🎧 Revival has traction as Tata drops the mic for car industry

Car production climbed 16.2% in June 2023 compared to a year ago; total output for the first half-year is up 11.7%; electric and hybrid cars produced rise by 71% a month (year-on-year); and vehicle exports are up nearly 14%. The stand-out news, however, is Tata’s game-changing £4bn investment in a battery gigafactory. By Will Stirling

UK car production rose nearly 12% in the first half of the year to 450,168 units with June up 16.2% – the fifth consecutive month of growth, according to the latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The performance represented the best first half since 2021, as manufacturers were increasingly able to manage global supply chain challenges – notably the shortage of semiconductors that had constrained production since the pandemic. 

These numbers were announced in July, a week after the announcement that Tata Sons, Jaguar Land Rover’s parent company – will build a massive new gigafactory for the UK, helping anchor EV production for one of Britain’s biggest car makers. Overall, the latest independent production outlook anticipates UK factories around 860,000 cars this year, up 10.9% on 2022. This is a welcome jump from the nadir of 2022, when British car manufacturing fell to the lowest level since 1956 – 775,014 cars were produced. Car exports were also up 13.6% in 2023, with 359,940 shipped worldwide.

While factory production was up for five months straight, the story within the story is the increase in electric and hybrid car production.

UK car makers are manufacturing more low-carbon vehicle models than ever, with production of hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) up a whopping 71.6% from January to June to a record total of 170,231 units. This is more than a third, 38% of all cars produced so far in 2023, good news given the importance of car manufacturing to the future of the industry and wider society in driving down carbon emissions.

In terms of registrations, or sales, the biggest increase in June was for BEVs, which posted an 87.9% increase to account for 16% of all new registrations for the month, a market share broadly consistent with that for the full year.

The news that shook the car industry like an earthquake, however, was Tata’s decision to build a new £4bn gigafactory in Somerset. Spain had been the other contender. One insider said this project has been seven years in the planning, but the location may have still been an open call until a few weeks before the story broke in mid-July. Champagne all-round in the beleaguered car industry, reeling from semiconductor shortages, Brexit and low post-covid demand.

Tata could produce 40% UK battery capacity by 2030

At full capacity, the gigafactory will produce 40GW of battery cells annually. At current forecasts, this is about 40% of the 100GW/h per year the UK will need to fulfil the demand for EV batteries. That number rises to about 200GW/h by 2040. Envision AESC in Sunderland, which provides batteries primarily for Nissan vehicles, is expanding its capacity to 20GW annually, showing the work that needs to be done. The company’s strategic growth plans for its flexible manufacturing capacity will begin with a rapid ramp-up phase and the start of production in 2026.

The value of the giant factory is significant for the car industry, the local economy and also the supply chain. What can our domestic auto and chemicals industries expect from this huge investment?

Tata is expected to want to establish high UK content for the batteries because under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement’s rules of origin (due to be applied in 2024, phased up to 2027), that mandates that a certain proportion of the value of batteries and their component materials must be sourced from the UK or EU, or import tariff’s of around 10% of the vehicle value will be applied.

“The 2024 terms look like they will not be met by many manufacturers in the UK or EU due to the delays in setting up gigafactories and their supply chains, especially during covid and the subsequent market and supply chain disruptions,” says Professor David Greenwood, CEO WMG High-Value Manufacturing Catapult and an expert on the car industry. “Unless variations are agreed by both sides then this will result in EVs becoming disproportionately more expensive than ICEs in the UK and Europe, which is clearly in no-one’s interests. There are good signs that a compromise is being negotiated.”

David adds that the 2027 terms effectively mean that for any car sold from the UK into the EU or vice versa, the cathode material must come from the UK or Europe, the cell must be assembled there, and the pack must be assembled there. This will drive investment into UK and EU supply chains over that period. At the moment, there is an insufficient supply chain in the EU, and especially the UK, so it is likely that UK gigafactories will be reliant on imported materials in their early years of operation, but that they will localise to the UK or EU by 2027 or very shortly thereafter to meet the terms of the TCA.”

Building a supply chain for UK gigafactories

The casual observer might be surprised by the UK’s core strengths in battery manufacture.

“There are very good prospects for the UK developing such a supply chain, but we have some catching up to do,” David adds. “We have access to lithium and refining capability is already planned, we have high-quality nickel refining, we have needle coke (a precursor to anode materials), we have electrolyte manufacture, and we have companies capable of making aluminium foils, cell cans and separators – although they do not currently do so. That still leaves a few gaps around materials (notably cobalt), components (like copper foil), and the processing of anode and cathode materials. That isn’t a surprise though, as such companies would want to see large-scale customers, in the form of gigafactories, before they make large-scale investments themselves, and those gigafactories are only just being confirmed now.

Home grown lithium is a major advantage for any battery manufacturing and the element is now being mined in Cornwall, by Cornwall Lithium, a joint venture between British Lithium and French mining company Imerys. The latter’s forecast production is 20,000 tonnes per year, about one-third of all UK demand or enough lithium to power 500,000 electric cars a year by the end of the decade.

Batteries need housings. A UK designer and manufacturer with the expertise and scale to supply Tata is Sertec, with 10 locations and over 2,200 employees. The company has won several UK awards for its battery components and battery casings. The factory will need high quantities of electrolytes, based on organic solvent, a liquid that bathes the lithium anodes and cathodes to conduct the flow of ions. Commentators are tight-lipped on potential chemical suppliers but a big, established supplier for batteries is Mitsui & Co. which has UK operations.

Recycling is the often neglected part of the battery lifecycle. “It’s an important way of accessing many of the materials we need in the long-term future,” says WMG’s David Greenwood. “We have some small-scale operations starting up in the UK now, but this, and the processing of the “black mass” it produces into cathode and anode precursors, will require support to grow such that it is in place and ready when required.

Planning ahead, to meet demand forecast by the Faraday Institution of 200GW/h capacity by 2040 – just 16 years away – as with Tata the government must subsidise battery manufacturing investment, as other European countries are doing and the US has with the Inflation Reduction Act measures. Hard cash is not enough, either. “If the UK is intent on maintaining a level playing field with European competitors, the UK government could consider offering subsidies that cushion against another energy price surge or help with grid connectivity to any plants that require improved access,” says Stephen Gifford, chief economist at the Faraday Institution.

Manufacturing machinery – did you know?

The manufacturing sector relies heavily on machinery to create the many and varied products it offers to customers in the industry. In this article, we take a closer look at the manufacturing of machinery in the UK.

The key statistics:

In the main, the manufacturing machinery industry experiences a negative trade balance each year of anywhere between 2% to 6%. What this means is that the UK imports more than it exports, but not by much. 

Our machinery exports go primarily to non-EU countries, although the European Union still makes up a large percentage of our overseas market: 

In general, the number of firms in the machinery manufacturing sector has decreased very slightly, from 8,140 in 2012 to less than 7,500 today. Each year, more firms are ‘born’ than ‘die’, but by a relatively negligible margin. 

Despite the many reports about the decline in UK manufacturing, this is not borne out by the employee numbers. This has been on the increase in recent years as the sector has once again come to prominence. Today, there are over 200,000 people employed in the sector with 14% being women and 86% being men. Full-time jobs make up 95.1% of the roles with the remainder being part-time positions. 

At 37.1 hours per week, working hours in the industry are above the private sector level of 32.4. 

Looking at wages, women earn, on average 18.6% less than men; this difference is especially marked for those in production management and directorship roles. 

For more information, please visit closeassetfinance.co.uk/manufacturing

🎧- Projects stack up but defence procurement needs an upgrade

Manufacturers of military equipment components know there is lots of potential business out there, but delays in confirming some projects and apparently giving equal preference to foreign primes as domestic UK primes are frustrating suppliers. Joscar, a new compliance tool, should help more subcontractors access defence work more easily – but it must happen more quickly. By Will Stirling

While for many in the industry defence spending seems flat, spending is rising with government stats showing it at £45.9bn, an increase of £3.6bn from last year, which when adjusted for inflation is an 8.9% increase. There are several substantial capital equipment projects that need UK suppliers. Tempest, aka the Global Combat Aircraft Programme, the British Army’s New Medium Helicopter, Aeralis’ new modular jet trainer, the Boxer mechanised infantry vehicle, Type 23 and 31 frigates, the £31bn Dreadnought submarine programme that is replacing the ageing Vanguard Class submarines, and others, provide a strong pipeline for the next 15 years.

And Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, commenting at the AUKUS submarine project launch in San Diego in March, said the UK will invest an extra £5bn in the armed forces over two years and increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, with pressure from Conservative MPs to spend more. Despite this, UK defence exports have slipped since 2010, from the second biggest defence equipment exporter in the world after the US to being nearer sixth or seventh today. A report from UK Defence and Security Exports, from data released by manufacturers and government agencies — highlighted almost £8bn worth of export contracts in 2020 — a 28.1% year-on-year decrease compared with the £11bn recorded for 2019. Reasons include pandemic-caused delays, but also ‘political expediency’ and dithering in clear decision-making on contracts.

The Army’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) contract should have been awarded and manufacturing started by now (see MTD issue January 2022: http://read.mtdpublishing.com/january-2022/). Leonardo UK, which operates a huge helicopter build and maintenance facility in Yeovil, is or was the front runner, partly due to the added value that this big contract would bring to UK suppliers. But a new bid from an Airbus consortium including, surprisingly, Boeing, has derailed the decision as campaigners and MPs lobby the merits of Airbus’s bid. It seems bizarre, experts say, that after such a strong tender from Leonardo with a strong supplier element, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) needs to look at any other bid, that could never match this UK content.

The sense with some defence suppliers is that, despite leaving the European Union, MoD procurement under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and this government’s policy, gives any bidder equal status in defence contract decisions, regardless of its sovereignty. 

“That the UK does not default to capable British primes and their supply chains to contract defence projects is madness,” said one defence company leader. “The UK has replaced the EU rulebook – which restricted us terribly, and is why hardline Brexiteers campaigned to leave – with the WTO rulebook. But this now apparently means we also have to compete with and tender for contracts internationally.” 

The NMH is awarded partly on the social value it creates for local communities of the bidding company or group that wins the contract. Andrew Kinniburgh, Director-General at business group Make UK Defence, says: “The social value element that forms up to 10%-25% of each competitive tender, is applied as equally to UK companies as to overseas primes – so the government is potentially assessing the social value in the US or Europe on parity with the UK. That cannot be right.” He adds: “France, Italy, Germany and the US are all buying from their own companies first. If they can’t find what they need at home, they then seek a solution overseas, or create a partnership like Tempest (aka the Global Combat Aircraft Programme). We still have this mindset that we’ll run the competition, but while contract decisions dither, it destabilises investment and supply chain work that could be ramping up.”

The MoD has to tread a fine line because, while many want its procurement to show greater UK preference, it has to get high taxpayer value for money, also known as buying at the lowest viable cost. UK prime contractor tenders may be more expensive than others. In the absence of a formal industrial strategy that mandates preferential treatment to UK companies, the MoD’s open book policy is unlikely to change soon.

Accessing work packages: Meet the Buyer

A successful business development tool is ‘meet the buyer’ events. Make UK Defence, the Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), North West Aerospace Alliance and ADS, trade associations all organise physical and online meet the buyer (MTB) events. While its last MTB event was several months ago, the MAA took 20 members to the Paris Air Show in late June, its biggest presence at the show. “This illustrates the positive conditions in the civil aerospace sector now, and the ramp-up that is happening,” says MD Dr Andrew Mair. The Make UK Defence ‘meet the buyer’ event in mid-June successfully focused on Land Systems & Maritime Technology and was online. Seventeen buying organisations participated, such as Atlas Elektronik, BAE Systems Naval Ships, Harland & Wolff, RBSL, Thales and many more. These companies discussed programmes such as Mechanised Infantry Vehicle, Dreadnought and Fleet Solid Support Ship. 

Make UK Defence reports that buying requirements at the event were very diverse, ranging from container fabrication to artificial intelligence to battery technology to painting to anti-jamming solutions. Because the event was virtual, and suppliers had up to 15 or 20 minutes per vendor, between 600 and 700 individual meetings were packed into a day.

 “For over seven years our ‘meet the buyer’ events have proven to be a great way for defence contractors to discover suppliers that can offer innovative and essential capabilities,” says Andrew Kinniburgh. “But equally they offer a clear path for suppliers to initiate dialogue with relevant customers. We’re delighted to learn of several delegates winning serious business that was initiated from meetings at these events. Defence can be a tricky market to navigate, so it’s great that we can play a small part in helping these companies.”  

Aeralis

Aeralis is the world’s first modular military jet. The cockpit, wings, wing tips, fuselage and avionics packages are all modular, so Aeralis can build the training jets to each customer’s specifications, avoiding the need to buy highly expensive aircraft to train their pilots. An uncrewed module is available for unmanned aircraft customers, and the fuselage can be extended to carry more fuel.

The modular jet can also change the flight systems, so it can feel exactly like flying the jet aircraft you want – with configurations covering basic jet trainer, advanced jet trainer, operational, light combat, tanker trainer and other variants. By having jet trainers that are preconfigured with the same or almost identical avionics and software for a Eurofighter Typhoon or F-35, for example, trainee pilots can receive hours of realistic feel of those aircraft (without the same thrust), and learn the motor skills they need for them, without needing to fly those specific aircraft. This means you can train more pilots and save vast costs. If the market likes these as much as Aeralis hopes, production will soon reach the hundreds, providing long-term contracts for many defence and avionics suppliers.

Reducing barriers to entry for subcontractors

Many subcontract engineering companies have the right manufacturing technology to produce military parts – ranging from missile wing brackets to trigger assemblies for artillery guns and wiring looms – but they also need defence-grade accreditation to qualify for programmes, and there are other strict requirements. Some programmes require security-cleared personnel to view documents rated above the ‘confidential level’ by the clearance system the MoD operates. Also, they need safe IT systems. “Having cyber security is today a pass or fail for defence work,” says Make UK’s Kinniburgh. “Typically SMEs work for a tier one or prime and you need to show that prime that you have either Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus (minimum cyber security protection). Cyber attacks of prime companies are often accessed through their supply chains.”

But for small firms who’ve been thwarted in their efforts to access defence work, help is at hand through Joscar, a new, single-site compliance database for defence suppliers. Operated by the privately-owned business Helios, it is endorsed by the MoD and 12 primes, which were involved in its development.

Joscar is, in essence, a long and complicated 100-page questionnaire, covering all the required certifications such as ISO:9001 and ISO:27001 (Information Security Management Systems), cyber security, year-end accounts and P&L. This gives the company compliance to a broadly-defined military standard for defence companies, and Joscar registration. In theory, all the primes and the MoD who’ve signed up to Joscar remove all the duplicate questions that Joscar has already answered. 

For example, if BAE Systems wanted to seek approved valve manufacturers, it can search Joscar for those that are fully defence-compliant. “The MoD and the primes are trying hard, but there is still a lot of certification that asks the same questions that Joscar has already asked them,” says a defence sector expert. “They are working on it but it’s moving at a glacial pace and SMEs like your readers need this to pick up fast.”

🎧-It’s Electrifying

MTDCNC looks back at the recent Electric Revolution Skills Hub launch and reveals why a 169,000 jobs bonanza could be on the way if the potential of the new platform is leveraged.

169,000 new skilled jobs. That was the headline figure of the high-profile conference that launched the Electric Revolution Skills Hub (ERS Hub) recently.

More than 250 delegates heard how these new positions would need to be created over the next two years if the UK is going to transition to zero-emission vehicles, with industry experts making a passionate call for the power electronics, machines, and drives (PEMD) disciplines to come together.

They were told that skills and training people are the most significant barriers and that the ERS Hub could be the potential vehicle to overcome these by providing an integrated digital platform that will give inclusive access to training, development, and jobs. 

Importantly, it will help companies to urgently build capacity in the supply chain so that the UK avoids becoming just a design house for new technologies as it has in other fast-emerging markets.  

“If action is taken now the country can still become a hotbed for the production and development of PEMD, generating more than £12bn of domestic revenue by 2025,” explained Deepak Farmah, Commercial Director at the ERS Hub.

Speaking at the conference, he continued: “We’ve let too many sectors disappear or become design houses, letting other countries manufacture our technologies – we can’t let this happen to electrification and clean mobility. The opportunity is huge, and we’ve got some of the brightest minds in the industry. Now is the time to seriously look at capacity and capability, ensuring we have the people in place – with the right skills – to take advantage of the emerging demand for PEMD.”

“Government has committed £500m to support 169,000 jobs in zero-emission vehicles and this is just the tip of the iceberg, electrification touches many industries, including aerospace, agriculture, energy and marine.”

The rallying call at the ERS Hub conference certainly seemed to work, with over 1,000 registered users already signed up and starting to engage with the platform.

At the heart of the platform will be the Body of Knowledge, which will promote a consistent view of PEMD and build a consensus for the disciplines required to upskill the UK workforce.  

It will help businesses attract new individuals to work in electrification and support growth in this vital industry by making training courses – including electrical engineering, laminations, motors, automation, and 3D printing – easy to find through a comprehensive catalogue. 

 

Delivered by Coventry University and funded in partnership with UKRI and Innovate UK, the ERS Hub will host the industry’s first jobs board purely for electrification, providing a constantly updated list of available positions, the skills required for those roles and average remuneration. 

The platform also supports academia and training providers by working with them to promote and encourage students to consider a career in this field and, importantly, connect with industry. 

Carl Perrin, CEO of the Institute for Clean Growth & Future Mobility, was asked to close the event: “The two days showed how clear the needs of the PEMD sector are and how big the production opportunity is, as we shift to electrification. There was a lot to reflect on. Engineering solutions and financial investment are important for growth but – on their own – are not enough. People and how they interact with one another, work together, and collaborate will be what really makes things happen.”

“Importantly, the ERS Hub conference validated the appetite for exploring solutions for the future, with exciting conversations around growth initiated in Birmingham acted upon in the following weeks. Recent reports show early signs of success, with 30,000 platform visits and 560 courses from 225 different providers listed. There are also 100 jobs already live and this figure is growing by the week.”

Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, maxon, Hewland and an army of SMEs used the conference to back its introduction.

One of these is Washington (UK) based Advanced Electric Machines Limited (AEM), a globally recognised designer and manufacturer of sustainable electric powertrain technologies. James Widmer, CEO and Founder of AEM, was part of a panel discussion at the conference and added his support: “The primary challenge most companies face is identifying and sourcing the essential skills required to meet market demands. The UK urgently needs a solution to upskill employees to compete globally – the ERS Hub is helping the sector to begin solving this critical problem that is holding back progress.” 

Inspirational speakers

The ERS Hub Conference got off to a flying start, with Florbela Costa, Head of Engineering at Parvalux (a maxon company), and Charlie Martin, a British motorsport racing driver, delivering keynote addresses about their careers and aspirations for the sector.

Florbela explained how maxon had developed electrical motors used in a series of high-profile space explorations, including in NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter, which just completed its 50th flight on Mars.

Her career has taken her across four different countries, working with colleagues from diverse backgrounds, two features she believes have been key in helping create some of the most creative and innovative teams in manufacturing. 

“A diverse team, with different educational/professional backgrounds, different personalities, and different cultures, all contribute to challenging ideas and pushing the boundaries of innovation. We need to harness as many ideas as possible to push the electrification agenda and make sure the UK takes its rightful place at the front of the race,” pointed out Florbela.

The response was unanimous when asked if Parvalux would get involved with the ERS Hub.

“Yes definitely! We are always looking for new partners and talent with the right skills for our industry, which matches perfectly with what the platform offers. The focus also has to be on getting school children more aware of electrification and it will be this support that fuels and sustains its expansion for the years to come.”

Charlie Martin, who recently finished second in the North American Lamborghini Cup, echoed Florbela’s comments, using her own personal career to show what can be achieved – even against the odds.

The former CNC machine sales specialist has overcome huge adversity since transitioning midway through her motorsport career, working with leading LGBTQ+ charities Stonewall, Mermaids, Athlete Ally and Racing Pride to improve visibility, acceptance and inclusion in motorsport. “We all have the power to change things and that’s what I find really exciting about the launch of the ERS Hub. We’re at the very start of the journey and a massive prize awaits if we can get more people to consider switching to this sector and, importantly, educating youngsters on all the career opportunities that exist here,” concluded Charlie.

For further information, please visit https://ershub.co.uk. A short video introducing the ERS Hub can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJndgBmqiE.

🎧-Standing still is not an option

Last month MTD magazine had the privilege of being invited to the Horn Technology Days event in Tubingen, a short drive south of Stuttgart. The threeday event from the 14th to the 16th of June was a genuine masterclass in cutting tool innovations – a fact underlined by the event drawing more than 3,300 visitors from 37 countries. By Rhys Williams

The Horn Technology Days event was the first event in four years following the Covid hiatus. The eighth Technology Days event had more innovations than ever before and these were well received by the 3,300 registrations that were added to by a post-event weekend of festivities at the company that saw an additional 3,000+ staff and their families in attendance. With expert lectures, live machining demonstrations, factory tours, industry-specific application and demo areas and 35 co-exhibiting technology partners, Horn executed the event with the same precision as its products – giving eight technical seminars in four languages and 19 live machining demonstrations across three of its factories. 

The theme of the event was ‘Mastering Processes’ and under this slogan, Horn provided a series of in-depth technical presentations. The eight technical seminars included HiPIMS – a quantum leap in coating technology, Lead-Free – machining brass and steels with complete process reliability; Polygon Turning, High-Speed Whirling and Turning; Gear Teeth and optimal processes and the buzzword on most manufacturers’ lips – ‘E-Mobility’ and the solutions available from Horn. Other presentations included Enquiry to Delivery in 7 Days – tools for profile grooving & broaching; Turning, Milling and Drilling – and how to achieve the right result with ultra-hard grades and finally, Expertise in Sliding Head Turning.

To underpin the overall theme of ‘Mastering Processes’ and the company’s expertise in each of the disciplines, Horn provided a range of fascinating machining demonstrations – and to really capture the imagination, a gallery of displays from projects the company has played an integral role in. During a press conference where Sales Director Andreas Vollmer and Joint CEOs Matthias Rommel and Markus Horn paid tribute to the company’s late CEO Lothar Horn who sadly passed away in February, the new board of directors were keen to underline Lothar’s slogan of ‘Standing Still is Not an Option’. Emphasising that the family business founded in 1969 has the ‘same values with new approaches’, the directors discussed the company’s strategy for continued growth. This included an insight into the implementation of process automation and product configuration through the Horn Tool Configurator (HTC), Industry 4.0, increased shop floor automation, additive manufacturing, new coating technology and the April opening of a new Horn facility in Thailand. 

Looking at how Horn is implementing the late CEO Lothar Horn’s slogan of ‘Standing Still is Not an Option’, the board alluded to its new automated grinding cells. The ‘Grinding Cell 2.0’ has been introduced in the production facility with new grinding technology, a new operating concept and new workpiece changers that are unique to Horn. This has been instigated to deliver maximum automation output and flexibility. New automation technology has also been introduced to the toolholder production department with a series of robot-loaded DMG MORI machine tools that deliver fast workpiece setup and changeovers with flexible workpiece handling. Both the shopfloor automation systems fit seamlessly with the company’s drive to introduce customers to the HTC and the Horn Machining Solution (HMS). 

The free-to-use software enables manufacturers to rapidly configure special tools with automated drawings, quotations and production documents. The digitalised process flow through product configuration with a linked CAM programme, streamlines the process for manufacturers to configure special tools with a faster turnaround time than ever before. The system also automates feature recognition, and process assignment and generates a full NC programme to simplify the experience for customers. 

Horn has also invested extensively in new coating technology with seven new CC800 HiPIMS coating machines recently installed in Tubingen. With a total of 12 HiPIMS machines (10 in Tubingen), the coating centre has increased the flexibility and variation of available coatings. The company has also made a significant investment in additive manufacturing. Currently utilised for prototype tooling for future catalogue items as well as component production for its manufacturing facilities, Horn is forecasting that 3D printing will play an increasingly important role in the production of future tooling lines.

Following the press conference, journalists were given a tour of the production halls and witnessed the new advancements first-hand. As part of the tour, cutting tool demonstrations were provided to show how the latest innovations were being applied to machine tools from technology partners such as Index, Citizen, CHIRON, DMG MORI, GROB, Tornos and Mazak among others. In complete synergy with the seminar programme, parts such as automotive drive shafts, medical bone pins and screws, electrical connectors, jewellery and mould tools were all produced via live demos on the respective machine tools. Whilst supplementary exhibits included three supercars, plug-in hybrid Mercedes engines and headlamp housings, aerospace engine components and even a Prometheus combustion chamber for the Ariane 6 rocket. Other exhibits included an ambulance stretcher, vets’ tools, wedding rings and clocks and much more. It was here that Horn emphasised the importance of ‘Mastering the Process’ to achieve maximum performance with the tools applied. 

Not only is Horn ‘talking the talk’ with regards to ‘Mastering the Process’, but the Tubingen manufacturer is also ‘walking the walk’, leading the way on research projects in a wide range of industry sectors. One such project the company has undertaken is the BMBF German government-funded ZykloMed medical research programme. Set up to improve the functionality of medical implants through novel synchronised machining processes, Horn worked with Index, Tessky, BEUTTER Precision and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology to develop an eccentric turning process for the creation of oval-formed bone pins that will prevent potential pin movement in the patient post-surgery. By synchronising the rotation of the workpiece and the tool to turn the external profile of the bone pin, the polygonal form has been achieved along the length of the pin. 

Discussing this government-funded programme in one of the technical seminars, Horn UK’s Andrew Tipple explained how Horn was also instrumental in developing the tools and process for machining polygonal screw heads – a complex polygonal turning process with a machining time of just 9 seconds with thanks to Horn’s innovative tooling developments. With the workpiece and tool axis in parallel, the workpiece and tool rotation is synchronised at a fixed speed ratio with an offset between the workpiece and the tool axis. This research project overcame the challenges of the interfering contour, the chipping and relief angle variation, the setting range of the radius and the cutting speed challenges. 

On the same bone screws, Horn was instrumental in creating a variable pitch thread profile where the crest width at the external diameter of the thread remains constant. The reason for a variable-pitched bone screw is to increase or decrease the tension placed upon the bone during fixing. Implementing a high-speed thread whirling operation with a pre-cutting and finishing tool, this process again had to overcome the challenge of toolholder interference, the chipping and relief angle variation and also the long overhang of the screw. 

A true allrounder

As the above medical project and applications exemplify the ingenuity of Horn, the company is recognised as an industry leader in everything from sliding head tooling, grooving, parting, broaching, reaming, threading and turning to special application products. Speaking with Horn specialists at the event, it became evident that the company which has a manufacturing facility in Ringwood on the South Coast, is a prominent manufacturer of indexable milling technology. This was emphasised by the recent launch of the new System 409 tangential milling series that was introduced at the Moulding Expo in Stuttgart in May. The new patented M409 tangential milling system incorporates rhombic form indexable inserts that are highly polished for the machining of aluminium alloy materials in the ISO N group.

Shifting up a gear

In a truly global marketplace, it can be acknowledged that customers in the UK may have different product requirements from manufacturers in other regions. With upwards of 60 Horn UK customers attending the three-day event, it was clear that many were attending the technology days in search of a specific solution. Broaching, gear skiving and threading were three key areas of interest for Horn UK customers – many visitors were intent on finding (and subsequently found) a solution at the event. Discussing why these key areas were prominent in the UK, Horn UK’s General Manager, Mr Mike Green says: “We have a huge number of enquiries that are coming from a wide spectrum of customers from small and medium manufacturers up to large OEMs. In the past, a lot of these manufacturers have had to send components out for specialist machining of gears and splines. A lot of our growth is from the aerospace industry coming back with a bang, as is the medical industry with a requirement for very small broaching applications for joint production. There are also excavation companies that make their engines and gearboxes in the UK, and if they are doing R&D projects, they will produce 2 to 3-offs where they can generate gear forms on their own machines.”

“The upturn in this side of the business is down to the companies realising that with a suitable turning centre and software, there is no longer a need for specialist skiving machines. There are customers out there that don’t realise they have machines capable of undertaking skiving operations. Machine tool manufacturers are now using the capability of turning centres to undertake skiving and promoting it as a sales tool – and we are operating off the back of that. We have been very successful in many industry sectors with skiving, but there is much more to go at.”

Another of the eight technical seminars at the Technology Days event on gear machining and optimal processes was presented by Horn UK’s Alex Brown. Alex provided an insight into the product range that includes profile insert tools, full profile mills, circular milling cutters, deburring mills, broaching tools and of course gear skiving tools. The gear skiving series incorporates the WSA series of solid carbide tools, the WSX screw-in type tools and the indexable insert WSR that extends from 22mm up to 300mm in diameter. 

The same presentation provided an overview of the slot, profile and gear broaching solutions for producing external and internal profiles, broaching by gear shaping, conventional broaching and broaching with driven tools on CNC machines.

Alluding to the broaching technology, Mike adds: “We have a new product from France and it is the Rolls-Royce of broaching. Two years ago, we did trials in Germany with every manufacturer’s product, and ours came out on top by a long way in terms of speed, productivity, accuracy and length of stroke. It really is faster than anything else on the market.”

Giving an overview of the business performance in the UK, Mike says: “Last year we bounced back to 2019 growth levels after a challenging time during the pandemic. We are now on an upward trajectory with a projection of up to 11% growth this year. There are inevitably obstacles in the way such a skilled staff and material shortages.”

“Originally, we were an internal and external grooving, turning and milling company, but it has grown significantly from there. The special side of our business now accounts for nearly 30% of our turnover. This is down to the nature of the UK market that specialises in high-value low-volume components. With our special’s division, we can create the drawings in the UK and manufacture some of the tools in the UK with others being made here in Germany. Our turnaround time for delivering parts to customers can be as little as two weeks, which blows most of our competitors out of the water. We have also recently opened a facility in Thailand that specialises in MCD tools that can create a mirror finish on components, providing the machine tool and environment are stable. That region of Asia produces 80% of the world’s spectral lenses and our tools are eliminating polishing by creating a mirror-like finish for manufacturers in Asia – this is another area that will deliver future growth for us.” 

🎧-Tool craft for aircraft

Titanium, high-temperature superalloys (HTSA), and creep-resisting steel used in the aerospace sector are difficult to cut and can create a bottleneck for the supply chain. Poor machinability results in  low cutting speeds that reduce productivity and tool life. Furthermore, modern aircraft and UAVs feature a considerably increased share of composite materials that demand specific cutting tools, which is the  focus of a technological leap in the aerospace industry.

Most geometrically complicated parts of aero engines work in highly corrosive environments and are made from hard-to-cut materials. A combination of complex shapes, low material machinability and high accuracy requirements are the main difficulties in producing engine parts. 

Advanced multitasking machines and live tooling lathes have changed the manufacturing of small parts of various hydraulic and pneumatic systems and accessories used in aircraft. Consequently, the aerospace industry requires more cutting tools designed specifically for such machines to achieve maximum efficiency. This means the cutting tool now turns into a key pillar for substantially improved performance. Therefore, aerospace part manufacturers and machine tool builders are waiting for innovative solutions for a new level of chip removal processes from their cutting tool producers. 

When machining aero-grade alloys high-pressure cooling (HPC) is efficient for improving performance. ISCAR has expanded its HPC range by introducing new milling cutters carrying the well-known HELI200 and HELIMILL indexable inserts with two cutting edges. ISCAR introduced the HELIMILL family of indexable milling tools in the 1990’s. It now has a new design with constant rake and relief angles to reduce power consumption. 

 

ISCAR considerably expanded its line of assembled modular turning tools with new bars and exchangeable heads with indexable inserts. With the use of a serrated connection, these tools fit a wide range of heads with different insert geometries. The bars have both traditional and anti-vibration designs with the delivery of internal coolant supplied directly to the insert cutting edge. Depending on the diameter of a cylindrical-shank tool, the maximum coolant pressure varies from 30 to 70 bar while polygonal taper shank tools facilitate HPC up to 300 bar. 

 

Machining composites is filled with traps and pitfalls, so ISCAR developed PCD and diamond-coated drills for abrasion resistance. For deep, small diameter holes that are a common aerospace operation, ISCAR’s new 3 to 10mm solid carbide drills are intended for such an operation. The combination of a split point geometry, a double-margin design, polished flutes and coolant holes provide effective one-pass drilling.

 

 

The effectiveness of chip removal on compact multi-tasking machines and Swiss-type lathes depends largely on correct tool selection. Demands to increase productivity require maximum tool holding stiffness and limited working space to minimise tool overhang. Recently, ISCAR introduced NEOCOLLET which provides an alternative to clamping tools with spring collets. One toolholder in this family has a tapered shank that can be mounted in a collet chuck directly, ensuring  a rigid and reliable connection to improve tool performance. The new family includes the holders for ISCAR T-SLOT exchangeable slot and face milling heads.

 

Applying HPC can substantially change machining results especially when dealing with titanium, HTSA and stainless steel. The new turning tools with a square shank and a reliable screw clamping mechanism for 55° rhombic inserts facilitate HPC in longitudinal, face and profile turning operations on small-diameter parts.

The given examples illustrate how the toolmaker tries to find more effective solutions to meet the new requirements of the aerospace industry. The Covid slowdown did not diminish the cutting tool manufacturers’ focus on their partners and their respective needs. On the contrary, new progressive cutting tools have been developed for the aircraft of tomorrow.

🎧-Thread of ingenuity

Founded in 2011, Interface Precision Engineering Limited (IPEL) is a specialist subcontract precision manufacturer based in East Sussex. When it comes to increasing productivity and reducing cycle times, IPEL relies on the most advanced cutting tools in the marketplace – that is why the company is working closely with Vargus for its threading applications.

The St Leonards-on-sea manufacturer specialises in machined, fabricated and pressed components for a diverse range of industry sectors. Steve Elliot, the Production Manager at IPEL says: “We mainly make parts for vacuum systems as well as a vast range of diverse work for other industry sectors, this includes flanges, parts of oil preps and we also do quite a lot of connectors for the oil and gas industry that require lots of different size parts and threads.” 

Looking at an oil and gas connector part manufactured from 304 stainless steel that required an M12 thread 25mm long, Steve says: “We do large quantities of these with different sizes and threads. We spoke to Paul Smith from Vargus; he suggested using the Vargus Mach TT range. We trialled the tool on our Doosan Puma 2600 SYII turning centre and we reduced the thread cycle time from 29 seconds to 11 seconds. This was achieved by increasing the feed rate and doing a lot fewer cuts.” 

Discussing the application in more detail with Paul Smith from Vargus, Paul adds: “We have the Mach TT insert and tool holder that is piped up to the high-pressure coolant system on the Doosan machine. We did one run with a standard tooling product and it took 15 passes and around 29 seconds. We managed to drop that down to four passes with a spring pass and we got it down to 11 seconds.” 

Alluding to whether it impacts tool life, Paul adds: “Running at higher parameters doesn’t affect tool life. With the new rigid system on the Mach TT that has a dovetail system, it is super rigid, so we can push the tool harder.”

Referring to the challenge of cutting stainless steel, Paul adds: “304 stainless is not an easy material to cut, but with the tool being piped to the high-pressure coolant, the fluid is getting right to the cutting edge. For manufacturers to get the best performance, they can use the Genius software which is free to download at www.vargus.com or we have got a team of engineers that are all time served that cover the whole of the UK and also, we have got the products which are ready in the country for next day delivery.” 

Looking at threading applications in the milling department, Steve Elliot from IPEL says: “I think the main headaches are threading operations and putting taps into parts, we do a lot of stainless and exotic materials. In the past, using taps could be risky on these materials, particularly when they are low volume high-value parts. We don’t have any facilities in the house to remove broken taps, so we would probably have to end up subbing it out to someone to get it wire eroded out. This is a lot of cost and there is a lot of added lead time to that, which is what we are trying to avoid.”

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With this scenario being a common occurrence for subcontract manufacturers, IPEL moved many processes to thread milling. On one specific part that had 18 threaded holes, IPEL converted to a Vargus threading process from a standard process, Steve explains: “On this part, we were starting to use thread mills as opposed to tapping, but it was increasing the cycle time. I spoke to the guys at Vargus and they recommended their new Mach TM tool. It immediately reduced the cycle time significantly. We have gone from about 10 seconds a hole down to 2 seconds a hole. This is all completed in 1 pass, so we are winning all round. In the tooling trails, the tool life is looking great as well.” 

Discussing the thread milling process, Paul Smith from Vargus says: “We applied the Mach TM system and managed to drop from 10 seconds to 2 per thread with just one pass instead of two. The operator was blown away.” 

Alluding to operator concerns regarding running the machine at such high speeds when threading at such high speeds, Paul says: “We have the Genius software and it will guide machinists through the process and ultimately, at the end give you a part programme ready to use with the tool.” 

Vargus UK Managing Director Graeme Troughton commented: “ The new Mach TT and TM product ranges are a genuine step change in the market, they are products our competitors cant challenge as yet. My advice to customers who cut threads in mass either milling or turning is you will almost certainly see huge benifits from testing and then using this product range. We invite UK manufacturers to challenge us and trial this fantastic new range of tools”.

🎧-Guhring keeps spindles turning for sliding head subcontractor

For more than 30 years, Birmingham-based Rowan Precision Ltd has been manufacturing high-quality parts for customers – and for much of this time, the company has relied upon Guhring UK to supply its cutting tools. 

 

As a subcontract machining specialist to industries such as the defence, medical and aerospace sectors, AS: 9100 and ISO: 9001 accredited Rowan specialises in sliding and fixed head multi-axis turning and 5-axis machining. With more than 10 sliding head turning centres on the shop floor, the company has an enviable reputation for medium to high volume lights-out manufacturing of small components. It is here that the service from Guhring has played a pivotal role. 

Commenting upon the longstanding relationship with Guhring UK, Matthew Lowe from Rowan Precision Ltd says “We’ve had a good relationship with Guhring for many, many years and they supply us with high-quality tooling and excellent technical advice. When we need something, they are here to have conversations and meetings about upcoming jobs, and we can talk about the processes with the Guhring technical team. We cut anything from plastics up to titanium, the high EN numbers, iridium platinum and other challenging materials and Guhring will sit down with us, look at our drawings and give us what we require to do the job.”

Looking at specific tools, Matthew says: “We use a bit of everything. This ranges from Guhring’s Micro end mills, the Diver cutters, the RF Speed and a lot of the Ratio range of through coolant drills. We also use the grooving tools, and we use the micro-boring system. We have an entire range of products and they are all very easy to use. We have confidence that when we run lights out, we know how long the tool is going to last and how many parts we can run with a single tool. Every component and every drawing has a defined tolerance, we need to ensure that the tooling we use can work within that tolerance for a certain period of time. The Guhring products certainly provide that confidence, giving us the ability to run our machines lights out.”

With such a diverse selection of Guhring tools being utilised at Rowan Precision, the company also makes use of the Guhring TM Multi-Vending machine to ensure the correct tool is always on hand for the multitude of components the company manufactures. 

Considering specific applications, Matthew adds: “We recently needed tools for a particular job and Chris Bush from Guhring came in and spoke to us about the application, the material and the number of parts we would be running. From this, Chris came back the same afternoon with suggestions and tool data from Guhring. We moved forward and purchased these tools and they are working very successfully. This is an excellent level of service as it supports our aims to achieve optimal machining performance and tool life.” 

Discussing the relationship with Rowan Precision from a Guhring perspective, Guhring UK Sales Manager, Chris Bush says: “We’ve had a strong relationship with Rowan Precision for many decades, and as soon as they have a new component, they will give us a call and we will come in and take a look at the component, the drawing and recommend the tools best suited to the application.”

Alluding to the cutting tools the company is utilising, Chris adds: “Rowan Precision has a lot of sliding head turning centres machining small components, so they purchase our Micro Precision line of tools. This encompasses everything from milling cutters to drills. We supply a lot of Micro Diver tools and Micro Milling cutters, and these are perfect for all the typically hard-to-machine materials at Rowan Precision. This can range from Grade 5 Titanium to 316 Stainless and everything in between.”

Discussing the continually expanding range of micro-tools, Chris concludes: “We have taken the Diver milling cutter geometry and incorporated that into a Micro Diver, so we get all the benefits of the Diver range on a micro-end mill. This allows Rowan to apply the small tools to all the difficult-to-machine materials whilst holding very tight tolerances and drastically reducing cycle times. As a company that runs lights-out machining, Rowan needs secure processes. They need tools that they have complete confidence in. The Guhring range of Micro Diver tools enables Rowan to set the machines up at the end of the shift when they go home, and they know the tools will perform all through the night. When the staff return to work in the morning, they are guaranteed high-quality components.”

🎧-Automotive technology for aerospace

Machine tool manufacturer Zimmermann recently brought MAPAL aboard as a technology partner to design a turnkey solution for machining titanium aerospace parts. MAPAL’s line boring technology combined with a new generation of tools made this challenging project a resounding success.

F. Zimmermann GmbH is known for its large portal milling machines that are often found in the R&D departments of large aerospace corporations. 

“We have always been craftspeople and not mass producers”, is how Steffen Nüssle, Head of Sales and Application Technology at Zimmermann describes the manufacturing philosophy. Multiple machines are already being deployed by an Asian aerospace part supplier. However, the most recent was for a highly customised gantry machine. A fixture was also needed to machine a certain part. In addition, Zimmermann was selected to commission the tooling for the special machining process. 

The part is a 1.5m long mount with a row of twelve 17mm bores in the lugs, which are located over a space of 990mm to a tolerance of H7. Over the entire length of the part, the concentricity of the bores had to be less than 0.05mm. 

Past Zimmermann turnkey projects involved wing spars for the Airbus A350 and countersinks and deep bores on fibreglass wind turbine blades. While employed for another machine manufacturer, Nüssle also worked with MAPAL. This involved machining bearing seats for crankshafts and camshafts for large diesel motors using line-boring technology. MAPAL has extensive knowledge of line-boring bars from the automotive industry. Now, this knowledge was required for aerospace parts whose lugs are similar to the journal bearings in the crankshaft bearing aisle of a combustion engine.

“This project challenged our technological knowledge in all realms,” asserts Sven Frank, Global Head of OEM Management at MAPAL. “We didn’t even have a sketch of the part to start with.” 

The titanium alloy TA15m proved a challenge. “We knew what we were getting into, but even our full-fledged aerospace experts had never heard of this special alloy,” Steffen Nüssle admits. Jens Ilg, who works in the Aerospace & Composites segment at MAPAL, agrees: “The material was exotic for us, too.” The TA15m workpiece material is manufactured powder-metallurgically. The sintered material is re-densified in a special process, whereby the workpiece acquires the characteristics of a forged part.

While the machine was being constructed by Zimmermann, MAPAL began tool tests in Aalen, relying on a new generation of titanium tools for this purpose. To achieve high removal rates, the NeoMill-Titan shell face milling cutter was chosen. The 60 minutes that Bernd Scheurenbrand expected were exceeded. “Some of the tools were at work for almost seven hours.” This result was made possible due to the modern protective coating with good adhesion to the tool, an effective temperature barrier and a very smooth surface that reduced heat on the cutting area.

To clear pockets and cavities, MAPAL selected the solid carbide milling cutter OptiMill-Titan-HPC. When machining the gaps between the lugs, the trochoidal milling cutter OptiMill-Tro-Titan was able to show off its strengths with short contact times and optimal heat removal. “In tests, we were able to mill the lug down to a wall thickness of 3mm without it pushing away or vibrating,” Ilg reports. 

Excellent cooling is essential when machining titanium. To remove the heat that developed, MAPAL MillChucks with integrated coolant supply was used. For the bores on the sides of the lug, MAPAL developed a custom tool with an angular drill head based on the MEGA Speed-Drill-Titan. 

Line boring is an ideal way to create the main bore of the mount. The twelve lugs are arranged in four groups with three journal bearings. The first lug pack is initially piloted. The drill for machining the second lug pack is guided through these pre-machined bores.

The 685mm line boring bar with a diameter of 17mm has two adjustable inserts and is led between the lugs in guide bushes. The first insert bores the main bore, thus eliminating any offset that might have occurred during pre-machining. The second insert then completes the final diameter to H7 quality. 

🎧-Subcontractor finds 30-taper machine is the clear choice for volume aero production

30-taper machining centres these days are much more robust than ever before and are not only fast, but can also cut tough materials. One company that has discovered the merits of this type of prismatic machining equipment is Staffordshire Precision Engineering (SPE), Newcastle-under-Lyme. The subcontractor recently purchased a Brother R650X2 30-taper 4-axis machining centre with a table-mounted indexing trunnion from the Japanese manufacturer’s sole sales agent in the UK and Ireland, Whitehouse Machine Tools, Kenilworth. 

Installed at the end of March, the machine is the subcontractor’s first 30-taper machine and is being put to work producing aluminium parts for the aerospace, Formula One, high-end automotive, scientific and medical industries. The material currently accounts for about 60% of prismatic component production in the factory. However, it so happened that the first job put on the Brother involved the production of a batch of 304 stainless steel pivot blocks for an aerospace customer.

It was at this point that Phil Smith, joint Managing Director of SPE with his brother Gary, realised that he had been harbouring an incorrect view that 30-taper machines are unable to cut tough metals productively. He is now convinced that modern Brother machines with their high-torque spindles are much more robust than he thought, capable of cutting stainless steel, titanium and other difficult alloys – just not heavy cuts in those materials all day long. That type of work would be put on a 40-taper machine. Being able to tackle a wide variety of materials ideally suits a machine to production in a subcontracting environment, where the mix of work coming in is unpredictable.

Mr Smith said there are twelve 40-taper 5-axis machines in operation on SPE’s shop floor, some with automatic twin pallet change (2APC) and others with multi-pallet magazines. These reflect the company’s decision in 2016, when it moved into a £1.2m, 26,000sq/ft factory, to target more complex prismatic machining work.

There are also eight 40-taper 3-axis VMCs on site, some with a fourth CNC axis, that are between 10 and 15 years old and these will gradually be replaced by more capable and productive plant. Mr Smith predicts that the 4-axis Brother will do the work of two of these older models. It produced the aerospace pivot block in two operations in a total cycle time of 15 minutes. In comparison, one of the older machines took 38 minutes to produce the part in four operations. Moreover, there is now far less workpiece handling and work-in-progress, as well as minimal risk of accumulating dimensional errors through repeated set-ups.

Apart from speed and versatility, another facet of the Brother machine that Mr Smith particularly appreciates, especially with energy prices presently so high, is that the 30-taper machine draws typically 80% less power than a 40-taper VMC. SPE’s electricity bill more than trebled from £9,000 to £28,000 per month between December 2022 and May 2023. So, it is clear that low energy consumption is no longer merely a bonus but just as critical to manufacturing parts cost-effectively as fast cycle times.

It was the high speed of the Brother machining centre that was central to Mr Smith’s decision to invest. He says the machine is ‘remarkably’ faster than a 40-taper model, thanks to its dynamics. This is due to 2.2g linear axis acceleration, 0.2 second spindle acceleration to 16,000rpm, simultaneous tool changing (0.7 second) and repositioning of the spindle for the next cut, reduced machine downtime for tool replenishment thanks to the 40-station tool magazine (14 or 22 tools are optional), and the fact that the 2APC arrangement means that there is only a short delay before the first cut is taken on the next part. 

The high productivity enables him to keep the prices he charges customers at a constant level, despite the surge in material and energy costs, and is also helping him to win new business. He is now actively selling the capacity, with its benefits of economy and short lead times, to customers and prospects that require components machined within the machine’s 650 x 400 x 435 mm working envelope.

🎧-Vintage restorer soars with Mazak

Founded in 1991 and nestled in the heart of Bedfordshire, Kennet Aviation specialises in the renovation and servicing of historic aeroplanes. Over the last 30 years, the company has restored 15 aircraft, including a Supermarine Seafire used in World War II. The company restores aircraft to the stringent standards required by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – to do this the company has invested in Yamazaki Mazak machine tools.

“It has always been difficult to source parts to restore and service old aeroplanes,” explains Tim Manna, Director at Kennet Aviation. “Components can be found in barns, sheds and museums across the UK, but machining parts to order is often the best way forward.”

The company has traditionally faced issues around the scarcity of parts available to refurbish historic planes. Now, Kennet Aviation can make its parts, but the CAA’s strict rules require Kennet to follow rigorous manufacturing requirements.

This includes following original drawings, using original materials and adopting traditional methods when making older parts. With many drawings now lost to time, some original materials no longer being made and traditional methods proving challenging to reproduce, the company was reliant on general subcontractors to machine crucial parts to order.

“We had long identified that the need to outsource the machining of certain components to outside contractors was a pain point for the business,” explains Tim. “Because we only require very small batches for a limited number of planes, the prices were very high. It simply was not economical to continue, so we looked into bringing the machining in-house.”

As quality and accuracy were non-negotiable, the engineering team at Kennet recommended Mazak as a potential option. “Any working aircraft we restore has to qualify for a CAA permit to fly, so we needed to choose a high-performing machining centre that could create extremely precise parts. Fortunately, one of our engineers had previously worked with Mazak and could vouch for the quality of their machines. We decided to invest in a turning centre to produce parts ourselves and save money.”

Following consultation, Kennet invested in a Mazak QUICK TURN 250MSY CNC turning centre that was installed in September 2020. Suited to demanding workpiece applications, the QUICK TURN’s integrated main spindle provides high accuracy, performance and hugely reduced lead times.

The success of the QUICK TURN prompted the purchase of a VCN-530C vertical machining centre to further expand capacity. Combined with the adaptability gained through its 12,000-rpm spindle speed and durable linear roller guides for X, Y and Z-axis machining, the machine has enabled the company to produce all parts in-house.

“By adding in-house machining capacity through the addition of both the QUICK TURN and VCN-530C, we can restore planes faster and more cost-effectively. But this has not been the only benefit – we have been able to expand our order book machining parts for other vintage aircraft, alongside taking on added general subcontractor work. Our success in providing aircraft parts for other aircraft has grown our reputation to a point where other historic plane owners and restorers have been recommending us to source manufactured parts for their aircraft. This uptick in business means we may potentially be in the market for another machine to satisfy the growing demand. Our excellent experience with Mazak means they would be our first port-of-call for any further investment,” concludes Tim.

🎧-The journey to our first cobot – embrace the automation!

Contracts Engineering Limited (CEL), one of Southeast’s largest contract manufacturers, has set a bold target of becoming one of the largest in the UK by 2028. To achieve this ambitious goal, the company is investing heavily in automation, including the use of robots and cobots. Here, Managing Director Troy Barratt explains the company’s journey of going from no robots to 1 – as going from 0 to 1 is the biggest leap! The company now has a robot and a cobot and is taking steps to scale up robotics and automation integration after recognising the impact it is having upon the business.

The Critical Role of Robotics at CEL

We recognised the importance of incorporating industrial MIG welding robots into our production in 2018 when we started to struggle with high volumes of repetitive welded assemblies. However, before implementing these technological solutions, we first needed to address our internal concerns. These included getting positive engagement from staff, picking the leaders for day-to-day integration and how to integrate the robot into our existing ERP production planning system.

To get the team engaged, we reframed the discussion from ‘robots take jobs’ to ‘our robot creates jobs and increases productivity’.  Put simply, the robot generates a lot of additional work in other parts of our factory, and by increasing productivity within the welding department, we can upskill and increase pay. The reframing turned the investment into a win for everyone.

Getting strong positive engagement made it fairly easy to pick the team leads, as a lot of folks wanted to be involved.  The team leads then took the reins to integrate the robot into our existing ERP.  We focused on these areas early so that we had the right foundation to start speaking with potential partners.  

Finding the Ideal Partner for Industrial MIG Robots

Our journey to acquire an industrial MIG robot focused on finding a reliable system integration partner, not simply buying a robot. We sought a supplier that could design the right system, provide training, and critically would offer strong after-sales support.  

After evaluating four or five system integrators and assessing their offerings, CEL chose a partner that best understood their needs and provided excellent aftermarket support. The winner won out on the services they offered, not price. Price matters, but the right partner matters more!

Learning and Growing with Robotics: Overcoming the Learning Curve

We took time to integrate the robot into all areas of the business and make course corrections as needed. Our guiding principle is ‘Start slow, then go fast.’ This emphasises the importance of building a solid foundation to avoid the common ‘one and done’ syndrome. By investing time and resources in the initial stages of robot integration, we ensured a smoother transition to our second robot investment. 

Depending on the parts, the cobot either fully welds a partially-welded assembly, or it completes all welding. Our cobot welds alongside a fabricator, which more than doubles the fabricator’s hourly production rates. In addition to doubling output, the cobot also ensures a consistent level of welding across the production run. By the time we were ready to think about our next robotic investment, we had a healthy list of areas that would benefit, allowing us to move at greater speed when identifying our second robot.

 

The Next Step: Buy a Cobot to Cover the Middle Ground 

A couple years’ of learning and experience allowed us to identify opportunities for future automation, particularly collaborative robots (cobots). These cobots excel in medium volume work and assist fabricators in producing high-quality welds, ultimately increasing efficiency and productivity. Each cobot roughly doubles the productivity of a fabricator.

Cobots generally require a lower investment point because you do not need to invest in the ‘system’ surrounding the robot.  We could move our medium batch work to a cobot, and the lower price point would allow for a quicker payback than with our industrial robot.

A Technological Leap: Click-and-Drag Programming for Enhanced Accessibility

A recent breakthrough in cobot technology is the transition from lines of code-based programming to a more intuitive click-and-drag interface. This development has made programming accessible to a broader range of team members, fostering quicker and greater upskilling.

In Conclusion: A Quote from a Great Industrialist

Cobots enable us to increase our production volumes and upskill our team. They are a ‘win-win’ combination for us, and for any manufacturing company that is scaling up. As we increase our knowledge-base, the robots and cobots we have are part of a clear plan to integrate more of them around our factory.

Over 100 years ago Henry Ford, one of the world’s greatest industrialists, said: “If you need a machine and don’t buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it and don’t have it.”  

This still holds true today, so start the journey now!

🎧-What is an industrial metrologist?

In the previous issue, metrology expert Ian Wilcox introduced us to the three types of metrology as defined by the Bureau of International Weights and Measures (BIPM). In the article, Ian detailed the three types of metrology – Scientific, Applied and Legal Metrology. In this follow-on feature, Ian delves into the implementation, effectiveness and value of metrology to a manufacturing business.

Metrology is a science-based system that as stated by BIPM ‘includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement, whatever the measurement uncertainty and field of application’. We all use the same units of measurement, standards, calibration and traceability and estimations of uncertainty.

But the key point was how Industrial Metrology though supposedly in the metrology gang, living as it does within Applied Metrology, has other overriding motivations that undermine pure metrology and create interruptions in how it is applied or even subdue it all together.

I invited you to ask yourself as manufacturers what regulation/legislation you must adhere to regarding actual measurement, not overall quality. I contrasted the limited requirements seen in manufacturing with that required by Calibration Laboratories that have to comply with ISO:17025 and its rigorous audits. 

Finally, I observed that most organisations based on those three types of metrology, exist to create a metrology-related output, it is their ‘raison d’etre’. Whereas industrial manufacturing’s reason for being is not metrology, but product output and productivity.

There is no question in my mind, driven by years of observing, tackling and teaching Industrial Metrology, that industry would benefit from treating metrology as they see lean and general productivity improvements. It is a vital tool to drive productivity and an enabler of continuous improvement. 

The challenge as I see it is that most companies are starting from a historic low. With no or very limited regulatory or contractual imperative, technology advances alone dominate management dreams of productivity, skills shortages, an oversimplification of specialist skills, and of course decades of boom and bust that crushed indirect roles, including strategically productive ones. With all that going on, is it a surprise understanding is low?

Industrial metrology for me, is all about managing the risk of bad data that you can make key decisions on. The risk of variation in data causes confusion and distrust between production and measurement teams, there is also the risk of overspending on measurement. Especially the risk of waste due to poor, over-resourced processes, and unsuitable technology purchases.

Each company will have its list of risks and you must quantify them. If you have the skills, use tools to assess individual impacts and their probability – and consider your tolerance levels to those risks. A proper review related to poor practices should be undertaken. I mentioned companies being at a low point in understanding, we only know what we know right? But as a quick test, try this simple tool that indicates if metrology could be an issue.

It has no granularity just your appreciation, whether you are in management or measurement. Mark where you think your company sits based on the combined scales. Estimate how high up the chart you sit based on how much you spend on metrology and measurement. Then move your pen across from left to right until you think it represents your level of quality issues/quality-related measurement waste. That’s where you make your cross.

Without benchmarking, it is your assessment and therefore subjective. Indirect costs are always too high, right? Test yourself.

Quality/Metrology costs:

• calibration requirements. 

• Lots of new measuring equipment or no capital spend for a decade. 

• Capability tests of equipment and operator.

• Do you employ a metrologist or at least have someone responsible?

• Do you have lots of quality engineers/controls to firefight quality issues or are you under resourced?

Quality issues/waste: 

• High or low scrap/rework percentages 

• Hours of firefighting product process control issues (not all will be measurement issues, but sometimes not attributed when they are)

• Disputes/mistrust between production and quality teams

• Disputes between suppliers/customers

Remember this is an indication, but if accurate and your cross is in the top right box, you should ask more questions and look into why. With high costs of quality/metrology and yet still lots of quality issues and waste, something needs fixing.

If the bottom left, with low issues and costs you seem to have it in control. But to be sure, try to put some numbers to your appreciation, as numbers will give better reassurance. 

The top left box is good news with regards to issues but there are still savings to be made. Having a lot of resources can mean a lot of firefighting and short-term fixes that continually flare up, but you can quash them. Good quality/metrology should reduce issues and drive down resource needs. This is again a risk tolerance question and would benefit from closer investigation.

Lastly, the bottom right is almost as bad as the top right, as your business is leaking profit. From experience, many companies live happily here. If you are here, you do not survive long unless your customers do not have supply options and so must accept that poor-quality percentage and loss.

A metrologist is a key person within a company, using their skills across the company to enable confidence and cost efficiency in the numbers that a company measures and reacts to. But how?

I cannot lay out every nuance and tool that metrology can offer. I write to create a foundation of knowledge, spark thoughts and touch on key terms and tools that can then be researched as required. How I break it into two sections. Spreading and mentoring good practice and applying metrology tools to monitor capability. 

Spreading good methods

An effective metrologist should champion and spread good practice to all those that measure. Teach them the correct selection and use of equipment, the understanding of the causes of variation and the importance of good measurement.

Set up a couple of measurement champions that can help spread good practices. It also helps with succession planning should your metrologist leave. 

More people in a manufacturing company pick up measuring equipment and measure than most would appreciate, often making a production decision based on their results. If the measurement is ‘wrong enough’ with no oversight, then quality issues will follow at assembly, or in the field. 

Measurement equipment 

A good metrologist should understand the science of the measurement equipment and its sensor technology. Measurement variation can be heavily influenced by the misapplication of technology. Measurement equipment needs care, not only when in use but general maintenance and cleaning. To get long and reliable life from any equipment, simple maintenance and cleaning schedules can pay their way.

Measurement technology has moved on in the last 30 years. When you need to replace your equipment, like-for-like isn’t always the best option. But be careful, new doesn’t always mean better, a metrologist will evaluate measurement capability and help evaluate the cost versus benefit. When it comes to coordinate metrology, equipment will be a capital purchase. Buy right, use it well, look after it and monitor its capability. 

Calibration

This is one area that is almost always specifically mentioned in supplier contracts and associated quality management systems. Calibration tethers your equipment to the standard unit it outputs, a process of traceability to the relevant international standard unit. Knowing capability over time can mean calibration cost savings but also may show your intervals are too big, adding the risk of errors.  

Managing risk through monitoring and evaluating

Measurement is like any production process, the capability of output (the measured value) will vary, and so process capability needs to be monitored by testing. When you first introduce new equipment, the supplier can only offer you generic accuracy and repeatability data. Often evaluated in better conditions than you will use the equipment, certainly with experienced operators and on a test piece or calibrated artefact. The reality of your environment is that novice operators and your component characteristics will all invariably add to the equipment specifications. 

Measurement System Analysis (MSA) is a big topic, a toolbox of measurement capability tools, offering options to best fit the circumstances and needs. Many will have heard of GR&R, one of the tools, and the companies that often apply them as part of supplier quality requirements. But I make a bold but confident assertion when I say that over 80% that I have seen applied, has been poorly applied. Mainly due to a lack of understanding of MSA.

The minimum practice is to test new equipment and problem manufacturing processes, even if only to be assured there is low risk in metrology terms. Ideally, all measurement processes should be evaluated, but a recognition of time and resources will always make this a case of prioritising your effort. There are many other tools that metrology can apply based on circumstance and benefit in pursuing productivity. 

I hope I have at least awakened an interest and provided some basic understanding of how metrology can add value to a manufacturing company when applied correctly. Though Metrology is not your business’s output, metrology is a key part of driving your productivity. Enabling the reduction of scrap and rework, providing reliable data for continuous improvement, and cost reduction both in manufacturing processes and even measurements of own costs. Consider it.

🎧 – Renishaw breaks the ‘glass ceiling’ on encoders

When Renishaw targets entry to a new marketplace, convention is not a path it travels. Renishaw looks at how existing manufacturers develop products and then completely rewrites the script. After over 30 years of producing ‘open optical encoders’, Renishaw instigated the development of ‘enclosed optical encoders’ for machine tools. The outcome is the FORTiS™ encoder and the results are ground-breaking. By Rhys Williams

With the majority of Renishaw’s repertoire of products being symbiotic to the machine tool industry, the UK manufacturer sensibly set about applying its expertise in open optical encoders to enclosed optical encoders for machine tools. The concept has been 10 years in the making, but Renishaw is about to turn the encoder industry on its head with the arrival of the FORTiS encoder. 

If you are somewhat naïve about the technical merits of encoders in machine tools, don’t worry – before visiting Renishaw my understanding was equally limited. In the simplest terms, ‘glass linear scales’ are found on an increasing number of machine tools, providing direct linear position feedback from the X, Y and Z axes to the CNC control, thus helping to improve the level of position certainty and repeatability. This is not far away from Renishaw’s own modus operandi in simple terms, but I also wondered why a glass scale would be inside a machine tool – surely it’s susceptible to damage in a harsh environment? 

It would appear that with the FORTiS encoder range, Renishaw investigated the market, and identified the pain points of the industry that span from maintenance and changeovers, to performance and longevity – and it has found a completely new solution with the FORTiS product. They have also done away with the ‘glass scales’. 

MTD magazine spoke with Corrie Fearon, Product Manager at the Encoder Products Division at Renishaw plc in New Mills, Gloucestershire to find out more. Corrie told MTD magazine: “Renishaw is a big name in non-contact encoder products used in electronics assembly, semiconductors and general motion control. However, we decided to get involved in encoders specifically for machine tools and other harsh environments. We looked at what was available and spoke to a lot of companies that would be potential customers of ours. We asked what was good and bad about existing encoders and what the pain points were. The response from the industry was that existing linear encoders are very good for metrology, but they have three key problems.”

“The first issue is that they are really difficult to install, the second issue is that they always leak and the third is that if you shake them a little, they will fall apart. In essence, the installation requires technician-level skills and tools, the sealing has several opportunities for improvement, and the levels of vibration sometimes found in machine tools can impact positional measurement or cause internal parts to be shaken out of alignment. So, Renishaw approached it from a different angle. We found that existing suppliers all follow a similar format. If you open the encoder, you have a sprung-wheeled carriage that runs along a glass scale. We could see this design had just evolved over the last 40 years and instead of following that route, we looked at how we could utilise today’s technological advances. We wanted to eliminate the sprung carriage and all the issues that it brings to encoders. We took the measurement technology from our existing RESOLUTE product and we looked at how we could package it into an enclosed application.” 

“We also wanted to do away with the glass scale and have a steel scale instead, as glass is always liable to fracture. We also looked at seal technology, and we spent about five years working with our seal supplier to come up with a seal material that provides a nice combination of low friction and better elastic response. So, if you move the readhead, you want the seal to close up as quickly as possible; something that traditional seals weren’t particularly good at, especially when it gets cold. We also wanted our seal material to work with the ever-increasing range of coolants, as there are many chemical additives and heavily chlorinated fluids that can be very aggressive against seals. We wanted to develop the most resilient and tough encoder in the marketplace, and with FORTiS encoders, we can take it far beyond the realms of current products on the market.”

So, who is this innovation for? Well, Renishaw is clearly making OEM machine tool manufacturers sit up and pay close attention to the benefits of FORTiS encoders. However, Renishaw is also targeting the tens of thousands of worldwide manufacturers with machine tools on the shopfloor with ‘linear glass scale encoders’. If these glass scales on high-end machine tools (or 5–10% of all machines as Corrie estimates) break, cause maintenance issues, or otherwise disrupt the performance of your machine tool then, in many cases, they can be swapped out with FORTiS encoders. 

Have you ever witnessed poor surface finishes that you struggled to rectify? Whilst you may have been adjusting your machining parameters from the countless combinations of different speeds and feeds, changing your cutting tools and programming strategies – it could have been that you hit the natural frequency of your glass scale encoders. What if you could easily change them out for the Renishaw FORTiS encoder and eliminate the issue? 

Relieving the Pain Points

To address the pain point of installing enclosed encoders, Renishaw designed the system so that specialist knowledge, tools or equipment are not required to install the FORTiS encoder. Renishaw’s patented readhead set-up LED and ADTa-100 Advanced Diagnostic Tool, which provides a user-friendly display of advanced encoder diagnostic information, ensure intuitive and right-first-time installation. During our visit, the MTD team managed to install a FORTiS encoder on a test rig in 45 seconds – the current record is held by an engineer who installed a FORTiS encoder at the IMTS exhibition in just 13 seconds! To do this on a working machine tool and including the time taken to access the linear axis, Renishaw estimates that an encoder can still be installed in less than 15 minutes. 

Not only are the encoders designed to be simple to install, but Renishaw has also introduced its patented LED system that indicates signal strength. So, a blue LED showing maximum signal strength will confirm the correct alignment of the encoder’s body and readhead whilst an axis is traversed. This reduces the skill requirement and mitigates the risk of rework or unplanned machine downtime caused by incorrectly installed encoders. As Corrie says: “The installation technique we developed means that FORTiS encoders self-align with the transit brackets. This is advantageous when it is first installed on the machine builder’s production line, or at the machine dealer’s facility. It also helps throughout the lifetime of the machine tool as it removes the need for technician-level skills and tools, which are often in short supply. For example, you do not need to use a dial gauge with the FORTiS encoder, although you can if you wish, as we have built that into the system. We have made it so simple that if everything is done right, the LED turns blue, indicating that the job is done correctly. Equally, it also tells you when it has been done incorrectly.”

Tuned Mass Damping

From the beginning, Renishaw realised a major pain point for machine tool OEMs was the impact of machine tool vibration on positional measurement. The solution involved developing several features to improve robustness against mechanical vibration and to stop high-amplitude disturbances from entering the position control loop. These include mounting tuned mass dampers (TMDs) to the encoder readhead to strongly damp resonant vibration. The TMDs are designed to counteract vibration around the vertical and horizontal axes. It is claimed that FORTiS enclosed encoders are the first to use TMDs in this way. Renishaw undertakes vigorous sine sweep vibration testing and random vibration testing on the FORTiS encoders to demonstrate vibration resistance when compared to conventional enclosed optical encoders.

To demonstrate this resistance and durability, Renishaw showed us a test lab with a ‘shaker’ machine capable of working up to 37g. FORTiS encoders have spent more than 16 hours running at 37g (at the encoder’s natural frequency) with no issues. In comparison, the leading competitors will specify that encoders are not to run at the encoder’s natural frequency. Of course, Renishaw wanted to push this further – so they invested in a much larger 75g shaker that also tests the encoders.

As Corrie adds: “The TMDs strongly dampen the vibration at the encoder’s resonant frequency and enable the FORTiS encoder to maintain impressive positional stability and long-term dependability that improves process control. If you read into the documentation of our competitors, they often have ‘get-out’ clauses stating that they must not be used at the resonant frequency of the encoder. You also have to carry out tests on your machine to prove that you are not going to do that. The reality is, if you are machining, you cannot predict the frequency of the machine vibration. The vibration depends upon the size of the tool, the type of material cutting, the number of inserts on the tool, the cutting depth and many more parameters. There are situations where the machine tool will not be working as expected. You could be fly-cutting aluminium and receiving a poor surface finish and thinking you may have hit the resonance of the machine – that good design would normally mitigate against. In reality, what you may have done is hit the resonance of the encoder and that is what you are seeing back in your control loop.”

“We have one customer that was seeing several e-stops per week on a machine on an automotive manufacturing line that was disrupting production. They changed from a rival encoder to the FORTiS encoder, and they haven’t had a single e-stop since.”

Additional vibration mitigating features built into the FORTiS encoder include the non-contact design and light steel scale that is fixed along its full length to the inside of the enclosure body. Conventional enclosed optical encoders feature a sprung, wheeled carriage that supports the read-head body as it runs along the encoder scale. The FORTiS non-contact design isolates the read-head body from the encoder enclosure, thus eliminating multiple sources of resonant vibration.

The issues around the performance, contamination and excessive maintenance of enclosed optical encoders has long pained both machine tool builders and their customer base. Here, Renishaw has put in significant research with technology partners – the fruit of that labour has now arrived.

Seal of Approval

Encoders are subjected to extremely harsh environments with the ingress of swarf, coolant and grease all having the potential to impact the performance of the encoder. To this end, high-quality lip seals are necessary to ensure long-term reliability. However, with a machine tool having a life expectancy of 20 years or more, insufficient lip seal toughness can result in deterioration, leading to maintenance concerns. Add in the chlorinated additives used in many cutting fluids and it’s clear that lip seals present a multi-faceted challenge for material scientists. 

To counteract this, Renishaw worked with their supplier for more than 5 years to develop the DuraSeal™ material specifically for the FORTiS encoder’s lip seals. This robust material reduces seal degradation, and at the same time provides a tighter seal around the readhead blade. The improved sealing reduces air leakage from the air purge, resulting in lower operating costs and greater system longevity. Compared to conventional enclosed optical encoders, the air purge requirements for the FORTiS encoder are reduced by 70%.

As Corrie continues: “We did a lot of work on the lip seals. To provide an idea of how well it works, when you put an air purge on competitor systems they will leak air at between 7 and 10 litres per minute, whereas the FORTiS encoder will leak air at 2 litres per minute. This is a considerable reduction in purge air consumption and correspondingly facilitates an energy saving over the lifetime of the machine. To achieve even greater improvements, we’re working with OEMs to optimise the air purge efficiency by recommending lower air purge pressure on axes mounted further from the machine chamber. The result is that the machine user can get all the reliability benefits of a clean air purge, but at a greatly reduced cost. 

In the worst case, if something happened to cause the encoder to be accidentally flooded with coolant or oil, Renishaw have another ace up their sleeve. “The readhead is completely sealed” says Corrie, “so if the encoder were to be flooded, it can be removed, the scale and readhead can be cleaned and then the encoder can be refitted to the machine. To prove how good the sealing is, we even took a readhead and threw it into the famous lake in front of Renishaw’s Mill building, in the height of winter, to see how it would react. Despite air temperatures down to – 7⁰C, the readhead still performed perfectly after being submerged in the lake for 2 days!”

Renishaw may be the first to have broken the ‘glass ceiling’ and they did it with steel (scales) and determination.

Asset Finance – your next option for funding

For many firms in the manufacturing sector, asset finance is a form of funding they have used for many years. Yet still, for others, it’s not something they know much about. In this article, we take a closer look at the different products and understand why it could be the perfect option when considering your next purchase.

In short, asset finance is an alternative form of funding used by businesses to obtain the equipment they need to grow or access much-needed cash. Asset finance makes the otherwise unaffordable, affordable because it gives businesses access to the equipment they need without incurring the cash flow disadvantage of an outright purchase. 

Agreements can also be customised to the business’ needs with flexibility on both the term and repayment schedule. Various products come under the broad umbrella of asset finance with one of the key ones being refinancing or capital release, as it’s also known. It is a proven way to make your assets work for you and release cash back into the business. 

It’s pretty straightforward and works by the finance company purchasing the asset and financing it back to you, with repayments calculated in line with the income the asset is expected to generate. At the end of the refinance term, you own the asset. 

This offers several great benefits to a business that just needs a cash injection, whether it’s for investment in additional business-critical assets or to use in other areas of the business, including unexpected bills and invoices, salaries, VAT payments, and diversification – the uses are almost endless.  Funders can also look to take over a finance agreement with another provider and extend the term, ultimately reducing monthly payments and easing the pressure on cash flow.

Other examples of asset finance products are: 

Why Close Brothers Asset Finance? 

We are the largest, most successful and longest-established asset finance funder in the UK with over 30 years of experience working with SMEs through all economic cycles – the fact is, there’s very little we haven’t seen or experienced, although the current crisis is proving to be the exception to the rule. 

That said, our approach to helping new and existing customers remains unchanged. Our team of finance specialists – many of who have a Manufacturing background themselves – understand how vital it is that you have what you need to both survive and thrive. 

For more information please visit closeasset.co.uk/asset-finance

Quickgrind gives aero industry a lift

As a UK manufacturer of solid carbide cutting tools, the specialist knowledge and expertise at Tewkesbury-based Quickgrind benefits OEMs and SMEs in the manufacture of aerospace components and structures.

The aer industry demands are exacting which adds to the requirements of the manufacturing and programming teams hard-pressed to deliver the right part and quality, in the required time. More than 3,000 aerospace companies operate in the UK, and the sector has the largest number of SME companies in Europe, providing over 282,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

As Mike Stobart from Quickgrind says: “For those who produce the components, they need and deserve the best and most optimised cutting tools and strategies to enable trouble-free, consistent production.”

A USP intrinsically linked with flexibility

“The demand for cutting tools to perform at their best, day in and day out requires a serious partner that has the ability and know-how to deliver, and that is exactly what we do at Quickgrind. Our cutting tools, whether in standard form or bespoke form will provide trouble-free and long-lasting performance in all the material types used in the aerospace industry. There are a huge variety of components in the aerospace industry that our tools are suitable for, but rather than try to define such parts, we would rather bring readers’ attention to some of the tools in our ranges.”

“Let us look at some of these and their uses. For machining aluminium, we have the QAlu 3-flute end mill range that is TX-R coated and available as standard from 3 to 20mm with and without corner rads. Then there is the QAlu-R roughing end mill with its NF style form. This 6 to 20mm tool enables high feed rates and excellent swarf evacuation. Others in the range are the Alligator 2-flute end mill and Duo-Ballnose, the Caiman 3-flute for 6000 and 7000 series aluminium and its 5-flute chipbreaker big brother with 5XD flute lengths.”

When machining HRSA such as titanium and Inconel, engineers can use the Mirage and Mirage Super end mills. As Mike adds: “These are complimented by our exciting new QVari 4 flute Variable end mills available from 3 to 20mm. When in need of more flutes, we have the QVari-5 (6 to 20mm with and without corner rads) a 5-flute variable helix end mill and the 7-flute QVari-7. The QVari-7 has chip breakers and 3XD flute lengths.”

