Back in 1997, when physics graduate Paul Cobb asked his father Reg to help him invest in a subcontract machining business specialising in CNC sliding-head turning, Mr Cobb senior groaned; he knew it would mean a sizeable investment. At the time, both father and son were partners in the family’s subcontracting firm in Stapleford, Hemlock Engineering, which specialised in producing mainly prismatic parts and continues to do so.

However, Paul was keen to embark on a project of his own. He chose not to become a computer programmer or geological analyst but instead started HPC Services. Renting a small factory unit in nearby Ilkeston, he installed a Japanese-built Citizen Cincom L25 sliding-head, bar-fed, turn-mill centre. At the time it was the first of a new, updated design to arrive in the UK.

From that moment onwards, HPC’s approach has been to acquire the latest, most productive CNC equipment available, designed to slash production times, reduce costs and improve component quality.

Over the intervening 24 years, Cobb has bought around 20 CNC sliding-head, twin-spindle lathes of nominally 12, 20 or 32 mm bar capacity, all from the same supplier. Ten Cincoms are in operation, following systematic replacement of the others with newer models. There are also seven fixed-head, twin-spindle CNC lathes on the shop floor of the current premises, which houses around 30 employees.

When Cobb launched HPC, he took with him from Hemlock one production job to get started, a shaft for a sell-by date label printing machine. The food industry still accounts for around one-third of HPC’s turnover. This job previously involved turning the component in two operations, after which it was ground and then milled on a machining centre, all in a total cycle time of seven minutes. On the Citizen L25, he completed the same job in one minute as part of a one-hit set up. Today, HPC machines the parts on a different slider at a rate of 1000 per month.

Due to complete machining in a single set up, the components produced by HPC were of better quality, reliably holding 5 µm concentricity and 10 µm dimensional tolerance. Moreover, the price charged to the customer has consistently fallen in real terms due to the progressively higher level of automation on the newer lathes, which allows longer periods of unattended running, 24/7.

“Over the years, turned-parts subcontractors from around the world have quoted for this work,” says Cobb. “However, by harnessing the efficiency and accuracy of machines like the Cincom sliders we are globally competitive on price and quality, even for large production volumes.

“In the past that was not the case, but it is possible now with modern, ultra-high speed plant,” he continues. “And of course, our delivery times are much better than competition in the Far East can offer, added to which, control over projects is easier. As a result, we’re seeing a strong trend towards reshoring.”

Today, HPC has some 5000 different part numbers on its books. Components are produced from 38 mm diameter bar or smaller on the Cincoms. Quantities range from 100 to 40,000 in a vast range of materials, from exotic alloys, through stainless steels, brass and aluminium, to plastics. The two million parts machined annually account for two-thirds of the company’s £3m annual turnover, the remainder being fixed-head turning. HPC reinvests some 10% of revenue every year in new plant and equipment, a proportion that also applies to Hemlock’s £7m turnover.

One of the latest components produced at HPC in one hit on a sliding-head lathe requires only milling. The company machines the parts on one of two recently delivered Cincom M32-VIIIs of a radically different design compared with the earlier M32s on site. The first of the new machines arrived in November 2020 and Cobb was so impressed with its performance that he bought another a month later.

The prismatic component looks as though it has been machined from flat bar, but is in fact milled from 303 stainless steel round bar, as it is difficult to source flat bar in that material in the UK. Used on a date-coding machine, the part is produced in one operation in a cycle time of 4 minutes 53 seconds on the lathe, whereas it would require four operations totalling 7 minutes on a VMC.

A year or so before the arrival of the two new M32s, which come with kits to accommodate 38 mm diameter bar, the chief designer from Citizen’s Japanese factory visited HPC to ask Cobb what he would like to see in the fifth generation of this sliding-head lathe. His response was, “more rigidity”. The Japanese manufacturer obliged, endowing the latest model with box guideways rather than linear slides, a tang instead of a worm drive on the turret and higher power motors throughout.

“The difference is amazing,” states Cobb. “It is possible to machine exotic alloys at double the speed compared with a fourth generation M32, and you get four times the tool life, especially as coolant is now delivered through the tool platen as well as the turret. It is a massive step up in performance. A 10 mm cutter purrs into the bar, even using a mill with carbide inserts rather than a solid-carbide tool, which we need to use on the earlier M32s. Any production engineer would know that the new model is a very rigid machine.”

