David Watt, owner of subcontractor DW Engineering, has trebled the size of his business since the beginning of the decade, with most of that growth taking place last year, when turnover doubled. He puts this success partly down to winning contracts for machining batch sizes up to 10 times larger than previously, which he largely fulfils using four Hurco vertical machining centres. Orders are now frequently received for thousands-off rather than hundreds.

New work in the electronics and gas detection sectors has been secured, as well as in the resurgent oil and gas industry, while 80% of throughput is repeat business, some of which has been retained practically since the company was formed.
A further contributor to increased turnover and indeed profitability is Adaptipath high-speed machining software, which includes novel routines for rest-material removal in the latest version of Hurco’s WinMAX conversational control. Program cycles are significantly faster, especially when pocket milling.
Established in 2005 in Blantyre, near Hamilton, the subcontractor started using Hurco equipment from the outset with the purchase of a machining centre of nominally half-metre-cube capacity, and two CNC knee-type mills.

Together with a Hurco VM10 machining centre acquired five years later, these four machines were subsequently traded in for three of Hurco’s latest VM10i CNC vertical machining centres. One arrived in 2018 and was joined by two more this year. Additionally, there remains on the shop floor a smaller Hurco VM1 with 4th axis purchased in 2009, as well as a bar-fed Hurco TM8 CNC lathe that was installed six years later.
The Hurco VM10i offers travels of 660 x 406 x 508 mm in the X, Y and Z axes respectively, with a spindle nose to table distance of 102 mm. The 762 x 406 mm table is designed to span the entire Y axis, providing sufficient flexibility to produce a high mix of parts. Table loads of up to 340 kg can be accommodated. The machine is served by a 10,000 rpm spindle offering a power output of 11 kW and torque of 73.6 Nm at 1450 rpm. A rapid traverse rate of 24 m/min is offered in all three axes. Also provided as standard is an electric, side-mounted, 20-tool ATC. The swing-arm design means the ATC stays out the way, maximising the size of the work cube.
Comparing the performance of the nine-year-old VM1 with that of his three modern, slightly larger capacity Hurco VM10i vertical machining centres, Watt refers to an aluminium housing for an electronics industry customer that he has produced in two operations on both types of machine.

On the earlier model running a previous release of WinMAX programming software that included Ultipocket milling routines, the total cycle time was 165 minutes. However, that was before Hurco introduced Ultimotion software to control axis movements on its machines, without relying on hardware-based motion control. This addition has helped to reduce the cycle time for producing the electronics housing to 120 minutes, a saving of more than 27%.
Contributing especially to this increase in efficiency is the Adaptipath pocket-milling software with its new rest machining routines. The conversational pocketing feature is a module within Ultipocket in WinMax 10, mirroring that used in high-end CAD systems. This feature smooths the motion of the tool path and keeps chip load between a user-defined maximum and minimum, improving surface finish and extending tool life.
In addition to the two standard pocketing cycles involving inward and outward spiralling of the cutter, Adaptipath includes two extra rest machining routines, zig-zag and one-way, both of which involve alternate periods of climb milling. The amount of material encountered by the cutter is controlled, often allowing a full depth of cut rather than peck level milling, for higher metal removal rates that Watt says can be up to double.
With rest machining, a larger diameter tool than usual is used after roughing to remove most of the remaining unwanted material efficiently, followed by a finishing pass that automatically swaps the tool for a smaller diameter cutter to reach areas of the feature which the larger rest milling tool is unable to access. Watt considers this to offer a six to eight fold speed increase compared with previous machining methodology.
Looking back at his company’s progress over the past 14 years, he says: “The variety of materials we are asked to process is vast, ranging from stainless and mild steel, through titanium, copper, bronze, brass and aluminium, to PTFE, PEEK, acetal and nylon. Accuracies of ±0.1 mm are routinely achieved, but some parts have drawing tolerances down to ±10 µm.