“If it’s steel you are machining, then we have the QCut variable flute end mill for those more difficult features and the QPlus2 (also QPlus 2-LS) as an excellent allrounder available from 3 to 20mm. If a high feed tool is required, our Bulldog range competes globally and is a firm favourite with the extra appeal of being able to be remanufactured numerous times. We produce these with many different overall lengths – all the way up to 300mm. While talking about High Feed tools, we have to mention the 3-flute Spectre and 4-flute Phantom which are both suitable for HRSA materials. The two types are available with through coolant options and the Phantom can be remanufactured to as good as new condition. The Spectre is available from 1.5 to 16mm diameter. For machining certain features in steels up to 50HRc, we have the Reaper and Reaper-LS.”

Barrel tools are an important alternative to using ballnose tools for finishing all the materials found in the aerospace industry. The Eliminator range from Quickgrind has conical barrel tools, tangential barrel tools, Lens Tools, Form-F (flat surface finishing) and the newly developed Concave Barrel tools for convex surfaces. “As a leader in this type of tool, we have standard ranges and we also produce bespoke tools designed for the ultimate finish. These tools provide up to 90% reduction in cycle times.”

Quickgrind has been at the forefront of developing and manufacturing tools for high-productivity trimming, milling, routing, drilling and reaming of composite materials for many years. As Mike continues: “Take our Dagger drills – these are used for producing accurate holes without delamination when they exit the hole. For finer tolerance work, we also offer our Dagger drill/ream. Working with our clients, we have developed some of the most efficient tooling for difficult-to-machine composite materials including CFRP (carbon fibre-reinforced polymers), glass epoxy laminates, sandwich materials, engineered plastics and wood. On these materials, there are common issues that include delamination, fibre pull-out, abrasion and thermal distortion. We produce three tool versions, the Fusion-P for polymers, Fusion-M for metal composites and the Fusion-C for carbons.”

“Bespoke tools have always been a major part of our business – and they will continue to do so. We have defined this service as Infinite Possibilities where we work with customers to develop the ideal tools for their components. We provide full backup with regards to machining strategies, cutting data and remanufacturing to enable an economic solution,” concludes Mike.

Futureproof machining with Ceratizit

Servicing industries such as Formula 1 and motorsport, Bicester-based SRD is renowned for the fast turnaround of parts. Having been in business for over 30 years, it has grown into a company with over 150 staff. For many years, SRD has relied on tried and tested machining techniques to provide the service it is known for. However, the need to fulfil more orders at a quicker rate, led the company to Ceratizit. 

Working with Nev Frisby, Technical Sales Engineer for Ceratizit, SRD examined its machining processes, inserts and tools and outlined areas where improvements could be made. Firstly, the management team were invited to a training day at Ceratizit in Sheffield. Led by Shaun Thornton, Technical Manager for Ceratizit UK & Ireland, SRD learned about the latest innovations as well as being given the chance to put the tools to the test in the workshop. Nev set up a tooling ‘swap out’, where new inserts could be tested without expense, it wasn’t long before SRD began to achieve some incredible results. 

In some instances, SRD was saving 30-40% on roughing cycles. Tool life has also been increased through the use of Ceratizit’s inserts and their EcoCut inserts are now seen across the workshop. The constant line of communication between Ceratizit and SRD meant that technical support was always on hand. Furthermore, Nev’s regular visits, supported by Drew Pettifar, an Application Sales Engineer for Ceratizit, allowed them to get intimately acquainted with SRD’s machining needs, ensuring that whatever they recommended would make a positive impact. 

SRD explained the extent to which Nev has instigated improvements across various aspects of production. Paul Bonham said: “Nev has really been incredible through this professional relationship. Nev doesn’t just sell products, he recommends products that he is confident will be beneficial for us. The constant line of contact and support we have from Nev and Ceratizit is invaluable, we receive a great amount of technical support from Nev and Drew.”

The focus on futureproofing the company extends beyond its approach to highly specialised, precise machining. SRD invest in their apprentices and are passionate about providing high-quality training to their apprentices. Each apprentice working at SRD is given all the support they need to succeed in this industry. Whether that’s more time set aside for them to complete the course, or whether it’s speaking to different people in the workshop, SRD is renowned for how positive a place it is to complete an apprenticeship. 

Amongst the current apprentices is Adam Leadbeater who recently won Apprentice of the Year, a national award whose winner is selected from all apprentices in the UK. Adam completed his apprenticeship at SRD and chose to stay on at the company once he qualified. Adam highlighted how much support and encouragement he was given by SRD. He said: “A lot of companies don’t let apprentices take time out of their working day to complete coursework. However, SRD always made sure that I had time to work on my apprenticeship and I felt incredibly supported by everyone in the company. It’s such a positive place to be, and I still feel like I learn a lot every day. There is only room to grow in this company and you can always move forward if you want to.”

Dedicated to their apprenticeship programme, SRD even has a Training Mentor, Chris Barnes, who is the apprentices’ first point of call for support in the workplace. Speaking about the value that is placed on the younger generation of engineers, he stated: “We value our apprentices as it’s getting increasingly harder to find skilled people who are eager to work hard and learn. SRD sees this as investing in the future of the company and the future of highly skilled machinists. Our apprentices, like Adam, are all encouraged to ask questions and learn.” 

Chris supported Adam through his apprenticeship and was keen to say how proud he was of everything Adam has achieved with SRD. He further said ‘We were all incredibly proud of Adam for winning Apprentice of the Year. We value all of our apprentices immensely, and it’s rewarding to know that Adam’s hard work, diligence and eagerness to better himself every day didn’t go unnoticed.”

Merc takes-off with Hoffmann

Merc Aerospace is a world-class engineering company with over 40 years in the aerospace and defence, industries. The Lancashire-based manufacturer has a client list that includes brands such as Airbus, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Bombardier, GKN and Spirit Aerosystems. To meet the requirements of these heavyweights, the 50 employee manufacturer works with the Hoffmann Group.  

Emphasising the importance of the relationship with Hoffmann, Richard Meade the Managing Director of Merc Aerospace says: “Our customers require quality, excellence and delivery from us every day. To achieve that, we place a real focus on standardising our workplace and making sure that we have everything we need – and Hoffmann has been a big part of that journey. As one of our main technical partners, Hoffmann has helped to facilitate our continuous improvement strategy, our 5S methodology, and the tooling strategy. They have been a big part of how we have improved the running of our day-to-day business.”

Looking at how the relationship has evolved, Richard adds: “When we started working with Hoffmann 15 years ago, they started by catering for our cutting tool requirements. This has evolved to vending and 5S solutions, and health and safety equipment and now we’re looking at the connected manufacturing offering. Hoffmann are constantly developing new products and the product catalogue continues to evolve.”

Richard adds: “Cost savings are a big focus for our business. The solutions that Hoffmann has provided have certainly underpinned those savings. We will continue to work with them to highlight new areas for development and we are seeing tremendous cost savings, which is enabling that reinvestment to go back into the business.”

Paul Walker, Applications Engineer for the Hoffmann Group says: “Merc have implemented the Hoffmann Group’s hand tools, metrology, cutting tools – the whole works. We have constantly developed new products, and Merc has been a great testbed for our new product developments. This ambitious combination has delivered some incredible savings.” 

Looking at a specific application on a Nakamura-Tome WT150II turning centre, Paul continues: “Merc is machining HAYNES-230, a material similar to Hastelloy X. The process was a 12XD drilled hole at 9.6mm diameter. The tool remains stationary in this process, which is challenging for any carbide tool, so conditions had to be right for the process to work. By switching to a Hoffmann tool, we saved something in the region of £40,000.”

“The savings came from several factors. Firstly, there was a time saving where we were able to increase the feed rate by a third, but the main saving came from tool life improvements. The changeover took productivity from 20 to 161 parts. For any customer, it is important to know what the benchmark is concerning costs, productivity, hourly rate and other factors. It enables companies to work out the cost per part.”

Another recent example of cost reductions implemented by Hoffmann has been identified on the Pendle-based company’s Matsuura MX330 machining centre. Alluding to this, Paul continues: “We identified savings on a stainless steel component. Once again, we were able to save on cycle time by taking the process from a typical 3-axis VMC to the 5-axis Matsuura – a machine with high coolant pressure. This enabled us to utilise the Hoffmann through coolant Master Steel Feed Drill. The benchmark was two parts per drill. We managed to save five minutes on the cycle time. As for the tool life – it just went on and on and on. The same tool ended up being on the machine for more than five years. We calculated that in those five years, the Master Steel Feed Drill would have achieved approximately a £100,000 saving.”

As well as the cost and tool life savings achieved at Merc, Hoffmann identified efficiencies to drive employee efficiency. Discussing this, Jordan Scott from Hoffmann takes a look at one of the company’s many rolling workstations: “Not only do we have all the tools correctly located for ease-of-use; we also have standard and bespoke foam enclosures in each drawer to ensure every tool has its position.  We have also supplied cleaning stations and these can be bespoke to the area or application.”

Mentioning the tool and equipment storage stations, Merc Aerospace Managing Director Richard says: “It is very easy to order everything through the Hoffmann e-shop. All of the furniture is easily available there. With regard to the foam inlays we use, there is a software system available that we use, that allows us to drag and drop, and within minutes we have specialist foam inlays that we can standardise to embed our 5S principles to the workplace.”

Latest machine tool investment pays dividends

Precision specialist invests in a new DN Solutions’ DNM 4500 to increase its machining capacity, strengthen its position in customers’ supply chains and improve the productivity and efficiency of its machine shop.

Mills CNC, the distributor of DN Solutions (formerly Doosan) and Zayer machine tools has recently supplied Ad Hoc Engineering Ltd with a new DN Solutions’ vertical machining centre. The DNM 4500 machine was installed at the Warwickshire company’s 1,700sq/ft facility in March and has been positioned near three other Doosan machines acquired over the last nine years. The machines include an 8” chuck Lynx 220 lathe, a DNM 500 II VMC and a 6” chuck Lynx 2100 lathe, installed in 2014, 2015 and 2019 respectively.

Collectively, these machines along with the recent addition of the DNM 4500, provide the company with a flexible in-house machining resource. The new DNM 4500 is being used to machine a range of precision components and families of parts such as housings, enclosures, valves and actuators for proprietary flow meter and scientific instrumentation products that are designed in-house.

Once machining and inspection have been completed, parts are sent out for surface treatment operations such as plating and powder coating before returning for final assembly, testing and delivery to customers in the electronics and process control sectors. Parts machined on the new DNM 4500 are typically made from aluminium, mild steel and stainless steel bar and billets that are machined in batch sizes from prototypes through the thousands-off using advanced workholding that includes pallets and tombstones. Part tolerances are tight, but the main machining requirements are consistency, repeatability and fast processing speeds.

A new machining centre

With demand growing for its design, machining and assembly services, the company decided in 2022 to improve its milling capacity and capabilities. Two, older machines the company had at its disposal were creating production pinch points that were affecting output. After careful consideration, the decision was made to replace older machines with a new, higher-specification machining centre.

As John Watts, company Owner and Director says: “We provide high-quality machining services to customers and we are a vital cog in their process chains. As such, we need to be able to anticipate and respond quickly to their changing production requirements. To maintain these supply chain relationships, we needed to strengthen our in-house milling capabilities by investing in a reliable, high-performance production-oriented machine that would meet both our and our customers’ immediate and future requirements.”

As a consequence, the company drew up a detailed specification checklist for its new machine tool investment with several ‘must haves’. This included a Fanuc CNC to ensure the quick and easy transfer of programmes between the new machine and its previously acquired DNM 500 II machining centre, a large machining envelope for machining multiple parts in a single set-up, a powerful spindle capable of machining a range of different materials and delivering fast part processing speeds and a reliable, versatile and proven machine with an established track record that was available at a competitive price.

As John Watts continues: “As an existing Doosan user, we have good relationships with Mills CNC. We like their business approach and the three existing Doosan machines have all performed well and haven’t missed a beat. It therefore made sense to contact Mills and, having discussed our needs and requirements with them and seen a DNM 4500 in action at their showroom facility in Leamington, it was a ‘cut and dried’ decision.”

The flexible DNM 4500 3-axis machining centre is equipped with an 18.5kW/ 12,000rpm BT40 direct-drive spindle, a 30-tool position ATC, a 1m by 450mm worktable with a 600kg maximum load and the advanced Fanuc 0iMP control with a 15” touchscreen. The machine was also supplied with through-spindle coolant capability and a Nikken 4th-axis rotary table.

In conclusion, John adds: “We needed a fast, accurate and competitively-priced machining centre. With the DNM 4500 – that’s exactly what we have got.”

Is your CMM slowing you down?

Mitutoyo is a world leading brand with a product range that far exceeds that of other metrology manufacturers. The measurement colossus has its UK head office in Andover with additional facilities in Halifax, Coventry and East Kilbride – but not all manufacturers are aware it has a Measurement Services Department. Based out of Halifax and Coventry, the two facilities are dedicated to offering subcontract measurement services.

Mitutoyo’s Measurement Service Department was founded to help manufacturers bridge the gap between customer expectations on quality and delivery, and the limitations of in-house inspection. UK manufacturers have taken full advantage of the subcontract measurement services to exceed the expectations of customers. So MTDCNC took a trip to Halifax to see the facility and its use of the Renishaw 5-axis REVO inspection head, which is helping to achieve turnaround times that are beyond that of other service providers.

Andy Fifield, the Measurement Services Manager at Mitutoyo UK says: “The Renishaw REVO head is one of the fastest most capable systems and it has a place by our CMMs. In the UK, Mitutoyo CMMs are set apart from others on the market because of their well-established capability and reliability. It is very important in metrology that we can measure parts quickly, but also that we provide a reliable platform, so that customers don’t have any interruptions in the inspection cycle.” 

Nowhere is this sentiment more prominent than in the Measurement Services Department where Mitutoyo deploys its solutions to deliver results, as Andy continues: “We also have some of the most capable software that you can get for a CMM. We have our M-COSMOS software which is a very capable platform. It provides benefits to our customers so that they can quickly and efficiently programme parts and deliver accurate measuring solutions. For manufacturers that require a complete subcontract measurement solution, our teams deliver a complete service with the application of our industry-leading CMMs, world-leading software and expertly trained staff.”

“The Mitutoyo products are used by a wide range of industries, right from small subcontract engineering firms through to the largest aerospace firms in the UK which of course need very precise solutions. Mitutoyo has always strived to deliver cost-effective solutions to our customers. So, when we think about what we want to deliver to our customers, we think about trying to deliver cost-effective solutions that are available for everybody – and trusted by the best.”  

Discussing the partnership between Renishaw and Mitutoyo, Chris Sargent, CMM Applications Engineer at Renishaw PLC says: “Renishaw has been making probes for 50 years and most machine tools and CMMs are supplied with Renishaw equipment. Mitutoyo has been working with Renishaw in the UK for more than 30 years, and all Mitutoyo CMMs and indexing heads are supplied with Renishaw equipment on them. Mitutoyo is a Renishaw premium partner for REVO.”

Alluding to Renishaw REVO and how it enables companies like Mitutoyo to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals, Chris continues: “REVO is a 5-axis CMM inspection head that runs on air and has an A and B-axis to add two additional axes to a 3-axis CMM. Traditional 3-axis CMMs have an intrinsic dynamic error in the machine framework. The REVO head with its A and B-axis eliminates that dynamic error on inspection of certain bores and certain features that don’t involve a CMM movement.”

“REVO is faster than traditional 3-axis CMMs because it doesn’t have to rely on the movement of the framework of the CMM. Therefore, it can scan bores and other features much quicker, just by moving the head itself. REVO can scan data up to 4000 points per second which is 80% faster than its 3-axis competitors. This provides a 50% decrease in cycle times in a production environment. Manufacturers utilising the Mitutoyo M-COSMOS system can use Renishaw’s scanning probes to scan bores up to 500mm a second. There are also surface finish probes available with a variety of modules to suit different uses and Renishaw’s ultrasonic probe for capturing data on wall thicknesses up to 20mm. Now, all Mitutoyo CMMs with indexing heads are supplied with Renishaw technology, so manufacturers can benefit from the diverse and technologically advanced solutions from both Renishaw and Mitutoyo.”

Measuring Up

MTDCNC recently visited YMT Technologies in Yeovil where Paul Jones spoke with Steve Wright from Heidenhain to discuss the company’s diverse range of measurement probes.

Telling MTDCNC about the history behind Heidenhain manufacturing probing systems, Steve told MTDCNC: “We have been manufacturing probes for over 35 years, so it’s definitely one of the best-kept secrets of the machine tool industry.” With two probing systems in action on a YMT machining centre, Steve first explained how the probes work, saying: “Probes are fundamentally a very accurate switch. When the probe triggers on the workpiece or on the tool, it then captures the axis position and that is then sent back to the control unit. This information is then used to align the workpiece position within the machine, measure the workpiece or measure the geometry of the tools.”

Alluding to why manufacturers should use probes, Steve continues: “They will increase productivity and efficiency of the machine tool. They will reduce manual setup time by using a spindle probe to set up a component inside the machine. For the tool probes, you can measure your tools inside the machine rather than use the preset outside of the machine and then manually enter the data on the CNC. Secondly, with the inspection probe in the spindle, you can actually inspect the component inside the machine. This means you do not have to move apart from the machine, take it to the inspection department and then re-loading for any subsequent reworking operations.”

Looking at the specific probing solutions, Steve continues: “Here we have our TT460 two probing system for monitoring measuring and checking cutting tool length and radius. It’s a wireless system that connects remotely to an infrared transmitter in the machine. With regards to set up, it is simply mounted on a base unit on the machine bed and there is a magnetic version. You can use then an inbuilt probing cycle to determine where the probe is and do a calibration cycle. The next unit is the TT160, it has the same functionality as the wireless version in that it has a cable outlet and it is physically hardwired to the machine.”

Moving on to the measurement probes, Steve takes a closer look at the TS460 system. “This is the spindle probe for setting up your components inside the machine and doing an inspection of the parts. This is a wireless version of the probe that can communicate via infrared or radio signal with the receiver.” Discussing features that are specific to the Heidenhain probes, Steve continues: “The first feature is a collision protection ring at the base of the probe. This acts as a second defence to protect the probe body. So, if you had an unexpected contact between the probe body and the fixture or workpiece, the probe would deflect and protect the electronics and mechanical workings of the probe. Furthermore, this deflection device acts as a thermal decoupling device, so any heat generated in the spindle cannot be transferred to the probe. This eliminates any potential for thermal growth and inaccuracy via the probe.”

“The second interesting feature is the three outlets that run through the probe. This allows compressed air or coolant to travel through the probe, this is to clear any swarf from the workpiece before doing any measurement.”

Discussing how the systems work with the receiver, Steve says: “We use the SE660 receiver that is capable of transmitting either an infrared or radio transmission. The one receiver works with both the spindle and tool probing systems. Primarily, the radio transmission is more commonly used in larger machines if you have instant is where the fixtures or workpiece will block the line of sight between the receiver and the probing system.”

🎧 – Cutting orthopaedic components

The medical industry specialises in producing a wide range of equipment that is intended for solving a broad spectrum of health issues and it contains numerous parts that vary in dimensions, accuracy, material and shape complexity. To make these parts, the medical industry utilises diverse technological processes where machining plays an essential role. In this industry, some components require intricate machining processes that challenge engineers – requiring process planning, specialist machinery and the right cutting tools to assure effective productivity. 

Orthopaedic and dental surgery components are classic examples of complex parts with challenging machining processes. Typical implant materials such as titanium alloys, cobalt-chromium (CoCr) alloys and stainless steel are difficult-to-cut. Many implants have a complex shape, which requires multi-axis machining. The implants and their respective parts are usually small and are characterised by stringent dimensional tolerances and excellent surface finishes. To maximise output, machines require appropriate tools that are characterised by the ability to machine small and miniature parts in limited working spaces, main application groups such as ISO S and ISO M with high accuracy and surface finish requirements.

      

Small rotating tools require substantially increased rotary velocities. These tools must be balanced and possess dynamic strength to perform effectively at high speeds. The latest products from ISCAR contribute to the influence of the factors. In cutting ISO S and M materials, coolant supply is 

essential for achieving efficiency.  The PICCOCUT line of miniature tools was developed specifically for machining small miniature parts. (Fig. 1). This product line has been reinvented over time with a through-tool coolant feature that directs emulsion at the cutting edge. PICCOCUT also features double-sided holders with internal coolant channels pinpointed to the cutting zone and holders with a user-friendly clamping mechanism.

ISCAR also offers turning tools with ISO standard inserts for machining small parts on Swiss-type lathes with new square-shank holders for turning applications (Fig. 2). The holders have the SAFE-T-LOCK clamping mechanism which assures precise and extremely rigid insert mounting, and a high-pressure cooling option. This enables turning under high machining conditions while ensuring better productivity and tool life.

In parting, ISCAR realises that narrow widths of cut contribute highly to cost savings. A new range of compact tools with SELF-GRIP inserts in widths of 0.6 to 1.2mm reduce material waste when parting bars up to 16mm diameter. The tools intended for Swiss-type machines are suitable for machining narrow external grooves. 

        .   

Small solid carbide drills are commonly used for drilling orthopaedic components. Assembled drills with exchangeable carbide cutting heads provide cost benefits. However, the miniaturisation of drill diameters makes the assembled concept difficult to implement. The lower limit for ISCAR SUMOCHAM drills with interchangeable carbide heads was 6mm diameter but ISCAR’s engineers have succeeded in reducing it to 4.5mm (Fig. 3) – a major step for cost-efficient drilling.

In theoretical terms, ball-nose milling cutters provide a point of contact with curve-based surfaces. These are the main tools for fine milling complex-shaped parts for a high-surface finish. At the same time, generating high-quality surfaces by milling with ball-nose cutters requires diminishing the step size, which in turn increases cycle time. Applying barrel-shaped mills is an effective solution to overcome this obstacle, especially in 5-axis profiling of orthopaedic components. ISCAR has added high-precision ‘cutting barrels’ to the solid carbide endmills (SCEM), indexable profile mills and Multi-Master tools. These cutters are primarily designed for semi-finishing and finishing titanium, exotic superalloys, and austenitic stainless steel. Barrel-shaped mills provide a much smoother surface and reduce the number of cuts while decreasing process time. ISCAR Miniature SCEM and Multi-Master endmills are highly effective for machining complicated orthopaedic parts such as knee prosthesis components (Fig. 4).

Milling, drilling and other operations performed by small rotary tools require considerable rotating velocity. This velocity grows substantially if high-speed machining (HSM) strategies are used and many machine tools cannot facilitate the required speed. ISCAR’s new high-pressure coolant-driven MICRO 90 spindles (Fig. 5) provides a solution. MICRO 90 spindles rotate in the range of 35,000 to 53,000rpm while the main machine spindle remains idle.

ITC cuts costs & cycle times

Celebrating its 30th year of business, Tml Precision Engineering is a Tier 1 & 2 subcontract manufacturer to the aerospace, motorsport, medical and renewable energy sectors. To extend its competitive advantage, the Norwich-based company has been working with Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC).

Working to ISO: 9001 and AS: 9100, Tml has invested in multi-pallet 5-axis machine tools from Matsuura and DMG MORI, mill/turn centres and turning centres from Nakamura-Tome (ETG). With extended unmanned machining, Tml was looking to improve tool life whilst reducing cycle times – an initial market review led to ITC being chosen to deliver the results based on service capability and technical support. 

Local ITC Technical Engineer Dan Smith called upon the Norfolk manufacturer and initially trialled ITCs 2041 Series of solid carbide end mills for aluminium. Applied to a series of battery system components for a Norfolk-based automotive OEM, the initial trial proved fruitful with productivity rates and tool life both improving. The improved results led to the 2041 Series and other aluminium specific end mills being adopted on the shopfloor at Tml. It also gave the manufacturer confidence in both ITC’s products and the expertise of the technical engineering team to trial the WIDIA range of indexable turning tools. 

The WIDIA Victory Series of CNMG and WNMG indexable inserts from ITC for machining steel and stainless were applied to a family of more than 10 different flow regulator and pipe assembly components to undertake rough turning. Machined on Mazak Integrex mill/turn centres, the ITC engineer swapped out the previous inserts and retained ‘like-for-like’ cutting data with the four-edged inserts. The ITC WIDIA Victory turning series yielded a tool life of 16 parts per insert edge compared to the previous four parts per insert edge. This significant tool life saving has proven hugely beneficial for Tml, especially as the pipe assembly parts are high-volume components manufactured throughout the year.

One of the components in the assembly was particularly challenging, as ITC’s Dan Smith recalls: “One part manufactured from stainless steel bar has a seam weld that results in intermittent cutting, which is why tool life was an issue for Tml. However, the performance of the WIDIA Victory turning series massively improved tool life and another benefit was reduced insert changeovers and subsequent cost reductions. To further reduce costs in the mill/turn department, we introduced the latest WIDIA WCE4 Series of solid carbide end mills. Introducing the 3, 4, 6 and 8mm diameter end mills with the variable helix flutes, tool life was improved and the variable helix enhanced surface finishes and reduced vibration on milling operations in the mill/turn centres.”

No Run of the Mill Tools

ITC then had an opportunity to look at other milling projects – one being an aluminium component regularly machined in batches up to 100-off with 30mm of metal removal on the face. Previously, Tml was using a 4-flute solid carbide end mill from a rival supplier, which was resulting in poor tool life and surface finishes – this was primarily caused by vibration and poor chip evacuation. Furthermore, with poor surface finishes and excessive noise and vibration. The ITC engineer eradicated this with the introduction of a 16mm diameter ITC 4104 Series aluminium roughing tool with chipbreaker. To maximise the rigidity of the set-up, the ITC Technical Engineer introduced a BIG KAISER HMC chuck to complement the end mill.

The combination of the 4104 chipbreaker end mill and the BIG KAISER HMC chuck enabled Tml to take a full flute 30mm depth of cut and run at 10,000rpm with a 1.8mm step over and a feed rate of 7200mm/min. On a batch of 80 parts, the ITC 4104 Series proved to be a more cost-effective tool that subsequently reduced the cycle time by upwards of 20% whilst improving the surface finish substantially – to the point that a secondary finishing tool was not required. 

The most impressive result to date has been achieved on a large EN8 component for the entertainment industry that requires 77% material removal – taking the part from 9kg down to just 2kg. On the rough facing of the component, Tml was previously applying a face mill, which was yielding a roughing cycle time of 1.5 hours. The ITC engineer swapped out the face mill for an ITC 16mm diameter 6054-16 Series 6-flute end mill with a chipbreaker. With a 50mm flute length, the 6054-16 Series cut at a full 50mm flute depth with a 0.8mm stepover and a cutting speed of 4777rpm. Cutting with such aggressive material removal rates on a Matsuura MAM72, the stability of the end mill was further enhanced by a BIG KAISER HMC chuck that demonstrates complete face and taper contact for maximum rigidity. The combination of the BIG KAISER chuck and the 6054-16 Series end mill cut the roughing cycle from 1.5 hours to just 15 minutes – and with a quantity of 60 parts, the cycle time reduction is equal to more than 3 days of machining.

Attitudes to funding

Close Brothers Asset Finance regularly survey business owners in the sectors it funds, including manufacturing. Taken from its latest survey, the focus is on attitudes to ‘funding’, finding out, for example, if firms are planning on seeking funding; and if they are confident about getting access to loans to grow their business. 

A key finding is that only half of the manufacturing firms are aware of Asset Finance, meaning a large number still haven’t taken advantage of the many benefits to be gained from leveraging value from their existing assets. 

Access to funding

A third of manufacturing business owners say getting access to funding is a ‘major challenge’ and more difficult now than it was a year ago. A further 56% say it is a ‘moderate challenge’ and as difficult now to access finance as it was a year ago. Only 5% say it’s become easier. 

Exactly 40% admit to having been declined access to finance by a bank in the last six months, but despite the additional challenges, 77% of manufacturing firms are planning on seeking funding for investment in 2023, although 63% have delayed their investment decisions because of market uncertainty. 

Funding options ranked in order of popularity: 

1. Bank loan 2. Credit cards

3. Overdraft 4. Invoice finance

5. Finance lease 6. Personal/family funding

7. Hire purchase 8. Asset-based lending

9. Operating lease 10. Refinance

11. Crowd/peer to peer

Unfortunately, 47% of manufacturing survey respondents stated they had missed a business opportunity in the last 12 months because of a lack of available finance. 

Impact of energy price rises

The increases in the cost of doing business, compounded by significant energy price rises, have had a major impact on businesses in all sectors, including manufacturing, leading to 47% of firms in the industry needing to take out finance just to cover higher energy costs. 

Nearly seven in 10 (67%) of business owners disclosed that their energy bills had risen, with a further 59% stating it had impacted their profitability. As a consequence, 91% have implemented various energy-saving measures, including (in order): 

1. Switching off lights

2. Lowering the thermostat

3. Turning off the air conditioning

4. Insulation

5. Switching providers

Interestingly, well over half of firms polled said they would consider moving to a four-day week to save on energy costs, which is well below the UK average of 57%. 

Main business concerns

Energy costs top the list of concerns for manufacturing firms, followed by inflation and higher materials costs – all of which have significantly contributed to the higher cost of doing business. 

What are your main business concerns (respondents could tick up to five)?

-Energy costs l Inflation

-Materials supply l Interest rates

-Tax/VAT l Cash flow

-Late payments l Lack of skilled staff

-Competitors l Managing expansion

-Finding extra working capital

While late payments aren’t the biggest concern for business owners, well over half (59%) of manufacturing companies admitted that customers taking too long to settle their accounts was an ongoing problem for them. 

The main impacts were:

-Late invoice payments make cashflow difficult to manage

–Time spent chasing payments detracting from other tasks

-Significantly impacting their ability to trade (and plan) effectively 

Main business priorities

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many firms’ main priorities were split between achieving growth, developing new products and services, and being able to continue to trade. 

The encouraging element of the data is that more manufacturing business owners are focusing on growth than survival.  

-Achieving growth 23%

-Developing products/services 19%

-Survival 18%

-Investing in staff 16%

-Business consolidation 16%

-Paying down debts 9%

For more information please visit closeasset.co.uk/manufacturing

🎧 – Additive shift to deliver both volume and custom parts

Big trends in medical device manufacture include the growing movement into digital devices, a shift to more 3D printed implants, and signs that global medical primes are bringing more manufacturing in-house possibly due to UK supplier constraints. Will Stirling reports.

Despite efforts to reduce plastic consumption, the segment that produced the highest value of turnover in 2021 was single use (SU) technology. It generated £3bn in turnover in 2021, 10% of the total turnover in the medical technology sector in 2021 and a 53% increase from 2020. The biggest segment for employment in 2021 was digital health, at 11% of the total. Orthopaedic devices, which is one group of parts that MTD readers would typically manufacture, represents just 5% turnover and 4% employment. This probably says more about the growth of digital and SU, because elective operations like hip and knee joint replacements are back after a long period where Covid and then life-threatening surgeries dominated hospitals.

Kirkstall Precision Engineering is seeing that recovery. Active in the medical sector since 2000, today medical and veterinary devices combined make up over 87% of sales and this is growing. Iqbal Bahia joined the company in 2018 with a strong manufacturing background and was appointed Managing Director in 2022. With the leadership team, he set a strategy for growth centred on offering large medical device OEMs a reliable and flexible end-to-end Contract manufacturing service. The business has ISO: 13485, the medical devices standard with scope being extended this year to include design and implant manufacturer and has just passed its phase 1 audit for the ISO: 14001 environmental standard. The medical sector is a demanding niche, Iqbal Bahia says, because the instruments must fulfil the highest requirements in safety, reliability and functionality as well adhering to rigorous regulatory rules. This is where the company strategy has focused.

“We do not own a component design,” says Bahia. “We are end-to-end contract manufacturers, we own the device manufacturing IP and will help with design, prototyping, IP, validation, manufacture, and assembly. We are positioning ourselves as a one-stop-shop ‘solution provider’, for example with our veterinary products we produce the tray and instruments in a full kit.”

Like all businesses, Kirkstall Precision was hit hard by the pandemic – orders fell by 60% almost overnight. But it took the long-term view and increased investment, deciding that medical would bounce back strongly post-pandemic and would need high capacity suppliers with the standards and processes to deliver. They were correct – the order book is now strong and Kirkstall has established a name for quality and reliability.

New recent investments include a Matsuura MX-330, costing just under £450,000, two new Star sliding head lathes, an optical measuring machine, and a GF Cut E350 EDM machine for unmanned machining. It also invested heavily in a new Business Management System, covering ERP, MRP, CRM and QMS (quality management) – with a production planning and scheduling package on the way. Iqbal Bahia places much credit on the new IT system, supplied by Access, for Kirkstall Precisions’ ability to deliver a demanding order book and manage challenging material inputs. 

“The cost and delivery time of various grades of stainless steel, our biggest material, has risen hugely,” he says. “People are now committed to forward orders to guarantee the continuity of supply. We have invested further so we can produce around the clock.” Its core product families are orthopaedic instruments for global OEMs, joint surgery, knee replacements, hip replacements, and spine alignment.

Additive manufacturing goes mainstream

Launched in 2019, Renishaw’s RenAM 500 series is a metal additive manufacturing (AM) machine that is proving popular for medical device manufacture. It comes in a single laser and four or ‘quad’ laser – the 500Q – variants. The 500Q prints small and medium-sized parts at a lower cost point because it has much higher productivity than a single laser. There is also a 500 Flex variant, launched in 2021, designed for different material testing. “The Flex is good for swapping materials in and out, we find some customers start with the Flex to trial applications and then move on to the Quad (500Q),” says Marcomms Manager for Additive Manufacturing, Ella Rees.

There is a growing trend for medical device (‘MedDev’) companies to use AM printers for implants such as hips and knees, partly for speed and levels of customisation, but also due to the surface characteristics of AM parts. The process produces a rough and porous surface that lends itself well to implants. “When the knee implant is inserted, your bone will latch on to that roughness and start to grow back. That’s only possible with that sort of texture and that sort of latticing [in an AM produced implant],” says Rees. Strong markets for these machines include the US, where patients are willing to pay more for the best outcome for orthopaedics, Ireland’s MedDev hub and parts of Europe.

Recently Italian orthopaedic devices company Permedica bought three RenAM 500Qs to enable the mass production of AM parts. 

Federico Perego, Sales Manager, Permedica, says the company chose to invest heavily in additive manufacturing for two reasons. “First is the need to design and produce custom-made devices quickly for our patients/customers. Secondly, we need to produce a growing number of standard products to meet the increasing demands of our market.”

The AM business has had a very strong 12 months, reflecting a clear shift to AM, after the early developmental years where product prices remained high and there was more reticence. “We are seeing the medical and dental market expand fast; as it becomes more mainstream the cost comes down, and demand rises,” Rees says. “Growth now is about both very customised parts made to fit a patient using CT scans, such as customised maxillofacial implants, but increasingly high volume, standard parts production for hips and knees.

UK needs more capable SMEs to match needs of Med Dev sector

The Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI) sees change caused by greater demands and pressures on SMEs.  Post-pandemic, supply chain problems still exist for a range of materials, particularly with semiconductors. ABHI says long lead times are often mentioned by many UK members for a wide range of products, with components and raw materials compounded by rising costs.  

“Members have told us that there is a shortage of UK contract manufacturing capability, with many companies having to go abroad to source parts,” says Jonathan Evans from the ABHI. “A number of organisations have said that they would like to: a) have this capacity at home and b) have it at a competitive price. A further issue is that suppliers often prioritise large orders, or have very large minimum order quantities, that cause problems for UK SMEs in the earlier stages of development.” Some ABHI companies say that many of the components or materials they need are either not manufactured in the UK, or the price of these in the UK are significantly higher than from overseas. 

Jonathan adds: “Many SMEs will not have the equipment and skills in-house when it comes to manufacturing at any type of scale and are likely to outsource this to a contract manufacturing organisation, or even a university innovation/manufacturing centre. This clearly shows that there is a huge demand from UK HealthTech SMEs for clinical and scale-up services.” Evidence, then, of a big manufacturing opportunity for companies that can pivot to supply this need, in the required volumes with the necessary accreditation while still managing big supplier constraints.

🎧 – Flying high at 50

On the 4th of April, Renishaw celebrated its 50th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, MTD magazine featured the company’s Miskin facility in our March issue where we discussed the new £50m investment, net-zero, the manufacturing strategy and how internal methodologies are a driving force for external product launches. We were delighted to be invited back to Wales a second time to meet company figureheads and co-founder Sir David McMurtry to find out more about the origins, the culture that drives the company and its future direction. By Rhys Williams

Renishaw plc is a name that has been synonymous with measurement for as long as most engineers can remember – a true beacon of UK manufacturing ingenuity. The press trip to the Miskin facility near Cardiff in March gave journalists an opportunity to fire questions at senior management and members of the executive board. The most prominent attendees were Louise Callanan, Director of Additive Manufacturing; Paul Maxted, Director of Industrial Metrology Applications; Gareth Hankins, Head of Group Manufacturing; Will Lee CEO and Sir David McMurtry, the Executive Chairman, Co-Founder and all-round fascinating character. 

The press conference discussed a range of subjects, but one thing evident was the culture of innovation that has been the backbone of the company for 50 years. Listening to Sir David in the press conference and also discussing a wider range of subjects over lunch; it was fascinating to learn how this humble inventor, engineer and titan of industry weaved a path to half a century of stratospheric success and built a culture of innovation. But before we get to that, it may be worth looking at the company’s 50-year journey, and where it all began. Sometimes, the road already travelled tells an insightful story that isn’t always well known.

Where it all started 

In 1972, David McMurtry was an Assistant Chief of Engine Design for Rolls-Royce, working on engines manufactured at Filton. There was a challenge with measuring the pipework on the Rolls-Royce Snecma Olympus 593 engine that was destined for installation on Concorde, which later took its first commercial passengers in 1976. Working over a weekend to solve the urgent issue, David McMurtry designed and built a prototype touch-trigger probe for CMMs. The probe solved the issues faced by Rolls-Royce – and as we know now, the ability to automate measurement on CMMs later went on to solve measurement challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide. 

