After Birmingham City University took the decision three years ago to switch its engineering courses to the new globally accepted CDIO (Conceive – Design – Implement – Operate) educational framework, the need to update its School of Engineering and the Built Environment became paramount. A budget of over £7 million was authorised for the refurbishment of the workshop facilities, of which £1 million was designated for capital equipment that included seven machines from XYZ Machine Tools.

“The CDIO framework is much more practice-based, with students developing through logical steps and being exposed to design for manufacture throughout their time at the university,” says Tony Hayward, programme leader mechanical engineering at Birmingham City University. “This exposure to real-world manufacturing means that we need the facilities to meet their needs, and the workshop investment and exposure to the XYZ machines are all part of that.”
The XYZ machines – a manual lathe, two XYZ ProTURN SLX 355 lathes, two XYZ SMX ProtoTRAK mills, an XYZ 1060HS vertical machining centre and an XYZ CT65 LTY turning centre – were procured after what Hayward describes as an “intense tendering process”.

“Due to the size of the investment, we had to put the machines out to full tender, meaning a large number of potential suppliers could put forward proposals,” he says. “However, the complex nature of the tender, which can be an 18-month process, saw many fall by the wayside pretty quickly. In addition to meeting the technical requirements of the tender, we also needed a supplier that would work with us to develop a relationship – in effect becoming part of our team. XYZ Machine Tools met that requirement.”
Another advantage offered by XYZ is the fact that it has a dedicated educational sales director, John Aspinall, who focuses entirely on supporting schools, colleges and universities. This understanding of the sector’s needs has played a major part in the growth witnessed by XYZ Machine Tools in the segment, with 2018/19 looking to be another record-breaking year. Beyond the initial tender and order, XYZ Machine Tools is also able to provide the ongoing support needed through training for academics and technicians.
Among the key elements of the university’s tender document was the need for the machine control systems to be user friendly.
“The machines will be used by workshop technicians, academics and students alike, so straightforward operation is important,” says Dr James Pring, technical manager at the School of Engineering and the Built Environment. “The commonality of the ProtoTRAK control system across the lathes and mills allows users to switch from machine to machine without any complications. Students have very little time to familiarise themselves with the machines and controls, and they tend to come along needing large numbers of parts to be produced in a very short space of time, so ease-of-use is vital for efficiency.”

Versatility is also highlighted by the ‘TRAKing’ facility on the SLX ProTURN lathes. This functionality allows users to work through a program by winding the electronic hand wheels, with the speed and direction of rotation controlling the movement of the cutting tool through the machining path.
“TRAKing takes the ProtoTRAK control to another level,” says Pring. “It gives us the reassurance that the student is not going to crash the machine due to some potential programming error.”
When the students progress through the course, their work becomes increasingly involved, leading to projects such as designing and manufacturing compressed air powered engines. To reflect this progress, the students then move to machining parts on the XYZ 1060 HS vertical machining centre with its 12,000 rpm spindle, and the XYZ CT65 LTY turning centre with its 70 mm Y-axis configuration.
Once again, ease-of-use was paramount to the university, and here the use of the Siemens 840DSL ShopMill and 828D ShopTurn control systems provide the straightforward, conversational programming capability required.
“The overall package supplied by XYZ Machine Tools, from pre-sale through to delivery, training and ongoing support, provides us with the capacity, capability and confidence to deliver to the new CDIO curriculum,” says Hayward. “In addition, we were provided with tooling vouchers that we can spend as and when needed with Ceratizit UK & Ireland to further enhance the performance of the machines, without drawing on our existing budgets.”
Adds Aspinall: “This project is a great example of how we at XYZ Machine Tools can partner with educational establishments to deliver a solution that meets everyone’s needs. Under our ‘XYZ for Education’ initiative we work with schools, colleges and universities to provide not only machine tools at favourable prices, but the ongoing support that lecturers, teachers, technicians and students require to ensure the workshop functions smoothly.”