Other aspects of the latest design that he appreciates are the increased number of driven tools and a platen tool post with a programmable B axis, which is useful for producing angled features on components and performing front working.
Cycles for many jobs are significantly quicker. For example, when producing a particular 303 stainless steel flange from 38 mm bar, it was previously necessary to wait for the turret to become available to deburr the component. At 57 seconds, the cycle time is now 25 seconds quicker, representing a saving of 30%.

Just as important for reducing production costs is the ability to swap the machine over in half an hour to guide bush-less mode, thus saving remnant wastage when producing relatively short components like the flanges. In this case, it is possible to produce 262 parts from a 3-m bar, compared with 225 if the guide bush is in place. With 5000 of the flanges produced annually, the saving is significant.

Citizen’s advanced technology also came to the rescue a few years earlier, when HPC received a contract to produce plastic internal components for a manufacturer of high-quality taps. Moulding these top-end parts is not feasible, as flash on the sealing surfaces could cause leakage and removing it would be too time-consuming. Turn-milling the components from acetyl bar was the preferred method of manufacture, but plastics are notoriously difficult to machine due to the generation of copious quantities of long, stringy swarf, especially when grooving.

Citizen had recently invented its patented, low-frequency vibration (LFV) software that breaks such swarf into short, manageable lengths. Running in the Cincom’s Mitsubishi control, the facility can switch in and out of a programmed cycle by G-code command.

“LFV on the Cincom L20 we bought in 2017 is absolutely brilliant for turning plastic,” says Cobb. “Normally, on a lathe we regularly have to remove swarf by hand that has tangled around the component and tooling, which takes ages and risks damaging the part, but that is eliminated by the software.

“It not only saves a lot of production time, but allows us to run the lathe unattended for long periods, which usually would be impossible when machining this type of material,” he concludes. “The software will also be a big advantage if we receive contracts for producing components from ductile, long-chipping metals, such as copper.”

For further information
www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Those who have filled up their vehicles this week might want to thank Conroe Machine. That’s because this specialty job shop in Conroe, Texas, machines most of the components required to build down-hole positive displacement motors (PDMs). The oil and gas industry refers to these devices, which perform the directional drilling of oil and gas wells, as mud motors. And without mud motors, the oil and gas needed to power vehicles and heat homes would stay forever underground.

James Wardell gets a little credit, too. As the programming technology manager at Conroe Machine, Wardell was part of the team that implemented Vericut tool-path simulation software, and without Vericut, the company’s machining operations would be less efficient, less safe and far less predictable.

“Machining has become more complex in recent years,” he says. “It’s no longer just linear moves and simple arcs. You have dynamic roughing paths, 3D surfacing, and simultaneous four and five-axis cutting; you can’t expect a machinist to catch program errors in this situation. That’s why we needed a tool that could verify our NC programs and give us confidence in advance that everything’s good to go.”

As Wardell points out, Conroe Machine produces much more than mud motors. Since 2000, this 160-employee, 65,000 sq ft facility located on Conroe’s North Industrial Park has machined a wide array of high-precision parts for the likes of Halliburton, National Oilwell Varco (NOV) and Global Drilling Support International. These components include subsea parts such as stab plates and various control valves, many made from Inconel, Nitronic 50, ToughMet and other challenging materials. In addition, the company has extensive fabricating and engineering capabilities.

“We make bearing races, housings and PDM transmission parts by the hundreds of thousands, and we also do a lot of low-volume and prototype work,” says Wardell. “Much of what we do here centres on the oil and gas industry. After the last downturn, though, we’ve tried hard to diversify our customer base, and have expanded our service offering accordingly.”

Part of that expansion saw the purchase of a Toyoda SB316YM, a fixed-rail, bridge-type, five-axis machining centre with 10 tonnes of table capacity and 3 m of X-axis travel. Wardell and his colleagues call it the company’s flagship machine. Just prior to its installation, Conroe switched its programming system to Mastercam and invested in the aforementioned Vericut from CGTech, a provider of numerical control (NC/CNC) simulation, verification, optimisation and analysis software technology.