Rolls-Royce filed a patent on McMurtry’s design on 21st September 1972. Simultaneously, David was discussing the probe with colleague John Deer, now Non-Executive Deputy Chairman at Renishaw; John had a background in machining and wanted to start his own business. As Sir David McMurtry said in the press conference: “I remember working on the probe and continually encountering challenges that needed to be overcome. Back in those days, there were no mobile phones or emails. The factory had the big old phone boxes and I had to walk across the site to make calls to discuss the solution.”

When both engineers identified the wider commercial opportunities for the invention, Rolls-Royce agreed to license the patent, but only if the pair had a limited liability company. To speed up the process, they purchased an ‘off-the-shelf’ company called Renishaw Electric Ltd on 4th April 1973 – and the company we know now as Renishaw plc was born. McMurtry continued to design the early products in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire and when the company received its first order for 10 probes from LK Metrology for a grand total of £3,333, the company’s manufacturing and admin moved to Deer’s home in Chepstow, South Wales where there was a garage machine shop, spare bedroom assembly area and dining table admin department. In 1976, the small start-up acquired its first premises, a former ice cream factory in Wotton-under-Edge, and with just nine employees, the company was quickly supplying the world’s leading manufacturers of CMMs. With CMM manufacturers located worldwide, Renishaw was built upon the foundations of supplying a global marketplace, something that rings true today with 95% of annual sales derived from exports.

McMurtry and Deer saw the potential for probes to be applied to CNC machines and quickly developed and subsequently demonstrated its first commercial probe at the EMO 1977 exhibition on a Kearney & Trecker milling machine. When the show returned in 1981, 32 machine tool builders had Renishaw probes fitted to machines on their stands – as we know, the rest is a fantastic journey of British innovation that has taken the world by storm. 

Now, Renishaw plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE250 index with a current valuation of around £3bn and over 5,200 staff in 36 countries, and while a large proportion of business is still derived from contact and non-contact measurement – it supplies a wide range of metrology systems, process control solutions and it develops systems for non-destructive testing using Raman spectroscopy, robots and drug delivery systems for neuro-surgery as well as being a major player in the additive manufacturing sector. 

Products nurtured from an ‘innovation culture’

At present, Renishaw is developing a host of new innovations including its FORTiS enclosed encoders and Renishaw Central which is set to hit the market in 2023. The company notified journalists that it is also making huge leaps forward with additive manufacturing behind the scenes. The major launch for this year is certainly Renishaw Central, a new ‘Smart Factory’ manufacturing connectivity and data platform with an open architecture that collects and presents manufacturing process data, allowing users to monitor and update machining and quality control systems. Its features also allow for manufacturing process parameters to be updated using its unique and patented Intelligent Process Control (IPC) software functionality – Renishaw said the system is expected to receive its world premiere at EMO in Hanover later this year. 

Whilst the company kept its cards close to its chest regarding the next step in its additive manufacturing journey, MTD magazine did gather some insights. Louise Callanan, the Renishaw Director of Additive Manufacturing said: “The focus and dream for everyone in additive manufacturing is volume production. It is where the technology needs to go, so as well as the platform products we are continually evolving, and trying to improve the productivity of those; we are also working on the next-generation system. We have a funded project with ATI (Aerospace Technology Institute) and other industry partners that we are working with to address some of those barriers to the adoption of additive, making it more accessible to more applications. We are looking at making it more productive, improving the cost per part and more. We cannot say too much at present, but it will be different.” 

Adding to this, Renishaw CEO Will Lee said: “When we talk about additive and it being more widespread, we are looking at the higher volume parts we manufacture internally. If we are doing things where we don’t need unique additively manufactured features – it is then about evaluating the most cost-effective and lowest carbon intensity production methods.”

Of course, with additive set for a paradigm shift in coming years, you could expect one man to be strenuously working on it behind the scenes. As Sir David adds: “Additive is my pet passion at the moment, and it’s been a great experience. Louise has got the job of changing our additive capabilities and I look forward to seeing how that will grow. It’s a golden opportunity when people realise the potential for it, and they learn to design for it. Unfortunately, the CAD systems are designed for the subtractive, not additive process, and aids for additive are just not there yet. So, everybody reverts back to subtractive methods instead of thinking differently and producing parts in a much better way.”

Looking at the additive manufacturing market, Sir David adds: “In the next 10 years, you will see a major change to this sector. When you look at the curve, it is currently very, very slow, but the sector is progressing with generative design and you can already see the ability to create parts that were not previously possible. There will be greater capability and increased volume capacity in the future.”  

Innovation in the DNA for 50 years

With ground breaking products in the pipeline, some that are a world away from measurement probes – it’s as ‘clear as day’ that Renishaw is breaking the barriers of convention as much today, as it was 50 years ago. As a technical journalist, I continually hear all the superlatives about how companies are streets ahead of the competition; I’ve heard it all. However, Renishaw is probably the furthest removed from convention that I can recall – genuinely taking manufacturing ingenuity to the industry. Renishaw Central and 3D printing technology are just two examples of how the company has massively pivoted from its origins.

At the spearhead of this is Sir David. MTD magazine asked the inventor and business founder about his 50-year journey, he told MTD magazine: “It’s nice to have seen the business grow and that the momentum is still there, and we can create opportunities for people’s futures.” It was humbling that he glossed over the worldwide success story that he has built. The company has over 1,800 patents and Sir David is named on 240 of these, plus around 50 whilst at Rolls-Royce, making him arguably the UK’s most active inventor, leaving innovators like Sir James Dyson (circa 120 patents) trailing far behind.

Adding to the highlights down the years, CEO Will Lee says: “Looking at the business over 50 years, singling out a product or innovation over that time is extremely difficult, but the single most important thing is the culture which has been  instilled. This started with Sir David and his absolute belief in continuous innovation and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. From discussions in my earlier career in product design roles, even when we were developing a product and deciding how to bring it to market, we were still asking ourselves ‘what comes next?’ This approach is instilled in everyone and that is why you see these flows of new innovations coming through from different areas of disconnected parts of the business – because that culture is always there.”

“Another thing that Sir David and John Deer have instilled across the business is their long-term thinking that comes so naturally. One example of that at the moment is the relocation of some of the manufacturing of consumer electronics from China. You only need 10% of the production to move to new locations such as India and Vietnam, for it to be a big opportunity. The discussions at Board level are about how we take full advantage of these changes, how we take all the learning from supporting manufacturing in China to invest wisely in India and Vietnam. That investment is not going to pay back for a few years yet. But we can see it is the right thing to do for our business, investing in our people, skills and infrastructure in these growing markets. This approach to innovation and long-term thinking is instilled in all of us, so why wouldn’t we do it?”

Supporting this, Renishaw’s Head of Group Manufacturing, Gareth Hankins said: “What Sir David and John have instilled in all of us, is that we naturally don’t accept convention. You don’t realise it until you hear our CEO Will saying that, but innovation is subliminally drummed into us – and it doesn’t matter what the topic is. Whether it’s about manufacturing or anything else, it’s always about thinking differently, if everybody else thinks a particular way, why should we think the same way.”

Looking to the future

Following a turbulent period for manufacturing that has seen both Brexit and Covid impact the industry, CEO Will Lee said: “We’ve had a rollercoaster ride where there have been things we have learnt and developed and we are in a much better position coming out of those challenges than we were before. We may be a long-term business, but not even we can look at the next 50 years. But concerning the next 5 to 10 years, we now have some very interesting business areas coming through in which we are investing. We believe we can really compound on the growth that we are currently seeing.” 

Echoing this statement, Sir David says: “During the downturns, we invest in R&D. This is where we see an opportunity to accelerate our business in different areas and grow in different directions.”

The final word

Meeting Sir David McMurtry was a huge honour for all of the journalists that attended the event; to meet a man so instrumental in the evolution of a manufacturing institution like Renishaw. At the age of 83, Sir David still works in the business – almost daily. His passion for manufacturing and his ability to innovate is as prominent today as it was 50 years ago. Edging towards his 80’s, Sir David founded McMurtry Automotive in 2016 and developed the McMurtry Spéirling hypercar – currently, the world’s fastest accelerating production vehicle with a 0 to 60mph time of 1.4 seconds. The car shattered the course record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2022, and when an F1 car accelerates to 60mph more than a second slower than the McMurtry Spéirling – you know the inventor can break the rules of convention in whatever he turns his hand to.

Over lunch Sir David expressed his regret at the lack of support for UK manufacturing.  Without divulging the details, it would appear that once again, despite our manufacturing heroes continually lobbying the UK government to give our industry a fair deal and help us to grow a stronger manufacturing base, regardless of the political persuasion – the government is tone deaf to the cries of our sector. However, innovators like Sir David will always find a way to succeed – after 50 years of developing one of the UK’s most successful manufacturing businesses, countless new product lines and thousands of patents and creating a culture and legacy of innovation – Renishaw looks destined to continue achieving great things in the future.

🎧 – What is industrial metrology?

More importantly, what should industry metrologists be doing to be effective and of good value to a business? To answer that question is not as simple as you may think. The purists will say metrology is pure science, set out with trusted and consistent tools and practices. In most metrology roles they are right, but add the word ‘industrial’, in front of metrology and now we start to hit vagaries. By Ian Wilcox

In this first of a two part article, we will look at the different types of metrology, and how those types can differ due to the organisational mission, expected outcomes and therefore motivation and business necessity. The industrial landscape can make its version of metrology more ambiguous. 

In the next issue of MTD magazine, we will publish the second part of this article. In part 2, I will give some insight into how industrial metrology can work for a company; what can be done, how it can provide benefit and how to navigate through those vagaries.

Let’s start with some definitions that come from the top. In this case, the top is a definition published by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), they state that there are three types of metrology. 

-Scientific Metrology

-Applied Metrology

-Legal Metrology

A simplified description of each would be:

Scientific Metrology

As the name suggests this type of metrology follows the pursuit of scientific advancement. With clear, unfettered and focused goals to advance knowledge, capability, and the realisation of internationally agreed frameworks of the units of measurement – setting specifications for standards and their application. Embedding them into their regional or national economies via stakeholders such as governmental departments and licensees, scientific bodies including technology manufacturers, industry and ultimately society. Scientific metrology forms the foundation for the other aspects of metrology that follow.

Technical Metrology

Also known as Applied Metrology. This deals with the end use of measurement and its application, including but not exclusively, industrial and manufacturing processes. A stream within technical metrology supports industrial and other non-industrial applied metrology such as calibration and verification.

 

Legal Metrology

This relates to law and regulation, both national and international to ensure fair trade. This also constitutes other areas where metrology provides assurance of compliance and where applicable, safety. Providing impartial transparency in measurement and equipment capability, legal metrology protects traders, consumers and the wider public.

Both scientific and legal metrology are well-defined, independently regulated, audited heavily and often peer-reviewed. They also have a quality function that is focused almost exclusively on a good metrology outcome. Metrology is their purpose, its service and advancement are their output. Being heavily audited and regulated leaves individual organisations very little wiggle room in how their metrology can deviate. Often your license or contract to deliver can be revoked if you do not comply with the set standards.

Contrast that with industrial metrology as applied in manufacturing. Metrology practices are not usually specified or independently regulated, specific requirements if any, are set by the purchasing company in a supply chain contract. Alternately, requirements can be specified whereby individual companies are masters of their own metrology (or lack of) if it is not customer specified. Supply contracts may have some generic requirements, but these are often vague on metrology specific activities and mainly focused on higher quality metrics. 

Some large ‘prime’ or top of the supply chain companies do set out metrology-related requirements but these vary widely. Some industry sector initiatives also exist but can suffer from a lack of take up and/or funding. Examples of where these can be found are in medical device manufacturing. Anything made with an airworthiness certificate and other safety-critical parts such as brake components on a vehicle. In these cases, managing quality with more stringent and specific metrology practices may be specified, or at least implied.

But outside of those examples and far more common across the broad spectrum of industry, is that each manufacturer is unregulated and left to create their own ad-hoc approach to metrology and measurement strategies. Or when companies are unfamiliar with what metrology is, they miss it out completely and just measure in blind faith that technology and calibration is enough.

I must raise and recognise that a stream within technical metrology is also tightly regulated and audited, and that is calibration and verification. Requiring compliance to ISO:17025, a quality standard that is a must, if you want to offer calibration services. It is a standard that specifies metrology tools and evidence of completion of metrology activities. Their processes are also keenly audited and assured. Calibration gives assurance, and compliance and sets benchmarks that provide the opportunity for manufacturers and supply chains to be comparable and therefore collaborate and subsequently trade. As a manufacturer though, do not assume your metrology can be managed simply through calibration. 

If you are a manufacturer and in that third area of Technical Metrology, ask yourself what requirements you adhere to regarding actual measurement strategies and metrology practices. Not Quality but Metrology.

Is Industrial Metrology the ‘Wild West’ that I paint here? I should and can temper the ‘Wild West’ analogy because even in Wild West America there was a Washington, a San Francisco and other places where higher standards were applied. Some of you will feel that this is not the world you occupy or recognise, and to varying degrees I accept that there are some good industrial metrology practices out there. But a significant number of manufacturing companies have lost their way on metrology.

With little clear guidance on company-level metrology strategies and their benefits, skills not keeping up with modern manufacturing, and add to that a measurement technology explosion that exacerbates the ever-widening gap between metrology good practice with its productivity benefits – the actual reality is that has an often-undiagnosed drag on productivity. That may sound harsh to some, but based on my own experience dealing with manufacturers from SMEs to big international household names, a lot of you will recognise elements of what I am trying to say.

Good measurement is a must for companies. Good measurement just doesn’t happen, you must manage it. You need the insights gleaned from metrology activities to make better decisions around measurement strategies. Metrology can give you this insight. Once you have reliable measurement data and process control, lean and other productivity related activities are boosted by confidence in reliable data. 

In the next issue, I will switch to what you can do and what benefits can be achieved. In other words, how to reap the productivity bonus. Be more Washington and San Francisco than Tombstone and Deadwood.

Versatile quality control of medical parts

LK implants CMM Technology at Ortho Baltic 

Quality assurance is vital in the production of accurate, patient-specific implants, endoprostheses and surgical guides. Consequently, Ortho Baltic in Kaunas, Lithuania has installed an ALTERA multi-sensor coordinate measuring machine (CMM) from British manufacturer, LK Metrology. The CMM has been fitted with a Nikon LC15Dx laser scanner for fast inspection of 3D-printed implant surfaces and screw holes. 

Paulius Lukševičius, Engineer of Mechanics at Ortho Baltic explained: “3D printing is a complicated technology and there is a big variation in parameters, so predicting the accuracy and geometry of such additively manufactured objects is quite a challenge.” 

“Patient-specific implants are a bespoke treatment solution, which means that the surgery must be pre-planned virtually, so the implant can simply be put in place. To be able to execute the virtual plan, it is vital to be 100% sure that implant geometry is the same as the CAD model and that the holes are machined to high accuracy.” 

“To fulfil these goals, we use a variety of metrology equipment. The LK CMM with laser scanner is irreplaceable when we need to perform fast checks after each manufacturing and post-processing stage, especially to check spherical surfaces, bearing surfaces and hole angles.”

Unlike standard modular hip implants used to treat severe clinical conditions, patient-specific alternatives are designed as a single device with anatomically adapted surfaces. The production route eliminates the risk of instability and adapts the implant to the bone rather than the bone to the implant. A major benefit of the procedure is that during surgery, there is no need to shape the bone or use bone cement, meshes and augments.

For manufacturing the implants, Ortho Baltic uses direct metal laser sintering equipment purchased in 2012. After 3D printing, implants undergo a variety of post-processing steps including heat treatment, surface polishing and thread milling of holes. There are several medical device standards and regulations that must be met, which is why it is paramount for products to be of ultra-high accuracy. 

With fine tolerances and strict standards to be adhered to, the post-processing stages are repeated until the physical implant exactly matches the desired virtual model. Quality assurance measures are undertaken using the LK CMM following every step, during which the laser scanner can show quickly how well the physical part matches the virtual model.

Mr Jokymaitytè said: “The CMM with laser scanner is very effective for inspecting features and surfaces of bigger parts such as an acetabular implant, for quality control of standard products like osteosynthesis plates and for assessing standard elements in patient-specific implants, eg threaded holes and spherical shapes.”

As the Quality Control Laboratory at Kaunas was a new project to supplement the additive manufacturing facilities, there were no previous systems to be replaced. Ortho Baltic knew what was required and compared the best technologies on the market to find the right solution.

Mr Lukševičius commented: “The primary requirement was to have the capability to inspect parts made from different types of materials. The size of the CMM’s working area was also important, but most crucial was accuracy.”

He pointed out that a key advantage of the laser scanner is its ability to tackle reflective and multi-material surfaces. It maintains accuracy, speed and data integrity by intelligently and continuously adapting the laser settings for each measured point. Probing error is comparable to that of tactile inspection (1.9μm) and data collection is fast at 70,000 points per second. By maintaining such high standards when scanning difficult surfaces, the unit is an ideal tool for the quality evaluation of complex parts in the medical industry.

Mr Lukševičius concluded: “The LK solution offers us more in-depth knowledge of what we are manufacturing and gives better precision and understanding of 3D printing errors and deviations. It means we achieve superior products and avoid problems during production. Implants with LK quality assurance are more reliable and it is easier to prove their worth.”

“Often our quality control laboratory receives inquiries from other manufacturers in the medical sector and from different industries to perform subcontract geometrical inspection for them.”

🎧 – Automated CT system works unattended

Based near Zürich, Dentalpoint has launched an aesthetic alternative to the conventional titanium dental implant. After intensive research, the company invented a biocompatible metal-free alternative made from ceramic. The ZERAMEX zirconium dioxide, two-part implant system includes small, complex features such as internal threads that must undergo extensive inspection to dimensional specifications as well as product traceability.

Quality control was proving time-consuming on a CMM. So, the company invested in an alternative X-ray computer tomography (CT) system from Nikon Metrology with an inbuilt robotic loading system. The benefits have been enormous, not only in the speed of operation and automation for supporting volume production, but right back to the R&D phase of new products.

Dentalpoint is considered to have a three to four-year lead in the development of ceramic implants. It manufactures ZERAMEX implants and ceramic parts in its production centre in Zürich using special technology.

Benjamin Bernet, the firm’s R&D Project Manager said: “As a certified medical manufacturer, we are responsible for the quality control of all implants and must make sure that stringent regulations are met. Dimensional control is crucial. Our previous production partners mainly used a CMM with a touch probe to take various point measurements of the outer implant geometry as well as the whole inner connection.

“In contrast, our new in-house production line relies on an automated Nikon Metrology XT H225ST CT system to control quality more comprehensively through 100 percent inspection.”

One of the main issues with the previous metrology method was the lower accuracy measurement, especially small inner geometries such as deep holes and internal threads. Moreover, measurements were often limited to points and 2D paths, as more detailed measurements were very time-consuming.

The latter restriction was one of the most important reasons for investing in the new CT equipment, according to Mr Bernet. The measuring cycle involves the cobot sequentially picking up multiple implants mounted in a plastic (PEEK) holder and transferring them onto the manipulator. After scanning is complete, the components are returned to the rack from where they came. The CT machine runs almost 24/7, typically measuring up to 500 implants in 24 hours with full traceability of results.

Only one clamping is required for CT scanning, unlike with the previous CMM inspection, and all parts are held in identical fixtures that are repeatedly reused. During subsequent analysis of the scan data, the PEEK vanishes due to the large difference between its density and hence linear attenuation coefficient compared with those of ceramic.

A further advantage of the CT measuring cell is its low operating cost due to automated loading using the cobot and the concurrent, fully independent reconstruction of the previous X-ray data, registration, fitting and reporting.

Since the process is stable and the CT runs as expected, there is no need for service, maintenance or support. The cell and its software can be configured with scan profiles for simplicity of use. Final reports are easy to interpret and the data can be handled with little effort with part-to-CAD comparison available for detecting tolerance errors and geometric anomalies.

The acquired metrology data is used to support the mandatory requirements concerning lot traceability of measurements and also by production line operators to set up manufacturing parameters to maintain high product quality. The ability of CT to investigate the interior volume of parts non-destructively means that further analysis could be carried out in the future using.

The final implementation of the process workflow is highly stable and functional. The full 3D data is used to measure features in detail and is stored for traceability. High accuracy is achieved by calibrating the device to a specific scan position, leading to very small measurement errors below one micron when tested on a reference sphere. The installation was efficient and the training, service and helpline are very professional and helpful. In particular, we received great support from Nikon Metrology’s application engineers in developing the process.”

🎧 – Don’t prepare for audit – Live it

Nottingham-based manufacturer Vestatec UK recently renewed its IATF 16949 certification with no minor or major non-compliances. Known in the automotive industry as ‘the double zero’, David Marriott, Quality Manager at Vestatec, discusses how Vestatec’s approach to quality helped them to attain this rare and magic number.

As a supplier to the automotive industry for over 35 years, Vestatec is trusted by leading brands from Rolls Royce and Ferrari to Volvo and General Motors. While having the ability to manufacture across a variety of sectors, Vestatec’s core business lies primarily in the end-to-end manufacturing of interior trim, speaker grilles and styling solutions for luxury vehicles. 

For Vestatec, the IATF 16949 certification is crucial in demonstrating to customers that our people and processes are set up in a way where we can reliably deliver projects, however specific, challenging, or detailed – and regardless of volume.

Originally developed by American carmakers to improve reliability, reduce risk and driving continual improvement for the industry, the IATF 16949 certification takes ISO:9001 a step further for automotive suppliers. It is focused on driving forward product quality by mitigating all manner of process capability issues that could result in defects, inconsistency, excess waste and supply chain disruption.

In our most recent audit, we proudly achieved zero major or minor non-compliances, which is rare by any stretch of the imagination. 

Driven by detail

When asked how we achieved it, there are several answers. But the honest answer is that we didn’t prepare for it. Instead, we live it. By becoming familiar with the requirements of the IATF certification, we can ensure that processes are continually monitored, and improved upon where possible. Achieving impeccable quality and meeting the stringent demands of the automotive sector can’t be achieved in weeks, or even months. The IATF audit is all-encompassing, and it is impossible to pull the wool over an auditor’s eyes. These people are specialists that can sniff out non-compliant processes a mile away. 

The audit consists of over 40 pages of criteria looking at all aspects of management, from product development and design to process capabilities and manufacturing control. There is also a big emphasis on the products themselves, looking at the processes that could potentially affect the product throughout its lifetime. 

Our customers often seek to create truly unique design solutions. Through our capabilities and attention to detail, we are helping customers improve user experience, and add brand differentiation and financial value at every step. We do this by ensuring repeatability of precision and quality, for both low and high volume. Creating this detail requires a commitment to quality that must be ingrained into every process and operator.

Cross-company collaboration

In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy visited NASA. When he asked the cleaner what role he played, he famously replied, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.” It’s this sort of approach we take at Vestatec. We ensure that all our staff understand their role within the company and also the purpose and result of their work. Everyone must share our vision.

In automotive parts production, there is little room for error. Every rejection or failure impacts our parts per million (PPM) scores, a standardised KPI which measures quality performance by measuring how many defects exist within every 1 million parts produced. 

For our business, one of the key components to driving quality and keeping PPM as low as possible has been our drive to involve staff at every level in our ambitions for improved processes and educating them on why they are important. 

Every one of our employees, either directly or indirectly, is critical to the quality of the components we produce, as well as playing an active role in the auditing process. We ensure all customer portal scores are shared across the entire business, so our shop floor staff can see the impact of their hard work and also identify areas of improvement.

As part of our IATF 16949 audit, all staff are asked to explain our processes. By ensuring ‘buy-in’ to the standards we work to, all staff can passionately and proudly present what they do. If you have operators that are nervous or unsure about what they do, it’s reflected in their final product. Only through thorough engagement throughout the entire process have we been able to realise rock-solid performance scores with our customers.

Customer and supplier engagement

Our suppliers and customers play a key role in the quality of our components. Having the strongest possible relationships and ensuring suppliers are aware of our commitments to quality means they can be transparent with any problems that may lead to defects. Even though IATF 16949 doesn’t mandate it, we also audit suppliers regularly; through the great relationships we’ve built with them, we can continue to operate with a high degree of trust.

For customers, we ask that any defects or inconsistencies are reported to us immediately. Instant replies to customers are mandatory in our organisation so we can take swift action to identify the problem without major issues. 

With vehicle manufacturing and delivering parts to trackside, late replies or lack of transparency can present a huge problem. But if you have the right relationship with your customers, it can make life a lot easier. If customers have confidence in you as a supplier, issues can be managed rationally and professionally. 

The personal touch

The nature of what we produce means there is a subjective human assessment of quality – bringing quality into the realms of opinion. With aesthetic products like interior trim, a human still needs to make a judgement. This is not as easy as reading a measurement off a dial as one would when producing a component like a nut or a bolt with a tolerance of ±0.01mm. So, in addition to digital inspections, we also incorporate human inspection into our quality assessments. Be it a 20-second visual inspection from half a metre away, we can safely say there is nothing there that shouldn’t be there. 

Our work is complex. We often take on projects that other suppliers wouldn’t risk, therefore sometimes defects are a given. One way we manage this expectation is to complete a thorough pre-production approval process. 

Before we enter the production stage of any project, we will prototype and test performance to identify any risk of defects. We always advise customers where we foresee potential issues. As such, we’ve never had a dimensional issue that we haven’t known about and communicated to the customer during the pre-production phase. This detailed level of quality and transparency with clients means that we achieve 0 PPM scores on many of our projects. 

For us, quality is at the heart of everything we do and goes far beyond tensile, bend and impact testing. True quality lies in collaboration, transparency and consistent commitment at every level of the business.

🎧 – Mill-turn centres machine to high accuracy and surface finish

Two Japanese-built Brother Speedio M140X2 5-axis mill-turn centres with a 22-position magazine for 30-taper tools have been supplied by UK agent Whitehouse Machine Tools to Jointmedica, which carries out world-leading R&D into optimal design and manufacture of artificial knees and hips.

For the creation of new prosthesis designs for hip and knee replacements, a new manufacturing cell has been established at the company’s Centre for Manufacturing Research in Hallow, near Worcester. It opened seven years ago under the present management, although Jointmedica was established back in 2008. 

Managing Director Terry Smith said: “The essence of successful implant performance is supreme quality, not only of the materials used but also of the design, manufacture and insertion of the prosthetic during orthopaedic surgery.

“A case in point is one of our projects, the Polymotion Hip Resurfacing concept. It comprises a highly polished femoral head currently produced by a partner company using a special low-nickel cobalt-chrome alloy attached to the top of the femur, which locates into a plastic acetabular cup inserted into the pelvis.”

Technical Director Roger Ashton added: “Metal-on-metal hip resurfacing and hip replacement technology has all but disappeared globally due to several products on the market performing below expectations, and in some cases causing significant problems in patients.” 

“Some designs with which I have been involved continue to perform extremely well, going on to deliver class-leading results in thousands of satisfied patients. This previous product familiarity provides the basis for our ongoing development of hip resurfacing.”

He went on to explain that currently, the remaining hip resurfacing solutions are metal-on-metal, with several companies exploring the use of ceramic-on-ceramic articulations in an attempt to retain the advantages of the procedure. Jointmedica is privileged to be working with Derek McMinn and Ronan Treacy, both pioneers of hip resurfacing implant design and global authorities on metal-on-metal hip resurfacing gleaned from over 20 years of experience with their previous hip resurfacing enterprise, the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing of Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics. 

Together with these specialists, Jointmedica is conducting research into the optimal medical-grade polymer to replace the cobalt chrome previously used for the cup. It believes this approach to hip resurfacing offers significant advantages to surgeons and more importantly, the patients who may receive these implants at a relatively young age.

The company identified a type of highly cross-linked polyethylene with a porous coating as offering the ideal characteristics for use in hip resurfacing. Prototypes are undergoing exhaustive tests in the R&D cell. At its core are the two Brother mill-turn centres, equipped with Blum in-process gauging and tool probing, on which simple turned forms and complex free-form implant shapes can be readily attained.

Development products can be secured easily in an expanding collet on the torque table of the Brother M140X2s. Turning and milling operations are then combined to achieve the appropriate geometry, surface texture and finish. Every completed implant is inspected on an Aberlink ‘Axiom too’ shop-floor coordinate measuring machine to affirm geometrical characteristics and ensure dimensional accuracy. 

Function and wear simulators are used alongside the in-house development work to prove the safety and efficacy of the resulting implants. In the case of hip resurfacing and hip replacement designs, these simulators load and articulate the bearing through millions of cycles in a manner that mimics human movement. 

To support the venture financially, in October 2017 Jointmedica was awarded a Proof of Concept grant from Worcestershire County Council as part of the European Regional Development Fund. Five months later, the company received further significant funding assistance from innovation agency, Innovate UK, whose remit is to find and drive science and technology that will expand the UK economy.

Mr Ashton continued: “When we reviewed the options for the machining element of our manufacturing cell, which involves the complex milling of textured surfaces and single-point turning of bearing surfaces, we originally thought we would need a 5-axis machining centre and a CNC lathe.”

“The availability of the Brother M140X2 mill with accurate turning capability using a direct-drive, 2,000rpm torque table offered us the chance to complete all cutting operations on a single platform.”

It was felt that the 30-taper tool interface would suffice for machining all materials to be used in these orthopaedic devices and such machines have the additional advantage of a small footprint. Mr Ashton’s preference was for a true 5-axis machine rather than a 3-axis model with a compound CNC table, as the former would ensure the necessary functionality within a compact envelope.

Three options on the market were considered. The Brother machine was selected due to its superior turning capacity as well as its fast axis movements. These are carried out in four of the five CNC axes simultaneously during non-cutting times together with the 0.9 second tool change, so idle times are minimal. Cutting feed rate is high at up to 30m/min, maximising stock removal for high productivity.

Manufacturing Engineer Oliver Clayton commented: “The capabilities of these milling machines are beyond impressive. During my induction training, I was able to produce sample parts in record time. The cutting performance and level of detail I can achieve with this variant of the Brother line-up exceeds our expectations.”

Other facets of the installations he singles out for praise are the machines’ speed, accuracy and user-friendliness, especially regarding the usability of the Brother high-speed control system, which he describes as being convenient for editing the off-line programmed feeds and speeds and as having a huge memory able to hold multiple program files.

Subcontractor develops road race engine

The original engine of the A-series Classic Mini included a 32kg cast iron block. Imagine the improved performance if the latest advances in engine technology were applied today. This is what inspired Smethwick-based subcontractor A&M EDM to create its engine, a road race version with a block machined from solid aluminium weighing just 20.55kg with end caps fitted. Nearly all of the engine parts are made on Hurco machine tools, of which there are 27 on the shop floor. The plant list includes 3, 4 and 5-axis VMCs and CNC lathes.

Launched in the first quarter of 2023 and marketed worldwide under the Ascaso brand name, the A+5 1273 cc K16V turbo engine was successfully circuit tested in December by racing legend Jim Lyons. He originally loaned his Mini to the subcontractor so it could laser-scan and reverse-engineer the body and engine bay, while similar was also done on legacy engine components.

Mr Lyons commented: “It’s amazing how different the car felt. The steering was so much sharper with the lighter engine block and the engine just wanted to rev! We were still using the multi-piece development crankshaft, so rpm was limited to 7,000, although the engine has revved to 9,250rpm during the test.” A lap time of 43.04 seconds was recorded, which is only 0.75 seconds slower than the lap record.

The project is the brainchild of Gary Surman, previously technical director at A&M EDM, a business that has grown from two employees and a rented machine to a headcount of 70 and annual sales of over £7m. Managing Director Mark Wingfield supported Gary’s ambition, believing that the addition of a proprietary product would enhance the subcontractor’s portfolio.

Gary built his first Mini engine at the age of 12. Even then he had a vision of building a block with five main bearings rather than three, with two extra columns on either side of the central bearing to provide extra support for the crankshaft. The Covid pandemic combined with forward-thinking management at A&M EDM finally allowed him to design and produce it.

The block is machined on a Hurco VMX42Ui 5-axis VMC, while the crankshaft is produced from a solid billet using the swivelling B-axis of a Hurco VMX60SRTi VMC synchronised with the motions of a Kitagawa GT320 rotary 4th axis table. The initial engine design was for the front-wheel-drive, transverse engine layout of the Mini, but a crankshaft has also been developed for an in-line engine. So, with adapter plates, it can be used in sports cars with rear-wheel drive, such as the Austin-Healey or MG Midget. 

Mr Surman said: “We have served the Formula One, automotive, marine and aerospace industries for many years and were able to employ those skills to manufacture our engine. The original had three main bearings but the new version has five, so it can rev at higher speeds up to 10,000rpm and accept a load over 350BHP.

“The accuracy and surface finish we achieve on the Hurco machines are excellent. Roughing speeds are high at 12m/min while finishing with a ball-end mill is at about 2.5m/min. The programs for machining the block have been linked, so it can be left overnight for unattended machining.”

Ascaso A+5 engines of different capacities have also been developed – 998 cc and 1171 cc for both the BMW K16V and 12G940 heads. The future for all of them looks bright, as there are thousands of Mini enthusiasts worldwide. Moreover, the engine’s ability to power rear-wheel-drive cars dramatically extends its potential. It may also have other applications such as in boats and it may even have a sufficient power-to-weight ratio to be used in light aircraft, subject to testing. Mr Surman already has the next iteration of the Ascaso A+5 firmly in mind.

A tip for mould tool manufacturers

With more than 30 billion pipette tips used globally every year, the demand for the high-quality mould tools to manufacture them has never been higher – especially as annual growth stands at 8%. To support this growth, die-sink innovations from GF Machining Solutions are helping pipette tip mould tool manufacturers improve productivity, achieve consistent product quality and reduce operational costs.

Manufacturing these mould tools which, typically, have a multi-cavity design, involves significant time devoted to manual (hand) polishing to achieve the stringent surface finishes required. These difficult and time-consuming operations are performed by skilled technicians and, as such are expensive and can create production bottlenecks and often extend the time to market.

Little wonder then that mould tool manufacturers are looking for proven technologies that allow them to produce these high-quality tools more efficiently with reduced reliance on costly secondary finishing operations. GF Machining Solution’s advanced, robust and thermally-stable die-sink machines equipped with technical innovations such as the company’s iGAP technology and fast digital (Intelligent Power) generators provide manufacturers with a reliable, time and cost-saving solution.

Pipette tip mould tool manufacturing can be time-consuming.

Used extensively in the medical diagnostics, food and chemical industries, the pipette tip market is experiencing 7% to 8% annual growth and currently, the industry produces over 30 billion tips each year. To produce this volume of tips, it is estimated that 5,000 mould tools, equating to 100,000 hours of manufacturing time, are currently being used by manufacturers located predominantly in Europe, the US and the Far East. 

But, with shortages being experienced across the world – it is reported that this is still not enough to meet future demand. It is anticipated that over 500 new mould tools, not including repairs to existing tools, will need to be manufactured every year.

It’s a tough ask, but it is against this backdrop that GF Machining Solutions (GFMS), the EDM, milling, laser and additive manufacturing machine tool specialist and automation and tooling system solutions provider can, with its EDM die-sink machines, offer some respite.

GFMS has a long pedigree in providing high-end machining solutions to medical manufacturers and it works in close collaboration with medical device manufacturers in designing and developing high-productivity turnkey and process improvement solutions for customers.

Concerning pipette mould tool manufacturing, the company’s recent technological advances made to its die-sink machines provide a way forward. This is particularly pertinent to the company’s iGAP and digital generator technology.

iGap technology

The iGap technology is an innovative feature in GF Machining Solutions’ advanced  FORM-series of die-sink machines. It is an embedded auto-adaptive system that can respond to changing machining conditions by altering the discharge current and pulse duration in real-time, elevating cutting speeds and reducing electrode wear, especially lateral wear during roughing and finishing operations.

The system is most effective when using copper or graphite electrodes to machine mould tools with deep multi-cavities, using a spark gap of less than 0.2mm to deliver smooth, homogenous and repeatable surface finishes to VDI 0, reducing and in some cases even eliminating the need for hand polishing. The virtual elimination of secondary finishing operations enables pipette tip mould tools to be manufactured more quickly and efficiently than before with fewer electrodes and, as a consequence, reduced costs.

It is interesting to note that hand polishing just one square millimetre of the interior of a cavity can take up to 30 minutes. With deep cavities, the time required for hand polishing each cavity could be as much as 20 hours. This means that for multi-cavities, hundreds of hours could be required to achieve the desired ‘polished’ finish. iGAP technology is therefore a real asset for pipette tip mould tool manufacturers as it can boost productivity to ensure high and consistent surface finishes that will subsequently reduce overall costs.

Focus on the future

As a precision subcontract company based in Airdrie, Zeus Engineering has increased its machining capacity and capabilities by investing in a new DN Solutions’ VT 1100M vertical turning lathe from Mills CNC. Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools, has recently supplied Zeus Engineering Ltd with the first CNC vertical turning lathe acquired by the company in its 57-year history.

Installed at Zeus Engineering’s 12,000sq/ft facility in November 2022, the machine is being used to machine large, heavy and often awkward-shaped components such as rings, discs, pump housings, flange couplings, bearing carriers, valves and differentials from a range of castings, forgings, solid billets and plates.

The cast, mild and stainless steel parts machined by Zeus Engineering are characterised by their long cycle times that often extend beyond 6 hours, their geometric tolerances of +/-10microns and their exacting surface finishes. Parts are machined in a variety of batch sizes from one and two-off through to large volumes beyond 1000-off for customers in the rail, off-road vehicle, oil and gas, power generation, food and renewables sectors. Being part of the AGZ Group, the company can also provide its high-quality design and machining services, where appropriate, to the two other associate companies in the Group, Argon Engineering and Gillrick Metalwork.