The School of Engineering and the Built Environment is a major provider of professionally relevant courses for the property and construction industries, and is dedicated to the teaching of future professionals.
Each course is accredited by at least one of four professional bodies: The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; The Royal Town Planning Institute; The Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists; and The Chartered Institute of Building. The school’s core activity is educating professionals for a technical, ethical, economic, political and social world where the built and natural environment forms the context for human activity.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Loadpoint Micro-Machining Solutions, a manufacturer in Cricklade that more than 40 years ago invented the industry standard saw for dicing semiconductor wafers, avoiding current leakage in electronic components caused by the old method of scribing and snapping, has brought all of its metal cutting in-house following the purchase of three Hurco machine tools.

Previously, larger castings that form the bases of Loadpoint’s products had to be subcontracted for milling. That cost is now saved, added to which, control over lead-time and quality is much improved. Drawing tolerance is ±5 µm for both straightness and flatness over the 750 mm length of the largest base casting for a Loadpoint Macroace dicing saw. This accuracy is being exceeded on a 20-tonne, bridge-type Hurco DCX22 machining centre with 2200 x 1700 x 750 mm working volume.
Loadpoint’s managing director Clive Bond says: “We need to hold a high level of accuracy when manufacturing our machine components to underpin the precision our customers need when sawing their materials with a resin- or metal-bonded diamond grinding blade, which can be down to 15 µm wide.
“In addition to semiconductor wafer dicing, these days many applications involve cutting PZT, a piezoelectric ceramic material used for a multitude of applications from parking sensors to ultrasound scanners,” he continues. “Glass for making optical filters, for example, and alumina for the manufacture of hybrid circuits, are also frequently processed.
“Generally, our equipment has to saw material within a tolerance of ± 3 µm over a working area of up to 12” diameter. However, a recent application involved producing an inkjet printer head from 200 µm thick PZT to significantly higher precision. Over a 60 mm length, 600 µm deep cuts had to be spaced at 100 µm intervals with a pitch-to-pitch accuracy of under 1 µm. Tolerances of this order require that the structure of our machines is extremely precise.”

A 1 m deep concrete foundation was prepared to support the DCX22. Hurco engineers spent considerable time and effort during the commissioning phase to ensure that the required machining accuracies could be attained. They are verified using a Taylor Hobson autocollimator.
Bond goes on to explain the technique that allows tolerances within ±5 µm to be held over such a large distance. The secret lies in unclamping the heavy casting and simply restraining it in position on the table during the final operation, which involves taking only very light passes with a milling cutter. The process was successfully proved out at a Midlands subcontractor using a similar Hurco DCX machining centre prior to Bond’s investment decision.
Not only do Loadpoint’s FEA-optimised structures have to be rigid and accurate to support the three linear axis motions and rotary table movement – all CNC axes having 50 nm resolution thanks to Heidenhain encoders – but so also does the assembly carrying the 60,000 rpm air bearing spindle. Runout has to be better than 50 nm TIR.
To this end, a Hurco TM10i lathe replaced an old manual lathe as part of the re-equipment project. This machine is used to turn the stainless steel or titanium flanges that support and clamp the circular saw blade. To control the bore and complex flange profile to a tolerance approaching a single micron, they are sent to a sister Loadpoint company for cylindrical grinding, followed by precision balancing.
Another role of the new lathe is to turn a stainless-steel disc that forms the carrier for a vacuum chuck that secures material during dicing. After heat treatment, the component is held in a bespoke fixture on the third new Hurco machine on-site, a smaller VM20i three-axis machining centre, where recesses are milled over one face for subsequently containing the adhesive that holds a high precision, ceramic insert in place. Many of Loadpoint’s smaller castings and components are also produced on the VM20i, which replaced a manual-tool-change CNC milling machine.