Conroe Machine had plenty of other reasons to purchase Vericut. The company boasts an impressive array of CNC machine tools, including an Okuma LU45 II four-axis lathe, Doosan DMV 5025 and 3016 machining centres, a 3-m capacity Mighty Viper 3100 vertical milling centre, and more. It was the crash potential that comes with five-axis machining, though, that helped convince the management team of the necessity for accurate tool-path simulation.

“We also have several automated production cells, with inline inspection and robotic part handling, but it was the bridge mill in particular that got us thinking about Vericut,” explains Wardell. “We wanted a way to verify that the post-processors on our new CAM system were accurate, and that we could catch any programming errors before they got to the production floor, possibly damaging the most expensive piece of equipment in our shop.”

That was five years ago, and Wardell says Vericut continues to prove its value every day.

“We’ve not had any crashes due to programming errors since implementing Vericut,” states Wardell. “There’s been a couple missed dimensions here and there, stuff I might have fat-fingered or forgotten during programming, but that’s why I started using the Auto-Diff function in Vericut, to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be, and that I didn’t miss anything.”

Aside from crash avoidance, Vericut also reduces set-up times. As the operators can see the entire program in advance, there is less guesswork and apprehension. Wardell has not tracked how much time the company has saved, although he says it is significant.

“It simply takes a lot longer on an unverified program. The operator has to meticulously dry-run each line, with hands on the override and feed-holding the entire time. With a Vericut program, they can just go for it.”

In fact, notes Wardell, the machinists at Conroe no longer trust non-Vericut programs. Such programs are a rare occurrence in his department, though, and about the only time he does not simulate the entire program is when using a specially-shaped cutting tool or unconventional work holding, and has not had time to model it in the CAM system.

For those shops thinking about Vericut but concerned over the amount of work-holding and tool-holder modelling necessary to replicate the machining environment, Wardell says there is no need. He explains that he will sometimes draw a rough outline around non-standard tooling, “just enough to detect a collision”, and says he never did model the entire machine tool, only those areas where interference with a tool holder or fixture is a distinct possibility.

“I love Vericut,” he states. “If there’s any way I can use it, I will, and the operators feel the same. If they’ve had to edit the program, for example, they’ll ask me to simulate it again, just to be sure they didn’t miss a decimal point or a minus sign. We pride ourselves on being a cutting-edge shop, and are always looking for technology to make our facility more efficient, safer, and better equipped to maintain high-quality levels. Vericut definitely helps us achieve that.”

For further information
www.cgtech.co.uk

As a $14bn corporation, the journey of Parker Hannifin started over 100 years ago when Arthur Parker founded the Parker Appliance Company back in 1917 from a loft with business partner Carl Klamm. Through the generations, the company has moved from pneumatic brake systems for trucks, trains and buses to aerospace systems and technology, air preparation and dryers, EMI shielding, filters, separators and purifiers, fittings, couplings, and much more.

With dozens of divisions, brands and a global reach, Parker Hannifin is today a world leader in motion and control technologies. At its Sheffield site, which manufactures cryogenic valves, the company recently installed a machining cell with Hainbuch work-holding equipment at the heart of the investment.

Commenting upon the product range manufactured at the site, Parker Hannifin’s Lloyd Cooper says: “The products we produce are high in diversity and low in volume; we probably have about 20,000 part numbers at the top level, so high diversity and low volume is what we do. This allows customers to order what they want and our USP is the ability to service that request. As a result, we create a lot of demand on our machine shop with regard to set ups, as we may be running a batch of 3- or 4-off before we move to the next product. This means we incur a lot of set-up times and we’ve been looking at the ratio of ‘set up to run’ times. There may be a 45-minute set up for a 10 or 15-minute production cycle. These numbers didn’t stack up and here at Parker we have a really keen focus on lean manufacturing.”

To streamline production Parker Hannifin has invested around $500,000 in an automation cell to combat excessive set-up times in the turning department.

“We had three machines that were fully depreciated, and wanted to remove those and create one comprehensive machine and cell,” explains Cooper. “We really looked at how we could make it a complete cell.”