Discussing the company Scott McHutcheson, Zeus Engineering’s Operations Director says: “We are always looking to improve our in-house machining capacity and capabilities, and regularly review and analyse our performance to ensure we exceed our customer’s expectations. We strive to ‘be the best we can be’, and are committed to providing our customers with high-quality machined components backed by exemplary customer service.”

In recent years the company has increasingly invested in new Doosan machine tools from Mills CNC. The acquisition of the VT 1100M lathe means that over the last 14 years, Zeus Engineering has invested in five new Doosan machines from Mills CNC. These machines, almost all large-capacity, heavy-duty models, include a Mynx 7500/50 box guideway vertical machining centre acquired in 2011, a NHM 8000 twin-pallet, box guideway horizontal machining centre acquired in 2013, and a Puma 700LM long-bed, box guideway lathe with driven tooling acquired in 2019. To machine smaller, higher volume turned parts, the company has also invested in a 15” chuck Puma GT3100M equipped with driven tools that was installed in 2019.

Explains Scott McHutcheson: “We have a good relationship with Mills CNC, and we like their proactive, value-added business approach, which to all intents purposes, is very similar to our own. The Doosan machine tools they sell and support, like the VT 1000M, are reliable and deliver excellent cutting performance. Unsurprisingly, when we decided to invest in a vertical turning lathe – Mills CNC was our first and only port of call.”

The 32” chuck VT1100M is a rigid design heavy-duty vertical turning lathe equipped with box guideways, a powerful, high-torque 55kW/850rpm spindle, a 12-station indexable turret and 11kW/3000rpm driven tooling capabilities. The FANUC controlled machine also boasts 20m/min rapids and was supplied to Zeus with an HC 40G Samchully closed-centre hydraulic chuck and an HPRA removable tool setter for improved flexibility and process reliability.

Says Scott McHutcheson: “The VT 1000M is ideal for machining large diameter and heavy workpieces made from tough and difficult-to-machine materials. We invested in the VT 1100M to help free-up and take pressure off, our Puma 700LM lathe and our two manual vertical borers which, up until that point, were struggling to cope with a wide variety of jobs such as machining long shaft-type parts and large diameter ‘chucking’ workpieces. With the arrival of the VT 1000M, the chucking work has been re-directed to this machine and has helped to reduce bottlenecks, increase throughput and improve productivity.”

Multi-tasking machines bring rewards to medical sector

Never before has there been a greater need for a responsive, flexible and efficient medical manufacturing sector. And as many companies across the globe reconsider, and perhaps also re-configure their machining capacities, the demand increases for machines with more flexibility.

Starrag’s Bumotec multi-axis machining centres enjoy a renowned status in the efficient one-hit manufacture of even the most complex medical components and the Bumotec s191 and s181 models in particular are capable of single set-up drilling and tapping, turning and milling.

While engineers at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) have actively demonstrated the micro-machining capabilities of their s191, ‘to show our partners and wider industry what is achievable when working to an accuracy of 0.001mm on workpieces as small as 1.5mm,’ Bumotec machines have an established track record in medical machining by producing components such as surgical hooks on the s181. This machine produces a finished component from 25mm titanium bar in under 14 minutes compared with 20 minutes for single-station machining.

In another example, a Bumotec s191H is machining surgical cutting tips including titanium types in a single set-up and to very high accuracies. The precision-engineered tips – the critical ‘working end’ of power tools that use ultrasonic vibration to cut the bone and with no risk of damage to soft tissues – feature ‘teeth’ with helical tips that must be machined to within 10 microns. 

A host of other medical components are also being successfully machined on Bumotec machines, including titanium hip joints – turning and milling the cone to two and four microns, respectively, in the same set-up compared to the previous process of using separate machines – and producing stainless steel hip stem rasps from bar.

Starrag UK’s latest Bumotec multi-axis machining centre, the 191neo is also making its mark, as demonstrated by Galway-based precision engineering specialist Dawnlough Ltd. It is using the machine to create a more stable and efficient process for robotic surgical application parts.

The company is an effective one-stop manufacturing service to a myriad of medical device and aerospace companies through Ireland and further afield.

Dawnlough saw the machine producing lumbar interbody fusion cages for spinal fixation, from a 40mm diameter polyether ether ketone (PEEK) bar, utilising up to 15 tools in a single set-up, including finishing the component. The ability of the nine-axis Bumotec 191neo to manufacture complex parts in a single set-up was why the company became the first in Ireland to install the machine, as Managing Director Brian McKeon, explains: “Compared to our existing 5-axis machining route on particular processes such as components for robotic surgical applications, we recognised how the Bumotec’s multi-axis, high-accuracy capabilities would enable us to create a more stable and more efficient process.“

The Bumotec 191neo can accommodate bars of 42mm, 50mm and 65mm, and has 50m/min traverse rates for its X, Y and Z-axes travels of 410mm, 200mm and 400mm.  In addition to milling and turning routines, the 191neo can also be used for grinding, polishing, skiving, gear hobbing and diamond cutting with no set-up or fixture changes.

Available in four options – P model with vice, PRM with multi-purpose pick-up vice, R with back-working spindle and RP version with combined vice and back-working spindle – the 191neo is effectively available in 12 versions.

The machine is extremely stable during production and with a 90-position tool magazine that operates in parallel with integrated tool breakage probing, plus a pallet system and, being configured for a robotic, modular or custom-made automated cell, users have access to 24/7 production regimes. Other options include temperature-controlled, high-pressure chip conveyor and bar loading.

🎧 – PM takes a turn on XYZ lathe

A visit to Truro and Penwith College in Cornwall gave the Prime Minister the chance to try his hand at operating an XYZ 1330 TRAINER lathe. The visit to mark National Apprenticeship Week in February was an opportunity for Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murthy to appreciate for themselves the valuable work done by the college, which is rated as outstanding and attracts students from across the South West. 

Level 3 machining apprentice Daniel Wright, who works for West Pharmaceutical Services, guided Mr Sunak and Ms Murthy through face turning operations on the machine during their visit.

Truro and Penwith College is part of the South West IOT group whose members include the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth, its campus benefitted from a £7.2m investment allowing it to move to the new site two years ago. At the Truro site, there are 11 manual lathes, XYZ 1330 and XYZ 1530, two XYZ RLX 1630 CNC lathes with ProtoTRAK® controls, five XYZ 2000 manual mills, one XYZ 1020 surface grinder, two RMX 2500 CNC mills with ProtoTRAK® controls, an offline PC based ProtoTRAK® CAM system and one XYZ 660 HD VMC with Siemens 828D control. The new Bodmin campus will have six XYZ 1330 manual lathes, three XYZ 2000 manual mills, one RMX 2500 CNC mill with ProtoTRAK® control, one RLX 1630 CNC lathe with ProtoTRAK® control and an XYZ 660 HD VMC with Siemens 828D control, duplicating the capabilities of the Truro campus.

Nick Tillyer, Institute of Technology Development Manager at Truro and Penwith College says: “The value of the manufacturing industry in Cornwall is now almost as big as tourism, so there is a huge demand for skills. Major projects include emission-free Lithium extraction from boreholes, and significant deposits of ore have been found in the St Austell area. Additionally, offshore wind has a place with 10GW planned for 2030 and there is also the Cornwall Space Cluster.”

Nick Tillyer says: “We wanted to source our machinery locally in the UK. The XYZ machines are known for their reliability and have a small footprint, making them ideal for our workshop. The range of machines and CNC controls enable us to offer advanced training up to 5-axis milling with rotary tables on the XYZ 660 HD VMC. Furthermore, XYZ machines are widely used by manufacturers in Cornwall so, our apprentices can go into industry using machinery they are familiar with.” 

As well as the XYZ lathes, mills and grinder, the college has a fibre laser and an extensive range of welding equipment. Nick Tillyer says: “We are increasing the sustainability of our courses, so we now produce commercial parts such as prototypes which reduces waste and increases our engagement with employers. Having machines such as the XYZ mills and lathes, makes this possible, generating more interest in what we are offering and it is developing more opportunities for our students.”

Nigel Atherton Managing Director of XYZ Machine Tools adds: “Working with education and encouraging young engineers is very important to me. Truro and Penwith College’s achievements are an inspiration. We work with colleges across the country including Guernsey College, Bath College and New College Swindon, which have all invested in our technology over the last 12 months to supply STEM training in engineering and machining skills, relevant to manufacturers’ requirements.”

Orthopaedic manufacturer replaces two EDM machines

A pair of outdated wire-cut electric discharge machining (EDM) centres at orthopaedic implant and associated surgical instrument manufacturer MatOrtho® has been replaced by a single new U6 H.E.A.T. from Makino, Japan. The CNC wire erosion machine was installed at MatOrtho’s manufacturing facility in Leatherhead towards the end of March 2023 by NCMT, the sole UK sales and service agent for the machine manufacturer.

David Shand, Operations Director at MatOrtho said: “The new Makino wire erosion machine from NCMT will significantly increase our instrument production capacity compared with the two machines it replaces. The accuracy and speed of the machine will allow us to meet our R&D needs and support future sales. This latest significant investment by MatOrtho comes at an important time in the company’s transformation as it expands to meet the growing demand from our worldwide customer base.”

The Makino was selected in preference to other makes due to the quality of both the machine build and the service received during the sales process, right through to training at NCMT’s Technical Centre in Coventry. Another important aspect was the environmentally friendly operation of the U6 H.E.A.T., which has low running costs, particularly in respect of reduced wire consumption. Mr Shand added that it will help drive their company’s transition towards net zero carbon footprint, especially as only one EDM machine is now drawing power rather than two.

NCMT’s Jon Marshall, Makino EDM Sales Manager UK South commented: “The Makino U6 H.E.A.T. is geared towards high-performance production which, together with the machine’s inherent precision, makes it a perfect fit for MatOrtho’s requirements for both production and research.” 

“It has been a pleasure dealing with Paul Clancy, their Production Engineering Manager and the whole team throughout the process, and we at NCMT look forward to assisting MatOrtho with its future investments.”

Makino’s most technologically advanced wire-cut EDM machines, the U6 and its smaller counterpart the U3 are designed for ease of operation, versatility, low operating cost and high profitability. They offer enhanced performance in a configuration that makes competitive cycle times, as well as high accuracy and surface, finish easy to achieve. 

HyperCut technology is included, a three-pass process developed to produce surface finishes as fine as 3µm Rz in rapid cycle times. With the Hyper-i control, even novice operators can program and produce top-quality components having the most complex geometrical features. The control has an easy-to-use interface similar to that found on tablets and smartphones, a significant advantage for shops experiencing difficulty recruiting skilled EDM operators. 

Hyper-i contains intelligent, intuitive and interactive functions streamlined to assist the operator at every step of the machining process. It delivers efficient and productive results while bringing new levels of operational efficiency to the shop floor. It also enables easy access to and selection of power settings, allowing accurate results to be achieved in fast cycle times.

The U6 has X, Y and Z-axis travels of 650 by 450 by 420mm respectively. Workpieces up to 1,000m by 800mm by 400mm with a maximum weight of 1,500kg can be accommodated. Another feature is a choice of two guide configurations for the 0.1 to 0.3mm diameter wire – conventional round or split V – to accommodate nearly all material types and flushing conditions. 

The entire bed casting of the U-series wire EDM machines is used as the dielectric reservoir. This approach reduces the footprint compared with earlier models and eliminates the need for additional external fluid tanks. Merging all machine components into a single base structure improves mechanical rigidity and thermal stability, while the stationary table design ensures sustainable long-term accuracy. Additionally, work zone access has been simplified for ease of operation and maintenance.

🎧 – Picking the right machine for medical tool production

As one of the world’s most heavily regulated industries, the medical sector and the manufacture of everything from pharmaceuticals and healthcare aids to surgical instruments, implants and prosthetics to dentistry – it all has to adhere to the most stringent of standards. So, when it comes to surgical cutting tools for the industry, the leading OEMs and their supply chain rely upon high-end production grinding machines. 

With a pedigree in cutting tool production, the latest VGrind 340S from VOLLMER is the machine of choice for many in the medical industry. Here, Rotary Tooling Application Engineer and VOLLMER of Americas resident medical expert, Carlos Becerra explains why.

Whilst many industry segments utilise tools manufactured from materials like HSS, carbide and PCD; tools for surgical applications and orthopaedics are often manufactured from stainless steel. The main reason is that when surgeons are undertaking procedures like bone and cartilage drilling, grinding or shaving; carbide tools have the propensity to break or create excessive heat during operations. The ultra-hard characteristics that make carbide perfect for many manufacturing processes – are also the same attributes that make them unsuitable for invasive procedures. Surgical tools are generally manufactured from 17-4PH, 420, 440A, 455 or M2 tool steel with lengths from 50 to 250mm and diameters from 0.3 to 12mm. And here lies the challenge…

With small diameters and a stainless grade with a likelihood to deflect during machining, precision production can be a challenge. 

The Steady Rest & ‘Run-Out’

The steady rest is the single most critical factor in producing cutting tools to the highest possible standard. The innovative steady rest on the VGrind 340S supports the tool and prevents tool deflection during grinding. Any tool deflection will have an adverse impact on not just the precision of the tool, but also the ‘run-out’. Surgeons’ hand tools typically operate at high speeds, exacerbating the ‘run-out’ impact of cutting tools. Run-out can result in reduced accuracy and even excess heat generation if a tool is rubbing against a bone instead of cutting. This can adversely affect the well-being of the patient. Run-out of up to 5mm is common in tools that are not precisely manufactured with a supporting steady rest to prevent deflection. Not only can excessive run-out generate excessive heat, but it can also diminish precision where and when we need it most. Furthermore, excessive vibration in the surgeon’s hand tool can lead to….well let’s not think about those consequences.

To categorically eliminate this obstacle, the steady rest on the VGrind 340S provides support under the tool to prevent deflection – but it also provides a supporting finger over the tool body support to eliminate movement. However, VOLLMER has taken this innovation a step further, providing two steady rest points, and not just one. The steady rest system supports the cutting flutes of the tool as well as the cutting tip of the tool. With typical tool shank diameters for hand tools being 4.5mm and the cutting flutes often much smaller, the potential for deflection grows with decreasing tool diameters.  

VOLLMER has actually doubled down on eliminating deflection, such is its importance and potential for disrupting the quality of cutting tools manufactured for the industry. To eliminate deflection, VOLLMER has also introduced automated tool run-out compensation. Integrated into the NUMROTO control software, the run-out compensation cycle will utilise a measuring probe during operation to probe tools in multiple positions around the diameter of the tool. Taking live ‘in-cycle’ measurements, the VGrind 340S will automatically measure the tool and re-calibrate the programme to accommodate and eliminate any tool deviations caused by deflection. This in-process cycle can be programmed to run at intermittent periods throughout a production cycle. So, for tools with critical dimensions, probing can be integrated into the production of every tool, or if the operator prefers – every 10, 20 or 50 tools.

Automation

The OEM recipients that specify medical and surgical procedure tools often require high production volumes that can be in the region of 5,000-off. To support precision volume production, the VGrind 340S is supported by the HP160 automated tool loading system that can accommodate up to 900 tools. The HP160 loading system on the VGrind 340S facilitates 900 tools with the medical standard 4.5mm diameter shanks. The number of tool positions decreases depending upon the shank diameter.

Not only does the VGrind 340S accommodate up to 900 tools, but manufacturers can also set the machine to run multiple programmes sequentially without manual intervention. So, if a company needs to run a batch of 50 3-flute tools and then 500 2-flute tools of different diameters and geometry that are then followed by other tool variants – the VGrind 340S can facilitate this. The result is unmanned operation, reduced costs and around-the-clock production – all with complete process stability. Having supported medical companies for several years, I can comfortably say that the technology in the VGrind 340S has been able to manufacture 100% of the tools that I have encountered to date.

Flexibility

To produce 100% of the tools that I encounter daily, the VGrind 340S not only delivers productivity, technology and process stability – running through the very DNA of the machine is a high level of flexibility. The VGrind is the only machine to incorporate multi-level machining with two spindles located on its A-axis. Feeding this paradigm leap in innovation is a grinding wheel package that accommodates up to 8 wheel sets. With 8 different wheelsets, the VGrind 340S can automatically change from a flute grinding wheel to a gashing wheel, cup wheel, a 1A1 wheel for relief and OD grinding or any other type of wheel.

This enables the VGrind 340S to produce a variety of cutting tools with zero manual intervention. With in-process grinding wheel probing and automated wheel dressing; long periods of precision lights-out production can be achieved – regardless of the multiple tool types required. The flexibility of the VGrind 340S is complemented by the next-generation V@DISON IoT digital solutions and the NUMROTO tool grinding software to enable customers to stretch their imagination with cutting tool design.

🎧 – Process-reliable deburring in serial production

Large batch quantities in serial production or demanding applications require reliable production processes. If the production of bores results in burrs, it is important to find a deburring process that removes them quickly and reliably. But which deburring process is the right choice? Here, René Kehl, New Business Development Manager, HEULE Precision Tools gives an overview of the most common methods of deburring bores as well as their strengths and weaknesses. 

In industries such as automotive, aircraft or fluid power, manufacturing processes are constantly being optimised to produce large series runs as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Process steps are simplified, cycle times are shortened and repeatability in terms of quality is improved. Burrs on bore edges in particular can be a big headache for production managers that are challenged to find solutions that remove the burrs quickly, cheaply and reliably. 

The right deburring process for every application

Important criteria for the choice of the deburring method are the position of the burr on the workpiece, the material used and the manufacturing tolerances of the workpiece. The required deburring result, compatibility with the production process, machine capabilities and budget also influence the choice of the deburring solution. The most common deburring methods and their characteristics are listed below. 

-In thermal deburring (TEM), the material to be removed is vaporised by the intense heat caused by a chemical reaction. TEM is used in particular for complex geometries, areas that are difficult to access or for workpieces with many bores. External and internal edges are deburred at the same time. Almost all oxidising materials can be deburred using TEM. The result is a sharp or slightly rounded bore edge. The size of the deburring chamber limits the workpiece size and quantity of parts. The influence of the heat on the material and the geometry of the component must be checked. 

–Electrochemical deburring (ECM) removes burrs by eroding the metal. It is used for almost all metals, even hardened workpieces. As it is a non-contact technique with very low heat input, there is no tool abrasion, no formation of secondary burrs and no mechanical impact. The maximum burr size is limited to approximately 0.3mm. The workpiece must be thoroughly cleaned before and after processing.

-With high-pressure waterjet deburring (HDW), several edges and difficult-to-reach bores can be deburred at the same time. A water jet is directed with a pressure of up to 1,000 bar onto the parts of the workpiece to be deburred. A post-deburr inspection of the bore edge is required to check if particles have broken off due to mechanical stress and if the surface of the workpiece is still rough due to limited removal of the burr roots. 

-When blasting with granulates, materials such as sand are directed at the bore edge at speeds of up to 80m/s. Surfaces next to the edge are also affected by this process. Workpiece cleaning after deburring can be a challenge.

 

-In brush deburring, burrs are removed by special brushing tools. The handling is simple and the range of applications is wide due to the many different tool variations. The limits of brush deburring are large burrs, very hard materials and difficult-to-access areas.

-The term mechanical deburring covers deburring tools that enable the workpiece to be finished directly on a machining centre. The back machining of bores and defined edges are also possible. The techniques are characterised by repeatability and high process reliability. The methods can have their limits in areas of the workpiece that are difficult to access.

Simple deburring despite manufacturing tolerances 

The technologies in mechanical deburring are diverse, which is why we shall take a closer look at the individual characteristics. In circular deburring (interpolation), a predefined working path is followed by a tool. Depending on the given manufacturing or clamping tolerances, the chamfer may be too large, or too small, or there may even be no chamfer at all. Tools with moving blades do not start deburring until they come into contact with the edge of the bore. This way, castings, for example, with their typical tolerance variations, can be machined reliably and with a consistent deburring result. For all types of mechanical deburring, the great advantage is that it can be integrated into the existing machining centre. The completed workpiece comes off the machine after only a slightly increased cycle time. Additional deburring-related steps are no longer necessary. By avoiding cleaning, logistics or external machining costs, the overall process costs and cycle times are reduced. Due to the consistent production technology and the simple handling of the tools, no training is required for the personnel. Existing manufacturing resources and knowledge are therefore optimally utilised. 

The potential of application-specific solutions

Once a production manager has decided on a deburring method, it is important to find the right type and the right partner. In one example from the field, a manufacturer in the e-mobility sector had to deburr internal and difficult-to-access cooling bores on a rotor shaft. Until now, the deburring was done manually. Due to a complaint from a customer resulting from a quality deviation, a more stable and automated deburring process had to be found for the approximately 1 million bores per year. In this deburring situation, the components have variations in the wall thickness and thus in the diameter of the inner main bore. Circular deburring is therefore not an option due to these tolerance variations. 

At a tradeshow, the production manager became aware of HEULE Precision Tools and their deburring tools with moving blades. A solution using the X-BORES deburring technology was implemented and the customer was quickly convinced by the quality of the result. Today, the employee who was previously responsible for the manual deburring is working at another point in the production process. In the meantime, the customer has also contacted HEULE for further applications, and even a customised tool solution is being developed. If there is no suitable tool in the standard range, HEULE offers tools that are customised to the specific application requirements. HEULE recommends all customers involve a deburring specialist in the design stage as early as possible. Together, the geometry of the workpiece can be optimised to be as deburring-friendly as possible, and the burr formation of the pre-operations can also be optimised so that serial production runs at maximum efficiency. 

Quickgrind is ahead of the curve

At the cutting edge of innovation, the Infinite Possibilities programme from Quickgrind sets new standards to deliver the optimum tooling for medical projects. Infinite Possibilities encourages manufacturers to look beyond standard catalogue cutting tools and to work with Quickgrind to develop solution-specific tooling that is ideally matched to manufacturing requirements. Just as no two knees are the same, no manufacturing processes are the same. 

This philosophy pays dividends in the field of medical implants, where demand is growing as life expectancies continue to lengthen. Arthritis, osteoporosis and obesity all result in an increasing need for prosthetics, particularly total knee and hip replacement components. Manufacturers are required to scale up production without over-increasing the price per part. Not only are production speeds and costs an issue, but manufacturers also need to be at the forefront when it comes to understanding the latest materials. 

Biocompatible metallic materials need to be hard-wearing and require high levels of surface finish to enable the plastic parts such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene to achieve their expected lifetime of 20 years or more. Absolute smoothness is a must to protect against wear and early failure. For machining these materials as well as medical-grade titanium and cobalt chrome, Quickgrind has a range of tooling solutions. 

A game changer for the medical industry has been the 3-flute Eliminator Conical Barrel Tool (CBT). The flute radii adjusted for each application enables a large radius of curvature (Rw) to be machined, the Eliminator gives an increased contact area for larger step-down distances without any detrimental impact on the theoretical scallop height. The result is highly accurate surfaces with excellent characteristics and finishes that can reduce the need for polishing and other finishing processes, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

As a company always innovating, Quickgrind has made a fascinating addition to the Eliminator barrel tool range – the Concave Conical Barrel Tool (CCBT). This tool has been developed for convex surfaces such as femoral knee joints. The reduction in cycle times through greatly improved step down and excellent Ra finish is achieved by mimicking the convex surface being produced. If you consider the condyle surfaces being machined and the low Ra finish required, they do not lend themselves to many types of tools. Conventional ballnose endmill scanning works -but with a long cycle time. The conical barrel tools have already shown cycle time savings of up to 90% with the convex flute radii – now it’s time to deliver the same savings using a convex-shaped tool for convex surfaces. The cycle time savings over the CBT have been between 20 and 40% with equally low Ra surface finishes.

Other products ideal for the medical industry include the Undercut tool, a tool designed with the optimal number of flutes, flute geometry and coating to provide engineers with the optimal tool. If necessary, Quickgrind can provide top and bottom radii as well as amend the number of teeth to allow for the most efficient cutting data to be used. Another popular tool is the Panther femoral step drill. As the name suggests, it is perfect for femoral joints as the multi-diameter drills are designed to create multiple bores in one pass whilst reducing cycle times and machining costs.

Complementing the Panther is the Quickgrind Chamfer tool. A versatile solution, it can be used for several machining operations such as bevelling, deburring, spotting and countersinking. 

For all things medical milling, the 6-flute Mirage Super applies its clever design and the latest grade of carbide and coating technology to take machining to new heights of performance for critical parts in superalloys. Quickgrind has utilised the toughest substrate available with a high wear-resistant coating and polished flutes that have been combined with a balanced option for the highest possible component quality.  Complementing the Super Mirage is the Mirage. This range is ideal for when non-standard features are needed, such as a greater overall length, an extended neck or a smaller diameter. Rather than reverting to modular tool holding or even special tool holders, Quickgrind can design the optimal tool.

Improvements at the double

As the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools, Mills CNC has recently supplied ABG Rubber & Plastics Ltd with two new multi-tasking lathes. The precision subcontract specialist is part of the Oadby group of companies.

The 10” chuck machines are both FANUC-controlled Lynx 2600SY turning centres that were installed at ABG’s 20,000sq/ft manufacturing facility in Northampton in October. The new Lynx lathes which are the first DN Solutions’ (Doosan) machines to be acquired by ABG, have significantly strengthened the company’s CNC machining resources. 

The new lathes are fitted with bar pullers to facilitate a measure of automated operation. Since installation, the machines have been put through their paces, processing a wide range of high-precision parts such as bushes, bearings, shafts, wheels, rollers and cams from a wide range of engineering plastics like PEEK, PVDF, Nylon 6 and Polyethylene. These parts, machined and supplied in medium to large volumes, are often characterised by their intricate features and tight tolerances.  They are machined for a diverse range of customers in the automotive, medical, pharmaceutical, materials handling, construction, food & beverage and processing industries.

Despite their relatively recent installation, the turning centres have already made their mark, dramatically improving ABG’s productivity and process efficiencies. ABG’s General Manager Chris Woolley says: “Our Lynx lathes are equipped with productivity-enhancing technology features and driven tooling capability that enables us to machine complex, high-precision parts in ‘one hit’. This ability to reduce set-up and cycle times is helping us improve our process efficiencies and it is already having a positive impact on lead times and the cost-per-part.”

ABG Rubber & Plastics, acquired by the Oadby group of companies in 1998 is a manufacturer of engineering plastics and industrial rubber parts with a reputation based on quality and technical excellence. The ISO:9001 and ISO:14001 certified company has a well-resourced production facility that combines with the considerable technical skill and experience of its staff to offer a complete one-stop solution. 

ABG’s Technical Manager, Anthony Morbey adds: “The pandemic hurt certain sectors that we serve, and this naturally caused a hiatus in our investment plans. Thankfully, this was short-lived and, with demand returning for our machining services, we moved quickly and decisively to upgrade and strengthen our CNC turning resource.”

Having previously invested in a lathe with driven tooling capabilities as well as sliding head technology and 5-axis machining centres, ABG did not need to be convinced about the productivity and performance benefits of multi-axis machine tools and the competitive edge they provide. As Anthony Morbey continues: “After careful analysis of our machining operations, we determined that we needed two new high-performance CNC lathes with Y-axes and sub-spindles to meet our immediate and future turning requirements. Space is at a premium within our production facility, which is why both lathes needed to be compact.”

Although ABG had not previously invested in DN Solutions’ or Doosan machine tool technology, the company placed an order for two Lynx 2600SY machines. “We researched the market by talking to several suppliers, customers and third parties. It soon became apparent that DN Solutions’ machines have a great reputation for their performance and reliability,” explains Chris Woolley.

Streamlining throughput with 5-axis

Located in Hayes, Wellington Engineering Ltd was founded in the 1980s as a subcontract machine shop that now serves industry sectors as diverse as aerospace, medical and research, semiconductor and cryogenics.. With over 40 staff, the company has invested in machine tools from manufacturers such as Ajax and Colchester through to Doosan – but the one brand that takes centre stage is Hurco.

The machine shop has 45 CNC machine tools, but the prismatic machining department is full of Hurco machining centres with everything from the smallest VM10 through to the larger capacity Hurco VMX42M. The latest addition is another Hurco machining centre, a 5-axis VC500i. 

Alluding to why the company has invested in the latest 5-axis VC500i, Daimon Wellington from Wellington Engineering said: “As a business owner, it is all about productivity and producing more complex components. To accomplish this, we need 5-axis machinery. We have a lot of Hurco machines here, but this was the next step up technology.”

Discussing why productivity and the purchase of the 5-axis machining centre are so important, Daimon adds: “Productivity drives profit – and we all need that. Equally, we have been seeing a lot more complex-shaped components coming into the business, and it is taking too long for our conventional processes like 3 and 4-axis machining to get parts out of the door. Since we have had the 5-axis machine, we have had some excellent results. Parts are now coming off the machines quicker, but we are also freeing capacity from other machines and we are seeing a lot less deburring and secondary hand finishing. It frees up our other machines to do other work.”

Looking at the pain points of the business before stepping up to 5-axis machining, Daimon adds: “We knew the type of work we wanted to put on the machine, but we had to ensure there was enough work to justify the purchase. However, I have seen far too many complex components taking far too long to get through the business and they were taking too much time on too many machines. The complex setups were also taking too much manpower and creating workholding issues. With the Hurco 5-axis, we are getting components through the factory much quicker and our cycle times are reduced, giving us confidence that we can tell our customers exactly when they will receive their components.”

Looking at how the company is calculating the impact of the latest Hurco addition, Daimon says: “We have machine efficiency software that monitors how often the machine is running, the cycle times and other parameters. We are seeing benefits through that. Additionally, we don’t have to put complex parts through 3, 4 or 5 machines. We had a situation recently where an employee called in sick and this broke our process chain of jobs on the machines – everything is a jigsaw puzzle. With the 5-axis Hurco, we know we can put a job on the machine and get the parts off in a maximum of two operations.”

“We all appreciate that there is not a huge pool of young engineering talent coming through, so investing in machines that can do the job of 4-5 people can negate this situation. Yes, there is a skill to it, but with the Hurco support and the ease of the programming, we can produce lovely components in very good times.”

“We are now looking at jobs differently. Every job we look at, is potentially a job for the 5-axis machine. The machine is set up as a simultaneous 5-axis machine, we also have jobs where we will just do five-sided machining.” Concluding on the benefits of the machine that has only been installed a few months, Daimon adds: “We are already getting reports back from our customers that we are really starting to compete with the low-cost sourcing outfits, whereas before some customers would go abroad because they would get better pricing or shorter cycle times overseas. Another huge benefit is jobs that were taking three or four weeks to go through the shop floor on multiple machines are now passing through our process chain a lot quicker, so we can invoice quicker, get paid quicker – and then we free up the machines for more new work.”

Toolmaker hits the ‘Mark’

With four generations of toolmakers in the family, Denmark Products Ltd has been expertly manufacturing injection mould tools since its inception in 1993. Started by father and son team Dennis and Mark Rowlands, it has come a long way since the 1990s. Testament to the journey is the recent investment in a Mitsubishi spark erosion machine from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG). 

The small start-up on the outskirts of Telford manufactures precision injection mould tools for the automotive, medical and white goods industries. The company has added both a Mitsubishi wire EDM and a spark erosion machine to its plant list in a little over 12 months. 

The seven-employee company was using an external supplier for its wire EDM requirements. This wasn’t an ideal situation with costs and process control being surrendered to the subcontract supplier. Recalling the situation, Managing Director Mark Rowlands says: “With the demise of so many companies through Covid, we had an opportunity to buy a used Mitsubishi MV1200S wire machine. As the UK supplier of Mitsubishi machines, we went straight to ETG for installation and commissioning support. In the 12 months since, we eliminated our subcontract wire EDM costs, and the associated lead times.”

With next-generation technology, the Mitsubishi MV1200S has significantly reduced lead times and improved throughput for Denmark Products. 

Creating a spark

Ramping-up production post-Covid, Denmark needed to invest in a larger capacity machine. With three older spark erosion machines already on site, Denmark needed larger bed and tank capacity for processing larger dimensions of automotive interior trim parts and large white goods mould tools. The service provided by ETG with the MV1200S was a major factor in why the company invested in a second Mitsubishi machine.

As Mark continues: “We did our due diligence and looked at spark erosion machines from a few leading suppliers. Once we identified our capacity needs, it was the technology, capability and reputation of ETG that were factors in our decision to buy a Mitsubishi EA28V Advance spark erosion machine.” 

The Mitsubishi EA28V Advance can accommodate maximum workpiece dimensions up to 1350 by 850 by 450mm in its 390 litre capacity tank that utilises an automatic elevation method. Discussing the work area, Mark adds: “We’ve been receiving requests for larger components that had to be externally produced, as our spark erosion machines were not big enough. This resulted in external subcontract costs that were a drain on our business and extended our lead times. With the arrival of the Mitsubishi EA28V, we have brought all of this work in-house.”

However, the Mitsubishi EA28V Advance has given Denmark so much more, as Mark continues: “The extra capacity allows us to process larger parts, it also enables us to put two or three different smaller jobs on the bed and run them consecutively. This means we can undertake lights-out machining, and in many instances, we can set the machine up on a Friday night to run all weekend unmanned. This is a huge saving for our business.”

“Our existing machines only have single-electrode capacity, which means that we would continually change electrodes for every operation and part. With the Mitsubishi EA28V, we can set up to 20 electrodes and the machine will run for a couple of days unmanned. This is a huge saving for our business. From a productivity perspective, the technology in the Mitsubishi EA28V means that we can adjust our settings to erode components at higher speeds and feeds or we can similarly slow the speeds to extend the life of electrodes. Regardless of the multitude of settings, the machine can process parts far faster and to a higher level of quality and precision than any of our other machines,” says Mark.

Another advantage for the small business is the reduction in hand polishing, as Mark adds: “Our existing spark erosion machines are typically generating a surface finish in the region of 24VDI (1.6Ra), which often requires considerable post-machining hand polishing. This is particularly the case for injection mould tools for interior vehicle trim components that are used in marque vehicle brands and medical mould tools for containers and spoons. With the new Mitsubishi EA28V, we are easily achieving surface finishes of 12VDI (0.4Ra), which has drastically reduced our hand finishing. On parts such as ribs and cavities, the surface quality has eliminated hand finishing, which is a necessity for sensitive features. Overall, bench finishing has massively reduced, freeing up hours for our machinists every week.”

Mark concludes: “The service from ETG has been exemplary. The knowledge and understanding of Scott at ETG are unfathomable. We initially did four days of training and Scott was giving us tips and tricks to enhance our processes further. Whilst the capability and productivity of the machine are impressive, the tips on process improvements from Scott were the icing on the cake.”

Sustainability high on Manufacturing & Engineering SMEs’ agenda despite economic headwinds

The message about needing to move towards a more sustainable future is being heard by the UK’s Manufacturing & Engineering SMEs as they actively plan for a ‘greener’ way of doing business, according to the latest independent research from Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing. 

The data reveals that 72% of those polled state being a sustainable business is important to them while a further 75% believe their firm already behaves sustainably.  Four in five firms are actively enacting plans to become more sustainable, while 62% have set goals to make their firm greener and more efficient, providing hope that the ‘green revolution’ is beginning to gain traction among the UK’s smaller firms who aren’t waiting for larger businesses to take the lead. 

According to the CBI, the UK risks falling behind Europe, the US and Asia in the race towards investing in green technology if more action isn’t taken soon. However, according to the research, 60% of firms have already invested in technology to help them become more sustainable. This finding clearly demonstrates the willingness of business owners to spend capital on green technology in spite of the many challenges they face, including inflation, interest rate hikes and subdued demand. 

Our view

“The results make for encouraging reading,” said Steve Gee, CEO of Close Brothers’ Industrial Equipment Division. “The message that we need to move to a greener way of living is being heard loud and clear.” 

“Every business has a clear duty to act responsibly towards the environment and we are working with firms across the UK on renewable energy projects, including onshore wind farms, solar energy installations, battery storage projects and landfill CHP projects, to name a few.

“Clearly, action needs to be taken across the board but, speaking with our customers, there is a huge amount of innovation taking place.” 

Myles McCarthy, Group Head of Sustainability at Close Brothers added: “With the rising cost of energy and a clear trajectory for a more sustainable UK economy, it has never been more important for UK businesses to unlock the benefits energy efficiency and renewable energy can deliver. Savings in energy use help financially but they also demonstrate to a company’s stakeholders (including its customers and staff) that it is meeting its climate goals and responsibilities.”

For more information please visit closeasset.co.uk/manufacturing

From moon shot to sling shot

For all his many failings as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was an optimist with a bold vision for the future of Britain. He imagined a ‘science superpower’ and an ‘innovation nation’, with ‘moon shot’ research putting thruster rockets under economic growth to ‘level up’ a lopsided economy where London is racing ahead while the rest of the country chugs behind. John Yates explores the legacy of Booster Boris and its implications for advanced manufacturing.

When Boris Johnson stood in front of Stephenson’s Rocket in Manchester in the summer of 2018 he was just six months away from a famous election victory. He used the occasion to rehearse the key themes of his upcoming campaign: at its core was a belief that ‘turbocharging’ the nation’s strengths in science, technology and innovation would help level up and unite a deeply divided country. 

He heralded a ‘moon shot’ Britain that would lead the world in the design and development of automated vehicles, electric cars, buses, planes and satellites, all “made possible by technologies being developed now in the UK. If we unite our country, with better education, better infrastructure, with an emphasis on new technology, then this really can be a new golden age for the UK.” 

How different the landscape looks today.

Four years, and two Tory Prime Ministers later, the Conservative Party seems destined to become a museum piece like Stephenson’s Rocket. Dig deeper, however, and elements of Johnson’s vision could yet survive the chaotic events of the last three months, with the Tories creating a new Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Labour nailing its colours to an industrial strategy and a renewed passion for science which runs from Harold Wilson’s ‘white heat of technology’ to Lord Mandelson’s ‘new industries, new jobs’. 

Until the recent shakeup, however, Johnson’s science and innovation legacy has attracted little media attention, largely because it is the result of behind-the-scenes capability building by Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, a figure invisible to the public eye in normal times but brought into the spotlight by his daily Covid briefings alongside Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty. 

At the apex of this capability sits the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) – established by Johnson and Vallance last year only to be scrapped by Liz Truss during her 15 minutes of fame and then reinstated by Rishi Sunak. It is now a Cabinet-level body led by the Prime Minister comprising growth and skills related government departments including Education and the Treasury to drive a joined-up approach to delivery. This is serviced by the cross-departmental Office for Science and Technology Strategy (OSTS), whose mission is to put science and technology at the centre of government business.

In addition, an independent Council for Science and Technology, drawn from leading figures in industry and research will directly advise the Prime Minister on how to harness science and technology to become an innovation nation. Such industry voices will be vital if the big breakthrough ‘moon shot’ discoveries are to be translated into technologies that will drive big improvements in productivity and growth.

But who will deliver this? Universities were left out of DSIT and stayed instead within the Department for Education which some feel is a potential recipe for confusion. Professor John Krebs, commenting on the publication of the recent House of Lords Science and Technology Committee report, warned the new structures could make the UK more of a ‘bureaucratic superpower’ than a science superpower.

Even if higher education had been placed in the new DSIT, many wonder whether the current university R&D system is up to the task of delivering either the deep transformative science of moon shots or the applied R&D technologies that diffuse innovations across the economy.  

While former Science Minister, Lord Willetts, recognises that universities are one of our greatest national assets, he says: “Having them so dominant distorts our national R&D because of the distinctive incentive structure for university academics – the emphasis on academic publication as the crucial measure of performance. It is one reason for our poor performance in applying research and using it to grow big new companies.”

To challenge this model at the deep end of R&D, the government has set up the Advanced Innovation Research Agency (ARIA). Modelled on America’s defence-related DARPA, it will “hand freedom and control to a small number of the highest-calibre researchers, from public and private spheres,” to spend £800m on transformative projects free from traditional higher education bureaucracy. It is a bold and potentially disruptive vision.

But is there an equally bold and disruptive vision for the applied end of the R&D rocket booster?  Not yet.

Currently, the UK has a haphazard patchwork quilt of Catapult centres across the country, including the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult) which works with industries in many of the sectors covered by the MTDCNC team including automotive, aerospace, defence, oil and gas and nuclear. 

The Catapult idea was inspired by the success of the well-funded, purpose-built Fraunhofer facilities in Germany, all of which are independent of the country’s university system. 

Instead of following the German model, however, the then Coalition government leveraged the UK’s existing place-based industrial innovation assets to establish the seven-member HVM Catapult, five of which are ultimately owned and governed by universities. Old wine in new bottles.

This was a mistake. The success and longevity of the Fraunhofer network comes from it being independent of academia, government and industry. This, along with the scale of its funding, gives it the convening power to pull together high-performing teams drawn from R&D institutions across the country or internationally, and to pull in people from industry to grind down difficult-to-solve technological and innovation challenges. 

Lord Willetts identified this threat to the Catapults’ independence, mission and longevity in his paper, The Road to 2.4%, where he highlighted the case of the University of Sheffield AMRC, which, ironically, had been a role model for the establishment of the HVM Catapult.

“A new Vice Chancellor comes in and isn’t interested in the same thing as their predecessor. Applied research institutes linked to universities, such as the excellent Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre linked to the University of Sheffield do not, therefore, enjoy the long-term stability of a Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. And whilst universities want these research institutes to boost their research rankings, they don’t necessarily survive in the long run, in a university environment,” Willetts wrote.

When Keith Ridgway, along with the other founders of the AMRC, quit three years ago, he wrote in the Yorkshire Post that the Catapults should have been made independent of universities to avoid any potential friction between institutions with often very different cultures, behaviours, missions and interests.

The independence principle briefly gained traction when Dominic Cummings was trying to rewire the government’s approach to science and technology from his roost in Number 10, but it became a casualty of the pandemic and an ill-fated trip to Barnard Castle. Some still believe that the HVM Catapult and the wider network, are essential to a more diverse UK research infrastructure. Perhaps. But not as currently constituted.

First government must free the HVM Catapult from university ownership and governance, as Willetts and Cummings intimated. Following this, the seven centres should be unshackled from one another, while the costly and ineffective central management function in Solihull is scrapped: a significant saving in itself.

The next step would be to lift the bonnet and understand what the HVM Catapults are actually doing. Despite being set up as translational research agencies – ‘pulling cutting-edge research from the UK’s world-leading universities into the commercial market’– this has rarely been their core business. 

Unlike the Fraunhofer network, the HVM Catapult Annual Report has no details of the number of patents, spinouts, shareholdings and trademarks it has created. The Fraunhofer, by contrast, headlines shareholdings in 84 firms, the creation of 50 new start-ups and the filing of 521 patent applications; two patents per working day.

Today’s HVM Catapult is not a translational research network, which is a gap still be to be filled. Instead, its mission is the adaptation, diffusion and adoption of existing smart technologies by industry. Its facilities are shining showrooms for tech vendors like Dassault Systemes and America’s PCT.

Alongside this, it is playing a growing role in skills development by exploiting its close relationship with the industry to deliver high-quality apprentice-training programmes that will inspire the next generation of engineers. 

This opens up the possibility of a very different, but very valuable role, for the HVM Catapult in tackling two of the most challenging problems facing the economy: kick-starting productivity and ensuring any new growth is shared fairly in a way that overcomes the huge regional inequalities in performance and prosperity. 

Rather than focusing on sectors, technologies and missions, would it not be better to pivot the HVM Catapult to a place-based R&D function that identifies, nurtures and grows local and regional innovation capabilities, technology absorptive capacity, and human skills and talent development? 

This change is hinted at in a brilliant short paper submitted to the soon-to-be-published Nurse review on the UK’s R&D and innovation infrastructure by Eoin O’Sullivan and Richard Jones. The authors note: “The missing elements in the UK landscape of RD&I institutions are regional institutes with a specific mandate to enhance and fill gaps in regional innovation capabilities. This places the UK at a disadvantage in supporting the high-value industry clusters across the country that are crucial for productivity growth and reducing regional inequality.”

The authors hint that this could be carried out by ‘institutions that are part of, or allied to, the Catapult network’ which they envisage being connected ‘more closely with local and regional economic governance’ financed and supported through a series of ‘innovation deals.’ 

In a similar vein, in a paper submitted by Professor Keith Ridgway at the request of Michael Gove’s office and forwarded to the Nurse review, we argued that a repurposed and restructured Catapult network, especially the HVM Catapult, could be the platform for a regional network of innovation assets across its existing footprint in the South West, Wales, the Midlands, the North West, the North East, Yorkshire and Scotland. 

Keith Ridgway

Our paper went a step further than Jones and O’Sullivan in suggesting the repurposed Catapults be brought under the wing of devolved Mayoralties and beefed-up Local Enterprise Partnerships with senior industry expertise. This model would be aligned with the DSIT’s work in mapping the UK’s emerging innovation clusters.

By pooling the complex and divisive multi-billion pound funding competitions into a single pot would equip devolved city regions with the tools to accelerate growth. It would also give Parliament a clear line of sight as to where and how public money is being spent; and to measure how well it delivers national ‘levelling up’ and ‘innovation nation’ objectives, providing democratic accountability missing from the current R&D infrastructure.

These well-financed, independent R&D and innovation institutions, operating alongside elected city Mayors would also strengthen the leverage elected political leaders could exert on regional anchor institutions which are better funded than regional councils and sometimes resistant to playing a regional economic growth role. 

This power to convene could also be a valuable asset in cities where local stakeholders tend to be siloed, or worse, hostile to one another. The devolved arrangement also creates clear lines of accountability and a direct link to regional electorates who will have a stake in shaping their local economic policies.

At the launch of its ‘Parks and Innovation’ report into the success of Ridgway’s AMRC, the Centre for Cities Director Andrew Carter made a telling observation that applied research innovation centres like the AMRC is often viewed from London as regional assets, and by their home regions as national assets. As a result, they tend to be ignored and unloved by both, falling through the policy and funding gaps. Our approach, which aligns national and regional, would mean we no longer need to mind the gap.

Auto sector needs battery industry to secure its future

Britishvolt may have just been rescued by the Australian company Recharge, and the West Midlands Gigafactory has potential, but it needs an Asian manufacturer quickly, while US and European state funding is making it harder for the independent and nascent UK battery industry to compete. Will Stirling reports.

The British have a deep love for car making, we have it in our bones. Land Rover, Jaguar, MINI, Rolls-Royce, Formula 1, 40+ years of Japanese car production in the UK and much more. But we sure know how to make a mess of the necessary and exciting transition to electric.

Annual UK car production fell -9.8% to 775,014 units in 2022 as global chip shortages and structural changes reduced output. That is about half a million cars down on the pre-pandemic 2019 high of 1.303m. But there were record levels of electrified vehicle (EV) production with almost a third of all cars made fully electric or hybrid – worth £10bn in exports alone, says the car industry body SMMT. Continuing semiconductor shortages and a big loss of volume at two large manufacturers were the drivers. 

Despite these challenges, UK factories turned out a record 234,066 battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid electric vehicles with combined volumes up 4.5% year-on-year to represent almost a third (30.2%) of all car production.  There are more electric vehicle models on sale in the UK now, with more than 40% of models now available as plug-ins. Most carmakers, including Ford, Nissan, Tesla and Vauxhall have expanded their EV model range to include affordable plug-in models.

But the initial collapse and bounceback of Britishvolt, the UK’s potentially independent, volume battery manufacturer, was a confidence blow to the car industry’s plans to electrify. 

The UK needs domestic battery manufacturing. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the EU and the UK requires that by the end of 2026, batteries in EVs made here must be assembled in the UK or the EU for the vehicle to qualify for tariff-free trade between the two. Shipping heavy, bulky batteries from, for example, Germany or Hungary to be assembled in the UK doesn’t make business sense. While you could argue we’ve done this for years with auto engines and components, today’s cost of fuel, freight and carbon emissions make this plain dumb.

Britishvolt’s volatility has been little surprise to many close to car making; it ran out of money and had no assured customers. Some blamed the government for pulling the £100m Automotive Transformation Fund grant on offer, but Britishvolt failed to pass the tests. There is hope – Australian group Recharge was the preferred bidder to rescue, and it has since stepped in to buy the company and revive the battery manufacturer in Blyth, but auto experts are sceptical. “Recharge has no track record in volume manufacture and, while there is support from a funding consortium, we’re not really sure where the money is coming from,” says Prof David Bailey, Professor of Business Economics at the Birmingham Business School.

Domestic battery capacity of national importance

As demand for EVs rises, and it’s the fastest growing segment of automotive manufacture, the UK needs to build much greater battery capacity.

The most viable site is the West Midlands Gigafactory near Coventry City Airport. This is a grand project that will have 60GWh manufacturing capacity, enough to power 600,000 EVs p/a, provide up to 6,000 jobs and is 100% powered by clean energy. The site and planning permission are approved and it will likely apply for a big grant with the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF). It is backed by Coventry City Council, the West Midlands Combined Authority, The University of Warwick and many more. Its partner page shows an impressive line-up but there is one notable absence – a manufacturing company. Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, says several companies are being courted but their identities remain confidential, and any timescale for a decision is either unknown or confidential. The website has South Korean and Chinese language versions, suggesting the candidate’s provenance – they include potentially China’s biggest battery firms CATL and BYD. What the West Midlands Gigafactory must do is secure government backing to sweeten the deal for the Asian investor, likely to be up to 20% of the investment.

“To be clear there is no current application to the ATF for funding, but most governments around the world find that [20%] is the sort of amount they need to offer as a subsidy,” Andy Street told MTD. “It is not unreasonable to think that British government would have to do something similar to secure the gigafactory investment.” But these Asian battery firms are being courted by European countries too.

Here the UK is playing catchup. The European Union has around 35 gigafactories in build or near planning approval and the EU has brought together seven states to support the European Battery Alliance. Funded with around €6bn, its challenging goal is to build a third of global battery cell production capacity in the EU by 2030, serving an estimated €250bn a year market by that time. 

In addition, President Biden has launched the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a gigantic US$369bn of subsidies for green technologies aimed at luring investment – such as EVs and battery manufacture – to the US. The UK finds itself needing to compete with the deep pockets and subsidies of the US, the EU and probably China too, to lure battery makers to Britain. What would help is both an industrial strategy and a UK public sector bank with the reserves to at least offer an alternative to the EIB’s treasure chest. The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), set up in 2021, could be such an institution. It is now lending money, but it doesn’t have the powers of a true state bank. “It is still operating in interim form without a full operation in place – the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill aims to put the bank on a statutory footing and clarify its powers,” says David Bailey. The UKIB has funded deals in electricity storage, solar power and digital roll-out, but has not publicly backed the West Midlands Gigafactory or any battery-making project to date, although the head of banking Ian Brown said last October “The UKIB is ready, willing and perfectly placed to support public and private investors to boost EV (development).”

Andy Street is still bullish about the gigafactory’s prospects. “We are strengthening the bid all the time, particularly in the Coventry region, especially with the research and development that has been done, the decisions of companies to bring their R&D here, the sort of skills and talent that we’re producing in our universities – including Warwick Manufacturing Group and Coventry University – that tells me we’ve got a really, really good card.”

UK supply chain beefs up while battery-making lags behind

Mr Street cites Chinese carmaker Geely’s success with the London Electric Vehicle Company, Triumph Motorcycle’s new Project TE-1 electric motorbike, a consortium with several Midlands companies including Integral Powertrain, recently rebranded as Helix, and Lotus’s success with the Evija hypercar. In fact, there is a huge amount of very positive progress in the development of UK-based electromechanical components electric vehicles, much of it supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre and a suite of projects, competitions and funds.

In recent months, Equipmake benefitted from the APC’s CELEB2 project, a £7.4m, with £3.7m funded through the APC and match-funded by industry investment, to electrify bus power. This has helped the Norfolk-based powertrain firm and bus maker Agrale to launch a new electric bus in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October, plus a zero-emission double-decker New Routemaster. 

Saietta benefitted from the APC’s ADAPT fund to scale up the manufacture of its axial flux motor. And in December, in perhaps the APC’s biggest single round of funding (since Britishvolt collapsed), £73m was provided to five R&D projects to get British low-carbon transportation moving. This included a chunk to Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK to develop a hydrogen-powered Hilux in the UK, to tractor-maker CNH Industrial in Basildon to create the world’s first ‘fugitive liquid’ methane-powered heavy tractor and for HVS, an engineering company in Glasgow,  to produce a hydrogen fuel cell-powered HGV cab and tractor unit.

The UK automotive electric supply chain today feels like the guest list at an important state dinner when the visiting presidents are late. Many smart and high-powered individuals are waiting to network and sow the seeds of big deals but are stuck in slow motion until the guests of honour – in this case, volume battery manufacturing – allow the evening to swing.

Vend delivers MAD benefits to motorsport manufacturer

The Padiham-based Mini Sport Group has been supplying its customers with parts for the iconic Mini for over 50 years. Since 2005 many of these parts have been manufactured in-house by group company Motorsport Advanced Developments (MAD).

While MAD’s focus was initially on the Groups’ requirements, its reputation for quality grew and the business now supplies parts to a wide range of customers. This includes customers in sectors from the automotive and chemical through to the aerospace and defence industries with batch quantities ranging from one-off R&D parts through to 100,000+ volume production. This broadening of its customer base has seen an increased demand for the latest machine tools, cutting tools and workholding. Of course, this requires more space to house them.

Daniel Harper, MAD’s Managing Director says: “In 2019, we broke ground on a new building that would double our available floor space. That was completed in early 2020 and then came Covid and lockdown. From March to May 2020, things were challenging, and then the mail order side of the Mini Sport business just took off. By August, we were back to full staff and production, and we have just kept ramping it up.”

The timing of the situation was ideal. Just before the lockdown, MAD had ordered a Mazak i600 with a multi-pallet system. This is installed alongside a Mazak QuickTurn lathe and a further QuickTurn 250MSY, which brings the total to 12 Mazak machines on-site. “Recently, we have invested over £600,000 in machine tools, in addition to the cost of the new building,” says Daniel.        

To support this increased machining demand, MAD turned to long-term tooling partner Ceratizit UK & Ireland, with which it has worked with from the outset of the business. As an existing user of Ceratizit’s vending systems with two Tom60 vending machines, the challenge was to supply an increased tool storage capacity without compromising floor space. The solution was the installation of the TOM840 from Ceratizit, which replaced the two existing units. This TOM840 has a maximum capacity of 840 tools in compartments that can be adjusted to take a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

“In a typical scenario, a TOM840 vend machine will hold 5 times the number of tools compared to a TOM 60 unit in a similar amount of floorspace,” says Tony Pennington, Managing Director, Ceratizit UK & Ireland.

The Ceratizit TOM vending system also provides users with detailed traceability. With the ability to track the distribution of every tool from the time of vend to which the operator took the tool. It also provides a facility to monitor costs. With its in-built SIM card, orders to replenish stock are automatically communicated and sent to the team of dedicated vending support staff based at Ceratizit’s office in Sheffield. Stock within the machine is then replenished by a Ceratizit Tool Service Engineer. Each month an invoice is raised and, as the stock within the TOM840 is supplied on a consignment basis, only the tools taken from the vend are charged. A further advantage of the consignment stock is that MAD can never be left with obsolete tools. Whenever an update is released, the tools are replaced. 

The improved service offered by the TOM840 vending machine is just one part of the reason that Daniel and his team at MAD have worked with Ceratizit for so many years. “We have worked with Ceratizit since 2005, in particular with Nigel Walls our local Technical Sales Engineer. He is always on hand to offer advice on the choice of tools and even manufacturing methods,” says Daniel. “We are a tight-knit family company and, we like to deal with companies with the same philosophy as us. We work with companies that will pull together to make things work, in that respect Ceratizit gives us everything we need.”

Meet the modular line-up

For more than 50 years, Quickgrind has been a company revered as an industry leader in the solid carbide cutting tool space. Now, the Tewkesbury manufacturer has launched a new product line – and it’s a modular range of cutting tools.

The new ModX series from Quickgrind is in response to the ever-evolving demands of the marketplace for an expanded range of machining solutions – and as a company with the ‘Infinite Possibilities’ ethos, Quickgrind has responded with a product line that once again exceeds the realms of what is possible from rival cutting tool manufacturers. Combining the performance and durability of its solid carbide range with the modularity of interchangeable head tooling, the new ModX provides machine shops with the blend of flexibility and performance.

From a quality perspective, the carbide shanks are manufactured to a 2µm runout tolerance for reliable precision machining. The modular, high-quality carbide tool shanks present superior rigidity than steel alternatives, and the shanks can also be stepped or tapered to the customer requirements. The tool shanks also incorporate the company’s innovative locking mechanism ensuring maximum coupling stability. Existing Quickgrind customers familiar with the ‘Infinite Possibilities’ ethos will certainly be interested in considering the potential benefits of this system. For manufacturers new to Quickgrind’s ‘Infinite Possibilities’ means that the tool dimensions and type can be specified to meet the exact requirements of your business – there are no set dimension parameters here.

Connecting to the solid carbide shank is the modular cutting head. Once again, Quickgrind is keen to stress the ‘Infinite Possibilities’ programme and its unfathomable depth of options. Each modular head has a face and taper connection that creates a secure connection with the tool shank for maximum strength and performance. To secure the head in the shank, the ModX series has a physical stop that indicates when the head is correctly tightened.

With the changeable heads, this is where the range of opportunities becomes apparent. Customers can select the head length, diameter, tolerance, number of flutes, helix angle, anti-vibration, coating and more. The ‘Infinite Possibilities’ stretch through a complete range of options with end mills, ball-nosed end mills, barrel tools, roughing end mills, aluminium cutters, high-feed end mills and chamfer tools.

Within this selection band, the options expand further. For example, the end mills can be chosen with 2 to 7 flutes and a choice of coatings and geometries for all types of materials and applications.  This also applies to the roughing end mills that have flat-crested geometry and variable helix options to enhance performance when undertaking trochoidal machining strategies.

The ball-nose tools are offered with various flute counts and a selection of lengths and coatings to enhance chip flow and wear resistance; likewise, the aluminium heads have 2 or 3 flute options, square or ball nose and roughing heads for a complete range of aluminium alloys. As a pioneer in the development of barrel tools, Quickgrind has also introduced a range of interchangeable conical, lens, tangential and type-F heads for finish and semi-finish machining strategies that can reduce cycle times by up to 90%.  Complementing the barrel tools is a series of high-feed end mill heads with 3 to 5 flutes with precision ground geometries that reduce cutting forces     and maximise swarf evacuation to improve productivity by up to 60%.

For manufacturers that would like to investigate the ModX range of possibilities, the system’s simplicity is that manufacturers can select the shank length and diameter and then pick the neck specification. Once these parameters are chosen, customers can select the modular cutting head specification. With ‘Infinite Possibilities’, Quickgrind is inviting manufacturers to discuss the limitless opportunities that are available with the new ModX series.

Logical extension

Some years ago, ISCAR launched its LOGIQ product line, a campaign that brought new families of cutting tools to the world market. The product families were designed to address challenges that range from increasing productivity to finding cost-effective indexable alternatives to small diameter solid carbide tools. 

Now, ISCAR introduces NEOLOGIQ, the company’s logical extension to the previous campaign that comprises an entire range of advanced products and technological solutions for metal cutting tools. 

What are the main targets of the NEO product lines?

ISCAR believes that NEOLOGIQ provides the answers to typical questions that the modern metalworking industry faces. Today, we are witnessing serious upheaval with far-reaching effects on manufacturing. A distinct course for electric and hybrid cars will lead to a gradual abandonment of traditional internal combustion engine cars and the respective parts that need to be machined. 

A rise of accurate metal shaping methods, such as precision investment casting, precision forging and 3D printing, are all capable of shaping a part very close to its final profile. This significantly diminishes the stock that is traditionally intended for chip-removal processes.  A logical result of this is the considerably reduced share of machining operations in a part manufacturing cycle and this trend is already noticeable in the market today.  Does it mean that a few good metalworking shops, factories, or even whole branches will abandon machining? 

Of course not, but the requirements for machining in engineering processes will change. The role of productive and accurate cutting with a small allowance at high speeds and feeds will substantially grow, and industries will require a wide range of suitable tools that are expected to be more precise and durable.

Digitised manufacturing, which is dictated by Industry 4.0 momentum, has its demand and expects a new level of cutting tool ‘intellect’ to be suitable for smart manufacturing. In preparing for the upcoming changes, ISCAR considers NEOLOGIQ as the next logical step to the cutting tool for the smart factory. ‘Machining with no Boundaries’ is the motto of ISCAR’s NEOLOGIQ products. How do we overstep the customary boundaries of metal cutting? 

Logical Milling

High-feed milling (HFM) is considered a commonly used effective method for rough machining of both complex and plane surfaces. ISCAR has an extremely wide range of HFM products to meet the requirements of the market. However, even in this niche range of products, there is space for innovation. 

LOGIQ4FEED, a family of high-feed milling cutters carrying specific bone-shaped inserts, was enriched by new tools with greater insert sizes. These new tools have several features that substantially improve performance in high-feed milling, especially when machining large cavities and pockets in steel parts.

Another HFM product that provides a cost-saving solution is NEOFEED, a family of mills with square, double-sided inserts. This insert has 8 indexable cutting edges and a dovetail-shaped insert pocket that ensures reliable mounting to withstand heavy loads that enable higher cutting data and increased productivity.

The progress in 5-axis machining and CAD/CAM systems open new horizons for machining 3D surfaces using barrel-shaped end mills. Although such end mills are not common, advanced accurate metal shaping methods will dramatically increase the demand for these barrel-shaped end mills. Therefore, the development of effective ‘cutting barrels’ is one of ISCAR’s highest priorities. In the NEOLOGIQ product range, the barrel-shaped endmills are represented by two configurations: a solid carbide design and a MULTI-MASTER head.  Combining MULTI-MASTER advantages with the precise barrel profile of a cutting-edge will result in a cost-effective and sustainable solution for finishing complex-shape surfaces by milling with minimum machining stock.

The MULTI-MASTER family has expanded the boundaries of its product range by introducing a new threaded connection size. The T21 enables users to increase the nominal diameter of an exchangeable end mill head to 32mm.

 Intelligent Turning

With internal turning, the boring bar is the main factor of tool rigidity. A large bar overhang to diameter ratio leads to tool deflection and vibration; and is the bane of machining accuracy and surface finish. WHISPERLINE, a family of anti-vibration boring bars was developed to exceed the ratio boundaries. These bars have a specially designed built-in vibration-dampening mechanism that enables stable cutting with an overhang of up to 14XD. 

WHISPERLINE bars are important elements of the new versatile modular system NEOMODU. It provides a rich variety of assembly options for turning tools. A combination of different system units such as shanks, anti-vibration capsules, and interchangeable heads with indexable carbide inserts result in a tool assembly that is maximally customised to a specific application. The shanks may be cylindrical, square or with a polygon taper interface following ISO: 26623.

Also from the turning stable is the new XNMG insert which is a beneficial combination of two ISO rhombic insert shapes, the CNMG and DNMG inserts with 80° and 55° included angles. This intelligent integration results in the XNMG 70° angle insert that features improved clearance and ramping angles when compared to the CNMG. It also demonstrates strengthened cutting performance over DNMG inserts. The advantages of the new insert are visible in efficient multi-directional turning applications. The cartridges carrying the XNMG insert are intended for mounting on NEOMODU units.

Competent Parting

ISCAR has a firm foundation in parting tools and that is why its innovations in parting gain special interest. Adapters and holders occupy a prominent place among ISCAR’s NEOLOGIQ parting products and the concept of the LOGIQFGRIP family is based on a 4-pocket adapter that is clamped in a reinforced tool block. The high rigidity of such an assembly in combination with an inner high-pressure coolant supply (HPC) option facilitates productive cutting with extremely high feed rates.

In parting, one of the secrets to success is well-directed high-pressure cooling (HPC). If an adaptor has no HPC channels, mounting a specially designed crown-shaped accessory pushes the boundaries of application limits and enables effective pinpointed coolant flow to the active cutting edge of an insert.

The growing capabilities of modern multi-tasking machines and turning centres push the common boundaries of cutting strategies. Particularly, they brought the method of efficient turning along the Y-axis. In quite a few cases, it is a worthy alternative to traditional X-axis machining. In Y-axis turning, the dissipation of cutting force components is more favourable, and the main load is directed to a holder. The cutting process becomes more stable, and this facilitates increased cutting data to improve productivity. Therefore, providing appropriate cutting tools for turning operations along the Y-axis is one of the central points of NEOLOGIQ.

Efficient Holemaking

One of the more impressive product lines is LOGIQCHAM, a family of drills with replaceable carbide heads and three cutting edges, providing an effective tool for significantly increasing productivity for drilling depths up to 5XD. When drilling, efficient chip evacuation is extremely important. It is not enough to optimise chip control with an advanced design of the head geometry. The flute shape should ensure seamless chip flow. Undoubtedly, three grooves weaken the body, and when compared to a two helical flute drill of the same diameter, the three-flute body is less rigid. When the depth grows, longitudinal vibrations may occur, and this reduces tool life and adversely affects the accuracy and roughness of a machined hole. A new three-flute drill body design is based on a variable flute helix angle. Such a concept considerably improves the dynamic behaviour of the drill and results in expanding the drilling depth boundaries – the maximum depth can now reach eight diameters.

Charged up for e-mobility

As the automotive industry evolves, MAPAL expects huge growth in the requirement for machining solutions for electric vehicles. The tool manufacturer has focused new product lines on components that will be made in large quantities in the future. The new Basic, Performance and Expert classification ranges describe customer-specific solutions for their machining needs.

MAPAL’s strong focus on customer needs when developing tool solutions is not a new concept. By arranging its options into three solution levels – Basic, Performance and Expert, the company now offers a classification for tool selection options for specific parts. In doing so, MAPAL now provides customers with a rough indication of product lines that will meet their needs, making the transition smoother in practice.

The Basic tooling systems include solutions with standard tools for manufacturing prototypes or small series products cost-effectively. The investment is comparatively low, and the use of tools is flexible. As many changes are often still being made to the component and process at this stage, the flexibility of the standard tool series is very helpful for manufacturers. Customisation tools is avoided in the Basic solution.

Performance solutions are designed for series production and focus on machining specific parts using custom tools. Here, multi-stage and combination tools can be used to process the workpiece more efficiently than with Basic versions. The Performance solution enables reliable series-ready production without fulfilling the very top tier of requirements for productivity.  This is reserved for the Expert version. 

The Expert line includes solutions for machining specific parts with the fewest tools possible productively in short cycle times with the best possible quality. Here, multi-staged tools that combine all functions in a single device are typically used. An example of an Expert solution is the toolset for machining the stator housing for an electric motor that MAPAL has already successfully established in the industry. MAPAL has taken productivity and quality to their absolute limits with these tools. Basic and Performance solutions are also available for manufacturing the stator housing, meeting the requirements for each level respectively.

Ambitious parts for electric cars

Alongside electric drives, MAPAL is also focusing on other electric car components. These include auxiliary units such as the scroll compressor for thermal management and housings for power electronics and battery frames. The latter requires many milling operations that can also be illustrated well with the three-staged Basic, Performance and Expert concepts. Comparatively simple standard tools can be used for tests or small quantities. The next level involves special solid carbide tools that combine several machining steps and ensure reliable machining. Furthermore, the Expert level brings milling cutters with special coatings or PCD milling cutters into play.

MAPAL determines the optimum solution for the relevant situation in direct dialogue with its customers. In many cases, customers will only take advantage of two of the three potential levels. This is because prototype production often takes place on specialist machinists. This is because OEMs want to transition straight from prototype to mass production. If the quality requirements are met and productivity is sufficient for the quantities to be manufactured, a Performance-level machining solution is used. Under certain circumstances, the demands placed on machine performance may not be quite as high with this solution, which can be a criteria choice when converting existing lines to e-mobility. 

Productive Machines ‘Know the Drill’

As a deep tech Industry 4.0 company that is a spin-out from the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in Sheffield, Productive Machines work with manufacturers to help them get the best out of their machine tools – reaching the best possible quality of part, faster, the first time.

Recently, Productive Machines were invited to participate in a Seco Tools project to develop their understanding of the dynamics of robotic machining with the aim to test and maximise the capability of their new tools on a carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) material. The machining trials took place at the AMRC’s Factory 2050 using the AMRC’s KUKA Titan robot. The robot has been equipped with additional encoders in the joints and a Siemens Sinumerik control system.

The AMRC is part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult network of world-leading research and innovation centres working with advanced manufacturing companies around the globe. As one of the world’s largest providers of comprehensive metal cutting solutions for milling, stationary tools, hole making and tooling systems, Seco has considerable input in projects at the AMRC. For over 80 years, Seco has been developing and supplying its technologies, processes and support to manufacturers striving to maximise their productivity and profitability.

The Challenge

Robotic machining is an emerging technology when it comes to processing large composite components. Machining robots can be a more cost-effective solution for large workpieces in comparison to standard machine tools and the flexibility of robots over machine tools offers several benefits. In 2021, there were three million industrial robots worldwide, a figure that grew 14% from the year before. Although most of these robots are used for things like welding and handling, the use of robots for processing tasks such as machining grew by over 37%.

There are exciting applications for robotic machining in the aerospace, automotive and marine technology sectors where large composite components are increasingly used for structural elements. The airframes of the future are set to contain an ever increasing number of CFRP components and assemblies to meet light-weighting targets. The benefits of composites for these applications are their strength to weight ratio compared to traditional materials such as aluminium, steel and titanium. This makes CFRP composites a good choice to minimise the weight of the vehicle without compromising its integrity and durability.

The main drawbacks of machining robots are their high dynamic flexibility and relatively low positional accuracy. This results in early onset of chatter, vibration and high dimensional errors with poor surface finishes and potential delamination of the CFRP. To minimise these issues, technological solutions in process planning and control are needed. To this end, experts in robotic and process modelling are required to further develop the use of robots in machining composites. 

With the compromised nature of stack machining in structures like CFRP airframes, holes must be drilled in situ without then taking assemblies apart or subsequently undertaking secondary inspection or rework. This necessitates a ‘right-first time’ approach to hole generation and this requires a deeper understanding of the dynamics of robotic machining.

Finding The Solution

As part of this ongoing research into CFRPs and robotic machining by the AMRC and their partners, the performance of newly designed Seco cutting tools were tested on CFRP composite material using the ARMS (Accurate Robotic Machining System) at Factory 2050.

To help further develop the understanding of the robotic machining of CFRP material, Productive Machines were invited to contribute to the project by finding best the process parameters for the robotic machining system. To do this, Productive Machines was commissioned to predict the process characteristics such as cutting forces and stability during drilling.

Productive Machines’ technology can predict cutting forces, tool deflection and stability against chatter and vibration. This technology is used to predict possible process induced problems as well as component quality in advance. This leads to benefits such as higher-quality end products, improved productivity, reduced waste and extended tool life. 

The project carried out at AMRC’s Factory 2050 using the ARMS robot was tasked with machining a series of holes with different diameters using two different tools (12mm and 16mm). The intention was to select the optimal machining parameters for the robotic machining setup. The test also targeted the performance of the cutting tool under different machining parameters. 

Process characteristics were modelled and predicted by Productive Machines’ technology and the best combination of machining parameters were identified for the robotic machining setup. Experimental data was also collected for process monitoring and validation purposes through a cutting force dynamometer and accelerometers.

The engineering teams also analysed the stability of the process to check for vibration using their unique stability map. The predictions showed there was no vibration or instability at the chosen parameters. When plotted on a stability lobe diagram, the selected parameters all fell within the stable region. 

Having made sure that chatter vibrations would not be present, the machining trials were run with a selected combination of machining parameters for testing the performance of new Seco cutting tools. The experimental data was used to further validate the predictions and cutting tool performance.

In a production setting outside of the research centre, the same techniques can be attained and put into practice by manufacturers that work with Productive Machines. Manufacturers can specify the Productive Machines technology to eliminate costly trial and error and minimise the lead time to reach optimal cycle times and component quality. Had the AMRC trials had a broader scope, the next step for Productive Machines would have been to run full simulations of the process and optimise the parameters to improve productivity and mitigate any tool deflection without generating instability. 

By running the simulation, Productive Machines can test hundreds of thousands of combinations of machine settings and arrive at a level of optimisation that would be difficult to achieve with years of continuous improvement. The benefits of this approach include less wasted time, less wasted material and scrap, extended machine uptime and improved tool life as well as increased productivity. In extreme cases with live clients, productivity improvements of over 100% have been generated with tooling cost reductions by more than 25%. Even when working with advanced toolpaths that have been pre-optimised manufacturers can increase productivity by 15%.

Additionally, Productive Machines’ stability map can predict chatter instability in a process and suggest the best process parameters throughout the machining cycle. This enables manufacturers to produce the best part, faster, the first time.

It’s easy to try Productive Machines if you have machining challenges. The Productive Machines offering is currently service-based and it is moving toward an automated route. There is no need to install any software or take any training courses, the input is via a CAM file. For chatter mitigation, the tooling assembly’s frequency response function needs to be measured by tap testing.

The results of the demonstration were shared and discussed at ‘The Seco Aero ITI’ event that took place at Seco’s Innovation Hub in September 2022. Productive Machines was able to demonstrate its capabilities to many of Seco’s partners and clients. At the Seco event, Productive Machines founder Dr Erdem Ozturk was invited to take part in a panel discussion alongside Daniela Sawyer from the AMRC, Mark Walsh and Jason Smith from Seco Tools. You can access an on-demand edited version of this video at their YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@productivemachines

OPEN MIND Forges a top team

Forge Motorsport & Engineering is a business that evolved from Forge Engineering, a subcontract manufacturing business founded in 1983. Down the years, the company developed what is claimed to be the world’s largest and most diverse supply of aftermarket car tuning products – it is this evolution that led to the name change to Forge Motorsport & Engineering in 1996; and like many of the leading motorsport manufacturers, Forge relies on hyperMILL from OPEN MIND Technologies for the CAM programming of its components.

 The company has offices in the US and Taiwan, retaining their R&D activities and manufacturing in Gloucester. Discussing the business, Peter Miles from Forge Motorsport says: “Forge Motorsport Engineering are manufacturers of performance products and aftermarket parts for a range of petrol and turbo vehicles. Forge Motorsport Engineering specialises in the production of CNC machining, turning, and fabrication of the largest range of performance aftermarket parts worldwide. The parts we produce at Forge are extremely complicated and very in-depth. For our engineers to get the best out of our machines, it’s vitally important that we have the best software on the market, to be able to drive our innovation and our designs.”

It is here the OPEN MIND plays a major role with its hyperMILL CAM suite. As Peter adds: “In 2019, we recognised that we’d been inactive in updating and improving our machining capacity. That led to us looking in detail at our CNC machining capability. Ryan Speck, our Chief Engineer, led us down the road of investment with the 5-axis machining capability and then the need for CAM software to drive our improving capability; our engineering ability was crucial. This brought the need for us to invest in the right kind of software to drive our engineering processes.”

Discussing the onboarding of hyperMILL from OPEN MIND, Forge Motorsport & Engineering Chief Engineer, Mr Ryan Speck says: “My role is to ensure our manufacturing operation is as efficient as it can be, and that we are as competitive as we can be within our industry. That led us to look at our 5-axis options and the software to drive that. We looked at various different products on the market, but we felt the hyperMILL product from OPEN MIND Technologies was the right one for us.” 

