SUBCONTRACTING NEWS

JOINING FORCES TO SIMPLIFY COMPLEX MACHINING DEMANDS

After a decade of using VERICUT machining simulation, verification and optimisation software, Advanced Manufacturing (Sheffield) Ltd (AML) is extolling the virtues of providing industry-leading protection for its high-value capital assets and expensive parts. VERICUT from CGTech is a key component of business success at this rapidly expanding precision machining company, which serves a plethora of customers in sectors such as aerospace, energy and defence. More recently, AML has embraced the efficiency and productivity gains offered by VERICUT’s Force module, which is driving tool life gains and cycle time reductions in the order of 30-40%.

Originally a spin-out from the award-winning Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield, AML is today a leader in delivering flexible manufacturing capability at the cutting edge of machining technologies and efficiencies. The company is AS9100-certified and carries a Rolls-Royce Certificate of Approval. In addition, AML is part of the SC21 framework for ’21st Century supply chains’ to accelerate the competitiveness of aerospace and defence companies.

To manufacture the market’s highest quality precision parts, the company utilises the very latest technologies, including VERICUT simulation, verification and optimisation software from CGTech.

“We’ve had VERICUT from day one of manufacturing at AML, which dates back around a decade,” explains engineering manager Jason Mills. “VERICUT is our safety net; it looks after our complex components, some of which are machined from expensive forgings that cost in excess of £50,000 before we’ve even drilled a hole. There is no margin for error. We use all of the features in VERICUT, including gouge detection, collision detection and, more recently, the Force module. The software also looks after our machine tools through virtual simulations, which are critical because a replacement spindle could cost around £40,000 for the hardware alone.”

From receipt or generation of customer CAD, forging and stage models, AML engineers start building up what it calls the ‘Tech Pack’ from its Siemens NX CAM system, including documentation and any relevant paperwork. The company will then start importing the component, fixture and tool models into VERICUT. Here, AML can take advantage of its VERICUT NX Interface, a function that provides an easy and convenient way to verify, optimise and analyse individual NC programs, a series of selected tool paths or a complete sequence of operations, directly from within Siemens NX.

“We then start simulating the tool paths, checking for everything that could possibly go wrong, from collisions and near misses, to spindles running in the wrong direction,” explains Mills.

AML has seven seats of VERICUT base and essential modules that include Verification (detects program mistakes and verifies part accuracy), CNC Machine Simulation (detects collisions and near misses between all components in the machining zone) and Multi-Axis (simulates multi-axis milling, turning and mill-turn operations).

The latter is vital as AML has 15 DMG Mori CNC machine tools on site, almost all of which are high-specification, multi-axis NT series mill-turn models. These include a large NT6600 with 6 m bed and the latest arrival, an NT4250 DCG, which is capable of simultaneous five-axis mill-turn operations with a direct-drive motor installed in the B axis.

“Business is extremely busy, so we also have a DMG Mori DMU 125 FD five-axis machining centre on order, and are looking at two more assets in the near future,” says Mills. “We are not shy of investment if it makes sound business sense.”

The company also takes advantage of several further VERICUT modules, including AUTO-DIFF™, which compares a CAD design model with a VERICUT simulation to automatically detect differences, weaknesses or mistakes in the design.

“We use AUTO-DIFF on every component as part of our standard operating procedure [SOP],” states Mills. “With AUTO-DIFF, anyone involved in the manufacturing process can identify an incorrectly processed job. We find that it often flags up errors, especially as we have numerous mill-turn machines. The tools on mill-turn machines can be flipped round either way, so if they are not set-up correctly, VERICUT will capture it.”

Additional VERICUT modules on site include CNC Machine Probing, which checks for probe collisions (all of the CNC machine tools at AML feature Renishaw probes), and TDM Systems, which provides a live, on-the-fly connection to TDM. The company is now building tools in TDM for direct import into VERICUT.

