Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied Birmingham-based Cutting Blue Ltd, the newly-created manufacturing arm of engineering consultancy and training specialist, Cutting Blue Solutions Ltd, with a new Doosan vertical machining centre.
The machine, a large-capacity DNM 6700, was delivered and installed at the company’s 2000 sq ft facility in Saltley in September 2020 where it is being used to machine (in mainly small batch sizes at this moment in time) high-precision and high-value components for a range of customers operating in the motorsport and general engineering sectors – to name but a few.
The creation of Cutting Blue Ltd is the brainchild of owner and managing director, Piotr Parobczy. Having started his working life, first as a machine tool setter and then as a CADCAM programmer, Parobczy used this knowledge and experience, gained from working in a number of different manufacturing environments, to develop and hone a range of specific engineering consultancy skills.
The acquisition of these skills ultimately enabled him to start, and secure, work as a contractor where over the years he was responsible for the design and implementation of innovative and high-value projects for a number of UK- and internationally-based customers.
Following on from this success, and having built up an impressive track record Parobczy, in 2017, set up Cutting Blue Ltd, an engineering service company providing specialist training and consultancy services to blue-chip and progressive manufacturing companies.
Says Parobczy: “Cutting Blue Ltd began its life as an engineering consultancy. However, even back then it was always my ambition and intention to create a manufacturing company – when the time was right.”
That time, as it transpired, was in spring 2020.
“The pandemic had a detrimental effect on the availability of contract work and this proved to be the catalyst I was waiting for,” he says. “As the creation of a manufacturing company was a long held ambition of mine, I wasn’t starting such an undertaking from scratch. To a large extent, much of the preparatory work and planning had already been done.”
These plans covered all aspects of the business, including the location of the new company, the services it would provide, typical customer profiles and so on.
Continues Parobczy: “I chose Birmingham due of its central location and because I knew the area well. From my background and experience the company would not be a ‘jack of all trades’ operation, but instead would offer specialist, high-precision milling services to customers typically operating in the high-end motorsport, automotive and aerospace sectors.”
To realise its ambitions and objectives, Cutting Blue needed access to advanced machine tool technologies and made the decision, from a reliability perspective and to provide a clear statement of intent, to invest in a new rather than a used machining centre. Cutting Blue subsequently approached a number of machine-tool manufacturers with its requirements.
“Several companies I approached sent in literature but didn’t follow things up,” says Parobczy. “I got a different reception and reaction from Mills CNC who, from the outset, adopted a more proactive and partner-led approach. They took time to understand the business and the type of work that would be undertaken, and worked collaboratively with me to identify the optimum machine-tool solution.”
Understanding the type and size of components, the typical materials to be machined (i.e. aluminium, steel, stainless, titanium and engineering plastics), the typical part accuracies and surface finishes that would be required, and the volumes/batch sizes to be machined – resulted in the identification, selection and ordering of a Doosan DNM 6700 – a large-capacity vertical machining centre.
The Fanuc-controlled DNM 6700 installed at Cutting Blue’s facility is a highly-rigid machine that delivers speed, high accuracy and unrivalled process reliability. Equipped with an 18.5 kW/12,000 rpm directly-coupled high-speed spindle, the machine also features a 1500 x 670 mm work table with a 1300 kg maximum table load, a 30-position ATC, roller LM guideways in all axes and thermal error compensation routines. In addition, the machine houses a Blum TC50 workpiece touch probe and Blum ZX Speed IR tool-setting probe.
Concludes Parobczy: “I was already familiar with Doosan machine tools and knew that they were reliable, represented great value and delivered excellent cutting performance. The DNM 6700, with its large work table, will provide much-needed capacity, capability and flexibility now and in the future, enabling us to machine large or multiple smaller parts in one set-up. Although still early days I’m delighted with the DNM 6700 and am already looking at investing in second Doosan machine.”
For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk
