In the aerospace industry, compliance with standards is not just a requirement in manufacturing, but a culture embedded in every aspect of a business. With accreditations that include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and AS 9100, as well as multiple OEM approvals, Senior Aerospace Weston places significant importance on workplace standards. For this reason, the Lancashire company has installed more than 50 Filtermist oil mist filters on its machine tools.

Working primarily with OEMs like Rolls-Royce, Airbus, MTU Engines, Spirit Aerosystems and many other prestigious clients, Senior Aerospace Weston manufactures a variety of aerofoil and aerostructure components for different platforms in the commercial aviation market.

Gary Bell, HSE manager at Senior Aerospace Weston, says: “A clean working environment is essential to ensure that we produce our high-specification components for different aircraft programmes. We have lots of different types of CNC machining centres, with three-, four- five-axis models on site from brands including Matsuura, DN Solutions, Grob and Hermle.”

With Filtermist extraction units, including the FX6002 and FX7002 on 58 of the company’s machine tools, it is imperative that oil mist is extracted from the machines.

“The type of high-speed machining we undertake produces oil mist that needs removing from the working environment,” he says. “Our first thought was to look at the industry-leading standards, and Filtermist was the name that first came up. We engaged with them straight away, and they came on-site to specify exactly what equipment would be available to support our needs.

“Despite our huge variety of machines, the Filtermist units are flexible enough to accommodate the different types, sizes and requirements of those machines.”

More information www.filtermist.co.uk

With a skills shortage in the manufacturing industry, WLR Precision Engineering had a burning desire to automate its high-precision production while maintaining the skill levels of its qualified engineering team. The opportunity to increase throughput, precision, quality and consistency prompted the Wilford-based subcontractor to purchase a five-axis Kern Micro Vario machining centre with an Erowa Compact 80 automated pallet loading system from Rainford Precision.

Located just south of Nottingham, WLR undertakes everything from prototype work to small and medium batches for manufacturers in the oil exploration, medical and pharmaceutical sectors, to name but a few. As a company ‘dedicated to precision’, the ISO9001-certified manufacturer is already an existing Kern user, installing a Pyramid Nano machining centre in 2013.

Discussing why WLR invested in its second Kern machine, the automated Kern Micro Vario, WLR managing director Kevin Callon says: “One of my regrets was not having some form of automation on the Pyramid Nano when we first bought it, despite having the option. There was no way we would have bought another Kern without some form of automated loading to maximise the running hours of the machine.”

With an 80-component Erowa pallet loading system and a 90-position automatic tool change, the Kern Micro Vario was the perfect solution. It enables WLR to run production continuously ‘lights-out’ while utilising the existing Pyramid Nano for smaller batch runs and one-offs during daytime working hours.

“The consistency of the components produced on the new Kern is amazing, with repeatability to the micron,” states Callon. “In fact, the precision is so impeccable that we now channel as much work as possible through the Kern Micro Vario.”

More information www.rainfordprecision.com

Mills CNC has recently supplied AEP Precision Engineering, a precision engineering specialist and the CNC machining subsidiary of parent company Smith Metal Fabrications, with a new vertical machining centre from DN Solutions. The fourth-generation DNM 5700 is one of Mills CNC’s most popular three-axis machining centres and was installed at AEP Precision’s Newhaven machine shop in May 2024.

The machine, supplied with a 4th-axis unit to increase its versatility and help realise its productivity potential, has been positioned adjacent to the company’s first DNM 5700 machine tool investment – a second-generation three-axis model acquired in 2020. Together, these machines provide the company with a flexible CNC milling resource that is capable of meeting AEP Precision’s immediate and future machining requirements.

Since installation, the latest DNM 5700 has been put through its paces machining a range of complex, high-precision components from materials that include mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass, bronze, copper and engineering plastics. A specific job involved the machining of 20 decorative metal rosettes for a pair of replacement doors for Trafalgar House in London.

The rosettes, a number of which were missing or were damaged, were originally made in the 1800s from bronze castings. Using AEP Precision’s reverse engineering skills and expertise – as well as its 3D scanning technologies – the company was able to manufacture a series of cost-effective replacement rosettes machined on the new DNM 5700 from solid aluminium billets.

Says David Mayers, director at Smith Metal Fabrications: “The addition of the 4th-axis unit has been really beneficial and means we can now machine complex, high-precision components in a single set up. Reducing ‘stop-start’ production and the time and expense associated with re-fixturing jobs has improved our productivity and efficiency.”

More information www.millscnc.co.uk

Sustainable injection moulding specialist Great Central Plastics (GCP), which is committed to continuous improvement, has strengthened its in-house toolroom’s machining capabilities by investing in a new three-axis vertical machining centre from MACH Machine Tools. The machine’s arrival has had a direct and immediate impact on the company’s toolroom productivity, improving floor-to-floor times and optimising process efficiencies.

The machine, a DynaPath-controlled MACH MDV 855-S, was installed at GCP’s facility in Northamptonshire in December 2024, and is the first production-oriented CNC machine tool acquired by the company in its 27-year history.

Post installation, the machine has been put through its paces producing a range of high-precision mould tool components that include bolsters, plates, cavities, core inserts and supporting fixtures for GCP’s custom-designed and built mould tools. The machine was selected after conducting cutting trials at MACH’s Bristol facility.

Says Phil Brown, GCP’s toolroom manager: “We were impressed with the machine’s ability to deliver the accuracies, surface finishes and processing speeds we need.”

MACH Machine Tools’ MACH MDV 855-S features the DynaPath CNC control with a 15.6” LCD touchscreen. It can be used for conversational and ISO programming, and has 8 GB of memory and a 10,000 block look-ahead capability for fast and smooth contouring and profiling. The control also enables customers to access MACH’s 24/7 (Wi-Fi) remote service and support facility for real-time diagnostics, troubleshooting and applications advice.

“The remote assistance function is really useful, and I’ve had occasion to use it when I had an issue with the machine’s tool changer,” says Brown. “I’d made a programming error but, after logging into our company’s account was able, via the ‘What’s App’ link, to talk directly with MACH’s technical support staff to solve the problem quickly.”

More information www.machmt.co.uk