“We have never needed a CAM system to prepare programs for the Hurco machining centres, as the on-board conversational software is so powerful at creating the cutter paths – and there is no need for post processing,” explains Watt. “If any particularly complex geometry is included in a CAD model supplied by a customer, we use AutoCAD or SolidWorks to produce a DXF file that WinMAX imports directly.
“The Hurco machines, which continue to evolve and improve, have supported our diverse work and underpinned our success,” he concludes. “They are key to our ability to offer top-quality work, quick turnaround times and competitive prices.”
For further information www.hurco.co.uk

Richard Moser KG Präzisionsdrehteile in the Swabian municipality of Bubsheim, Germany, is a success story tightly interwoven with the Swiss turning centre manufacturer, Tornos.

“If you want to be successful on the Heuberg, the stronghold of the turning industry, you have to be better than everyone else.” This is the attitude that drives Richard Moser, the company’s managing director. When Moser took over the family business in 1993, he had four employees and 10 machines. Working for his company today are 140 specialists and 100 lathes, 50 of which are multi-spindle models. There are many reasons for this rapid growth. For one thing, Moser has consistently employed the latest technologies. And, it would seem that this ethos is in his blood. His father and his uncle were among the first to bring multi-spindle technology on to the Heuberg.
Complex workpieces in demanding materials, of superlative quality, produced on a mass scale, are his strengths. These factors are what the team and machine inventory of Moser Präzisionsdrehteile are geared towards.
Enrico Barbagallo, a young project planner at Moser, says: “We manufacture parts on our multi-spindles that hardly anyone else would dare attempt.”
The automotive industry, one of Moser’s main customer bases, is currently in search of new high-strength materials to optimise parts for engine management systems.
“That’s why we are increasingly processing high-alloy steels costing sometimes up to €18,000 per tonne,” says Barbagallo.
The make-ready stage, in particular, calls for a great deal of intuition, and is where the experience and flexibility of the young team come into play.
“When we’re under pressure, we can make a multi-spindle ready in two to three hours,” says Barbagallo. “For initial samples, the multi-spindles at Moser are even set up for 100 parts, while in series production, the multi-spindles are usually prepped for quantities of 20,000 or more components.
At the turn of the millennium, Industry 4.0 was not even born when Sandra and Richard Moser decided that they would need a new ERP system. Instead of settling for the existing solutions of major software providers, they had their own system programmed, employed IT experts and are now profiting from a system unlike any other.

As all machines are linked to the system, Moser always has an up-to-date overview of each and every production job. The hardware equipment of all the machines alone cost around €500,000. The system supplies up-to-date information on manufacturing times, machine capacity utilisation and production quantities. In the flow of goods, the manufacturing status is clear to see at any time, which means that every employee can immediately provide the customer with progress updates.
Ever since his father and uncle purchased the first Tornos multi-spindle turning machine, an AS 14 in 1968, there has been a close relationship between Moser and the Swiss lathe manufacturer. Even today, Richard Moser remains fascinated by its successor model, the SAS 16, and regrets that these machines are no longer being made.
“This quality, productivity and reliability is so rare to find these days,” he states.

Moser is delighted, however, that Tornos has been able to continue with tradition through the MultiDeco and the new MultiSwiss. These machines are almost as productive as the SAS but, of course, they are fundamentally more versatile. Moser is particularly keen on the MultiSwiss. He saw it for the first time at EMO in 2011 and purchased one there and then, making him the first customer.
A few weeks ago, he took delivery of the 300th machine of this type that Tornos has made, expanding his inventory to 15 MultiSwiss machines. Moser has already ordered his next three and, by doing so, continues to contribute to the success of this model.
The MultiSwiss was launched in 2011, when multi-spindle technology was still considered highly complex, and is known today for its ergonomics and machining performance, says Tornos. Conceived as a solution to bridge the gap between multi-spindle and single-spindle turning machines, the MultiSwiss 6×16 features six spindles, while the spindle drum is positioned by means of torque motor technology. The cycle times of this solution rival those of cam-controlled, multi-spindle automatic turning machines.
Thanks to its hydrostatic spindle bearings, the MultiSwiss is said to achieve high levels of surface finish (0.15 Ra) and smooth-running performance, even with materials that are difficult to machine. It is also distinguished by its generous tool package. Unlike some other machinists, Moser also finds the compactness of the machine, with its 1.5 m bar stock, to be the ideal size.
Above all, however, experts in multi-spindle turning machines are not required to program the MultiSwiss 6×16. Set-up and start-up are said to be a breeze. This user-friendliness and ergonomics are what Barbagallo finds so attractive, but Sandra Moser does see one small downside. “Those who work on the MultiSwiss for the first time tend to prefer not to work on any other machine afterwards,” she says.

