SUBCONTRACTING NEWS

Angular Plunge-Cut Grinder Improves Production

Over the past 50 years, Wandel CNC-Technik GmbH has developed into an established supplier with its own product portfolio. The Swabian family business, which is now managed by the second generation, has continuously expanded its production spectrum: from milling to turning and grinding. By investing in an EMAG WPG 7 angular plunge-cut grinding machine, the company has expanded its grinding capacities in a targeted manner.

Wandel has 23 employees and produces between 15,000 and 20,000 components per month. The product range includes forged blanks, drive shafts and intermediate flanges for the commercial vehicle industry, as well as classic machine components such as worm shafts. In the grinding area, the company concentrates on symmetrical or round components with diameters ranging from 10 to 150 mm, and lengths of up to 1,000 mm.

The WPG 7 is the fourth grinding machine to be added to the company’s machine park. It was purchased specifically for the machining of flange nuts, for which angular plunge-cut grinding is a technological requirement. The machine is designed for batches of between 20 and 200 pieces and is re-tooled up to twice a day at high capacity.

The decision for a dedicated angular plunge-cut grinding machine was based on several factors: Wandel already had a straight plunge-cut grinding machine for long and larger components. The compact design of the WPG 7 enables short travel distances and fast movements – a significant advantage over larger universal machines. The limited space at the site also spoke in favour of the compact solution.

One particular advantage of the WPG 7 is its thermal stability. The compact design reduces heat transfer, which means that the machine works with precision immediately after switch-on.

More information www.emag.com

Tooling in five days

Celebrating its 35th anniversary as a partner to manufacturers worldwide, Quickparts has launched Quick Mould, a rapid tooling solution designed to transform product development speed and flexibility for customers across Europe. Available now across the EMEA region, production takes place at Quickparts’ European centre of excellence in Pinerolo, Italy, ensuring fast regional support and reduced logistics times. Whether iterating prototypes, validating a process or gearing up for low-volume production, Quick Mould is designed to help engineers move from concept to functional, production-grade parts in record time.

More information www.quickparts.com

Adi Group opens doors

Multi-discipline engineering firmadi Group welcomed young people, schools and general visitors to its Birmingham headquarters as part of the UK’s recent National Manufacturing Day 2025. The event at adi’s Kings Norton site included opportunities for visitors to observe project demonstrations. The programme was designed to highlight how a range of technical skills and teamwork contribute to project delivery across multiple sectors. As a business that completes thousands of projects each year across 35 specialist disciplines, adi Group viewed the day as an extension of its ongoing outreach and education work.

More information www.bit.ly/4nPSlCB

NCMT and BEL build talent pipeline

To mark the UK’s recent National Manufacturing Day, machine tool supplier NCMT and engineering services provider BEL Engineering shone the spotlight on how manufacturers can grow next-generation talent by pairing hands-on training with an Okuma Genos M460V-5AX five-axis machining technology and meeting young people where they already are: on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Jonathan Smart, managing director of NCMT, says: “We deliver world-class manufacturing technology and work with partners to unlock its full capability; social media adds the spark and ambition apprentices need to excel.”

More information www.ncmt.co.uk

Transforming production capabilities with Hanwha

Machined Component Systems (MCS) is a subcontract machining specialist with a reputation for delivering precision components to sectors including automotive, petrochemical, environmental, transport technologies, marine, healthcare and white goods. Founded by Warren Gray’s father, MCS has been under Warren’s leadership for the past decade. During that time, the company has transformed from a traditional engineering firm into a sophisticated manufacturing hub, a move made possible with investment in the latest manufacturing technologies, including three Hanwha sliding-head turning centres from Dugard.

By 2022, MCS faced a critical decision regarding its sliding-head capability.

“We’d had some very good sliding-head machines from another manufacturer over a number of years,” says Warren. “Those machines were beginning to age, so we went out to three or four sliding-head manufacturers with the same suite of parts. We asked them to tender and provide a complete turnkey proposal for those components, and Dugard won.”

The selection process was not simply about specifications or price comparisons; Warren insisted on a comprehensive evaluation that would reveal real-world capabilities.

“Dugard invited us down to Brighton. I took my lead setter and a senior sliding-head machine setter. The three of us spent the whole day reviewing Dugard as a company and looking at the Hanwha machines in action. On the back of the quotation provided, they won our business.”

The company now has three Hanwha machines, the XD20II-V NHY, XD26II-V NHY and XD38II-R NHY. These six-axis turning centres have a diameter capacity from 20 to 38 mm with an ability to turn parts up to 545 mm long.

Warren’s assessment of the partnership is overwhelmingly positive: “The Hanwha machines are very good machine tools and we’re extremely happy.”

More information www.dugard.com