Machinists at Cricklade were familiar with Heidenhain and Fanuc controls, so there was initially some scepticism about using a new CNC system, Hurco’s proprietary WinMax, which employs a second screen on controls fitted to the manufacturer’s larger machining centres. The system has a reputation in the market for ease of conversational programming. Bond confirmed that his operators were immediately convinced of its suitability during a demonstration at a Hurco open house held at the company’s High Wycombe showroom and technical centre.
Such is the software’s ease of use that menu-driven programming on the shop floor using the touchscreens on the controls is carried out all of the time at Cricklade, to the exclusion of offline program preparation via CADCAM, even though Loadpoint machine components are created in CAD and available as solid models.
For further information www.hurco.co.uk

Since moving premises in Bicester at the beginning of 2015, subcontractor SRD Engineering has approximately trebled its turnover and headcount, a rate of growth that accelerated during 2018 due to the arrival of three new sliding-head (Swiss-type) CNC turning centres from Citizen Machinery.

Joining a 20 mm bar capacity Citizen Cincom L20 Type VII lathe installed in 2009, which helped the contract machining company to weather the recession, two further models for processing similar size stock were installed in March and August last year, followed by a 32 mm capacity machine in November. It is noteworthy that the decade-old lathe is currently running 24/7 and still holding tolerance well.
Precision machining is essential at the 18,000 sq ft Bicester factory, as 60% of the company’s business comes from the Formula One sector, with most of the remainder received from customers in the aerospace and electronics industries. Dimensional and concentricity tolerances down to 6 µm are held on some 50 to 60 mm long, 3 mm diameter components, for example.
To help achieve this level of accuracy reliably, even during unmanned running, all of the latest sliding-head lathes are equipped with Citizen’s LFV (low frequency vibration) functionality. The patented system allows the stringy swarf generated when machining aluminium, stainless steel, nickel alloys, copper and plastics to be broken into shorter chips, the length of which can be controlled by the cutting program.

Mark Bonham, joint managing director with his brother Paul of the 30 years established, family-owned company, says: “We had no hesitation in choosing the LFV option on the new Citizen lathes, as being a subcontractor we have to process a broad variety of materials. Often they are not short chipping, and it is difficult to break the swarf using chip-breaker geometry on the cutting tool and/or high-pressure coolant.”
He adds: “With LFV, which acts in two CNC axes simultaneously and is part of the control’s operating system, as distinct from a macro in the part program, it is possible to regulate chip size closely without compromising the life of the cutters. In fact, they tend to last longer and break less often.”
Bonham explains that not only can the length of the chip be specified in any given program according to the material being cut, but LFV can be applied to different parts of the cycle, such as when turning a deep groove in stainless steel, an operation that is particularly prone to producing a tangle of swarf. LFV avoids a ‘bird’s nest’ forming around the sub-spindle and inhibiting synchronous component pick-up for reverse-end machining, or entanglement of a tool leading to its breakage or compromised component accuracy and surface quality.