The turned parts industry currently faces some major challenges. Geopolitical upheavals, radical change in the automotive sector, new technologies and the economic downturn are leaving their mark in this sector. In an era when some competitors are reining in their spending, Moser is consistently investing in improvements to his processes and workflows. Furthermore, thanks to a special energy efficiency programme, he expects to make appreciable savings over the next few years. To this end, the cooling of the machines has been coupled to their capacity utilisation, the heating/cooling circuit closed, and a photovoltaic system installed on the roof.
For further information www.tornos.com

Scottish subcontract manufacturer Euro Precision Ltd has specified cutting tools from Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) to improve productivity on a range of automotive components. The Glenrothes-based subcontract engineering company has built its reputation on manufacturing critical precision components and assemblies to exacting quality standards for the automotive, aerospace, medical, telecommunications petrochemical and electronics sectors.

The diverse customer base has been established over a 25 year history, and from its 30,000 sq ft factory, the company boasts clients such as Siemens Healthcare, Glenair, Leonardo, Zeiss and AMG Petronas, to list but a few. With a customer base of which any subcontract business would be proud, Euro Precision has established a reputation for the production of high-quality workmanship, inspired innovation, cost-effective solutions and customer service.
The Fife company recently undertook a project for Mercedes HPP (High Performance Powertrains) that required programming and tooling efficiencies, and general improvements for machining a series of engine components. The complex outlet manifolds and valve waste assemblies are produced from Inconel 625 on Euro Precision’s Matsuura MAM-72 five-axis multi-pallet machining centre. Manufactured for the next generation of supercar, the Mercedes HPP project requires over 2700 manifold outlets and 2000 valve waste assemblies. With such production volumes, it was critical for Euro Precision to get the process running
as efficiently as possible, and this is where ITC entered the fray.
Commenting upon the situation, Euro Precision’s engineering manager Grant Steele says: “We required a stable process that could achieve the shortest possible cycle time, while returning good size control and cost-effective tooling solutions. I already tooled the part up with another manufacturer and, because material was Inconel 625, I was expecting to take a hit on slower machining times and poor tool life. However, based on production requirements and the project timeframe, I couldn’t live with the current method.

“I discussed the situation with Gary Heaney from ITC,” he continues. “Gary has been a regular supplier of high-quality aluminium cutting tools to Euro Precision for a long time. Down the years, he has successfully supported us on many machining projects to reduce cycle times, tooling costs, and improve our machining performance and consistency. With his experience of supplying tooling to the aerospace engine sector – primarily involving the cutting of high-temperature alloys – Gary seemed the obvious go-to person.”
Heaney immediately manged to double surface speeds by introducing ITC’s Cyber series of multi-flute, variable-helix end mills and a trochoidal machining strategy at 3xD axial depth of cut with 4% radial step over and high feed per tooth.
“With some subtle programme changes, we instigated a trochoidal machining strategy that increased the step over and radial engagement with the application of ITC’s 12 mm diameter solid-carbide Cyber series,” says Steele. “This reduced the cycle time by 50% and increased tool life by three times.”
By implementing a machining strategy that incorporated a 3xD axial depth of cut instead of the previous 1.5xD strategy, Euro Precision was able to conduct most of the rough machining in a single pass. The machining parameters far exceeded the realms of possibility for the previous tools supplied by a prominent international tooling vendor. Notably, the performance of the ITC Cyber series and its ability to prolong machining on such a challenging material led to further ITC solid-carbide end mills being introduced to the project.
Says Steele: “Following the success of the roughing tools, I asked Gary to look at the entire part. He subsequently supplied a range of radii corner tools and micro ball end mills that have performed first time, every time. We’re now machining another high-performance engine component and ITC’s Cyber tooling is again producing the goods.

