Like many businesses, 2020 posed challenges for HiCi, a designer and manufacturer of hand tools for joiners and carpenters under the Trig Jig brand.

CEO Dan Soanes-Brown says: “Thankfully we’re now seeing the release of pent-up spending within the UK construction industry. Projects that were postponed are coming back and we are seeing that reflected in demand for our tools.”

The result is an expectation of strong growth for existing products, driven in part by an ambitious schedule of one new product launch every month in 2021. The first two of these new products, a carpenter’s square and a T-square, are the first to benefit from production on HiCi’s latest investment, an XYZ 750 LR vertical machining centre.

Equipped with a 12,000 rpm spindle, Siemens 828D control and optimised digital servos, the XYZ 750 LR – with its linear rail construction – met the company’s performance criteria. Like every capital investment, price was also a consideration, and here the XYZ 750 LR also came out favourably.

“Price is obviously important and there were three machines that we were looking at; the XYZ 750 LR was the most competitively priced and I couldn’t see where the extra £10,000 for the other machines was going,” says Soanes-Brown. “Another factor was the ability to actually see the machine in action, with XYZ Machine Tools being the only supplier able to demonstrate a machine of the specification we wanted. For a young company like ours it was important to see what we were spending our money on.”

He concludes: “Once we have the XYZ 750 LR running to 80% capacity we will order a second machine, as we look on it as a long-term brand investment and will go with XYZ again.”

For further information
www.xyzmachinetools.com

For manufacturers seeking a heavy-duty machining centre that offers a stable platform for high removal rates on challenging materials, GM CNC has introduced the UK market to the Victor Vcenter G135 vertical machining centre.

Confirming its credentials is a Meehanite casting with a wide-base A-frame design, a wide span column, four box-ways and screw removers with a box-way width of 145 mm, and an overall machine weight of 11,500 kg. Upon the G135’s foundation is a 1400 by 700 mm table that can accommodate parts up to 2200 kg.

This three-axis axis workhorse offers travel of 1350 x 700 x 700 mm in the X, Y and Z axis, with a BT50 spindle taper. The gear-head spindle design generates a power output of 18.5 kW with torque of 498 Nm.

Developed, manufactured and built in-house by Victor, the 6000 rpm spindle has a gear-head concept that retains maximum torque levels throughout the speed range. This factor makes the Vcenter G135 suitable for machining hard materials and exotic alloys.

The Victor Vcenter G135 vertical machining centre has an automatic tool change unit offering 24-tool capacity that can accommodate tools with a maximum weight of up to 15 kg. Furthermore, the axis feed motor on the machine generates 3 kW of power on all axes with a rapid feed rate of 20 m/min and axis acceleration of 0.28 G, which is driven through 50 mm diameter ball-screws.

As standard, the Victor Vcenter G135 is supplied with the latest FANUC CNC, fully enclosed splash guarding, spindle oil cooler, screw-type chip removal, bottom guarding for coolant flushing, rigid tapping, three-step warning lights, automatic power-off and levelling pads.

For further information
www.gm-cnc.com

In January 2021 MODIG Machine Tool applied for a new patent on a revolutionary innovation – the world’s first Inverted machine tool. With its inverted machine tool line-up, MODIG says it is transforming generic five-axis part and component machining to achieve the ultimate in chip evacuation. The machines are available in the UK from M-Tech.

With optional spindles for high-speed and high-torque applications, and exceptional access to complex part contours, MODIG inverted machining centres are said to optimise the machining process.

In essence, an inverted machining centre is a vertical machining centre turned upside down, but it is not that simple, as inverted machining constitutes a radical departure from traditional machining. Working inverted means easier chip evacuation with less consumption of coolant. Gravity makes chips fall with a natural flow from the workpiece and cutting zone, while the stability, together with the optimised chip-handling system, yields higher performance.

The inverted machining (IM) design, allows machines to be located side by side to optimise footprint and enable load-unload automation. Notably, the chip conveyor is at the back of the machines with easy access for chip handling. The loading of material and unloading of parts take place either manually from the front or by a pallet system, or with overhead loading.

IM machines have a cast-iron base around the structure, locked in all four corners, making the machine highly rigid and enabling the tool to work with extreme precision. Single spindle, dual spindle and four spindle options are available.

MODIG is a family owned business with over 11,000 machines sold worldwide in sectors that include aerospace, automotive, electric vehicle and defence.

For further information
www.modig.se

Belgrave & Powell Ltd, a specialist engineering services group, working in conjunction with Realta Consulting and Strala Investments, has acquired the business and assets – including all IP and goodwill – from Rochdale-based Trufab Ltd. All 29 employee jobs have been retained, and the new business will continue the 30 years of trading from incorporation in 1990. Operating from the same 68,000 sq ft facility, the business will now trade under the name Trufab Technologies Ltd. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Trufab is a supplier of stainless steel fabrication components to the food, pharmaceutical and machine-building industries. Paul Ward, a partner in Belgrave & Powell, will lead the company as part of Belgrave & Powell’s Machine Technology Group. He says: “Trufab will form a key part of our UK manufacturing growth plans in stainless steel fabrication for specialist applications and we look forward to growing this business into adjacent sectors within our complementary customer base.”

For further information www.belgrave-powell.com

LK Metrology, a UK CMM manufacturer is reporting strong ongoing business performance three years after becoming a fully independent company again following its change of ownership in 2018. In 2021, LK Metrology, which has its headquarters in Derbyshire will celebrate its 58th year of trading.

The new proprietor, Angelo Muscarella, who also runs Italian firm ASF Metrology, is keen to share the progress that LK has made: “We’re delighted to find ourselves entering our fourth year of operation in April 2021 with a healthy order book. Revenue met budget in the last financial year and we even made a profit, despite incredibly difficult trading conditions due to the pandemic. Machine service and upgrade activities actually performed ahead of budget every month since July 2020.”

For further information www.lkmetrology.com