The new production cell incorporates a Hydrafeed MV65 bar-feeding system which serves a DMG Mori NLX2000/500 CNC turning centre. Component unloading is via an ABB Flexloader robot system.

“We looked from a cradle-to-grave perspective on how we could make it a true cell, and this is where the ABB Flexloader helps us to do unmanned loading, unloading, deburring and clean down. One of the crucial solutions in this cell is the Hainbuch hydraulic chuck system. As a high-mix business, what Hainbuch has allowed us to do is switch from one collet size to another in 30 seconds, or even change from a collet to a jaw configuration in 2 to 3 minutes. Previously, this could have taken 45 minutes. It’s a ‘night and day’ difference to our business, and while it may be a considerable investment, the savings we’re making in efficiency will make this a sub-two-year payback.”

With regards to the Hainbuch work-holding system, Cooper says: “The work holding has probably been the singular reason as to why we wanted to do this project. We wanted something that would compress our set-up times, as we were incurring many, many set ups every hour. Hainbuch did that with an off-the-shelf solution and no additional requirement from an engineering perspective. The quick-change aspect of it is astounding. Providing the ability to change from collet size to collet size in 30 seconds is really impressive, and we have even had some changeovers in 15 seconds. This can give us a door-open to door-close time of less than a minute.”

Alluding to the installation, Hainbuch UK’s managing director Nick Peter says: “We worked with Parker and the machine-tool builder to provide a quick-change work-holding solution. The parts are many and varied, with different shapes and valve bodies that include some hexagonal and some round parts from different materials. Parker wanted to swap over from collet chucks to three-jaw chucks very quickly to improve the process, as the previous situation increased the cost per part.”

With four-jaw modules on the machine, as well as collets and three-jaw chucks, Hainbuch looked further into the request, as Peter continues: “We initially didn’t know why this customer would want two chucks with two spindles, and then also want four three-jaw modules, but it was all about saving time. This configuration allows Parker to set up three-jaw chucks off-the-machine for a particular part on both spindles if necessary. The result is that collet chucks can come straight off the machine with three-jaw chucks ready to swap over, giving a changeover time of fewer than two minutes. By having the extra chucks, the subsequent set up can take place while the machine is running, compressing non-cutting times even further.

“Now, Parker can change from one collet chuck to another in a matter of seconds, whereas changing from a collet configuration to a chuck set-up takes just a couple of minutes,” adds Peter. “Taking a jaw module off is literally just a task of undoing three bolts and fastening another jaw module straight on to the existing collet chuck. There is no need to accurately position the three-jaw chuck as it follows the collet and there is a zero-point system already on the three-jaw, so accuracy is maintained to a couple of microns with exceptional clamping forces.”

Concludes Cooper: “As a business, we look at automation and may be afraid of the complexity of it, but this has been a very smooth process. Moreover, when you consider a payback of fewer than two years, automation should be a formality for UK manufacturing businesses. We will pass on these savings to our customers, which is a credit to this cell and its ability to produce parts 80, 90 or even 100% quicker than previously. In short, we can enable our customers to become more competitive while we retain the broad product offering that we’ve always had from our Sheffield facility. This has been a real game-changer with regard to customer success and that is what we’re striving for.”

For further information
www.hainbuch.com

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has supplied precision subcontractor MRN Engineering with a new three-axis vertical machining centre.

The machine, a Fanuc-controlled Doosan DNM 5700 is now producing complex, high-precision components at the company’s 120 sq m modern manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Banbury. These parts, made from aluminium, steel, stainless steels and plastics, must meet exacting geometric tolerances and surface finishes. Components produced to date include: prototypes and one-off test equipment/test rig parts for motorsport customers; pre-production and low-volume components for motorsport and automotive customers; and precision prismatic parts (required in higher volumes) for a cabinet maker.

Owner and managing director Matt North established MRN Engineering in 2014. The company initially started trading as a specialist engineering design consultancy working on a contract basis with a number of blue-chip motorsport companies. The main focus of the company’s operations back then was in the research, development and design of specific test equipment, such as for examining and measuring the strength, durability and safety of components and assemblies.

At the end of its latest contract in June 2020, and with the pandemic outbreak impacting on its ability to secure new contract work, North decided to make his long-term vision for the company a reality. He began by making plans to augment MRN Engineering’s range of services through the addition of high-end and bespoke manufacturing and machining capabilities.

