A Black Country manufacturer is on course for its best-ever year after winning a string of new aerospace contracts. CCR Forming, a precision cold roll formed metal rings producer, has sealed deals to supply high-quality engine components to several global primes and tier one manufacturers, boosting its sales towards an anticipated £1m by the end of 2022. The wins mark the start of a concerted strategy from the Tipton-based company to target opportunities in the sector. To support its growth, CCR Forming is just about to press the button on a £100,000 investment in an in-house welding shop.
For further information www.ccr-forming.com

In under seven years, Driven Engineering has grown from a one-man operation with just a second-hand three-axis machining centre into a thriving subcontract manufacturing business on the back of founder Ray Harris’s commitment to invest in the company’s future.

The type of components machined by Driven Engineering lend themselves to vices, rather than fixtures, which is where Ceratizit UK & Ireland plays its part. In addition to providing cutting tools, Ceratizit has also been instrumental in kitting out the pallets with its latest ZSG4 vice system. The ZSG 4 vice has several benefits, but key to Driven Engineering is the ability to grip billets on just 3 mm of material.

“Using such a small amount of material for gripping allows us to program the part using the bottom of the billet as the datum, while we also get great access to five sides of the part,” says Harris. “In addition, the vices deliver consistent grip and accuracy, making them ideal for unmanned machining.”

In total Ceratizit has supplied Driven Engineering with 75 ZSG 4 centric vices, in a combination of 125 and 80 mm widths. Each vice is capable of applying up to 35 kN of gripping force, which allows the minimum grip depth of 3 mm. A further advantage is the lack of any requirement for billet preparation prior to gripping, which Ceratizit says is unlike other systems on the market. Their suitability for pallet-based machining is enhanced by their compatibility with PNG, MNG and Lang zero-point clamping systems.

Further support is provided by the Ceratizit tool-vending system that Driven Engineering has installed, which helps to maintain production with 24-7 tooling availability.
For further information www.ceratizit.com

US-based Duggan Manufacturing was formed by friends Rodney Westich and Tony Pinho in Almont, Michigan 22 years ago. The company owes its success to hard work, smart investments and great customer service, with Prima Power at its side. Today the company has 90 employees working in a main facility of 72,000 sq ft and a satellite building of 28,000 sq ft.

“We devised a plan to get business rolling, and from that point on, it’s been a steady reinvestment plan for the latest machine technology,” explains Westich. “We put as much money back in the company as possible.”

A large part of that investment plan has been dedicated to Prima Power 3D fibre lasers.

“When we began our search for lasers, Prima Power was one of several options,” says Westich. “The company was very helpful and open. They arranged for us to visit other customers who were doing laser-tube cutting and knew we were looking at something special. Their lasers are versatile and robust, with high uptime – but if there is a problem, Prima Power’s service department responds quickly and with excellent telephone support.”

Duggan purchased a 2 kW Prima Power Rapido fibre laser in 2010 and another in 2011. The company purchased a Prima Power 4 kW Laser Next in 2016.

“We’re not a huge company, but our three Prima Power lasers allow us to punch above our weight, meaning we have much more influence than we anticipated because they give us the same attention that you would expect for a large customer with multiple machines,” states Westich. “This type of key investment definitely helped us to grow.”
For further information www.primapower.com

Bystronic Malaysia has installed the first large-format, high-performance laser-cutting system at Leon Fuat Metal, which earns the company the distinction of having the first 15 kW ByStar Fiber 8025 in Asia.

Chinhan Ooi, general manager of Bystronic Malaysia and sales director for SEA, says: “This is a significant milestone for the APAC region that also demonstrates the potential for the sale of reliable Bystronic high-power solutions in Malaysia.”

With more than 38 years of experience in various sectors, Leon Fuat specialises in the processing of steel products.

Says Calvin Ooi, executive director of Leon Fuat: “Prior to this new machine, we already had a 4020 10 kW ByStar Fiber in the factory. We were impressed with its cutting speed, which is significantly higher than that of a CO2 laser cutting system. The new machine, with its even higher cutting performance, will further increase our production output and enable even shorter delivery times.”

In its early days, the Leon Fuat Group owned 11 CO2 machines from a different manufacturer. With the upgrade to its first Bystronic ByStar Fiber 4020 in 2018, the company eliminated previously existing production restrictions and high operating costs. And even with only five CO2 machines in operation, the company was able to increase productivity and revenue with the Bystronic fibre-laser system.

Due to its excellent experiences and trust in Bystronic, the Leon Fuat Group invested in an additional Bystronic machine – a ByStar Fiber 3015 6 kW. This machine was installed at the company’s affiliate Supreme Steel Makers for processing applications in thinner sheet metal materials.

Looking to the future, Leon Fuat is convinced that its new ByStar Fiber 8025 will overcome the limitations of its existing laser-cutting systems; now the company can load raw materials with bigger dimensions.
For further information www.bystronic.co.uk