Maintaining control choice for XYZ heavy-duty VMCs

XYZ Machine Tools’ philosophy of offering ‘what the customer needs’ has led to its Heavy-Duty (HD) range of vertical machining centres being made available with the Heidenhain TNC 620 control.

“We offered Heidenhain as a control option many years ago, but found it a slow seller due in part to the additional cost and complexity of the system,” says Nigel Atherton, managing director at XYZ Machine Tools. “However, with recent changes to the Heidenhain control, such as the addition of touch-screen technology, along with a more modern and compact user interface, we see opportunities that fully justify adding it to our HD series of machines. Our independence as a machine tool supplier means that we are free to adapt our machine range to suit changes in customer demand, such as giving them a choice of control.”
The Heidenhain control option will initially be available on the XYZ 660HD, XYZ 800HD and XYZ 1100HD vertical machining centres. XYZ’s move will allow the company to access business from which it was previously excluded (where Heidenhain controls are popular), such as mould and die and aerospace, as well as in the education market.
“We recognise that control choice is important to customers, and that they tend to be loyal to a particular CNC due to their expertise and familiarity with it,” says Atherton. “Extending our use of Heidenhain controls to the HD series – we already offer Heidenhain on our flagship UMC-5X machine – was a logical step. It was encouraging that before the first machines arrived at our factory we had already received orders for machines with Heidenhain controls fitted, which fully justified our decision to pre-order 50 machines for stock.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Westwood joins Mollart

Anthony Westwood, 42, has been appointed technical sales engineer for Mollart Engineering covering England and Wales as the Chessington-based company further expands its subcontract and tooling operations.

In his new role he will also provide customer support to the deep-hole drilling and honing machine sales operations in the area.
For further information www.mollart.com

The benefits of magnesium

Birmingham City University’s annual Magnesium Symposium returns for its second year after a positive response from industry in 2017.

Magnesium Symposyum

Academics, engineers and industry leaders will be heading to Birmingham for a conference that will get participants thinking about magnesium differently. At 1.8 g/cm³, magnesium is the lightest of all structural materials, the eighth most abundant chemical element in the Earth’s crust and is 100% recyclable. On 23 October, Birmingham City University will showcase magnesium as an alternative material, especially for the automotive and aerospace industries in terms of light weighting, fuel efficiency and the circular economy.
For further information https://is.gd/nukusi

Live machining demonstrations from Vero

Two brands from Vero Software will be driving a variety of CNC machine tools for live machining demonstrations at the forthcoming ‘Inspiration through Innovation’ event at the headquarters of Seco Tools UK in Alcester on 9-10 October.

Edgecam will be programming two Mazak machines, as well as DMG Mori and Matsuura machines, with WorkNC running a Hermle model during the two-day event. Alongside the live demonstrations, Edgecam and WorkNC will also be showcasing their latest software releases in a new area inside Seco’s design and planning facility.
For further information www.verosoftware.com

Mazak charity campaign raises £1400

Yamazaki Mazak UK has raised £1441 for Cancer Research UK following a series of dedicated charity events that took place throughout August.

The machine tool manufacturer, which is located in Worcester and employs over 900 people, held the company’s biggest ever cake sale at its European headquarters at the start of the month. Over 600 cakes were sold over two days, all of which were donated by two of Mazak’s corporate catering partners, Brookes Catering and Elior.
The company also ran a wide-reaching raffle for employees and their families, with prizes ranging from £100 Amazon vouchers and a mountain bike to an ‘Afternoon Tea for Two’ and an overnight stay at the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel. However, the charity initiatives were not limited to Mazak’s Worcester site. On Saturday 11 August, Mazak’s senior marketing executive Milko Hadzhigenov climbed Mount Snowdon in just 4.5 hours, to support the fund raising efforts. Mazak’s charity page will remain live for a further three months; to make a donation, please visit the web address below.
For further information https://is.gd/ezamac