“I had always intended the company to develop and grow, and become a ‘one-stop-shop’ solutions provider,” he says. “COVID-19 acted as the catalyst and, from June 2020, I set about building and launching the machining/manufacturing arm of the company.”

To all intents and purposes, although not starting entirely from scratch, the decision to significantly expand MRN Engineering’s services and capabilities involved a similar level of preparation and planning required of any new business start-up.

The first few months (from June to September 2020) firstly involved creating a robust business plan, setting out the company’s aims and objectives, financial predictions, market analysis, and product and service differentiators. North then began identifying the right location and suitable premises for the new business, before investing in the right advanced technologies, commensurate with the company’s vision, aims and objectives.

MRN Engineering’s vision was, and still is, to provide customers with a specialist design and manufacturing service. The company’s initial and main focus would be on the motorsport sector, and involve the design and manufacture of test equipment, as well as customised and prototype parts.

Explains North: “Essentially, I was playing to my strengths – combining my design engineering knowledge and experience with my manufacturing/production know-how to create a unique offering. Having worked in the motorsport and automotive sectors for a considerable number of years I knew the market. I had also established strong relationships and enjoyed a good reputation with key decision makers in a number of ‘target’ companies. In short, I was confident that providing a seamless ‘design-to-manufacturing’ service would be a success.”

The decision to operate from the outskirts of Banbury in Oxfordshire was prompted by a number of reasons, including proximity to a number of UK-based motorsport companies and their supply chains.

“Although I already knew the location well, I did spend considerable time inspecting and selecting the most suitable premises in terms of size, services and facilities, cost, and communication and transport links,” says North. “Finding the right premises was a critically important decision, among many others.”

In terms of capital investment, MRN Engineering purchased a new Doosan DNM 5700 vertical machining centre.

“Right from the outset I made the decision to invest in a ‘new’ as opposed to a ‘pre-owned’ machine tool,” says North. “Although there are no doubt some great used machines on the market, the price/cost differential between a good, well looked after used machine and a new one, wasn’t as big as I thought. I also believed that the company’s reputation in the motorsport sector, with its emphasis on high accuracy and repeatability, and the incredibly short lead times involved, would be best served through the acquisition of a new, more reliable machine.”

Having decided on a new machine, North then researched the market to identify the most suitable machining centre and machine tool supplier.

The Doosan DNM 5700 is a rigidly-built three-axis vertical machining centre equipped with a 12,000 rpm direct-drive spindle that features roller LM guideways, a 30-position (quick-change) ATC and a 1300 x 570 mm work table.

Says North: “I could have gone for something smaller and for a machine that didn’t offer the same high specification as the DNM 5700. However, I needed a machine that was big and powerful enough to machine large, complex, high-precision prototype parts often involving long cycle times, as well as one that could produce multiple parts, quickly, in a single set-up.”

He continues: “Having researched the market and spoken to a number of colleagues and peers, who extolled the virtues of Mills CNC – in particular the company’s aftersales service and support – I discussed my requirements with the sales and technical staff at Mills and made the decision to invest in the Doosan DNM 5700.”

The machine, which carries a two-year warranty, features an optional Blum TC50 touch probe and Blum ZX Speed IR tool-setting probe.

Since installation at MRN, the new DNM 5700 has not missed a beat. As intended, it is machining low-volume, high-precision prototypes and parts for the motorsport sector, as well as higher volume production parts for a number of customers in other industries.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be earning money during the first three months of operation – but I have exceeded these expectations – in no small part down to the acquisition of the DNM 5700,” concludes North. “To further improve our productivity and re-emphasise our commitment to quality, we have recently invested in a CMM and, in the near future, will look to strengthen our machining and manufacturing capabilities still further.”

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

Towards the tail end of last year, Merseyside subcontractor Bryken took delivery of its sixth Miyano BNE-51MSY turn-mill centre, having bought its first as recently as June 2018. Operations director Phillip Taylor says that regular investment in new plant is key to thriving in a competitive global marketplace, and he makes sure that no machine tool stays on the shop floor for more than 10 years. The company, which has 95 employees and generates annual turnover of £10m, derives 40% of its business from the oil and gas industry, and is a major supplier to the high-voltage power sector, among others.

