At the recent EMO 2019 exhibition in Hanover, Tornos presented intelligent and interactive solutions that it says not only meet customer needs, but also anticipate them.

Beyond machines, Tornos offers production workflow solutions, including its Industry 4.0-enabling TISIS software, which allows programming and communicating directly with the machine. The user is guided intuitively to ensure optimal use of all available tools.
On Tornos’ stand, expert engineers and R&D team members demonstrated the range of possibilities offered by the intelligent software, which the company is constantly developing for connected production.
Additionally, Tornos was among 50 machine tool manufacturers from all over the world demonstrating at EMO how UMATI – universal machine tool interface – makes machine data usable. Today’s customers expect to integrate new machines into their own information technology (IT) ecosystems without any difficulty whatsoever.
The networking of machines, systems and software is one of the most important trends in manufacturing right now. Today’s customers expect to be able to integrate new machines into their own information technology (IT) ecosystems with no difficulty. UMATI does this easily, quickly and securely on the basis of the Open Platform Communications (OPC) Unified Architecture (UA) international interoperability standard.
For over two years, a team of various machine-tool manufacturers has been working on developing this uniform language for machine tools. Together with control manufacturers, the companies aimed at making it as user friendly as possible. Along with all other UMATI project participants, Tornos was connected to a central dashboard. Furthermore, 18 software and data evaluation service providers demonstrated how this information could be used to generate added value for customers.
For further information www.tornos.com

The Dugard range of cost-effective vertical machining centres has evolved with the company working closely alongside its long-standing Taiwanese partners to instigate enhancements across the series. The Dugard 550, 760, 1000 and 1350 now have a smaller footprint (less than 2 x 2 m), larger work envelope (extended Y axis), faster rapid travels (up to 36 m/min) and a wider choice of CNC (Fanuc, Siemens, Mitsubishi) – all at a more cost-effective price point than the previous models.

Dugard has installed thousands of three-axis VMCs down the years and, by providing its machine-tool partners with in-depth customer feedback and analysis from UK and European customers, the toils of this extensive R&D exercise are now bearing fruit. The final specifications were agreed upon at the recent EMO show in Hanover. Dugard’s new 550, 760, 1000 and 1350 VMCs are now available in the UK from stock.
For further information www.dugard.com

Telford-based Advanced Chemical Etching (ACE) has invested another £100,000 into increasing its capacity to target new opportunities in precision engineering.

ACE, which employs 60 people at its base on Hortonwood, is taking delivery of an additional cleaning machine in the next few weeks that will give it the capability to deliver more than 2000 etched sheets every day – a major rise from the 350 it produced in 2018. “Our pre- and post-cleaning machines have made us so much quicker,” says Ian Whateley, managing director.
“This latest investment gives us the flexibility we need to scale volumes up quickly when required.”
For further information https://ace-uk.net/

On 30 August, Prosaw received an email from Rusty Road 2 Recovery, a not-for-profit community interest company in Bridgwater, Somerset. The company requested assistance with obtaining a much needed bandsaw and wondered whether Prosaw would be generous enough to donate the equipment.

Rusty Road 2 Recovery is a social enterprise and non-profit organisation that provides recovery-based services for people of all ages and sexes who suffer from mental health problems. Its purpose is to have a positive impact on the lives of 75 local people a week, including older citizens who suffer from isolation and loneliness, and younger people who have been rejected, or require guidance and opportunities to achieve qualifications which have not been possible for them to gain through normal educational services.
So, why the donation of a bandsaw? Well, participants work together as groups to take classic vehicles – including motorcycles, tractors and cars that are often viewed by many as scrap or beyond repair – and restore them to their former glory. This work encourages individuals to take pride in themselves and their achievements, while discovering that there is always hope. A bandsaw is vital piece of machinery for such a workshop.
Prosaw’s managing director Phil Crick says: “The idea just struck a chord with us and we soon delivered a Waytrain manual bandsaw, at no cost, to help with their mission.”
For further information www.prosaw.co.uk

To save time, weight and costs when producing metal aircraft components, Airbus Helicopters in Donauwörth, Bavaria, part of the Airbus Group, recently turned to additive manufacturing. The company not only develops and produces a range of helicopter models such as the H135 and H145, but specialises in the manufacture of more than 4000 doors for passenger and cargo aircraft every year.

To separate the titanium parts from their 400 x 400 mm titanium base plates rapidly, economically and without damage after they have been 3D printed, Airbus Helicopters recently purchased an automatic KASTOwin AMC bandsaw from Kasto. The base plate with 3D printed shafts weighing up to 40 kg is transported from the 3D printer by forklift truck to the saw and bolted securely to a clamping mechanism.
After the machine door closes, the mechanism rotates through 180° so that sawing of the components to remove them from the base plate is performed upside down. This design offers considerable advantages in additive manufacturing as, after being cut, the parts cannot topple over or buckle, preventing the risk of damage that could lead to time-intensive reworking or even expensive scrap.
As the plate is ground flat after each build so it can be repeatedly reused, it becomes progressively thinner. With this thought in mind, before sawing begins, an employee has to measure its thickness when clamped and enter the figure into the job wizard of the AdvancedControl CNC. The bandsaw blade, actuated by a precision ballscrew drive, then moves precisely to the programmed height. When cutting is complete, the shafts fall into a padded container to prevent damage and are removed through a flap.
For further information www.kasto.com