“Gary certainly hasn’t rested on his laurels,” adds Steele. “He is always looking to provide continuous improvement and we are already testing new indexable tooling solutions from ITC business partner Widia.”
The Scottish manufacturing success story at Euro Precision is built upon the foundation of high-specification machine tools like the two Matsuura MAM72 five-axis machining centres. The Matsuura machines incorporate the Big Kaiser face and taper dual-contact spindle interface, which ITC says is the only genuine face and taper contact system on the market. To benefit from the performance, rigidity and precision of the Big Kaiser face and taper system, which guarantees run-out of 1 µm at the nose and 3 µm at 4xD, Euro Precision has installed a complete range of Big Kaiser precision collet and chuck systems (available in the UK from ITC).
The stability of the Matsuura spindle configuration and Big Kaiser face and taper interface has enabled ITC to introduce a variety of high-performance tooling solutions. Included are a complete suite of five and six-flute VariMill end mills, as well as indexable face and shoulder milling tools from Widia with both rough and finish machining insert designations.
The machining platform has enabled ITC’s Heaney to utilise both the ITC and Widia tools to full effect. Ultimately, the results have been a revelation to Euro Precision, which has also implemented Widia indexable drilling and turning, as well as solid-carbide drilling tools, to great success following the Mercedes Inconel project.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

The first machining centre built by German manufacturer Hermle to be installed at a Hyde Group company has been operating around the clock since April this year at Stoneswood Precision Components in Dukinfield. The C400 five-axis vertical machining centre, supplied by sole agent Kingsbury, has been automated with the machine manufacturer’s HS Flex pallet storage and retrieval system to enable unattended subcontract production overnight and at weekends.

Stoneswood Precision’s managing director Charles Day says: “We looked at four options before deciding to buy the Hermle cell. Its major differentiator is the ability to stop automatic production quickly and use the machine in manual mode to manufacture a one-off part. The other solutions we looked at could not achieve that easily.
“The flexibility it provides is already proving useful, as it is allowing us to machine fixtures during the day and simultaneously set up the HS Flex for lights-out running overnight,” he adds, before stating that “the cell’s connectivity also fits well within the Industry 4.0 environment that we are creating in our factory”.
Stoneswood Precision’s current facility was set up in 2004 to produce 450 different aluminium and titanium parts for a military aircraft, involving the machining of mainly wing details. Already a user of several multi-pallet production systems based on horizontal machining centres, the subcontractor needed an additional system to fulfil a different contract for the manufacture of aluminium control boxes.
Initially, an older five-axis VMC with a B-axis spindle was employed to produce the suite of 48 bodies, sides and lids for the control-box variants, which range in area from 75 x 150 mm to 300 x 300 mm, and from 5 to 20 mm deep. The components are smaller and more complex than most of the predominantly aerospace parts produced at the Dukinfield facility, and the HMCs are too large to machine them efficiently.

Originally, the process route required the use of a coolant-driven, right-angle attachment for drilling holes in the sides of components to avoid further set ups. The tool, while in many ways fit for purpose, could not hold the positional tolerances required, down to 100 µm true position. Drilling was not sufficiently repeatable over a batch of components and therefore a new engineering solution was sought, resulting in the installation of the new production cell based on the trunnion-type Hermle C400 five-axis machine.
Says Day: “Apart from the control-box work dictating the use of a five-axis VMC, there are parts of other aerospace contracts that lend themselves to a vertical-spindle production platform, and many new enquiries we receive also require such capacity. So the choice of a second VMC, particularly with automation, made business sense.
“I had never heard of the Hermle brand but Paul Mellor, technical director of the Hyde Aero Products division of which we are a member, was familiar with the manufacturer,” he continues. “Some of our staff travelled to a user of a smaller HS Flex system in the northeast and came back with very positive reports, including from the shop floor, so we decided to place the order.
“Luckily the C 400 was in stock at Kingsbury, so it was available quickly to solve a looming production bottleneck, whereas other potential suppliers were quoting lead-times of up to a year.”
Day says he was impressed that the machine was quickly into service after it arrived on site, with final commissioning within nine days, after which the machine started producing components straight away. This speed was down to the prior provision from the supplier of a CAD model of the C400, which allowed early 3+2 axis programming of parts in CATIA, cycle simulations in Vericut, and the design and production of fixtures. The latter exercise was helped even further by Kingsbury’s delivery to Dukinfield of an actual machine pallet.
Advance preparations made the on-site training provided by a Kingsbury engineer over a period of five days more productive than had the subcontractor’s staff still been at the start of developing the processes.