“What we need from a CAD/CAM system is the ability to program our parts accurately and in the most efficient way possible. Not only that, but to be able to post the programme, and when we get to the machine, having the trust in the program that’s been posted, for it to be able to run as its intended.”

“Everybody encounters problems, and we are no different. During the time when we’re programming our components, and we’ve come across problems, OPEN MIND has been able to support us really well in that aspect. Every time we call, they’ll do their best to put things right, there and then. It also enables us to upskill our staff. OPEN MIND doesn’t just put things right and then not explain how it’s done – they continually involve our staff and make sure that we can stay up to date with all the changes within the software. For us, using hyperMILL means that we can hit our deadlines and our lead times don’t drift out.”

“A great example of the support is the Team Viewer function. This enables our programmers to view exactly the support that’s being given on the screen live right in front of them. This almost mimics an in-house training session. What is really interesting is that OPEN MIND’s hyperMILL has given us the ability to increase our efficiency by reducing our cycle times and enable us to program offline. This has made us more competitive within the subcontract engineering industry and we’ve actually re-launched our Forge Engineering brand.”

Looking at some of the components programmed and machined with hyperMILL, Forge Motorsport & Engineering’s Rich Rymer says: “There’s quite a lot that goes into these parts. We have one particular part that we actually do in one operation. We get the raw stock, hold it in the 5-axis machining centre, do the profiling or the pocket milling, and then we flip it over and just skim off the back, finally we snap it off in the vice.”

 Alluding to another component, Rich continues: “These parts are DV37’s which is a dump valve. It uses quite a lot of trochoidal milling. I think if we were to use a longhand machining strategy, we wouldn’t be able to get into the gaps, as they are tight little gaps. Trying to get any cutter in there would take very, very light cuts in a horizontal plane. However, we use a trochoidal toolpath, so we go to the full depth of cut with light movements in a radial axis.”

Discussing specific features within hyperMILL and in particular, the merge function, Rich concludes: “It’s a very good function. There’s always model and drawing changes in engineering. This function allows us to update a model rather than re-program the whole part through hyperMILL. Effectively, you can take the old and new model and just merge them into one. Any changes can be edited by ‘cut and pasting’ the faces on. From there, it’s just a case of going through what you’ve programmed, selecting the new faces. It makes things a lot easier, and it allows you to just go on and continue with the programme, so you don’t have to restart from scratch.”

The right tool for the job

MTDCNC recently visited YMT Technologies in Yeovil where Paul Jones spoke with Steve Wright from Heidenhain to discuss the latest innovation, the company’s StateMonitor PC-based tool. 

Telling MTDCNC about the new system, Steve said: “The StateMonitor system is a PC-based tool that is a machine data acquisition system for monitoring the productivity of all of your machine tools.” Identifying why a company would require such a system, Steve adds: “The reason you need this system when your machine tools aren’t cutting metal, they’re not making you any money – StateMonitor will manage that situation.”

Steve continues: “There are a lot of benefits with the system. Machine downtime issues can range from component loading and unloading, probing or inspection during the cycle or an alarm situation – all of this data can be collected on the StateMonitor software. When it comes to incorporating this system into machine tools, the cost savings can be incredible, firstly when you realise how much time a machine tool spends being idle.”

Considering a specific example, MTDCNC’s Paul Jones states: “If you look at a company that has five machine tools and each machine has 30 minutes of undetected downtime per day, that is a total of 2.5 hours of lost machining time every day. If each of these machines ran at £70 per hour, the cost would be £175 per day. If you multiply this by 260 days which is the typical equivalent of one year of operation, a company could be haemorrhaging £45,000 per year in lost machining hours.”

Commenting on this, Steve says: “The savings can be quite remarkable and implementation can be very easy. We can load the software to a PC and as long as the machines are networked, they will talk to the software and we can connect machines in 5 to 10 minutes.”

Looking at some of the primary features, Steve continues: “The primary objective is to monitor all of your machines. When we do that, we can look at the production side of the machine, such as the setup, loading and unloading and how much time is spent undertaking each aspect. We can also look at the programme to see if there are too many dwells in the programme, or the tool change sequences in the programme – and eliminate and optimise that time. We can even monitor the feed rate override pods for spindle and the feed rate override, so we know if a machine is not as productive as it can be, as we can pick that up on the StateMonitor.”

“In addition, we can monitor the tooling and how the tooling is being used, how frequently tools are being used and which tools are being used the most. This allows businesses to look at how tooling is being used and if it can be used more efficiently. We also monitor the alarms on the machines and the alarm fault condition to monitor any maintenance requirements on the machine. In StateMonitor, you can pick all of these things up to increase the productivity of your machine.”

Referring to access to this information, Steve continues: “Customers can have full remote access from an iPad, smartphone or PC. With regards to notifications, there is a Messenger notification built-in to the StateMonitor software, so the system can notify the right person for the right reason as to why the machine has stopped.  For machine licensing, we can either sell a single machine license or a single license that covers up to 30 machines.”

“Typically a machine is only running and efficient 60% of the time and any increase on this can have huge cost benefits. We have examples that demonstrate huge savings. With one customer, they identified that the feed rate override pot was being overridden at certain shift times. They also identified that the loading of components was taking too long. The company addressed both issues and increased the productivity rate from 60 to 80% on the machine tool,” concludes Steve.

Enhancing automotive efficiencies

Edging ever closer to an environmentally sustainable future, the automotive industry is in the throws of transition. Whether it be electric vehicles (EV), hybrids or the potential of hydrogen vehicles, the pace of change has rapidly picked up over the last few years. 

The seismic changes in the automotive sector demand new types of components such as electric motor housings, gear housings, new examples of covers and all accessories related to E-mobility. There will be increased demand for re-tooling, new tooling and processes to produce these components in a high-volume environment that will remain key to the industry. Cycle times and savings from financial and time constraints will always be a concern, so it’s important to get things right from the very beginning.

Every step in the engineering, design, CAM programming and machining process should be inspected, verified and optimised and it is here that simulation software ensures programmes are error-free. Adding to this, optimisation ensures the whole process is operating as efficiently as possible to save time and money. The VERICUT independent CNC machine tool simulation from CGTech, enables users to link all the machining operations end-to-end to evaluate and improve the manufacturing process. 

Manufacturers typically have very high volumes, so the cost per unit and cost control is extremely important. The focus is on planning production efficiently from the start. Considering the production environment – the machines, their automation, the required floor space, raw materials and invested capital –the initial information required for accurate process planning can be significant. This is where VERICUT can analyse the process before machining takes place or before any material is cut, reducing the prove-out time.

The major challenges when proving-out automotive parts for the first time can range from scrapped parts, broken tools and holders to fixture or spindle repair or replacement. Ultimately, this can result in machine downtime, schedule disruption, insufficient capacity and lost contracts. VERICUT can resolve these issues and eliminate factors that are going to cost downtime, money and safety on the shopfloor.

VERICUT becomes part of the process once the NC code has been created. The engineer, who is offline from the machine can perform a virtual prove-out and identify potential issues in the NC program. VERICUT verifies the post-processed G-Code instead of the CL data. This is the same G-Code that runs within the NC system of the machine, enabling the software to carry out a comprehensive machine simulation. Any errors will be highlighted in the VERICUT logger, which when clicked on will link directly back to the line of NC code where the error occurred. Simultaneously, rather than sitting idle, the machine can be producing parts, thus removing the wait time from the machining process. Valuable machine time is therefore not wasted and machinists can be confident that the program will deliver without collisions or disruption.

Simulation and verification create an error-free, safe environment to deliver the parts as intended. However, there are opportunities to make components more quickly – issues include inefficient programming and sub-optimal feed rates caused by the CAM system’s inability to adjust cutting feed rates for varying cutting conditions. VERICUT Force addresses the issues. The goal for efficient CNC machining is to achieve a constant chip thickness. Maintaining a tool’s ideal chip thickness through an operation ensures that the tool is being used to its full potential, which in turn reduces machining cycles, increases tool life, and makes programs safer. VERICUT Force is a software module that uses a physics-based optimisation method to determine the maximum reliable feed rate for any given cutting condition based on four factors: force on the cutter, spindle power, maximum chip thickness and maximum allowable feed rate. It calculates feed rates by analysing tool geometry and parameters, material properties of the stock and cutting tool, detailed cutting tool edge geometry, and cut-by-cut contact conditions.

An expedition to the future of grinding

A highlight of the calendar for the media is always the Fritz Studer AG Press Trip to its headquarters in Thun, Switzerland, where industrial press representatives get to witness the latest innovations from this leading member of the United Grinding Group. As always, last month’s ‘Motion Meeting – Expedition 2023’ event presented the latest innovations, technology insights of what is in the pipeline and a comprehensive corporate overview that announced record sales figures post-Covid.

Following a presentation on the state of the global manufacturing sector, the sectors within and the impact of Covid lockdowns, conflicts and supply chain challenges; Studer’s Managing Director (CSO) Sandro Bottazzo discussed the position of the company. Despite global economic challenges, Studer announced that 2022 was the company’s third best year on record for order intake and it was a record year for customer care sales packages. With order intake up by more than 40%, 2022 was a year that went from strength to strength for Studer, as it recorded its single highest month for orders ever in December 2022. 

This level of success is by no means just ‘good fortune’ – more a result of impeccable planning and strategising. At previous Studer press events, MTD magazine has reported on how the 111 year old company has invested heavily in its infrastructure and internal production workflow and systems, staff development and apprentices, the service and support structure, its Industry 4.0 C.O.R.E technology and its ever-evolving product line-up.

Giving reference to the supply chain challenges, CEO Jens Bleher said at this year’s event: “Despite the tense situation in the procurement markets, our operations and engineering teams jointly succeeded in reliably and continually providing very competitive and reliable delivery times.” Adding to this, COO Stephan Stoll said: “Our strategy of keeping our production resources at a stable level even during difficult phases was as much part of this success as the long-term partnerships we have enjoyed with our supplier base. We have also profited from the risk-based supply chain approach that has been followed for several years to minimise single-source dependencies wherever possible. Here, another success factor was the close collaboration between Engineering and Purchasing, who were able to evaluate alternative components well in time when bottlenecks seemed imminent.”

At this year’s event, it was evident that the investment in supply chain strategies and the development of new technology, along with the presentation of new machines through 2022 were all huge factors in the company witnessing record levels of success. 

Commenting on this, Sandro Bottazzo said: “Overall, it was the third-best year in our company history in order intake. In 2022, we once again succeeded in expanding our position in the most important markets in the world and increasing our market share.” 

New Technologies

In 2022, Studer introduced two new machines in China, the ecoGrinder and the KC33 – both entry-level machines manufactured in China for the Chinese market with the core components produced in Switzerland to assure the highest quality for entry-level technology. The ecoGrinder was unveiled in mid-June whilst the configurable KC33 model was introduced to the market in December. With the Chinese market being of such colossal size, manufacturing new machines locally, especially during the ongoing lockdown situation has already begun to reap rewards in terms of sales and market share in the region. 

Studer also launched its new S36 grinding machine in May last year at the inaugural GrindingHub exhibition. The S36 was in part, designed to respond to the increasing demand for e-mobility production solutions. With a grinding wheel diameter of 610mm and a power output of 15kW, the machine is well-positioned for the efficient machining of automotive and hydraulic components in one clamping process with maximum precision. With several machines sold through 2022, customers are impressed by the environmental credentials of the machine with Studer’s energy monitoring concept being applied to many of the new machines. Deliveries of the first machines took place in February. 

The launch of the S36 was subsequently followed by the October presentation of the new S100 at the BIMU exhibition in Italy. Classed as an ergonomically appealing universal internal grinding machine targeted at the ‘entry level’ segment, several machines have been sold since the exhibition, and the first deliveries will take place this month. Like all Studer cylindrical grinding machines, the S100 has a machine bed made of Granitan for dampening and its thermal characteristics ensure consistent grinding results and precision. The equipment on the S100 make it suitable for grinding a universal spectrum of parts comprising of geometrically defined basic forms and contours, which can be generated with interpolating axes.

The impressive cross-brand hardware and software architecture of the United Grinding Group can also be found on an ever-increasing number of machines. C.O.R.E. offers smart networking of several machines, freely configurable and user-friendly operation and the latest generation of contact sensors. C.O.R.E. also features a modern, large-scale multi-touch display with intuitive operation and numerous visualisation options for more efficient production. In 2022, Studer converted four machine types to C.O.R.E. and will continue the rollout on the internal cylindrical grinding machines throughout 2023 and into 2024. 

As well as rolling out the C.O.R.E. system on more of its machines, Studer is also demonstrating its environmental credentials that are increasingly critical to both the industry and the future of our planet. Whilst the energy monitoring concept is being rolled out on many of the new machines, Studer has also introduced the new SmartJet® concept. A large part of the power and water consumed during grinding is required for cooling. With the SmartJet® intelligent cooling concept, Studer machines can save a significant amount of energy and resources.

“SmartJet® can reduce water consumption by 40% and energy consumption by 50%,” says Martin Habegger, who is in charge of the project at STUDER. The savings are achieved by using a clever nozzle design and an optimised line system with the appropriate pump and sensor-supported intelligent control software that can support the operators to a much greater extent. Until now, operators had to take care of the cooling for the grinding process themselves. This involves first and foremost the correct positioning of the nozzles and manual adjustment of the volume flow. This costs time and mistakes can easily happen and lead to unnecessarily high consumption. Frequently, operators use too much lubricant or do not align the nozzles optimally. To change this, Studer joined forces with ETH Zurich to develop the technological bases and then advanced the SmartJet® concept to market maturity. It works with a frequency-controlled pump and a ram pressure measuring unit. The cooling lubricant flows through an optimised line system from the tank via a manifold to the flow-optimised and adjustable nozzles at the grinding wheel. There, a sensor measures the pressure upstream of the manifold. Using numerous parameters, the software calculates the best exit speed for the volume flow, regardless of whether roughing, fine grinding or finishing is taking place. 

Alluding to the new product introductions, Daniel Huber, CTO at Studer said: “With our product offensive, innovative, and application-specific solutions, we can better address the needs of our customers. In 2022, we presented an innovation at almost every large trade show.” Referring to the rollout of the C.O.R.E system, Huber said: “Only manufacturers that offer intelligent machines with intuitive operation, digital assistance, and monitoring systems, automation options, as well as efficient process management will be successful in the future.”

The final frontier

With the C.O.R.E technology rolling Industry 4.0 solutions and much more throughout the portfolio, a key feature of the 2023 event was automation. It is well acknowledged in most developed nations and industries that manufacturing skillsets are diminishing, and machine tool manufacturers are increasingly factoring this into the design of their machine architecture and CNC control interfaces. Another prominent aspect for bridging the skills gap is automation, and at the ‘Motion Meeting – Expedition 2023’, Studer presented its uniLoad and easyLoad technology in a room with a space exploration theme. 

Discussing automation at the event, Daniel Schafroth, Systems Division Manager at Studer said: “There are still a lot of prejudices about automation in grinding. However, for us at Studer, the opposite holds true. Automation should enable operators to do their work more easily, efficiently, and safely. For grinding, processes must be performed repeatedly in the same way, with high precision and reliability. Automatic solutions for multi-machine operation are also relevant, as these can greatly relieve the workload of the operators, who then only have to fill magazines and no longer need to laboriously load each machine. However, grinding fundamentally requires the operators to have a high level of competence, and automation should not be something that hinders them. Automation only makes sense where the operator doesn’t have to have a decisive influence on the process.”

The easyLoad system presented at Studer is ideal for external and universal cylindrical grinding machines (S31, S33, S22, and S41), offering value for money with full integration in machine control to make automation accessible for small businesses. The easyLoad is suitable for use as a gantry loading system for shaft parts with a workpiece length of up to 300mm and a diameter of up to 30mm. The adjustable synchronised conveyor allows the autonomous processing of up to 50 workpieces. The standard gripper is designed for individual parts, the V-gripper for two parts, and the heavy-duty gripper for workpieces that weigh more than 5kg.  

Alongside the easyLoad was the uniLoad automatic loading system that makes it possible for operators of the Studer S31 and S33 external cylindrical grinding machines to significantly increase productivity. The system docks to the machine from the left. With a prismatic conveyor and all racks at full capacity, it can perform automatic processing of parts up to 350mm long and 100mm diameter.

For businesses confined by the available space in their facilities, Studer offers the smartLoad for the S11 machine. Alluding to this, Schafroth says: “In modern production halls, it is of particular importance to make efficient use of the space.” The smartLoad for the S11, a production cylindrical grinding machine for small workpieces has a footprint of only 1.8sq/m. The smartLoad unit can feed in workpieces from outside the machine, using either a conveyor or a swivelling unit, as well as clamp them and place them back after the machining. 

In the past, radius internal cylindrical grinding machines have been particularly difficult to automate, due to the limited space available. One reason for this is the restricted enclosure geometry resulting from the high work head. Studer has now developed an optimal solution for this with the arrival of the roboLoad. This external loader for the S121, S131, and S141 is designed as a gripper arm with quick-change jaws and has space for workpieces on six trays. 

“With the robot arm outside the machine, we gain a lot more freedom, thanks to the rotation axis, the roboLoad can get in for loading and unloading without having a direct path available,” says Schafroth. Until now, automation solutions for grinding were largely based on linear technology such as beams and slides. However, at the moment the roboLoad is not primarily intended for large series production, but more for automated production during night shifts or extended breaks. But Schafroth is sure that the trend toward using robotic arms in grinding will persist.

Muffett gets in gear with Kellenberger

There are very few manufacturers with the heritage of Muffett Engineering Solutions, a company founded in 1920 by Stanley Herbert Muffett. Operating as a general machine shop, it wasn’t until the 1950s that Stanley turned to the production of precision gears. Now, the modern face of the business is very different to the company that started over 100 years ago, and evidence of this can be seen with the latest acquisition the company has made in a Kellenberger 100 grinding centre with a Wenger autoloader from DF Precision Machinery.

Muffett manufactures and assembles special gears, mechanisms and gearboxes that are produced to the exacting requirements of its high-profile clients in industries as diverse as aerospace, marine, medical and automotive through to construction and the offshore sector. Producing gears from 4 to 400mm PCD with a module from 0.25 to 5, the Tunbridge Wells company required ground gear components with a specific dimensional range and output rate, it was the Kellenberger 100 with Wenger autoloader that fitted the bill perfectly. Recalling the scenario, Mark Jagelman from Muffett Engineering says: “Mike from DF Precision Machinery was given a brief of what we expected and what we were looking for. Automation was a primary requirement, so Mike took us to several end users of Kellenberger machines with automated solutions. We also had trial parts manufactured before taking receipt of the machine.”

Looking at specific parts and the challenges facing Muffett with its existing machines, Mark Jagelman adds: “With a small part, you can be grinding three diameters with two journals on the end and with the previous process, we had to drive the part with a carrier, which resulted in two operations. With the new Kellenberger machine, we have synchronous drives, so we can grind the part complete in one operation – and we also have the automation factor as well.”

Considering the 2-op process of grinding precision gears, parts had to be re-set to exact dimensions to complete the second operation – a time-consuming and laborious process that had the potential for error. Alluding to this, and how the new Kellenberger machine has helped, Mark adds: “You have one loading and one datum, so you have no issues with concentricity or run out.”

This is where the driven tailstock that is fully synchronised with the main spindle supports the process. Mark adds: “It is driven purely by friction through the centres and you have full alignment through the datum. In addition to this, we have in-process gauging where the machine makes any necessary alterations to any offsets if there are any size changes and deviations through production. However, we are only seeing around 1µm of movement in a full day of production.”

The Kellenberger 100 universal CNC OD/ID grinding machine is a new, high-performance and economical grinder for use across medium to large-scale universal grinding applications. The Swiss-made Kellenberger 100 is highly configurable and offers a plethora of industry-leading options to accommodate the widest range of universal grinding operations across a variety of industry sectors. From a specification perspective, the machine has the choice of a universal work head, a work head with direct drive and C-axis, chuck loading, power clamping or the option of loading between centres. 

The machine also incorporates a 19-inch LCD touchscreen monitor with the FANUC 31i CNC system, FEM optimised cast machine bed and mechanical separation of machine and peripherals for thermal stability and vibration damping. There is a range of tailstock options, a modular wheel head configuration that allows 10 different wheel head variants with up to 3 tool positions and a host of other solutions that can be specified by the end user to create the most suitable solution for their business.   

Taking a closer look at the Wenger automation system, Mark says: “This is our first grinder with automation, before that, each part was manually loaded. This means we are now starting to trial unmanned lights-out running, and the most success we have had so far is that we have run the machine for 14 hours without any labour.” In the early days of installation, this is an impressive result that will undoubtedly continue to evolve and improve as the company gains familiarity with its new automation capabilities. 

Discussing the benefits of the machine, Mark adds: “The new machine has improved our throughput, improved our capacity and it has improved our ability to run unmanned without any labour input.”

Looking at the learning curve and implementation of the new Kellenberger 100 with Wenger autoloader, Theo Marks from Muffett Engineering says: “In principle, it is similar to before where we have the same tools doing the same process. The programming was a little bit more challenging than the old grinding machines, but the training we received from Kellenberger made it all quite straightforward. It was great.  We went over to the Kellenberger headquarters in St Galen in Switzerland and we had excellent training from the staff there. After that, we had training on the physical machine when it was delivered. We had about a week of the actual programming of the machine while we were in Switzerland and we learnt a lot more than we are likely to use here. This is because there is so much you can do on this machine. The machine is excellent.”

College Group plans for the future with XYZ investment

With support from Central Government funds, the EKC group is investing heavily to develop engineering centres of excellence across three of its six community colleges. The investment includes 25 machines valued at around £500,000 from XYZ Machine Tools. 

The investment will cover CNC machining and turning centres as well as an array of manual machines that are located at Dover Technical College, Canterbury College and Ashford College. The latter facility will see a state-of-the art building constructed to house all of the college’s engineering services.  

Speaking of the investment Dover Technical College Principal, Paul Owen, says: “The project has been funded through the T-Level development fund. At Dover, this means we have been able to develop three separate areas: A design and prototype room with 3D printers; a CNC workshop containing an XYZ CT52LR turning centre and an XYZ 500LR machining centre and a quality control room. What we now have at Dover is the ability to deliver T-Level Engineering skills with students that can undertake the whole process from design, through prototype and manufacturing. With the investment in the XYZ Machine Tools CNC machines students can undertake and experience industry-expected processes on state-of-the-art equipment. This aligns itself with industry standards while developing the skills needed for employment within the sector.”

With these two new machines installed at Dover Technical College the environment has moved on from basic manual machines to equipment in use by local businesses such as Stevens and Carlotti, a long-standing customer of XYZ Machine Tools. Initially, the machines will be used by T-Level students. However, they will be made available to all engineering students in the future. Commenting on the two XYZ machines, Engineering Lecturer Peter Halloway says: “Having these machines allows students to work on complex test pieces developed on AutoCAD, as well as real-life projects working with other departments and local businesses to produce actual components to deadlines.”

Over at Ashford College, the creation of the engineering centre of excellence is a longer-term project, with construction of the purpose-built engineering facility due for completion later this year. That hasn’t prevented the first of 20 machines for Ashford being housed temporarily in the existing facility. Mirroring the machines at Dover, the first machines to arrive were two XYZ CT52LR turning centres and two XYZ 500LR machining centres. The machines will be used by an array of students with part of the college’s efforts being focused on encouraging more adults back into engineering. Once the new building is complete, these machines will be joined by eight XYZ 2000 manual mills and eight XYZ 1330 VS manual lathes. 

“The Ashford area was once a powerhouse of engineering and with new investment in the rail and other sectors it is being regenerated, particularly with the growth in reshoring initiatives. We need to be in a position to provide the necessary skills that these businesses will need, and this investment will help us to achieve that,” says Ashford College Deputy Principal, Alexandra Syrotiuk. “Having these machine tools and the facility they will be housed in will also be of great importance in highlighting what engineering is and the numerous career pathways that it can provide. As we progress with this centre of excellence, we hope to be able to work closely with local industry partners to develop the best training opportunities for students.”

XYZ Machine Tools has a long history of working with the education sector through its XYZ for Education initiative, which provides special pricing on the full range of XYZ machine tools, with ongoing training programmes that ensure college workshops are kept up to date with the latest industrial production processes. “We see it as vital to educate and inspire tomorrow’s engineers in order to maintain the UK’s position as a leader in engineering development and manufacturing,” says Nigel Atherton, Managing Director, XYZ Machine Tools.

Pheonix from the flames

Redhill Manufacturing, a Redditch-based access equipment maker has purchased two British-built all-electric tube bending machines from Unison Ltd and two fibre laser cutting machines from Unison’s sister company, Nukon Lasers UK. The new machines will be used by Redhill to meet the increased demand for its products. One of the tube benders will replace a machine that was lost in a factory fire in May 2022.

The first of the new fibre lasers, a Nukon ECO 315 4kW was installed at Redhill’s newly acquired facility in December 2022. The second laser, a Nukon NKT-125 2kW 3D tube cutting model and the two Unison tube bending machines will be installed later in 2023. Combined, the value of the four machines is over £1m.

Following the fire at its original manufacturing site, Redhill had to find new premises and also quality CNC machine tools to maintain its standing as the only UK manufacturer of ‘kitemarked’ British Standard mobile safety steps. Redhill’s Managing Director, Andy Colley says: “Incredibly, we were up and running again in just three weeks following the fire. With temporary accommodation secured until we could move into our new manufacturing facility in winter 2022, and the insurance settled, we needed to source new tube bending machinery – and quickly. This was because only one of our existing benders had survived the fire. It also seemed appropriate to end our reliance on outsourced laser-cut parts by investing in our flat sheet and laser tube cutting capability.

Free loan of tube bending machine

As Andy Colley continues: “I’d read good things about Unison’s range of all-electric ‘Breeze’ tube bending machines, so got in touch with them to order two machines; one to replace the machine we’d lost and a second for additional capacity. As it would be several months before the new bending machines were ready, Unison kindly offered to lend us one of their showroom models. This was just what we needed to tide us over until the new tube benders were built.”

It was during a meeting with Unison’s key account manager, Steve Haddrell, to discuss two new all-electric Breeze tube benders, that the conversation turned to laser cutting. “I required two fibre laser machines but wasn’t aware that Unison’s sister company had recently become the UK and Ireland distributor for the Nukon laser range. As I didn’t know the Nukon brand, Steve Haddrell arranged to take me to a company in Sheffield that had been using a Nukon flat sheet metal laser for around a year. This allowed me to see the machine in action and chat to the operators about their experience of using it.”

Hearing how the Nukon laser had streamlined processes at the Sheffield business, Andy Colley then travelled to Nukon’s European manufacturing facility to see a Nukon tube laser machine in action. “The tube laser machine was just as impressive as the machine I’d seen in Sheffield. The build quality was very good. Both machines were competitively priced, and the features included nLIGHT fibre lasers with adaptive beam optimisation and Lantek Expert nesting software. What gave me the confidence to place an order was my belief that if Unison was happy to be associated with Nukon, there was no need for me to be concerned about machine quality or aftersales support.”

Redhill Manufacturing chose the Nukon ECO 315 4kW fibre laser for its ability to cut complex shapes with speed and precision. Similarly, the Nukon NKT-125 2kW 3D tube laser machine was selected for its speed, easy programming and versatility whether cutting pipe of round, oval, square or rectangular profile. Redhill’s two new 30mm Unison Breeze single stack tube bending machines will be used in the manufacture of its British Standard kitemarked steps; mobile steps, portable steps and other access equipment. 

“Thanks to the machine’s easy setup and the thorough training provided by the Nukon Lasers UK team, we were successfully cutting components almost immediately – a benefit that gave us excellent quality control and allowed us to stop outsourcing laser cutting. We’re now looking forward to the arrival of our second Nukon laser and the Unison tube benders in the next few months,” concludes Andy.

Bystronic is a Jewel in the Crown

Since its late 1990s inception, Crown Manufacturing has evolved to become a business with a presence on two locations with a team of over 60 staff. Bystronic has travelled this journey with Crown Manufacturing almost from the start.

As a provider of sheet metal and general metal fabrication products and services, the journey for Weston-Super-Mare manufacturer started when an engineer took a passion for Italian Lambretta scooters and took it to a multi-million-pound company. The company evolved from the production of scooter components to ‘fit outs’ for the retail industry.

Paul Read from Crown Manufacturing says: “We started in the late 1990s manufacturing Lambretta parts, which was a hobby and passion of our MD Dean Harvey. It evolved into a business. Now, we manufacture for the retail industry, producing all the fixtures and fittings that are going into a store. We process sheet metal work that is flat, we have to laser cut, fold and bend it; and in some instances, parts move from folding to our welding area for fabrication work or our paint shop for finishing and subsequent assembly.”

Crown Manufacturing has invested heavily in both its staff and technology. As Paul continues: “We found that being dependent on third-party suppliers wasn’t going to enable us to react in every area, to service our customers. So, over the years we have invested to try and bring all the services in-house. Our investment in the last year has been useful to close off that dependency on third-party manufacturers. Another passion of our business is the Ford Willys Jeep, and we now have a website www.joesmotorpool.com that is all about the refurbishment and restoration of Ford Willys Jeeps.”

The ongoing investment strategy has seen Crown Manufacturing invest in fiber laser cutting for both sheet and tube materials as well as investment in bending and forming equipment. 

Like a Pheonix from the flames 

A disaster struck the business in 2018 when a fire caught hold of the paint department, creating catastrophic damage. Recalling this, Paul says: “We had a fire that would ruin most companies, a malfunction in our paint shop. One of the benefits of having great relationships with our clients was that they knew we were committed to them as a manufacturer. So, even with the disaster of the fire and having to reduce our staff after losing 50% of our factory – they could see that we were determined to deliver on our promises.”

Looking at the relationship with Bystronic, Paul says: “Sheet metalwork was always historically done in the 2D world because it comes in flat, and we form it. By bringing this into the 3D world, we have evolved nicely and the fire was the catalyst that brought that to light along with the new machines that we have invested in since that period – as 3D now exists on the machines as well. We can now create 3D models and send them through to the machines. The transfer straight from PC to the machine is now a reality and something that Bystronic has supported us with.” 

Since the fire, Crown Manufacturing has invested in 3 machines from Bystronic, and the plant list now includes the Fiber Laser with automation that can load up to 6 tonnes of steel, an Xpert Pro100t 3m, 3 Xact Smart 100t 3m machines and an Xpert 40. This high-end plant list is complemented by CAD/CAM systems such as Autodesk Inventor; Radan, Alphacam and Bystronic’s Bysoft suite that enables Crown to seamlessly take customers through from concept and design to finished product. 

The latest acquisition that arrived in 2022 was the Bystronic ByTube 130. This machine features a fully automatic setup, bundle loading, 6-axis control and high-speed and precision cutting that allows Crown Manufacturing to take on and efficiently complete high-quantity orders to a very high standard. Alluding to this, Paul says: “Our latest investment is the tube laser. This takes away the dependency upon a third-party supplier that we did end up struggling with. Integrating the ByTube 130 into Crown’s arsenal of machinery has been revolutionary, as it removes bottlenecks in the manufacturing process by allowing us to schedule and prioritise tube laser work in-line with due dates and urgency.”

Longing for more lathes

Subcontractors rarely know what type of work will be coming through the door from one day to the next, so versatility is a necessity to produce a wide variety of components. The diversity of work is particularly large in the case of Repro Engineering with 80% of its turnover deriving from turn-milled parts in the 19 to 51mm diameter range produced from a variety of different plastics, mild and stainless steels.

A large proportion of the turned parts are manufactured on Miyano fixed-head CNC turning centres and Cincom sliding-head models from Citizen Machinery. The first Miyano to be installed was a BND42S twin-spindle lathe with live tooling in 1997 and it departed after 23 years of service, having produced more than 2 million components primarily in one hit lights-out operation. The second Miyano, a BND51S, was bought in 1998 and sold in mid-2022 after an even longer period on the shop floor.

Repro Engineering’s Owner and Managing Director Richard Palmer said: “We have a policy of regularly reviewing our capacity and keeping plant up to date. In the case of the Miyanos, earlier exchange simply wasn’t necessary, as the machines continued to hold tolerance. Not having to spend money on replacing them earlier helps to keep costs down for our customers and makes us more competitive.”

The replacement for the BND51S was a more capable BNJ-51SY, which arrived in May 2022. Featuring two turrets and Y-axis main turret movement, it allows complex machining to be carried out at the main and sub spindles simultaneously. The turning centre also sports many more tool positions than the older model, so fewer tool changes are needed.

Nine Miyano machines have been purchased over the years and many have been replaced by newer models. The subcontractor’s current tally of Miyano bar-fed lathes is five, accounting for nearly half of its fixed-head lathes. Three of the Miyanos have Y-axis function and all are fitted with short bar magazines for feeding one-metre stock up to 51mm diameter. Additionally, the subcontractor operates a Miyano LZ-01R chucker for billet work, especially components that need hard turning. 

Regarding Repro Engineering’s sliding-head capacity, the subcontractor operates three Cincom lathes for parts up to 32mm diameter. Impressed with the quality and longevity of the Miyano machines, Mr Palmer decided to approach Citizen for larger Swiss-type lathes capable of producing bigger diameter shaft-type components. He purchased a Cincom A32-VII in 2009, followed by a more highly specified M32-VIII with a B-axis in 2013, and another A32-VII two years later. 

Repro Engineering also operates four machining centres, which generate the other 20% of turnover. One machine is part of an automated cell with robot loading and some are equipped with a fourth CNC axis for indexing. 

Mr Palmer points out that, in this respect, a twin-spindle bar-fed turning centre is the ideal platform for unattended production in one hit of complex components, even prismatic parts requiring all six sides to be accessed. Cycle times tend to be longer on mill-turn centres, which in any case normally require an operator to be present. He does not hesitate to put parts onto his lathes that require no turning operations at all except parting off.

 

Mr Palmer concluded: “All Citizen lathes are real workhorses. They are robust and compact and some have hand-scraped guideways, which leads to excellent machining quality. The Miyanos are so heavily built, they are almost over-engineered. They just keep going and going, maintaining their accuracy and repeatability for decades. Consequently, for machining parts up to 51mm, they are our preferred lathes. Likewise, for turning and milling in sliding-head mode, we have standardised on Cincom when machining parts from larger diameter bars up to 32mm.”

Founded by Mr Palmer’s father in 1967 and now operating 24/7 from a 12,000sq/ft premises in Waterlooville, Hampshire; Repro Engineering produces batch sizes typically in the range of 1,000 to 50,000, although prototype batches down to 100 are not infrequent. Some parts are machined to very tight tolerances down to 10 microns.

Haas provide key to Avant’s success

Avant Manufacturing, founded in 2021 by Dominic Roach, is a subcontract manufacturing company specialising in laboratory equipment for the scientific and pharmaceutical industries. With a background as a Senior Production Engineer at a large Haas CNC machine user, Dominic had the knowledge and experience to establish a successful business.

“My local Haas sales manager was instrumental in helping me to start the business,” explains Dominic. “He acted as a consultant and gave some invaluable advice in several areas, including machine size, necessary speeds and workholding.”

Avant Manufacturing, based in Wisbech, specialises in manufacturing high-precision optics and optomechanical systems, such as microscopes, using the CNC machines from Haas. “When I started out, some of my customers were amazed we could produce such quality on a small mill. We make a lot of tolerance-critical parts, and we regularly work to 10 microns with no problem,” says Dominic.

To achieve this level of precision and efficiency, Dominic’s first CNC acquisitions were two Haas Mini Mill vertical machining centres, which he equipped with 4-axis rotary tables and wireless probing options. The Mini Mill is a compact, high-performance vertical machining centre designed for small parts. The Mini Mill features a compact footprint with a 406 by 305 by 254mm work envelope and a 10-station tool changer, making it perfect for both prototyping and production work. 

“Offering quicker turnaround is something we pride ourselves on. We use standardised set-ups and tooling as well as Quick-Point vices. The 4-axis rotaries compliment these, reducing set up times and enabling us to do side work,” says Dominic.

A year after its foundation, Avant Manufacturing has continued to grow and expand. The company has recently invested in a Haas VF-2 vertical machining centre featuring an 8,100rpm spindle for high-speed machining with high-pressure coolant. 

“The Haas controls are identical. It’s so it’s easy to swap jobs between the two machines. The difference we have found with the VF-2 is that the machine is larger, the rigidity is better and we can take bigger cuts. The high-speed machining option gives us faster cycle times and makes the surface finish even better,” Dominic said.

The team at Avant Manufacturing, all of whom possessed prior experience with Haas machines, received specialised training from a Haas applications engineer. The engineer tailored the training to meet the specific needs of the team, equipping them with the essential skills to efficiently operate the machines. Additionally, the company adopted the use of Fusion 360 CAD/CAM software, which was seamlessly integrated into their system with the help of the Haas engineer. 

“Throughout the entire process, Haas has been a constant support for us, providing valuable advice and assistance at every step of the way. Our clients are confident that we can ensure the highest quality of our laboratory equipment and continue to meet their needs. We feel established now and the orders are coming to us rather than us chasing them,” concludes Dominic.

IFR report highlights UK’s urgent need to increase automation

The UK has a strong and proud manufacturing history and, for a small nation, has long punched above its weight on the global stage. Now, the UK remains the ninth largest manufacturing nation in the world, with a £183bn output. But our seat at the top table is looking precarious as a result of our slow adoption of industrial automation. By Tom Bouchier, Managing Director, FANUC UK

No longer the preserve of Asian powerhouses like China, Japan or the Republic of Korea, the recently published IFR World Robotics Industrial Robots 2022 report reveals that countries far closer to home such as Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Hungary are now outpacing the UK in the adoption of robotics. If we are to continue competing on the global stage, it is imperative that the UK’s automation community comes together to support British firms to embrace robotics and ensure our reputation as a nation of manufacturers continues to thrive.

