas exploration parts such as flow regulators and pins in varying quantities from 20 to 150+ parts. Medley specified the Nakamura WY150F, a turning centre with a larger footprint and work area than the WT150II – a footprint that accommodates Y-axis cutting on both the upper and lower turrets.

“The Nakamura WY150F is a slightly larger machine than the WT150II, but it offers additional capabilities,” says Solomon.“The machine was only commissioned recently and we are already seeing the benefits. We swapped the single-spindle machine out and replaced it with the WY150F, as the single-spindle machine no longer meets our profile for a turned parts machine. Although we can acknowledge that the single-spindle turning centre is no match for a twin-spindle Nakamura in productivity terms, we are realising the true value of the Nakamura WY150F, as we are now transferring parts from our other twin-spindle turning centre.”

He continues: “We’ve just moved a part from our other twin-spindle machine to the Nakamura WY150F, cutting the cycle time from 15 minutes to less than 8 on a brass component for the rail industry. This cycle time saving is achievable by hitting both sides of the part at the same time, by using the upper tooling turret on the main spindle and simultaneously hitting the back end of the part in the sub-spindle with the lower tooling turret. By identifying this saving, we will be gradually moving more of our volume components to the new Nakamura and transferring our lower batch quantity work to the single-turret turning centre. Another factor that is making the Nakamura perform so well is the impressive technology and software within the control panel, as well as the Hainbuch work-holding system.”

With the first Nakamura WT150II turning centre dedicated to producing a family of fire-suppression components and the second Nakamura WY150F rapidly churning its way through capacity for Medley, the reduced lead times and improved component quality is bringing more work to the subcontract manufacturer.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com