Another facet of the C400 cell that Day appreciates is programmable coolant pressure between 0 and 80 bar, providing engineering flexibility that includes the potential use of the coolant-driven drilling head in future projects.
The specification of the Hermle cell includes an 18,000 rpm/20 kW spindle, extended tool capacity from the standard 38 pockets by the addition of an 88-position magazine for HSK-A63 tools with breakage monitoring and measuring included, a Heidenhain TNC 640 control, 850 x 700 x 500 mm working area, +91/-139° trunnion swivel, and 500 x 400 mm pallet size and capacity for 12 of them on two levels in the HS Flex store. Of note, the HS Flex store is served by a three-axis pallet handling unit with rotary, lift and linear motions.
The store is controlled and managed by Hermle’s proprietary Automation Control System, which enables smart order management via a touch panel. In addition, the system is currently being interlinked with an MES that was recently installed in Dukinfield by Forcam, which is compatible with Stoneswood Precision’s ERP software. The system allows production orders to be sent directly to all machines for improved job sequencing, leading to optimised production output. This provision of enhanced data, including of machine utilisation, is taking the subcontractor’s operation further along the road of Industry 4.0.

Currently, the Hermle C400 HS Flex is devoted to the control-box contract, which entails supplying 300 assembled housings annually. All components are machined either individually on a pallet, or four at a time on a tombstone, depending on size, from solid aluminium billet in two operations involving milling, drilling and thread milling cycles lasting up to two hours per side. The true position of the holes is now well within tolerance.
For further information www.kingsburyuk.com

Irish manufacturing company Dromone Engineering, established in 1978 and now employing over 140 people, took a early decision early not to focus on providing a subcontract machining service, but instead to develop, manufacture and market its own product lines. The company has since become an industry leader in both, namely tractor pick-up hitches for the agricultural sector and excavator quick couplers for the construction sector.

Dromone Engineering also resolved to keep its manufacturing base at company headquarters in Oldcastle, County Meath, and not move production to a low-wage country in Asia or elsewhere. It is an admirable objective that many firms achieve, as has Dromone Engineering, but in its case there was a particular obstacle. Despite having to provide top-quality products for applications in the industries served by the company, price negotiations do not come down to the nearest euro, but to the nearest cent.
From the start, the dilemma of manufacturing in a first-world country and trimming prices to two decimal places has continually focussed the minds of the firm’s directors and shaped their capital investments. For example, in 1999 Dromone Engineering was among the first to harness the productive power of laser cutting with the purchase of two 3.5 kW CO2 machines from Bystronic for profiling mild steel sheet up to 4 x 2 m.
In March 2019, these long-serving, reliable machines were replaced with more up-to-date technology in the form of a ByStar Fiber 4020 10 kW fibre laser cutting centre from the same supplier. The machine was delivered as a turnkey package, automated by the addition of a bespoke material handling system and tower store that accommodates up to 96 tonnes of material on 17 levels.

