Investment Casting Systems, which provides a mix of toolmaking and injection moulding services to customers, has seen turnover increase by 51% over the past three years, with forecast growth of 40% to year ending 2019.

This growth, combined with planned future expansion that will double existing floor space, has created a need for even greater manufacturing efficiency. As part of this efficiency drive, the company has purchased its first five-axis machining centre, a UMC-5X from XYZ Machine Tools.
“We started investigating the purchase of a five-axis machining centre about 18 months ago,” says Investment Casting Systems’ technical director James Head. “Initially we were looking at machines with up to 2 m table capacity, but our customer profile changed, which meant we didn’t need such large capacity. This opened the door to the XYZ UMC-5X with its 600 mm diameter trunnion rotary table and 600 mm travels in the X and Y axes.”
The move to simultaneous five-axis machining immediately brought the benefit that Investment Casting Systems was seeking: increased efficiency. The very first job that went on the XYZ UMC-5X was a complex bolster for an injection mould tool that required machining on all six faces. Using existing three-axis machines would have required six set-ups, but this was reduced to two on the XYZ UMC-5X. The result was a saving of 60% in manufacturing time, the elimination of any potential inconsistencies from multiple set-ups and, by making use of a fixture plate, all faces were machined from the same datum point.
“This first experience proved we had made the right decision in adopting five-axis machining to gain efficiency in manufacturing,” says Head. “We have seen similar time savings as we have progressed.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Clacton-based Dalau, which says it is the largest specialist supplier and manufacturer of plastic parts in the UK, believes it has identified the ideal five-axis production centre for machining plastics.

Chosen from a list of no less than 18 potential suppliers, the machine is a Hermle five-axis machining centre that has been modified to accept vacuum work-holding fixtures. The machine was supplied by the German manufacturer’s UK sales and service agent, Geo Kingsbury, which also carried out the customisation.
The Hermle installation is part of a £1m spend on machine tools at the Clacton factory within the past year to cope with a steep increase in demand for Dalau’s machined components across numerous industries.
Production manager Ben Bonds says: “Floor space is limited here and so is the roof height. The Hermle C 250 machining centre offered generous axis travels of 600, 550 and 450 mm in a compact footprint and just fitted in below the ceiling by a matter of inches. It was also advantageous that the optional Hermle tool magazine extension we ordered for increasing the number of cutters from 30 to 80 comes as a separate unit, which simplified transportation up a ramp and through a narrow opening.
“Problems during automatic tool change are one of the biggest causes of downtime here, so we were keen to avoid machines with a swing-arm tool changer,” he adds. “In contrast, the Hermle ATC system, where the spindle travels through a shutter door at the back of the machine and picks the tool directly from the magazine, has proved to be very reliable.”
For further information www.geokingsbury.com

Huntingdon-based Encocam has invested in two Mikron HEM 700U five-axis machining centres from GF Machining Solutions. The machines have been installed at Stonehill Engineering, one of Encocam’s eight divisions, and are being used to machine a diverse range of precision components and mould tools for the company’s internal and external customers.

Tony Bess, director of subcontract machinists Plalite Ltd in Sittingbourne, has in the past three years invested £3m in capital equipment.

Included in the purchases were two Japanese-built Speedio M140X2 30-taper mill-turn centres from Brother, supplied by sole UK agent, Whitehouse Machine Tools. The first of the five-axis machines was installed in mid-2017 and proved so successful that a second was added six months later.
Plalite undertakes a lot of work requiring both milling and turning, so the multi-tasking capability of the M140X2s was attractive, as was their compact footprint on the shop floor.
“On the Brother machines, the number of operations needed to produce a part is minimised, there are no concentricity issues, blending is perfect and the tolerances we are able to hold allows us to quote very accurate work,” says Bess.
Short set-up times using milling cutter back ends and the adoption of Lang zero-point quick-change chucks help to maintain profitability by allowing the machines to be changed over quickly, which is especially important when producing components in small batches.
Responding to why he bought machining centres with turning capability – rather than bar automatics having live tooling – for the one-hit production of what are often predominantly rotational parts, Bess says: “With a turn-mill machine you get low milling capacity and a limited number of tools – compared with the 22 stations in the Brother turret – added to which, driven tool heads on lathes lack rigidity, which tends to cause vibration.
“With a mill-turn machine you get quick, very productive prismatic machining capability, and all the tools are in taper holders, which are much more rigid, particularly with simultaneous face contact,” he adds.
For further information www.wmtcnc.com