UK NEWS

Multi-axis turning centres on show

Among the products from 600 UK (hall 6, stand 565) will be a series of multi-axis CNC turning centres, which are the next-generation machines from Colchester, replacing the previous Tornado range.

The new Clausing MillPWR CNC milling machine will also be demonstrated at the show, utilising the conversational Acu-Rite MillPWR G2 control to program prototypes and small batches of components. 600 UK’s Industry 4.0 package, initially targeted at its range of Colchester and Harrison centre lathes, and MultiTurn and Alpha CNC lathes, will be a further exhibit (on a Colchester Triumph centre lathe).
For further information www.600uk.com

MACH 2018 opens its doors

MACH, the UK’s largest exhibition for machine tools and manufacturing technologies, opens its doors today for a week (9-13 April) of trade, innovation and networking at the NEC in Birmingham.

Staged by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), this biennial exhibition shines the spotlight on all the latest product developments. In 2016, both Halls 4 and 5 were completely sold out, attracting 25,627 visitors from diverse sectors across the whole of the UK manufacturing industry.
With over 600 companies exhibiting, an impressive £150m of business was attributed to MACH 2016, and 2018 promises to be bigger and better with new zones, advanced technologies and a vibrant seminar program. As always, MTI magazine will have a strong presence at MACH, where from hall 17, stand 434 the team will be handing out copies of the show issue to passing visitors. All are welcome to call by the stand for a friendly chat about any requirements for buying or selling new or pre-owned machine tools.
For further information www.machexhibition.com

Investment helps future-proof JAW

For over 30 years, Huddersfield-based JAW Engineering has provided local industry with low-volume subcontract machining capacity and emergency breakdown support. Up until now, all its machining had been carried out on manual machines, reliant on highly skilled operators, including company founder John White. Now, with John’s son Stuart taking on management of the family business, the time was right to look to the future and move to CNC.

With Stuart White’s lack of experience in CNC he turned to a long-standing customer for advice, and was invited in to see first-hand, and talk with operators about their XYZ ProtoTrak-controlled machines. “The opportunity to chat with guys on the shop floor was fascinating as not one of them had a bad word to say about XYZ. Furthermore, seeing the ProtoTrak control in action convinced me that it was the best solution to take us from manual to CNC machining.”
Encouraged by what he saw and heard, White paid a visit to XYZ Machine Tools showroom in Sheffield for a demonstration and made the decision to purchase an SLX 425 ProTurn lathe.
By introducing CNC in the form of the ProtoTrak control, White is looking to future-proof the business, as finding skilled manual machine operators is not easy. Here, the ProtoTrak’s conversational interface makes the job of programming complex parts straightforward.
“The addition of CNC is allowing us to do more complex work than we could previously,” says White. “Moreover, we are more efficient as the control speeds up operations that manually would take much longer, such as screw cutting. Repeatability is taken for granted, and by storing the programs we can quickly repeat parts as and when they are required.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Making light work of heavy applications

Soon after taking delivery of a Harrison Alpha 1550XS CNC lathe from 600 UK, Blackburn-based subcontractor Fairbrother and Grimshaw witnessed an upturn in orders, utilising the versatility of the Alpha lathes for taking on larger capacity turn-mill jobs.

Neil Grimshaw, company director, says: “We are firm believers of pushing what we do with current technology and standing still is not an option. The Alpha manual/CNC lathe is ideal in that sense as it’s an easy switch from turning manually to using the Alpha with the minimum of training.
“We already have some Colchester manual turning machines and a range of VMCs and CNC turning centres from many suppliers, but large-capacity turning applications were difficult for us to manage,” he continues. “The Alpha XS has helped us raise the bar and added a different dimension to our turning capability. This, in turn, has already helped spread our reputation and we are taking on more work because of it.”
The 2 m between-centres Alpha 1550XS has a swing-over-bed of 554 mm and a 104 mm spindle bore. A large 15 kW motor means that spindle speeds can reach up to 2000 rpm.
“When we purchased the Alpha, we also made use of its range of accessories, including steadies, morse tapers and four-jaw chucks, to give us the maximum flexibility,” says Grimshaw. “We did consider other lathes, but once we saw the Alpha, there was never any doubt in our minds as no other competing product could match the combination of flexibility, accuracy and value for money.”
For further information www.600uk.com

SiFab gains control with machining capability

The decision to invest in machining capacity by Rugby-based SiFab Engineering Solutions was driven by a desire to be able to control deliveries to customers, as well as manufacturing costs. However, with no formal machining training, and limited floor space, company director Simon Hall had to choose his machine tools wisely.

Hall turned to friend and business acquaintance Phil Boffin of BMS Engineering, who had gone down the same route in starting his own business, for advice. “I had used Phil for some tube work for roll cages, so knew he had invested in XYZ machines. On his advice I went along to an XYZ open day at Nuneaton with the intention of looking at a lathe. After having a ‘play’ on a couple of machines, I placed an order there and then for an XYZ SLX 1630 ProTurn lathe and an XYZ 2-OP machining centre.”
The two machines were delivered to SiFab at the end of November 2017 and, once installed, Hall went for his free training on a Friday. Come Monday morning he was producing and shipping his first parts. The conversational aspect of the ProtoTrak control on both machines made generating the first parts easy.
“I produce lots of one-off and prototype parts, and while I am confident that the first-off will be right using the Traking facility on the SLX lathe, it is also straightforward to make amendments when the customer changes things,” says Hall. “The further advantage is that I haven’t waited two weeks for a subcontractor to make these parts and been charged the earth for them.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com