Most recently, AML has added Force – Milling to its list of modules. VERICUT Force makes optimising an NC program fast and easy by calculating the contact between the tool and material, cut-by-cut. Force also takes the cutting-tool edge and material into account, adjusting the feed rates accordingly so they are optimal and constant.

“We’ve seen up to 40% more tool life and 30-40% savings in machining cycle time when using VERICUT Force,” says Mills. “The module is invaluable for our production work as it provides us with a competitive edge. It’s quite easy to use and understand. We simply pick the material from the database and input the cutter geometry, which we get from the tooling manufacturer. Force then does its calculations in the background.”

AML has come a long way since spinning out of the AMRC (the company remains a tier-two AMRC member to this day).

“We have 30,000 ft2 here now, which is a tenfold increase in 10 years,” explains operations director Mark Hands. “We’ve gone from 8 staff to 66; from two CNC machines to 15, and imminently about to sanction another two.”

It is all about continuous improvement at AML, a strategy that is spurring ambitious goals for the years ahead.

“For the 2021-2024 period we set targets to grow turnover from £4.9 million to £12 million; headcount from 55 to 110; and assets [CNC machine tools] from 10 to 22,” says Hands.
AML is also working with a team of consultants from Sharing in Growth, business experts in the world of advanced manufacturing. The dedicated three-year transformation improvement programme is witnessing the entire AML team commit to an intense and comprehensive scheme of training, mentoring, coaching and development.

“We are big believers in reinvesting in our future, as well as our people,” says Hands, who joined as a project engineer in 2011 and is now a company director and major shareholder. Similarly, engineering manager Jason Mills began his career at AML as a CNC machinist, while the company’s quality manager was originally a press brake operator.

The coming years are clearly bright for this progressive manufacturing business, where production follows a simple mantra: apply the best manufacturing technology available to provide low-cost parts to customers. This is more than just a tagline; AML was born out of advanced research activities and the company still believes that technology is a key differentiator in providing value for customers. AML aims to apply the best knowledge in tooling, CAM strategies, dynamic analysis and CNC machine platforms to deliver precision quality at high production rates. Key to this goal is VERICUT.

“VERICUT brings security to our business,” says Hands. “Not just because our parts are expensive, but because some are 1-offs with no margin for error. We also rely on VERICUT to protect our CNC machines; large, expensive assets that are costly to repair. If we’re not protecting our machines or our parts, then we’re not protecting the customer programme, nor the relationship we have with them. Right first time within the business is a must and VERICUT is a vital part of that.”

Mills concludes: “I can’t ever see us changing from VERICUT. We’re comfortable and happy with the software, as well as the level of support we receive from CGTech. Today we apply VERICUT to all of our parts. No matter what we change in NX, even if we just add a command to turn on the coolant, it goes through VERICUT as it provides confidence for everyone in the business, from directors to machine operators. You can’t put a value on that.”
For further information www.cgtech.co.uk

Up to 20% faster processing speeds

GF Machining Solutions recently supplied a new wire EDM machine to Bedestone Ltd, a wire erosion and jig-grinding specialist based in Birmingham. The machine, an AgieCharmilles CUT P 550 Pro has taken its place alongside two, previously acquired, large-capacity wire EDM machines and two EDM hole drills, to create a flexible, responsive and high-precision wire EDM resource for its growing customer base.

Says co-owner and director, Richard Stanley: “The new machine has replaced an older Charmilles 330F wire eroder which, while still able to meet our accuracy and surface finish requirements, was relatively slow by today’s standards and was experiencing some reliability issues that, if left unchecked, would likely impact on our ability to meet customer lead times in the future.”

He continues: “We spent time identifying the key features and characteristics of the new machine we needed and approached a number of EDM machine tool manufacturers with our plans. We had also devised a challenging test cut [machining a precision spline] that we asked the participating machine tool manufacturers to undertake.”

The key performance indicators of the test cut were part accuracy and cycle time. On both measures, as it transpired, the CUT P 550 Pro wire EDM machine from GF Machining Solutions came out on top.

