08:24
Whitehouse Machine Tools has installed an automated cell with a 30-taper, 5-axis machining centre with 100 tools at Avant Manufacturing’s Wisbech factory. Avant, a Tier-1 engineering firm serving OEMs in medical robotics, scientific instrumentation, defence, and automation, now benefits from this equipment supplied by the sole UK and Ireland sales agent for Brother.
Founded in April 2021 by graduate engineer Dominic Roach, Avant Manufacturing offers a full engineering service, including design-for-manufacture consultancy, rapid prototyping, machining and assembly. The transition to Brother technology began in April 2025, prompted by a sharp upturn in business and limited shop-floor space.
Seeking additional capacity for 5-axis prismatic machining of complex components, particularly for the biomedical and scientific sectors, the company invested in its first Brother Speedio U500Xd2-5AX compact machining centre. This initial 30-taper platform reduced the firm’s reliance on four conventional 40-taper 3-axis vertical machining centres.
Before this initial Brother purchase, Mr Roach conducted rigorous test cuts at the Whitehouse showroom and technical centre in Kenilworth to confirm that the 30-taper machine could deliver the required production output and accuracy. Impressed by the results, he noted, “The performance of Brother machines is head and shoulders above what we used previously. The accuracy achieved, combined with the high speed, has been an absolute game-changer for us”.
In early 2026, Avant Manufacturing further enhanced its capabilities by installing a second 5-axis Brother Speedio, a U500Xd2-100T machining centre. This model is engineered to address the accelerating industry trend towards high-mix, low-volume production, which, at Wisbech, typically involves batch sizes ranging from one-off to 100 components.
The machine features an ingenious arrangement that provides 100-tool capacity, achieved by mounting a 36-tool stocker on either side of the standard 28-tool turret magazine. The machine has been integrated with an Erowa Robot Compact 80 automated storage and retrieval system for 30 machine pallets, enabling the company to achieve prolonged periods of lights-out, unattended operation. The production cell operates around the clock, seven days a week.
Capable of serving two machines simultaneously, the Erowa automation can be integrated with another Brother Speedio within the cell. It occupies a compact footprint, enabling both it and the machining centre to operate within an area of just 3.3 by 3.8m on the shop floor. The robot can handle payloads of up to 40kg, and workpieces measuring up to 200 by 200 by 250mm can be accommodated. Like its Brother Speedio predecessor, the 100-tool model enables multi-face machining of parts in a single clamping, simplifying workflow and reducing cumulative errors from repeated reclamping. The machines feature a rapid 0.7-second tool-to-tool change time and 50 m/min rapids in the X and Y axes, 56 m/min in Z, with 2.2 g acceleration. The latest Brother CNC-D00 control system provides enhanced functionality for fully interpolative 5-axis machining, while support apps offer cycle time optimisation and real-time monitoring of power consumption.
Reflecting on the system’s versatility, Mr Roach said: “We can have 50 jobs set up at any one time. Another benefit of the Brother Speedios is their compact footprint – the number of parts produced per square metre of shop floor space is through the roof.”
He concluded: “From sales to support and service, Whitehouse has been exemplary. The supplier has helped us to elevate our business and take it to the next level. The parts we are producing on the Brother platforms are highly accurate and have a fantastic surface finish, which our clients expect.”
