UK NEWS

Royal visitor presents award to Swift-Cut

Back in April, Swift-Cut announced that it had been awarded a Queen’s Award for International Trade, and earlier this month the company welcomed the Duke of Gloucester and Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire to its HQ to present Neil Smith, international global development director, with the award.

Launched in 2011, Swift-Cut designs, engineers and manufactures CNC cutting machinery, exporting 80% of its products. In a speech made after receiving the award, Smith thanked the duke for taking time out of his schedule to attend the event. He also acknowledged the collaborative way in which Swift-Cut works, thanking team members for their continued commitment to making the company a global success. During a tour of the facility, the duke was given full control of a plasma cutting machine.
For further information www.swift-cut.co.uk

ECMS pairs with In-Comm Training

The University of Wolverhampton’s Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills (ECMS) has formed a partnership with In-Comm Training to help boost UK manufacturing skills.

Located at the training provider’s Aldridge academy, the facility will focus on delivering toolmaking apprenticeships and technical courses for more than 2000 people. Over £1.4m has been invested in creating a modern
tool room that includes a full transfer press line incorporating two 110 tonne C-frame presses,
robot transfer, servo-feed technology and decoiling equipment – all supplied by Bruderer UK, in conjunction with Worcester Presses.
For further information www.in-comm.co.uk

XYZ staging showroom clearance event

XYZ Machine Tools will open the doors of its Blackburn showroom on 18 October for customers to take advantage of its clearance event, part of the company’s regular process of renewing the machines on display.

According to XYZ, the event is a good opportunity to grab a deal as, in-line with the company’s policy at these events, all the display machines are available to buy and will be subject to enticing deals on a first-come, first-served basis. With only a limited number of ex-demo machines available on these deals, and as there is no need to reserve a place, visitors are advised to arrive early.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Difficult milling made easier

Dormer Pramet’s family of solid-carbide milling cutters for difficult to machine materials offers a variety of options from roughing through to finishing. The S2 assortment includes a range of neck options for deep milling and multi-flute designs to support numerous applications in tough steels, titanium and nickel.

Differential pitch cutters (S260, S262, S264), for example, reduce chatter and offer fewer tool offset adjustments, providing effective chip removal at high feed rates. The trio of cutters – available in diameters from 3 to 20 mm – feature an optimised cutting edge to reduce chipping and prolong tool life. All have an AlCrN coating for improved wear and oxidation resistance.
In addition, the S264 milling cutter has a robust corner chamfer on the end teeth to further reduce chipping, and a roughing profile for greater removal rates, says Dormer Pramet. The S262’s corner radius provides a more precise finish and optimises performance, especially in ramping operations.
Meanwhile, Dormer Pramet’s six to eight-flute cutters (S225, S226, S227) feature a high helix angle to keep the cutting edges constantly engaged with the workpiece and deliver a high-quality surface finish.
Several neck options are available to support pocket milling, up to 8.8xD, by preventing contact between the shank and workpiece, and eliminating the risk of vibration and scouring. To support general milling applications, the company’s range of four-flute cutters (S216, S217, S218, S219) offer a reach up to 9xD. This series also features an optimised cutting-edge design and an AlTiN coating for high hot hardness and oxidation resistance.
For further information www.dormerpramet.com

Zenith closes loop on boring adjustments

The development of Zenith by Rigibore has eliminated any manual intervention or machine downtime to achieve micron-level automatic adjustments on fine boring tools.

Industry 4.0 compliant Zenith is a closed-loop system providing a practical solution that works with in-process gauging and the machine tool’s control system.
Making minute adjustments to fine boring tools has, in the past, required the tool to be removed from the machine and adjusted manually in a pre-setter, a process which interrupts production, is time consuming and demands a skilled person to be involved. Having developed its ActiveEdge wirelessly adjustable boring bars, the next step for Rigibore was to “close the loop” on this semi-automatic system, and make it fully autonomous. The result is Zenith, which can automatically compensate for insert wear, temperature drift and material inconsistency without the necessity of removing the tool to a presetting station.
Zenith makes use of Rigibore’s ActiveEdge boring tools, which feature boring cartridges that can be wirelessly adjusted. This wireless capability is powered by batteries in the tool’s ‘yoke’, which means that the system can make adjustments to the boring tools wherever they are in the machine, either in the spindle or the tool carousel.
So confident is Rigibore that Zenith will deliver on its promises that, subject to carrying out a survey and analysis of current manufacturing requirements, Rigibore will install and make all necessary changes to the machine’s control free of charge. Customers can then take one of two options to pay for the system, either in full after one-month’s trial period or, over six-monthly instalments.
For further information www.rigibore.com