Says Stanley: “The CUT P 550 Pro was the best performing machine in the test cut, but our decision wasn’t just based on the results of the test. We also liked and responded positively to the business approach adopted by GF Machining Solutions. From the outset they were interested in what we were doing and where we wanted to get to. It felt more collaborative rather than merely a supplier providing a new machine to a customer.”
For further information www.gfms.com/uk

Okamoto delivers pace and precision

Blackpool-based Beechwood Engineering recently upgraded its surface grinding provision with the addition of an Okamoto ACC 64 GX surface grinding machine from UK agent DF Precision Machinery.

Explaining the reasons behind the machine’s installation, engineering director Stewart Churchill says: “By using the latest machine tool technology, our skilled staff are committed to ensuring that every component is manufactured to the highest possible standards. Also, as we expand, in order to remain at the forefront of technology, we continuously update our plant list.

“In addition to serving customers operating in the general engineering sectors we also have clients working in demanding industries such as the aerospace, automotive, medical, Formula One and nuclear,” he continues. “Surface grinding is often the last process our workpieces undergo and many of the components we manufacture have very exacting specifications relating to dimensional accuracy, profile precision and surface finish.”

As part of the company’s quest to upgrade its capabilities on a continuous basis, Beechwood recently looked at the available advanced surface grinders with a view to replace an older machine with a model that would improve surface grinding precision and efficiency standards.

“After narrowing our search down to two machines we chose to purchase the Okamoto ACC 64 GX surface grinding machine,” says Churchill. “In addition to being aware of Okamoto’s reputation for machine quality, we considered that the ACC 64 GX was able to deliver the speed, ease of use, and precision standards we were seeking. Also, it helped that the knowledgeable employees of UK Okamoto distributor, DF Precision Machinery, were extremely helpful from our initial enquiry, through to the machine’s installation and operator training.”
For further information www.dfpmach.com

Automated blasting for e-transmission parts

For the expansion of its transmission production facility for electric vehicles (EVs), a German automotive supplier has purchased a new continuous-feed blast machine from Rösler that includes fully automatic workpiece handling. The customer chose the Rösler equipment, because it offered high productivity, is easy to maintain and has a long service life.

The workpieces in question consist of various toothed EV transmission components that are deburred using the Rösler continuous feed-wire mesh belt-blast machine. At the start of the deburring operation the workpieces are placed manually on two storage units, which are part of the component transport system. After an integrated camera system has confirmed the correct transport position, the parts are positioned precisely on the wire mesh belt in lots of three and continuously transported through the shot-blast machine. Upon completion of the shot-blast process, a powerful blow-off system completely removes any residual blast media from the workpieces.

In the next step, the now deburred components are transferred to a buffering station consisting of a conveyor belt. Here, the workpieces are precisely repositioned so that a robot can pick up four parts at a time and place them in layers into suitably staged workpiece bins. Whenever a layer is complete, the robot picks up an intermediate cardboard sheet and places it in the bin. Completely filled or, in case of a workpiece change, partially filled bins are automatically removed from the robot working area. This allows the operator to safely remove them from the manufacturing cell with a lift cart.

The shot-blasting machine was designed for three-shift operation allowing cycle times of less than eight seconds per workpiece.
For further information www.rosler.com

AFTERMARKET CYCLE PART MANUFACTURER PREDICTS RAPID GROWTH

Set up as recently as 2016 by ex-professional cyclist Andrew Cooper, Unite has already established itself as an up-and-coming manufacturer of aftermarket cycle products. Having started out with two second-hand, three-axis machining centres in a factory unit in Newtown, Powys, the company recently doubled the number of machines on the shop floor with the purchase of two new production centres. The machine are a Brother five-axis machining centre and a Biglia CNC bar-fed lathe, both supplied by Whitehouse Machine Tools.

Funds for repayments on the machines are being generated not only by the sale of cycle parts, but also by providing a subcontract machining service, a side of the business that has recently risen from 5 to 60% of throughput.