Dromone Engineering’s managing director William Egenton explains: “We export almost all of our products to 39 countries, either directly to blue-chip customers like JCB, Volvo, Massey Ferguson, Claas and Kubota, or via a worldwide distribution network servicing other OEMs, dealer networks and rental fleets. Customers in the west, in particular, appreciate the fact that we manufacture safety-critical products tailored to their specific needs in Ireland, and are impressed when they visit us. However, to make the operation financially viable we have to use a high level of automation.
“That is why we have invested €5m over the past five years in not only the latest laser cutting technology, but in three Panasonic robotic welding cells, four Mazak horizontal and vertical machining centres, and ERP software,” he adds.
Ollie Devine, maintenance and capex manager, says: “With some forms of automated production, such as welding, component quality is raised compared with manual techniques due to the better repeatability of the process. In the case of the Bystronic laser cutting centre, and other CNC machine tools for that matter, high quality is already built in. Automation brings more efficient delivery of raw material and unloading of finished work, minimising idle times and maximising efficiency.”
Cutting output at Oldcastle has seen a dramatic increase. The single machine fed from the sheet storage and retrieval tower, which was purpose-built to be exactly 5.54 m high so that it fitted beneath the factory roof, produces 30% more than both of the previous CO2 machines combined. This performance is not only down to the speed of fibre laser cutting, but also because previous sheet replenishment, although automatic, was relatively slow. This task was achieved using swing-arm Byloaders to transfer material from pallets to the respective CO2 machines and offload the laser-cut sheets. Overall, utilisation of the machines was only 50 to 60%.

In contrast, the tower system has a pair of handling carriages. One transfers a laser-cut sheet to a twin offload table arrangement at the back of the ByStar Fiber, while the other more or less simultaneously picks up a new sheet from the store and loads it on to the machine’s shuttle table, from where it is immediately transported into the cutting area.
Little laser cutting time is lost and machine utilisation is around 90%. Labour cost is saved, as the operator is required to run the cell for only 2.3 shifts, rather than three, to achieve the required output, which currently satisfies the delivery of 11,000 tractor line products and 6000 construction line products per year.
The offload tables themselves are another good example of Bystronic’s bespoke approach to meeting customer requirements. To explain, the tables were purpose-built to be of different widths and heights, and to run on rails set in the floor, allowing one to pass beneath the other so both can sequentially access a shake-out area.
A single table would have delayed laser profiling, as the fast speeds achieved using a 10 kW source would have seen the next machined sheet often waiting for the shake-out station to become free, wasting valuable production time. Even with the twin table set-up, the productivity of the ByStar Fiber is so high that two people rather than one are often needed to remove components quickly enough from each sheet before the next one arrives.
Says Devine: “We process from 3 to 20 mm mild steel on the ByStar Fiber. The 10 kW laser cuts thinner gauges three to four times faster than a 3.5 kW CO2 source, a speed advantage that reduces as material thickness rises. It translates into reductions in production cost per part of two-thirds on thinner components, down to one-third on thicker parts. This is highly beneficial when chasing cents on the price of one of our finished products.
“Fibre cutting is a more stable process and less maintenance is required, helping to increase uptime, while running costs are lower in terms of both consumables and power,” he adds. “Other benefits of the new system are better air quality in the factory, as the automation has eliminated a lot of diesel forklift movements, while extra space on the shop floor makes the kitting area more spacious and ergonomic, so there are health and safety advantages too.”
A Bystronic solution was chosen for this project partly because the compact configuration fitted into a corner of the Oldcastle factory that was previously unused, saving 1700 sq m of space. Six machine tools will fit into the area where the CO2 lasers were removed, which will enable Dromone Engineering to develop further the lean manufacturing and flow line practices it embarked on a decade ago.

Egenton concludes: “The relationship between our engineers and those at Bystronic UK in Coventry has been highly cooperative. At the outset, the good communication facilitated the precise design of a laser cutting cell to suit our needs. During installation, Bystronic made sure that there was a seamless transfer from the old process to the new one within a two-week period, when they ran side by side. After we swapped over, we pressed the button and were in production straight away. It is unusual for such a complex system to be completely problem-free from the outset and everyone was very impressed. Since commissioning, the supplier’s service has been of a high level, which is important to us as we now have only one laser machine and therefore no production redundancy.”
For further information www.bystronic.co.uk