Terry Benfield, owner of TPB Precision Engineering in Abingdon, has more than 25 years’ experience working in subcontract machining for a broad range of customers in sectors such as medical, scientific and motorsport. Once an applications engineer at Hurco, he chose two of the company’s machines, a TM8i lathe and a VM20i three-axis machining centre, when he started his own company in 2018.

Thanks to a recent redesign, the TM8Mi turning centre now encompasses functions that are widely appreciated on the company’s proprietary WinMax conversational CNC software driving Hurco’s machining centres. Concurrent programming, error checking and estimated run time now feature, while processing speeds are faster and the graphics enhanced.

“The programming of milling operations on the lathe is the same as rotary programming for the mill,” says Benfield. “Due to space being limited within our workshop, we use a bar puller rather than a bar-feed. It’s perfect for us because a lot of our batches are quite small, often in the order of 50-off or less.”

For a business such as TPB, continuous, consistent accuracy of machining to within microns is essential. The TM8Mi processes tough materials such as D2 tool steel without difficulty or vibration, and Benfield describes the surface finish achieved as “always excellent”.
He adds that owning the new TM8Mi is like having two machines. The ability to carry out off-centre drilling and milling operations on a shaft mean that complete components can often be finished in one hit, allowing him to offer more competitive prices.

For further information
www.hurco.co.uk