The first machine from Whitehouse, a Japanese-built Brother M200X3 five-axis machining centre, arrived in November 2021 to enable the manufacture in one hit of complex prismatic parts for cycles, such as pedals and stems. It is possible to produce them on the three-axis machines, but expensive fixtures would be needed and, in any case, the quality would be inferior, which is the last thing Unite wants while expanding its range of premium products.

Brother machines have a 30-taper spindle rather than a 40-taper tool interface, but that was of no concern to Cooper as he mainly cuts aluminium. Factors important to him when buying a new machine tool are productivity and purchase price. A couple of 40-taper machining centres were also considered, but he opted for the Whitehouse offering despite it being the first time he had dealt with this supplier.

During machine installation, Whitehouse integrated a Universal Robot cobot (collaborative robot) that had previously been purchased through WMH Robotics together with a workpiece stocker table. The equipment enables components requiring two operations, such as pedals, to emerge from the production cell completely machined after having been inverted following op 1 and placed back in the fixture. Initially, blanks are picked up individually from one side of the table in front of the machine and finish-machined parts are returned to the other side.

The cell operates largely autonomously for about 20 hours per day, producing parts in batches of from 10 to 1000-off to a general tolerance of 0.05 mm, although some features are tighter. Rapid set-up times in the Brother cell of around 5 to 10 minutes, without the need for tool exchange (as all of the cutters needed are resident in the magazine), make machining smaller volumes economical. This is fortuitous, as the current high price of material means that producing smaller volumes is highly desirable in order to reduce the cost of work-in-progress.

Brother’s M200X3 has a 200 rpm C-axis torque table that facilitates not only milling and drilling, but also rotational machining of components with a turning tool in the spindle. While some users find this mill-turn capability in one clamping invaluable, Cooper does not plan to exploit it for machining his products, as few of them would benefit. Some subcontract components might well be machined more economically using such cycles, however.

Instead, turned cycle components up to 70 mm diameter requiring some milling content are being produced in one hit from bar in a new Biglia 620YS turning centre equipped with a sub-spindle for synchronous part pick-up and reverse-end machining. The lathe also benefits from a turret with a Y axis and 15 live stations powered by a 13 kW motor. Y-axis CNC movement is essential, as a number of cycle components, such as headsets, require a slotting operation that would be impossible to perform in-cycle using just the X and Z travels, so would necessitate a second operation on a mill.

The lathe arrived in Newtown in February 2022, prior to which production of about 20 rotational parts was subcontracted out locally and pedal axles were bought in from overseas. A couple of other potential lathe suppliers were considered before the decision was made to purchase the Biglia. However, the specification of the Italian lathe, with its 30 kW/15 kW main/counter spindles and box ways in X and Z (with a linear guideway in Z for speed) clinched the deal.

Tolerance is easily held on the 620YS. It is generally 0.05 mm, but can be as tight as H7 (0.02 mm) on the bearing diameters of the now in-house-produced pedal axles, which are machined from 17/4 stainless steel of the top hardness grade (11050).

The production of around 30 new aftermarket cycle products that are predominantly turned is planned for the lathe, which will soon be working a five-hour ghost shift at the end of each day thanks to automatic feeding of bar stock from a Hydrafeed Multifeed 80 short bar magazine.

“The purchase of highly capable, multi-axis production centres such as the Brother and Biglia are the way forward for us and will underpin what I hope will be rapid growth,” says Cooper. “I predict we will treble our staff from three to nine people by the end of our next financial year in March 2023.

“As to my decision to opt for these machines from Whitehouse, it was partly down to the high-quality build and suitability for the intended applications,” he continues. “However, the support provided by the supplier was also a contributing factor. It included recommending a finance company, early help with establishing some machining processes and writing programs, and the ongoing offer of unlimited training.”

Cooper adds that other new equipment arrivals in the next few months will be a plastic 3D printer for producing components such as chain guides, and a sand-blast booth together with environmentally friendly ceramic-coating equipment to avoid the colour variability previously experienced when putting cycle parts out for anodising.
For further information www.wmtcnc.com