THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Sir Ben Ainslie to open MACH

The UK’s largest manufacturing and engineering exhibition, MACH 2018, which is set to take place in April at the NEC in Birmingham, will be officially opened (on 9 April) by the most successful sailor in Olympic history, Sir Ben Ainslie. Sir Ben won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four Olympics held between 2000 and 2012.

Sir Ben has a keen interest in manufacturing and the technology behind it, with his British America’s Cup team, Land Rover BAR, employing the latest manufacturing processes in the creation of its
foiling race boat. “At Land Rover BAR we bring together huge resources of technical, design and engineering knowledge to create something truly British and unique. We invest in technology and innovative skills to find solutions to long-term issues in sustainability. I’m very much looking forward to opening MACH 2018 and seeing the latest innovations from the UK’s manufacturing technologies sector.”
For further information www.machexhibition.com

Latest shoulder mills eliminate finishing

The newly developed VSM490 series of Widia indexable-insert shoulder mills available from ITC is said to eliminate finishing operations and improve productivity when machining a wide variety of materials. In addition, the VSM490 double-sided 90° inserts offer four cutting edges to reduce costs.

This latest addition to the Widia Victory Shoulder Mill (VSM) range includes a complete line of insert grades that support the machining of cast iron, stainless steel, steel, titanium, aluminium and a host of aluminium alloys. The cutter’s versatility is facilitated by a positive geometry and the availability of both 10 and 15 mm inserts, along with an extensive selection of tool holders.
A total of four insert geometries are offered, including ALP geometry for low-power machine tools cutting non-ferrous materials, and ML geometry for stainless steel and light machining on a variety of other materials. For more robust applications, MM geometry incorporates features designed to bring greater strength to machining operations, while the heavy-duty MH grade is first choice for high-performance roughing on cast iron, chiefly credit to edge-protecting geometry and additional margins.
The VSM490 gives customers a full slotting solution with 100% radial engagement, shoulder milling with step-down capabilities that provide low or high engagement, as well as low or high radial engagement. Furthermore, the VSM490 can be applied to contour milling, Z-axis plunge milling, trochoidal slot milling and HPC face milling.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Record UK sales for Blum

Metrology specialist Blum-Novotest has seen sales pass the £500,000 mark for the first time since the UK subsidiary was launched in 2000. The target this year is for another 20% growth, with the company set to build on the early success of its Digilog touch-probe systems by launching LC50 – Blum’s latest laser-control technology. The company says that the system will deliver up to a 60% reduction in the time taken to check and measure parts on a CNC machine tool.

“We’re finding that a lot of our customers are increasingly looking to source measurement solutions that are quick, can perform on complex components and, importantly, can be fitted to a machine tool for real-time data and the best possible accuracy,” explains David Mold, managing director of Blum-Novotest Ltd. “This is exactly what we do with our range of products that start from a simple tool-setting probe and go right through to workpiece probes, roughness and bore gauges,
and the new Digilog touch probes.”
For further information www.blum-novotest.com

XYZ will show five-axis capability

XYZ Machine Tools will display its UMC-5X five-axis, gantry-style machining centre on stand E190 at Southern Manufacturing 2018.

Although the company says that the UMC-5X is available at a competitive price point, it comes with Traori/kinematic functionality for five-axis simultaneous machining, as well as integrated SMT (smart machining technology) and thermal growth compensation.
Of particular interest is that due to the table configuration and machine design, when the table is tilted 90° towards the rear (component facing forward), there remains 500 mm of Y-axis travel forward of the table surface. According to XYZ, this is much greater than many competitor machines, including those that quote the same axis travels as the UMC-5X, allowing larger workpieces to be machined.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Five-axis hybrid machine on display

Yamazaki Mazak is set to showcase the latest addition to its five-axis range of hybrid machining centres on stand J220 at Southern Manufacturing.

The Variaxis j-600/5X AM, which made its European debut at EMO last year, employs a wire-arc AM (additive manufacturing) head on a five-axis vertical machining centre to enable high-speed additive and subtractive manufacturing on one combined platform. The wire-arc AM torch is mounted on the machine’s headstock to deposit material layer-by-layer and grow near-net-shape 3D forms. Material is deposited quickly due to the use of wire instead of metal powder.
Mazak’s Variaxis j-600/5X AM makes use of a 12,000 rpm main spindle and wide B-axis spectrum of rotation (+90° to -120°). The machine is equipped with a rigid structure, utilising roller linear guides on all linear axes and roller gear cams on both rotary axes.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk