08:07
With an annual growth of approximately 10% year on year, Alan Dick Engineering, based in Heysham, Lancashire, have invested in an XYZ 2010 super heavyweight vertical machining centre. This machine will enable them to open up opportunities that will allow them to continue that ongoing growth.
Established in 1975, Alan Dick Engineering offer a wide range of sub-contract machining and fabrication services. With this capability, they specialise in bespoke, quick turnaround services for the nuclear, offshore, marine, food, construction and chemical industries.
Managing Director Steve Evans sees his investment as a great opportunity to support his existing customers with more capacity and expand Alan Dick’s services to a broader audience. He states: “Over the last few years we have grown 10% annually, but we need to invest in capabilities to sustain growth. The XYZ 2010 machining centre is part of recent spending, including a dedicated fabrication workshop at our main factory, enhancing our capacity and capabilities.”
The purchase of the 2010VMC, which offers 2m by 1m X and Y travel, complements other XYZ machines that Alan Dick already has in the workshop. When asked about the purchasing process for the machine, Mr. Evans adds: “We are very happy with our XYZ products (ProtoTRAK controlled turret mills, ProtoTRAK controlled flat-bed lathes and a CT65 LTY) in terms of both the machine range that is on offer and the service that XYZ provide. The reliability has been superb, and this is borne out by the XYZ CNC 4000 bed mill that we have in the shop. This machine, which was supplied back in 1999, is still going strong and is a testament to the quality of the XYZ products.”
But it is not just Mr. Evans who sees the opportunities now that this machine is installed and running. Mike Prady, one of the machine operators at Alan Dick, is already seeing the advantages of purchasing this machine. He comments, “The machine is allowing us to be more efficient in the work we do. The Siemens 828D control, fitted with the Shopmill conversational software, is taking away a lot of the programming tasks that we had to do on our old large mill. In terms of cutting performance, the BT40 spindle with its 42kW (56hp) motor has allowed us to decrease cycle times by increasing the cutting data that we can use.”
He continues by observing, “Where we are really seeing the savings on this machine is in the manufacture of larger parts, where the 1000mm Y-axis travel on the machine eliminates the multi-set-ups we had to do previously. The extra handling required to machine the large rings we often process added throughput time, which we will now eliminate, as we can produce the features from one set-up. The 30-station arm-type toolchanger is also offering an unexpected benefit, as we can hold tools in the machine to cover the common features we machine on a regular basis.”
In a closing comment, Mr Evans mentions another hot topic for Alan Dick Engineering. “This is a large investment, but I know it was the right machine to help our growth. It will help us when it comes to enticing skilled machinists and apprentices to Alan Dick by enhancing the appeal of our machine shop. All our machinists want to get on this machine to use the latest technology, and although we have 2 apprentices working here at present, we do see the long-term future of the business in developing our own staff through our apprenticeship programme. Seeing this machine here, we hope to inspire young people to come and learn their trade in our workshop on the XYZ 2010 VMC.”