The reason LFV is not necessarily applied continuously to a whole program is that the technology lengthens slightly those parts of the cycle due to repeated periods of air cutting lasting microseconds. It is this action that breaks the swarf into short chips and it also has the effect of improving the penetration of coolant into the cutting zone, which is a prime reason behind the extended
tool life.
If a job is particularly price-sensitive, LFV use can be minimised or even switched off during manned operation, but the system is so flexible it can be reintroduced for lights-out running to ensure a full ghost shift’s production in the tote the next morning, without fear of stringy swarf impairing turning and drilling efficiency, and possibly recycling from the conveyor back into the working area and jamming the machine. Thus, a weekend’s worth of parts can be reliably produced, whereas without LFV there is a likelihood of only four hours of output before the lathe stops automatically in the absence of an operator to clear the swarf.
Bonham says: “LFV chip breaking is a huge selling point for Citizen turning centres. We visited their headquarters and showroom in Bushey to see a demonstration, and it was clear that the technology is able to resolve a lot of difficulties related to swarf management and temperature control when turning and deep-hole drilling. The benefits include better accuracy of machined components and longer tool life.”
The impetus last March for installing a seven-axis Cincom L20 Type XII LFV with a Y axis on the counter spindle and a 135° B-axis spindle integrated into the gang tool block for both front and back machining, was down to the original Swiss-type lathe being fully occupied, while enquiries kept coming in for large volume runs of typically 10,000 per month. One of the contracts secured involves producing a two-part, press-fit assembly with a threaded insert that serves as a stainless steel oil restrictor used in the aerospace industry.
The machine is more or less devoted to this ongoing job, so a Cincom L20 Type VIII LFV was purchased on specification five months later and was immediately busy producing diverse parts for a number of existing and new customers. It was at this point that the Bonham brothers and their father Steve, who is still active in the business, really appreciated how much money can be made using this type of manufacturing plant.
As a rule of thumb, they noted that the cost of a Swiss-type lathe is around twice that of a fixed-head machine, but the former is able to produce twice as many parts, allowing a subcontractor to invoice around double the amount per month, per machine compared with fixed-head capacity. The earnings per pound invested are therefore equivalent. The big saving is that one operator is able to attend all four of SRD Engineering’s Cincom sliding-head turning centres, whereas to achieve the same output from double the number of fixed-head lathes, which have to be individually manned for Formula One work, eight operators would be needed, resulting in much higher labour costs.

With this in mind, and having received a request to quote for producing 10,000 1” diameter nylon fasteners per month, a 32 mm bar capacity Cincom L32 Type VIII LFV was sourced from Citizen last November and has been machining the parts ever since. Here again, low-frequency vibration chip breaking has proved invaluable for keeping production going during periods of unattended running.
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Subcon returns on 4-6 June 2019 and is once again set to take place at the NEC, Birmingham. Now in its 43rd year, the show remains the UK’s only dedicated event that enables subcontract manufacturing buyers to source suppliers, benchmark capabilities, and form new manufacturing partnerships.

Against a backdrop of profound uncertainty and change within the engineering and manufacturing industries, Subcon 2019 will show how the industry continues to innovate and deliver maximum value, with three events in one venue.
For 2019, Subcon has unveiled a new opportunity to support engineering entrepreneurs. The Launchpad and Launchpad Awards will showcase cutting-edge innovations from across the industry with dedicated space at the event for specially selected start-ups.
According to the organisers, the Launchpad aims to propel manufacturing and engineering-based start-ups by giving entrepreneurs an opportunity to share their innovations with thousands of professionals who have the power to guide them to success. The showcase and awards will deliver a platform for eight engineering start-ups, with a £10,000 prize package to the winner.
As with every previous year, Subcon will deliver the contacts, connections and content that engineering and manufacturing businesses in the UK need to succeed. Visitors will be able to harness new innovations from over 300 suppliers that can help increase capacity, optimise productivity and improve flexibility, while driving down costs to stay competitive in a global market.
Ahead of the event this year, the Subcon team hit the road and spoke to exhibitors across metal fabrication, 3D printing, measurement and other sectors. As this diversity of exhibitors shows, there will be opportunities to forge strategic partnerships and improve existing processes.

Among those returning to the event this year is Goodman Metal Works, a Nottingham-based, full-service metal fabrication company. Director Richard Goodman explains what keeps the firm coming back: “It is a compact event, spread out over three days, so it is a very easy way to meet important contacts.”
The story is similar for 3D printer reseller Laser Lines, based in Banbury. This year at Subcon the company is debuting not only new machinery but new materials. Mark Tyrtania, sales director, explains that for Laser Lines “Subcon is the right mix of visitors from varied industries. My top tip is to arrive early and leave late.”
Based in Smethwick, Metpro has grown to become a leading supplier to the mechanical and electrical market in the UK. Marketing manager Jacob Rudge outlines that the value of Subcon is the quality of people who attend: “The majority of our conversations have been with key decision makers; some of the most successful outcomes we’ve had throughout the years have been from just striking up these conversations.”
To maximise the value of the event, Subcon is once again co-locating with The Engineer Expo and Advanced Manufacturing Show. The Engineer Expo is designed to deliver the innovation, inspiration and insight businesses need to optimise future engineering and manufacturing strategies. From an exhibition of next-generation design and technology solutions presented by UK ground-breaking suppliers, to a conference programme featuring industry leaders responsible for some of the country’s most inspiring engineering and manufacturing projects, The Engineer Expo will keep visitors abreast of the biggest issues around, from Brexit and Industry 4.0, to the challenges of diversity and skills.
The Advanced Manufacturing Show will showcase live demos and the latest efficiency-boosting innovations from hundreds of suppliers. This event is an opportunity to review outsourcing and procurement decisions, and bring tools and technology up to speed, to reduce costs, cut lead times and increase productivity.

Following the success of the conference programme in 2018, Subcon will also feature presentations from industry pioneers such as Siemens and Rolls-Royce, as well as thought leadership from organisations including Make UK, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and WMG (formerly the Warwick Manufacturing Group). A total of 34 sessions will be announced in the run up to the event.
The conference programme will deliver insight on industry issues, with presentations from industry leaders responsible for some of the UK’s most inspiring and ground-breaking engineering and manufacturing projects. Speakers confirmed this year include: Brian Holliday, managing director, Siemens Digital Industries, delivering a keynote address covering the latest developments and momentum around Industry 4.0; Mark Ireland, chief engineer, MTC, speaking on the MTC Sit Ski project and the role of collaboration; Stephen Phipson, CEO, Make UK, covering the impact of Brexit and the changes felt throughout the manufacturing supply chain; Riona Armesmith, chief project engineer, Hybrid Electric Propulsion, Rolls-Royce, talking about the development of electric/hybrid aircraft and the E-Fan X project; Lina Huertas, head of technology strategy, digital manufacturing, MTC, covering the technologies set to transform manufacturing; Jeremy Pullen, Sartorious, on what is next for additive manufacturing; Steve Banton, channel manger, ABB Robotics, on the development of cobotics and where it will make its impact felt; Rachel Edes, WMG, on the challenge and opportunity of creating a domestic supply chain for electric vehicles; Nick Hawker, CEO and co-founder, First Light Fusion, on the commercial application of nuclear fusion; and Martin Little, commercial director, Rail Alliance, on the overlooked opportunities within rail.
Gordon Kirk, event director for Subcon, points out that this wide range of opportunities and the chance to see so many diverse companies is no accident: “We are even more aware than ever of the pressures on UK engineering and manufacturing businesses, so we have crammed as much value into the event as we can. From the 34 sessions of The Engineer Conference to the showcase of new start-ups and co-locating with Advanced Manufacturing Show and The Engineer Expo, Subcon 2019 will deliver value to visitors throughout the three days. We are incredibly excited to include so much new material and look forward to opening the doors at the NEC.”
For further information www.subconshow.co.uk

A mould maker producing tools for thermoplastic materials and die castings is relying on the specialist VISI Analysis module to discover critical areas at an early stage of the design process, which greatly simplifies its work.

Mecca TP serves a variety of industry sectors, including medical, automotive, household appliances, furniture and eyewear. Co-owner Antonio Tognon says that the company’s moulds have to be produced swiftly and accurately, first time every time, without the need for changing them unless requested by the customer.
“And in those cases, the amendments have to be carried out quickly,” he states. “Using VISI to design and machine our mould tools means we can guarantee they’ll give a high mechanical performance with precision movements, along with a high aesthetic quality of the moulded products, for long production periods.”
Tognon says the company is also playing an increasingly proactive role in working with customers to co-design the finished, moulded products. “In addition, we support our customers with precision machining, mechanical equipment construction, reverse engineering and reconstruction of damaged mechanical parts, or those without design documentation, as well as dimensional checks.”

