For over 30 years, Taunton-based Pattern Forme Ltd has been at the forefront of thermoforming mould tool design and manufacture, mainly in the food industry. The company can take projects from initial concept to finished mould tool in lead times as short as 2-3 weeks.

Recent demand has been for larger mould tools to increase productivity, which has led to a need to drill deeper holes. Typically, these holes would range in size between 6 and 10 mm diameter, with depths up to 1000 mm. The traditional solution would be to purchase a dedicated deep-hole drilling machine or subcontract the work. However, the former would require significant investment, whereas the latter brings logistical problems and a lack of control over production. XYZ Machine Tools was able to propose and deliver a quicker and more cost-effective solution.

“It was a chance conversation with XYZ Machine Tools, who have supplied us with several machines, where I mentioned that we needed this extra capacity,” explains Paul Wilkins, managing director at Pattern Forme. “They immediately suggested modifying one of their XYZ 1000 LR vertical machining centres to give the extra Z-axis capability we required. The simple and cost-effective solution was to add a 1050 mm riser block to the machine, which would allow us to drill these holes from either end using the 500 mm Z axis.”

By reconfiguring the machine, XYZ Machine Tools was able to increase the minimum distance from spindle nose to table by 1050 mm. Including the standard Z-axis stroke, this made the maximum distance 1550 mm, which is more than enough to accommodate Pattern Forme’s components. The order for the machine was placed in November 2019 and delivery took place in April 2020.

For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com