Citizen Machinery UK, which supplied the fixed-head Miyanos, is also the source of four Cincom CNC sliding-head lathes currently on site, which have been in use at the Prescot factory since the mid-90s. A dozen older models, which took over from six times as many cam autos, have all now been replaced. It leaves three 32 mm capacity Cincom sliders installed since 2014 and a more recent 20 mm capacity model that uses Citizen’s proprietary LFV chip-breaking technology.

Taylor, son of one of the company founders, runs the subcontracting business together with his brother Stewart and sister Natalie Lund. He explains: “Around 90% of our turnover comes from producing precision turned parts, many of which also require a lot of prismatic machining, so our choice of turn-mill centre is crucial to success.

“We started to upgrade our fixed-head lathes by replacing them with Miyanos in 2018 in response to an upturn in demand that gathered pace at the beginning of this year when we bought three more BNE-51MSYs in the space of two months,” continues Taylor. “The 51 mm bar capacity, twin-spindle turning centre with its two 12-station live turrets, the upper one featuring a Y-axis, is ideal for our needs. It is highly efficient at the balanced machining of complex routines at both spindles, so we can take chunks out of cycle times, which are now between 20 and 40% faster than on previous lathes. The machine meets the increasing demand for the supply of high added value parts at competitive prices.”

He adds that other makes of lathe were scrutinised during the plant renewal process. In comparative trials, the BNE-51MSY offered the quickest TAKT times and was also better value for money than others he considered. The lathes could also hold 20 µm total tolerance on machined dimensions.

One reason for the lathe’s impressive speed is Citizen’s superimposition control technology, which allows the sub-spindle to track the upper turret for cutting reverse-end features while the same turret is performing front-end operations on bar at the main spindle. If the lower turret is operational at the same time, three tools are in cut simultaneously, delivering the performance of a triple-turret lathe for significantly lower capital outlay.

Another benefit that Bryken operators appreciate is the ability with the Mitsubishi control to use the hand-wheel to run through an entire machining cycle. This capability provides verification of the program, detecting any potential clashes.

Over the years, market forces have dictated a move at Bryken towards more fixed-head turning for the production of larger diameter, complex components; the simpler work having largely disappeared overseas. Nevertheless, nearly a third of the lathes on-site are still of the sliding-head variety. The four Citizen Cincom models are the most recently installed – three M32-VIII lathes and an L20-XIILFV – the cardinal numbers representing maximum bar diameter.

The latter machine, installed in May 2018, was bought to produce subsea oil and gas components from tough materials such as Monel, Inconel, titanium alloy and 440C stainless steel. These metals produce stringy swarf that benefit greatly from the low-frequency vibration (LFV) functionality built into the operating system of the Mitsubishi control.

Taylor says: “We saw a demonstration of LFV at Citizen’s showroom and were impressed with the way chips break up and do not clog the machine, or wrap around the component or tool. It means we can leave the machine running unattended for long periods. LFV can be simply switched on and off using a G-code in the program. We use it for turning at the main spindle and axial drilling at the sub-spindle of the L20, and switch it off to maximise metal-removal rates when milling with the live tools.

“We tried making parts from these exotic materials on other sliders but the swarf was not chipping, even with high-pressure coolant,” he adds. “Tool life was so poor it was taking away a lot of the profit. Now cutters last at least twice as long, plus there is less machine downtime and scrap is more or less eliminated.”

Low-frequency vibration technology has started rolling out across the Miyano fixed-head lathe range with the introduction of the BNA-42GTYLFV, and Taylor is keeping a close eye on developments. He points out that subcontractors rarely know the orders that will be coming in next and which materials they will have to machine. As LFV is not a pecking macro that tends to prematurely wear out tools, but is integral within the control system, having this built-in chip-breaking capability is of great benefit when machining stainless steels, copper, plastics, and nickel and titanium alloys.

Taylor concludes: “We source a lot of lathes from Citizen because they have a wide range of machines that use advanced technology. We also receive good support, especially with the applications engineering and training they provide. Citizen and their equipment have made a big improvement to our operational efficiency.”

For further information
www.citizenmachinery.co.uk