Founded in 1985, the company is now run jointly by Tognon and Renato Prosdocimo, based in a 2000 sq m production unit in Bigolino di Valdobbiadene, Treviso, Italy, with an annual turnover of around €1.5m.
“Over the years we’ve developed our production process in order to minimise manual intervention on the moulds, controlling the machining operations,” says Tognon. The company has always adopted advanced technologies, from two- and four-axis wire EDM, to high-speed three- and five-axis milling, along with Mecca TP’s CADCAM VISI software. VISI is proving to be a vital aspect in ensuring that the moulds are consistently manufactured to the precision required, from the design process through to the mould tools being cut.
Mecca TP produces between 40 and 80 moulds a year, ranging in size from 200 x 200 x 200 mm to 600 x 800 x 700 mm, using a variety of metals. VISI Mould is used to carry out the design, while electrodes are modelled and machined with VISI Machining 3D, which is also used for cutting plates and moulding parts, along with Machining Strategist and VISI Wire.
“Our in-house team follows the mould design, adopting various solutions for mould movements, conditioning circuits, and injection and extraction systems,” says Tognon. “In order to optimise the final product and the moulding activity, we pay precise attention to the analysis, proposing possible improvements.”
Tognon says VISI is used in the preliminary stage, before the design process begins, to analyse details such as drafts, undercuts and thicknesses, and draw up possible dimensions of the finished moulds.
“We import customer STEP, IGES or Parasolid files and analyse the geometry in depth, to define the quality of the mathematical model, while correcting incomplete or inaccurate geometries.”

The company moves on to create the mould basement and define details, before sending the component parts to the different CAM stations for milling, wire cutting, and electrode modelling and construction.
Tognon cites an example of a stainless steel mould that Mecca TP has developed to replace an existing mould used by a medical sector client: “The mould was needed to produce a small circular component with a diameter of approximately 40 mm; the part had to be moulded in a white chamber on eight impressions, within a complete discharge cycle of less than 20 seconds.
The product is described as being complex, with irregular surfaces and a different front and back finish, and a shiny, mirrored surface on one side.
“We created a completely new movement, very different from the mould originally being used by the customer,” says Tognon. “Our proposal optimised the intrinsic characteristics of the impressions, and the operational flexibility, ensuring the highest level of productivity. Each imprint has a completely interchangeable matrix and punch, which are fixed to the mould by screws. This means we can replace them when they are worn out, without changing the entire mould, even if the mould is inside the machine. It also means we can produce different products using the same mould.”
Tognon says the main challenge was to find a way to free undercuts, and to create the movements necessary to obtain a high-quality piece – moulded from soft adhesive PVC – in the correct way, avoiding possible wastage. The team used VISI Analysis to import, prepare and validate what was required.
“Being able to identify complex mathematics in advance let us discover critical areas at an early stage of the project, and greatly simplified our work,” he says. “It also led to a significant reduction in both design and production times.”

Pointing out that VISI Mould handles the entire design process, Tognon says it provides the company with specific automation that guides the operator throughout the project’s development: “It’s a simple procedure, with the help of numerous catalogues of main suppliers’ components, which facilitates everything we need.”
VISI gives Mecca TP the capability of managing and graphically displaying mould creation and any required changes in real time.
“This means we can check the results immediately and effectively, giving us maximum design freedom to combat the complexity we have to face in order to satisfy our customers’ ever-changing needs.”
In conclusion, Tognon says VISI optimises the company’s entire process from design to delivery, and means the company can comply with increasingly tight delivery times: “We see very complex moulds every day. Calling them ‘moulds’ is almost reductive. I’d rather define them as ‘advanced equipment’.”
For further information www.visicadcam.com