A record-breaking year

As acknowledged in its foreword, the statistics contained in the 2022 IFR report are a strong indication of the vital contribution that robotics is making towards supporting businesses to protect their core production processes against the effects of the numerous global crises that we have experienced over the past few years. A record 517,385 new robots were installed in 2021 – an impressive 31% uplift from 2020. As well as traditional automation adopters such as the automotive, electronics and metal & machinery industries, advances in robotic capability through digitalisation and AI have seen sectors such as warehousing and logistics also begin deploying automated solutions. 

UK bucks the global trend

Robotics has a key role to play in enabling manufacturers from all countries to remain agile, cost-efficient and globally competitive, and the fact that 2021 saw the highest number of new robot installations on record is particularly encouraging. But, from a UK perspective, the IFR results were more sobering. At 2,054, the number of new robot installations was down 7% year-on-year, giving the UK an average manufacturing robot density of 111 robots for every 10,000 employees, which the report notes is ‘very low for a Western European country’. This figure is well below the global average of 141 and considerably under the top-performing nation of the Republic of Korea (1,000) and the European frontrunner, Germany (397). In fact, the UK is currently languishing at 24th in the world robot density rankings, making us the only G7 country to sit outside the top 20.

The UK’s position as a leading manufacturing nation is unquestionable, but we could increase our productivity levels significantly if we used more automation. To put it into context, many countries have a manufacturing industry that accounts for a similar 10% GDP as the UK (the USA, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, for example); but their productivity rates are higher than ours as a result of their greater investment in automation. Astonishingly, a German worker is around 30% an hour more productive than a UK worker – put simply, we cannot expect to continue competing on the international stage unless we automate.

Labour crisis

The need to automate has become even more imperative in the last few years in the face of a series of unprecedented global and national crises, which have impacted UK manufacturers’ ability to recruit staff.

Already facing a labour shortfall, a perfect storm of Brexit and the Covid pandemic prompted an exodus of European labour from our shores, contributing to the 97,000 vacancies in the manufacturing sector reported in January 2022 (a year-on-year increase of 113%). As well as this ‘cost of leaving’ crisis, the country is also facing a cost of living crisis, which has seen manufacturers grapple with rising bills for energy, transport and raw materials.

Recruiting hard-to-find manual labour while managing increasing costs is a difficult balancing act, but it can be alleviated through automation. By using robots to do the dull, dirty and dangerous tasks, automation enables manufacturers to make better use of their human employees, upskilling them to boost recruitment and retention rates while increasing productivity.

A bright future

The outlook, therefore, is brighter than it may currently appear. In 2015, robot density in the UK was just 71 robots per 10,000 employees – the current figure of 111 demonstrates a 56% increase, and this is reflected here at FANUC UK in our healthy order book going into 2023. 

The UK already boasts world-class engineers, world-class machine tool builders, world-class integrators and a world-class workforce. To retain our reputation as a nation of world-class manufacturers, we now need to support firms to implement world-class automation technology.

Renishaw – 50 and fit for the future

Next month, Renishaw will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. As a FTSE 250 company and one of the UK’s most prominent manufacturing success stories, MTD magazine toured the Renishaw Miskin facility in South Wales and witnessed what can only be classed as the epitome of modern manufacturing. By Rhys Williams

As an apprentice machinist, I served my time in the South Wales valleys and then worked at the Bosch alternator plant near Cardiff. Shortly after the departure of Bosch in 2011, Renishaw acquired the same 193-acre site, and our recent visit was my first opportunity to return to the plant in more than 25 years. The investment made by Renishaw in this manufacturing facility is a sight to behold…

Whilst the original security gatehouse and two production halls with more than 460,000sq/ft remain outwardly similar, the transformation of the internal factory space is a testament to the long-term investment strategy – but Renishaw isn’t a company that stands still. With a colossal steel framework and construction teams currently working on-site erecting two new production halls, evidence of over £50m additional investment is apparent. We spoke with Jonathan Archer, General Manager of Renishaw UK Sales Ltd to find out more. 

Investment for future growth and expansion

Discussing the investment, Jonathan told MTD magazine: “Planning permission was granted to increase the capacity of our Miskin site. This underpins our future growth ambitions and helps towards our 2028 Net Zero targets for Scopes 1 & 2 GHG emissions. The Miskin site is used for precision CNC machining, electronics production and final product assembly. It is also the production location for Renishaw’s metal additive manufacturing machines. Work is now underway for two additional production halls and an employee welfare facility. The additional production halls will provide over 380,000sq/ft of manufacturing space – almost doubling our capacity.”   

Alluding to the technology planned for the new production halls, Jonathan adds: “Although the details are yet to be determined, the capacity will allow for increased machining operations and the assembly of products already built at the site including our metal additive manufacturing machines.” 

The Manufacturing Strategy

The Miskin site produces parts for various probing systems, position encoders, CMM and gauging systems and additive manufacturing machines. As Jonathan says: “All of those components are CNC machined here or in Stonehouse and the final product assembly takes place here in Miskin or at other factories in Gloucestershire and near Dublin in Ireland. Our vertically integrated approach gives us total control of quality and delivery time. Having this control enables us to rapidly adjust our manufacturing capacity in accordance with demand and guarantee continued product supply.”

“A part of our business continuity plan is that we mirror critical manufacturing processes in our other factories. This ensures production capacity and supply of parts and products in any eventuality. We can supply CNC machined parts and any subsequent finishing operations and complete electronics manufacturing from multiple locations.”

Renishaw produces more than 1 million CNC machined parts per month with an average of over 3,500 works orders (machine set-ups), this includes over 2,500 automated CNC operations with zero manual set-up time. Despite the variety of parts produced, the combined machine shops deliver over 80% value-added output with typically less than 1% scrap. This performance is accredited to Renishaw’s ‘Productive Process Pyramid™’ philosophy ensuring consistent output, quality and performance from the CNC processes to enable automation and reduce manual intervention.

With the current Miskin factory expansion, ramping up capacity will undoubtedly send the component volumes to new levels. To accommodate this, the company must have robust CNC processes in place, the Productive Process Pyramid philosophy that controls variation before, during and after machining is the perfect strategy to underpin highly automated production processes. 

Discussing this, Jonathan continues: “There is a big shift in manufacturing towards automation. Here at Miskin, with our automated machining capability, we have 4 staff overseeing over 40 machining centres, our goal is to be lean and efficient. We’ve got lots of processes in place, including the RAMTIC system, (Renishaw Automated Milling, Turning and Inspection Centre), which enables us to implement very lean manufacturing with integrated metrology using our own products. We share this approach with our customer base, we listen to our customers to understand their shifting requirements and needs. We show them the things that we do here and that is an enabler for us to provide solutions and help them with their manufacturing challenges.”

“One of the philosophies at Renishaw, the ‘Productive Process Pyramid’ goes back over 20 years. It’s a drive to simplify, standardise and control the CNC machining process, the tooling, the machining set-ups and more. The RAMTIC automated system is a shining example of this philosophy in action.”

RAMTIC is a unique automation system developed specially by Renishaw for their own production needs. The creative solution enables Renishaw staff to firstly pre-set all the cutting tools and raw materials for a product ‘kit’ into fixtures away from the machining centres. The tools and fixtures are loaded onto a unique mobile pallet system called a carousel. This is then transported to an available machining centre and docked in position. Once connected and information loaded into the machine there is no further manual intervention. We’ll look more at this fantastic innovation in more detail in a future issue.  

Adding to this, Jonathan says: “We move the RAMTIC carousel to the machine once it’s been kitted offline with tools and material. Swapping these carousels over at the machine takes only half an hour, so we then machine in sequence, multiple part numbers or discrete operations using up to 50 pre-kitted fixtures, these product carousels run for between 15 to 30 hours. All the machine set up, tool set up, process control and verification are carried out without manual intervention, This not only enables significant lights-out machining but also smaller batch sizes matching assembly demand.” 

Machining over 1 million parts for a wide range of products each month would be a challenge for any business. So, the various Renishaw product design teams work with manufacturing to create as much commonality as feasibly possible. As Jonathan continues: “We aim to standardise across our new product development process including design for manufacturing, assembly, test, packaging and more to ensure we minimise variation, unnecessary process development and maximise re-use of best practice or known capability wherever possible. That’s been a big part of our ethos for years. This approach has allowed us to increase our capacity, reduce new product development time and to allow us to scale operations when we expanded our machining and assembly capacity to the factory here in Miskin.”

The Productive Process Pyramid™

The philosophy applied by Renishaw features a four-layered, preventative approach to controlling CNC machining processes, it starts with the base-level process foundation then process setting, in-process control and post-process monitoring. For absolutely every element of the process chain, Renishaw has built-in predictable process steps that encompass everything from the machine tool, its environment and equipment such as tooling, work holding, process design and fixtures, as well as the machining strategies and all other potential sources of variation. 

Taking an overview of the Renishaw philosophy, Paul Maxted, Director of Industrial Metrology Applications, Renishaw plc told us: “The Pyramid essentially identifies all sources of process variation whether it’s raw materials, the factory environment, any manual processes, or the CNC machine and machining process. It accounts for every stage and what could go wrong with variables such as tool holders, cutting tools, fixtures, alignments and day-to-day conditions. We put the controls in place to keep on top of those variables and manage those.”  

When we introduced the RAMTIC process, we identified around 150 different failure modes. We then formulated strategies and have the controls in place to eliminate, compensate or identify causes of variation. This encompassed everything from electronic work instructions to audits and automated checks to make sure we are within acceptable control limits. If we deviate, we can identify and manage the situation. For example, our in-process probing allows us to measure all the variables affecting the physical machining process at its very core. That is effectively managing the failure mode and a broad selection of parameters. This minimises variation across our large population of machines. These measurements can also tell us in detail what, where and when things are affecting process capability.”

Integrating Technology to create valuable solutions.

The beauty of having a world-class manufacturing facility where R&D teams, manufacturing and application engineers can collaborate, develop and test, is that broader customer solutions can be developed and enhanced. 

Looking at Renishaw’s relationships with its customers, Jonathan continues: “It’s a part of our DNA, we manufacture both low and high volume, but certainly a high variability of products across both of our manufacturing facilities. We experience the same challenges as our customers. Some customers are very niche, and some manufacture high volumes, but they all rely on CNC machining as a core process. As we ‘practice what we preach’, it gives our customers confidence in Renishaw; we are much more than an equipment supplier. When we bring customers to our facilities and we’re responding to their manufacturing challenges, they take a great deal of confidence away in terms of what they see here and at Stonehouse.”

“As a company, we re-invest somewhere between 13-18% of our sales revenue back into R&D. This is substantial for our industry and important for our future as we continue to apply innovation in all we do.”

Looking at the future product pipeline, Jonathan adds: “I can’t be too specific, but we have roadmaps in place across all our manufacturing technology product groups covering industrial metrology, position measurement and additive manufacturing. Each product group has a roadmap of new technologies, some of which are reasonably short-term and some that are very much in the distant future. It’s a clear part of our strategy to continually invest for our long-term success.” 

Discussing product development to sales, Jonathan continues: “We are fortunate that we can develop and trial many of our products internally as well as conduct trials at customer sites before they’re commercially available. It is common for customers to come to us with a part or a manufacturing challenge and ask us to demonstrate time-savings or improvements in the manufacture or measurement of a part or a particular set of features. This instils customer confidence before investing in our technology whether that’s hardware, software or usually both – it’s a kind of try-before-you-buy principle.”

With Renishaw R&D receiving industry feedback from their global sales and marketing teams and having the facility to trial new products internally as well as with test-bed customers, it creates a perfect ecosystem for continuous innovation. 

One recent example of the developments tested internally in Renishaw’s manufacturing is the ‘Renishaw Central’ system. This enables accurate, actionable data-driven manufacturing. Renishaw Central is a connectivity and data platform that collects and presents manufacturing process data, allowing users to monitor and update machining and quality control systems. It allows for closed-loop CNC process control using its unique and patented Intelligent Process Control (IPC) software functionality.

Alluding to this, Jonathan says: “Renishaw Central supports manufacturers in their end-to-end manufacturing processes, whether they are subtractive or additive machining. Each process step guides the user through measurement whether that’s on-machine probing, near machine probing using the Equator™ gauging system or CMMs on the shop floor. The end-to-end process provides data that includes information on how the different devices are performing, what is happening, enabling interventions to be made at the right time. Software and this critical process data gives manufacturers insight across the entire process to enable continuous optimisation and improvement. Using our own manufacturing facility to gather process data, analyse and implement improvements gives us invaluable first-hand experience to support and add value.”

“There is a continuous dialogue between our product design groups and our commercial teams globally to consider customer expectations, requirements and challenges feeding our new product pipeline. Our future innovations must address or even exceed the ever-evolving challenges of the industry.”

With the company celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, we’ll be back with Renishaw in the next issue to report on the progress and plans the company is implementing.

Turning technology raises productivity

Prismatic machining accounts for a majority of throughput at the Mildenhall factory of CTPE, a subcontractor that produces complex, high-precision components for the defence and electronics sectors. However, productivity on the turning side of the business received a significant boost in mid-2022, when the company bought a Miyano twin-spindle turning centre with twin Y-axis turrets and live tooling. 

Supplied by Citizen Machinery UK, the 10-axis ANX-42SYY lathe is fitted with a FANUC 31i 15-inch touch-screen control incorporating a new HMI. It also features the company’s superimposed machining, whereby three tools can be in cut at the same time thanks to X-axis movement of the sub-spindle. Three-axis simultaneous interpolation and double Y-axis cutting are also enabled. 

Advantage is regularly taken of the machine’s other stand-out feature, LFV chipbreaking software in the control’s operating system. The function is independent of the programmed cutting cycle, apart from it being switched on by G-code when expedient to break up stringy swarf, which is particularly problematic when taking finishing cuts. LFV may similarly be switched off when it is not needed. 

CTPE’s operations director Alex Taylor said: “We saw LFV demonstrated on the Citizen stand at MACH 2022. The function is extremely useful when machining aluminium, which constitutes most of our work and is even more effective on plastics, which accounts for about 25% of our throughput.

“We struggle with bird’s nesting when internally boring both materials, as the swarf tends to leave marks that affect the bore diameter and in the case of plastic can cause burning. LFV avoids these problems, so machine stoppage for swarf clearance is no longer needed, increasing productivity and enabling reliable unattended operation overnight.”

One example of the software’s effectiveness involves a defence electronics part regularly produced from aluminium bar. After experimenting with dwells and pecking macros to improve chipbreaking, Mr Taylor was only able to run 50 components before having to stop the machine to clear swarf. That was therefore the maximum number that could be produced lights-out. The situation was acceptable when the customer was ordering batches of 250, but as volumes grew steadily to 2,000 per order, it was denting the profitability of the contract. 

The problem has been resolved by having the chipbreaking software switching in and out on the Miyano during difficult parts of the cycle, so the machine can confidently be left to run throughout the night. Moreover, the cycle time has fallen from three minutes on a twin-spindle, single-turret, fixed-head lathe, or two minutes when the work was put onto a sliding-head bar auto, to just one minute and 40 seconds on the Miyano. So around 400 finished parts are waiting for staff when they return in the morning.

What the company wanted was an increased number of tools so there would be more likelihood of the next job starting as soon as a new program was loaded. The 12 live tool stations in each of the two Miyano turrets provide that flexibility with the ability to leave more pre-set tools in the machine, speeding up changeover and maximising spindle uptime.

Mr Taylor concluded: “The Miyano is the most solidly built, accurate machine we have ever bought. Lathes tend to suffer more than machining centres from thermal movement when they are switched on in the morning. They are typically 30 microns out for about 15 minutes while they warm up, but not the ANX.

“After we power it up, it immediately starts producing a part we were machining the previous afternoon to the same single-figure-micron accuracy, without any offsets being entered. Some tolerances we hold are down to ± 5 microns, which we have no trouble achieving.”

WaldrichSiegen enters long-term partnership with Sheffield Forgemasters

WaldrichSiegen GmbH & Co. has entered into a long-term partnership with engineering specialist Sheffield Forgemasters for lifetime support of a proposed new machining facility.

WaldrichSiegen will deliver a ten-year, through-life and production-support contract, plus the design, supply, manufacture, installation and commissioning of 17 new machining centres to create highly accurate, complex shapes required for ultra-large, steel castings and forgings.

The machining line will be housed in a proposed new building at the Brightside Lane site and includes a series of large-scale, 5-axis Vertical Turning Lathes (VTL), which form part of a recapitalisation investment of up to £400m over ten years. This will underpin Sheffield Forgemasters’ defence-critical assets. 

Gareth Barker, Chief Operating Officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We have entered into a partnership agreement for a ten-year, through-life and production-support contract with WaldrichSiegen, who will take a permanent base at our site. The supply and support agreement creates a fundamental mechanism for driving increased performance from this investment, by working in a long-term business partnership with the machine tool supplier.”

Work has already commenced on the detailed design phase of the project and the first machining centres are planned to go into manufacture before the end of the year, with the first machine scheduled for delivery to Brightside Lane in January 2025.

Gareth added: “We currently operate the UK’s largest 5-axis VTL and each new VTL is larger and more technologically advanced, with all machining digitally analysed through a tool-life management system.”

“The partnership will create a highly efficient machining line, enabling us to dramatically reduce processing times for complex components and deliver new levels of capability and production management.”

WaldrichSiegen is supported by UK partners, McDowell Machine Tools Ltd, who are key to the design, installation and commissioning sections of the programme. McDowell Machine Tools Ltd will also be embedded in the through-life and production-support contract, with a permanent presence on the Sheffield site.

Thorsten Mehlhorn, Waldrich Siegen President & CSO, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Sheffield Forgemasters as the company expands its capabilities in the manufacture of highly complex forgings and castings. This partnership is built on the principles of lifetime support and will deliver the most advanced facility of its kind in the UK.”

As part of the service contract, WaldrichSiegen will maintain a Sheffield Forgemasters base for management of spares, and significant supporting facilities which will contribute to the lifetime maintenance of the machines and a full suite of 116 machining heads.

The full suite of machines is scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2028. It includes seven Heavy Duty VTL’s with 5 to 8m tables, three Gantry Mills with 6 to 16m turning capability, three RAM Hydrostatic Boring Mills, three Heavy Duty Horizontal Lathes with 24 to 27m beds, and one Gantry Band-Saw.

One-hit machining cuts cost of fixtures

Mintdale Engineering specialises in CNC turning  as well as CNC milling on five VMCs. It operates twice as many machines for rotational part production as for prismatic, although the borderline between the two is increasingly blurred.

Take an aluminium gas regulator base produced on the company’s latest Italian-built Biglia B465 T2 Y2 twin-spindle, twin Y-axis turret model supplied by Whitehouse Machine Tools. The 1.25 inch high cuboid part is machined from 2 inch square bar fed by an LNS Quick Load Servo 80 S2 short bar magazine. The component that Mintdale has been producing for 22 years, was latterly machined 20 at a time on a twin-pallet VMC. Operation one involved machining three sides, milling a circular pocket, drilling various holes and tapping them, while operation two after pallet change completed similar features. Floor-to-floor time per base was two minutes.

On the Biglia, the part is produced in one hit and requires only a small amount of face turning and parting off, the remainder of the cycle is prismatic machining. Both live turrets are deployed at the main spindle, followed by simultaneous machining at both spindles using the two tool carriers. Although cycle time is three minutes, 50% longer per part than before, the big advantage is that production is unattended, unlike on the VMC. The finish-machined components pass through the counter spindle onto a conveyor feeding a Hydrafeed Rota-Rack. 

 

The lathe produces through the day shift, after which 100 parts can be added by running the machine lights-out until the bar is used up. The only special items needed to realise this application were a spindle liner and a bar feed attachment for the square stock.

Another component produced more efficiently from 3 inch diameter round brass bar, is a conversion body for legacy gas delivery systems used in hospitals. The so-called Mark III component formerly required four operations that included milling on a VMC and turning, followed by two further separate visits to different VMCs for more prismatic operations and engraving.

The handling and clamping in bespoke fixtures meant that floor-to-floor time was long. There was a lot of work-in-progress, which extended delivery lead-times.

This is in the past now that the part is completed on the Biglia in a five-minute cycle. That is quicker than just one of the previous VMC operations. Now, no special workholding is needed. A third part transferred to the lathe is a Mark IV version of the gas delivery conversion body, turn-milled from brass bar. It used to be produced in two operations on a chucking lathe on which a special jig was made for holding the irregularly shaped Op1-machined billet to enable Op 2. 

A high metal removal rate is now achieved by balanced milling at the main spindle for some of the time using cutters in both the upper and lower turrets simultaneously. The profile of the part is also milled and a bore is drilled before parting off and synchronous transfer to the sub-spindle. Here, the back face is milled, various holes are drilled and the bore is finished.

The specification of the Biglia B465 T2 Y2 includes 80mm diameter bar capacity, up to 200mm turning diameter to a length of 350mm, a 26 kW/4,000rpm main C-axis spindle, 11 kW/5,000rpm for the C-axis sub spindle, and 12 live stations in each turret rated at 3.7 kW/4,000rpm with a 90 mm Y-axis stroke.

NCMT ‘moves technology on’ for toolmaker

When BM Injection needed to upgrade its wire EDM capabilities, the company recently turned to NCMT and its Makino range of machines. Providing a total plastic injection moulding service to the aerospace, automotive, white goods, electronics, transport and PPE equipment sectors, Hampshire based BM Injection specialises in technical plastic mouldings and assemblies, supplying both thermoplastic components and thermoset moulded parts. 

Commenting upon the business, BM Injection Technical Director, Mr Mark Combes says: “BM Injection are an injection mould tool maker, but we set ourselves apart because we take the customer’s initial concept and push it through to reality via toolmaking, moulding, assembly and delivery.”

Taking a closer look at the Makino U32j high-accuracy wire EDM, Mark continues: “Within the tool-making process, every tool we make will be touched by this machine.  Whether it’s for a complex geometry core, an injector pin, to an optical face that needs a very high precision finish, this machine deals with that for us. Everything is going through this machine, in one aspect or another for the mould tools that we build.”

As a direct replacement for an ageing wire EDM machine, Mark alludes to why the company opted for the Makino solution from NCMT. “The machine this Makino replaced was here for many years.  We’re a very tightly packed factory, we had a requirement for a machine that fitted in the same space as our recumbent machine, but what we wanted to do was evolve our technology. So, this machine was chosen for two reasons.”

“The first reason was the floor plan was actually smaller than our previous machine, so it gave us a little bit more access. Secondly, the technology was a move on from our previous machine. So, when I talk about that technology, I talk about the speed of the cut, the programming, the computer and the finishes that we can achieve.”

The U32j at BM Injection was also specified with Makino’s Hyper i control that utilises a straightforward 3-Step operation process of Program/Setup/Run. This efficient and user-friendly interface that utilises two monitors is used for all Makino Wire and RAM EDM machines. The operator is provided with an effective and commanding view of the control with the large 24” class HD touch-screen display, and the interface delivers an intuitive and familiar touch Pinch/Swipe/Drag operation similar to smartphones and tablets. The Hyper i control is also standard with a full-function advanced hand box, digital onboard electronic manuals, instructional training videos and advanced E-Tech help functions that enable the operator to be productive.

Alluding to this system on the new Makino U32j wire EDM, Mark continues: “We specified this machine with Hyper i. So, the upper screen actually has hyperMILL and Opticam from SolidWorks loaded on. This means the user has access to all of our jobs via a database. Instead of programming offline, our operator is pulling the 3D files in, programming and then activating them on the machine. This means that everything is in one work plan, so the user is not having to ask any questions and the jobs can be up here – loaded and programmed on the machine.”

“This ensures that we’re not ‘hot desking’ for a CAM seat and we’re not saying, ‘can I use that system there?’ Every operator has got a system that they can pull jobs off and work from.”

The Makino U32j Wire EDM machine from NCMT is built to achieve high levels of precision with surface finishes down to 0.07µmRa with the Crystal II Circuit. Optionally, it can operate with wire sizes down to 50µm, making it suitable for producing high-precision plastic injection moulds, precision stamping tools, and medical component applications. Positional accuracy is accomplished through high tolerance alignment specifications that deliver axis accuracies of 3μm straightness and 4μm squareness and parallelism.

The U32j utilises a stationary 780 by 590mm worktable that eliminates the di-electrode weight shifting that occurs with travelling table designs. The space-saving design minimises the machine footprint by incorporating the di-electric reservoir into the base casting, this space reduction was a key element for BM Injection.  This integrated reservoir also improves machine accuracy through greater thermal stability. The programmable rise and fall 3-sided work tank also provide excellent ergonomic access to the work zone and simplifies the loading and setup of the workpiece. 

Referring to the installation process and service, Mark continues: “Installation with all our NCMT machines has been fantastic. They are very thorough, not only on positioning but on checking the accuracy of the machine from when it left NCMT to when they’ve sited it here. Concerning training, we had three days with three operators. So, from start to finish, we were really happy as always with the support that we got.”

“This is the fourth machine that we have now purchased from NCMT since 2016. We started with an Okuma Genos for our bolster milling applications.  We then replaced an older CNC spark eroder with a Makino EDAF3. Just before the pandemic in 2019, we invested in the biggest machine we’ve ever had, a 5-axis Makino D200Z. The reason we keep buying machines from NCMT is the service we get. It gives us confidence that we’re not only buying a machine that gives us fantastic technology, but with the support we know we’re not going to be down for any periods longer than we need to be. Inevitably, things go wrong, but it’s how they react which is good. We get the response we need. Even if I’m not getting it done, I’m getting support to say, ‘yes we are working on your problem’.  So, it’s important when you’re spending vast amounts of money on machine tools – the support needs to be as good as the machine and with NCMT, it is.”

Starrag combines with NIKKEN for aerospace projects

Tripartite collaboration between project enabler/integrator, machine tool supplier and tool holding specialist is continually pushing the boundaries of high-performance machining and increasingly reducing machining lead times and production costs for a major aerospace company.

The ongoing work between the project lead, the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and machine tool specialist Starrag UK along with the tooling expertise of NIKKEN Kosakusho on a variety of aluminium and titanium aerostructure workpieces is cutting component costs through the creation of improved machining strategies. Since 2003, Starrag has installed eight machines at the AMRC and sister centre, the Nuclear AMRC, as part of its AMRC membership.

“Although not a direct target of the projects, in some cases reductions in cycle times is one rewarding by-product of the work. In some cases cycle time reductions of more than 50% are achieved when compared with ‘conventional’ machining processes,” says Starrag UK’s Director for sales and applications, Lee Scott.

Tom McCready, Engineering and Operations Manager at the AMRC’s Machining Group, adds: “By setting new benchmarks in the way that we use the full capabilities of the machine and tooling packages, we are consistently gaining new ground in the way parts are being machined. And because some of these projects involve ‘live’ production workpieces, the gains achieved are more effective and efficient in machining when they are transferred to the manufacturing processes.” 

The AMRC houses an array of equipment to enable partner companies and project sponsors to develop and trial new technologies and processes. The AMRC works closely with customers and project sponsors to select the ideal machines and technologies required to fulfil each project’s individual demands. Initiated by the AMRC’s Machining Group with two of its Tier 2 partners, Starrag UK and tooling integrator, NIKKEN, Starrag’s Heckert X40 horizontal machining centre has been moved a few hundred yards from its initial AMRC Factory of the Future base on Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Park to NIKKEN’s Innovation Centre. Engineers from the AMRC team are continually working with NIKKEN and Starrag to utilise the capabilities of the 5-axis machine and its tooling packages.

The features of the Heckert X40 include rigidity and damping, based on established and renowned build principles. This is complemented by rapid traverse rates of 80m/min and a 20,000rev/min spindle that offers torque values up to 350Nm. Among NIKKEN’s tool holding solutions is the Slim Chuck, a high-accuracy collet chuck that boasts a minimal runout of 3 microns at 4XD. This leads to higher component precision and improved tool life. The Slim Chuck has a maximum gripping torque of more than double that of traditional ER alternatives. This complements the Heckert X40’s rigidity and stability, permitting more aggressive machining parameters. This also improves process security and leads to reduced scrap, especially on titanium and aluminium workpieces that fit in the envelope of 700 by 750 by 750mm.

Mr McCready adds: “With all three partners collaborating, we have collectively achieved some incredibly successful results by pushing the limits of the machine and the tooling. This has been achieved without jeopardising the quality of workpieces. Importantly, we closely monitor and record the performance data in real-time relative to NC code lines via digital connectivity through a Siemens Edge device. The machine incorporates Starrag’s human-machine interface (HMI) for easier, more intuitive programming and operation. This includes factors like machining forces and spindle temperatures. We interpret this data and, if necessary, adjust the processes to suit and ultimately arrive at an improved NC code to achieve consistently repeatable process improvements by setting new machining benchmarks.”

Starrag’s Lee Scott, comments: “This is another example of the success of Starrag’s long-term relationship with AMRC and NIKKEN. In this case, it highlights how an affordable machine, one that combines all the best attributes of its predecessors but in a compact footprint and at a cost-effective price – can produce real-time savings and cost benefits on a variety of workpieces for companies of every size.”

NIKKEN’s Deputy Managing Director, Nathan Ray, adds: “Time and again these projects are providing lessons in the rewards of marrying a high-performance machine with world-class tooling. With the set-up being operated by forward-thinking engineers, we can fulfil the true potential of ‘no compromise’ machining.”

AM specialist invests in Sodick wire EDMs

As a specialist in fast-turnaround metal and plastic additive manufacturing, CA Models is using its new investment in two wire-erosion machines from Sodi-Tech to optimise the process of removing 3D-printed parts from their build platforms. With the Formula One industry currently developing cars for the 2023 season, the new Sodick machines are making a real difference to operational efficiency at CA Models.

CA Models has excelled in rapid prototyping since its inception in 1983. Providing a streamlined service to meet the challenges and demands of a growing market, Stirling-based CA Models has five different additive manufacturing departments, including metal laser sintering. This process allows components to be 3D printed from powdered metals such as aluminium, titanium and steel. 

“We had two Sodick wire EDM machines that were getting on in years but still running well. It was the right time to bring in some new technology. At CA Models, we are in the ‘quick’ business, where just about every client wants their parts yesterday. That’s why we need an in-house resource when it comes to wire erosion. Every time we have a really complex, accurate part to produce, the clock is ticking,” explains Founder and Managing Director Clark Campbell.

With two Sodick machines already in-situ and proving their worth over many years, the 35-employee company had no hesitation in returning to Sodi-Tech EDM for its new investment. “I think Sodick technology is brilliant and the reliability of the machines warrants some loyalty. I went to an open day at Sodi-Tech EDM’s Warwick facility and was really impressed with the latest machines, which will play their part in a big way over the coming years,” adds Mr Campbell.

Installed in September, the new Sodick ALC600G and ALC800G wire EDM machines are very busy. “For example, take a titanium build platform with 14 motorsport parts on the base,” says Mr Campbell. “When the printing process is complete, the entire platform goes into our furnace for heat treatment for 24 hours, after which, we wire-off all the components from base plate using our Sodick technology. As the wire cuts so finely, we do not lose any dimensional accuracy in the parts. Furthermore, the machine cuts so quickly that we get a head start in finishing the components. Although this process is the underlying reason behind our investment, we also get many subcontract CNC machining projects, some of which lend themselves to wire EDM. It’s great to have that flexibility, particularly for complex, intricate parts.” 

The ALC600G is a rigid linear motor driven wire EDM machine with Sodick’s next-generation SPW control with Smart Pulse Generator. While offering axis travels of 600 by 400 by 350mm, CA Models thought it prudent to also invest in the larger Sodick ALC800G wire EDM, which provides 800 by 600 by 500mm.

Mr Campbell continues: “As far as wire EDM is concerned, it’s always nice to have a big machine because we sometimes get large or unusual requests. I think we’re the only company in the UK to have the ALC800G model.”

Without the Sodick wire EDMs, CA Models would have to remove additively manufactured parts from base plates using its large bandsaw, which is far from ideal. “It’s something we’ve done before, but it always feels a little unsafe and not exactly best-practice. Wire EDM is far more practical, efficient and effective. Furthermore, once finished, the support plate looks brand new and ready to use again, which is really helpful,” states Mr Campbell.

“I think we will be particularly busy, as Formula One currently has one dominant team, so the others are very keen to make up ground. We received a nice order recently from a team towards the back of the grid, who should really be towards the front. These are aerodynamic body parts made from aluminium and we will additively manufacture and finish the parts in-house. Undoubtedly, the parts will end up on the Sodick machines for base plate removal. It’s something we’ve come to rely on,” concludes Mr Campbell.

Getting in gear with ETG

With over 80 years of expertise in manufacturing specialist gears, Sovereign Gears Ltd has built a reputation for the quality of its products and services in a niche market segment. As a supplier to the automotive, motorsport, industrial, agricultural and vintage market sectors, precision and quality is a must – this is why the Leicestershire manufacturer has recently invested in Quaser 5-axis machining that follows on from three Nakamura turning centres also purchased from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG). 

Located in Croft, Sovereign Gears services customers internationally with a complete spectrum of gear products. This ranges from helical and spur gears, sprockets, straight bevels, worm and wheel gears spiral bevel gears, splines and much more. To manufacture this extremely diverse range of products, the manufacturing capabilities at Sovereign Gears include everything from turning, milling, wire EDM, grinding, lapping, gear cutting and reverse engineering. 

To further improve productivity, the company has purchased three Nakamura-Tome AS200 turning centres that were subsequently followed by a Quaser MF400UH 5-axis machining centre. The company purchased two Nakamura AS200 and one AS200L turning centre in a single order – all aimed at utilising the powerful milling capacity on the tool turret with Y-axis capability to reduce set-ups and free capacity in the milling department. With the Nakamura machines achieving their intended aims, the company replicated this philosophy in the milling department – acquiring a Quaser MF400UH 5-axis machining centre to reduce set-ups and expedite throughput. 

Commenting upon the compact 5-axis powerhouse Sovereign Gears Director, Mr Ryan Spring says: “The majority of our work is 1 and 2-off bespoke gears as well as jigs and kits for holding, assembling and working with the gears. Unfortunately, most of our milling work requires 2, 3 or 4 set-ups and this can slow down throughput. We bought the Quaser MF400UH with OPEN MIND’s hyperMILL CAM software, also supplied via ETG to reduce our set-ups. The Quaser is our first 5-axis machine and it’s a technological leap we are still getting used to. Despite this, we are already seeing huge benefits with the Quaser.”

The multitude of gears and associated jigs and kits have upward of 3 to 4 set-ups per part and due to the complex nature of the components and the precision required, each set-up can average an hour. This means that each part often spends up to 4-5 hours being set up for machining. The Quaser has instantly eliminated 75% of this time, and with only a single set-up required for 5-sided machining, the precision of each component is significantly improved.

Commenting upon why the company opted for the Quaser, Ryan says: “We looked at another machine from a world leading brand, it wasn’t on a par with the Quaser. The Quaser was a better option with dynamic kinematics and high specification. Furthermore, the 320mm diameter worktable is perfect, as we have very few parts that extend beyond 200mm diameter. Within this compact work area, the Quaser is a very fast, powerful and dynamic machine. Since having the Quaser, we have improved our ability to machine complex forms and this has ultimately won us new business that previously, we would have turned away.”

The Quaser MF400UH provides an X, Y and Z axis of 680 by 610 by 510mm with an A-axis tilt of +30 to -120 degrees with a 360-degree continuous C-axis, providing an impressive work envelope in a small footprint machine. The BBT40 spindle taper is supplied by a 30-position ATC with 48, 60 and 120 positions available. 

As well as the multitude of options to configure the machine, the compact footprint with a considerable work area was another reason why Sovereign Gears opted for the Quaser from ETG. As Ryan concludes: “We have bought machine tools from ETG for many years. The service and support have been outstanding. Whenever we have required technical support or if there has ever been an issue with a project or a specific problem with a machine, ETG has been on hand to help us 100%.”

HB is Bearing the Fruit of Kellenberger Machines

Located in Honley, HB Bearings is celebrating its 50th year in business in style, investing in the latest Kellenberger grinding centres from DF Precision Machinery. The latest addition, a K100 grinding centre with a Wenger automation system has cleared a backlog of two months of work in just two weeks.

The company specialises in the manufacture of special and standard metric and imperial bearings that are hard to source. This can include precision radial bearings, deep groove ball bearings, cylindrical roller, angular contact, duplex as well as many other types of bearing and housing. Katrina Wood, Product Manager for Gamet bearings at HB Bearings says: “HB Bearings is a bearing manufacturing company that has been running for 50 years now, manufacturing bespoke bearings as well as a standard Gamet Bearings product range.” 

The company has recently installed a Kellenberger K100 grinding centre that has been supplied by DF Precision. The machine has been installed with a fully automated Wenger loading system that has revolutionised the way HB Bearing manufactures large-volume runs of taper bearings. Looking at the application Katrina Wood says: “This part is a Super Precision taper roller, and it goes in the Gamet taper roller bearings. These can be used as high load bearings and where customers require super precision, for example, headstock bearings”

“There are many operations that are included in making the complete bearing. In the early days of production, it was difficult to get a whole batch quantity out for the customer, but this machine has been revolutionary. It’s had a massive impact on the roller side of manufacturing at HB Bearings.”

The Kellenberger K100 is a universal CNC OD/ID grinding machine for use across medium to large-scale universal grinding applications. The Swiss-Made Kellenberger K100 grinding machine supplied by DF Precision is highly configurable and offers a wealth of options to accommodate the widest range of universal grinding operations. It is the combination of flexibility along with a proven track record at HB Bearings that has kept the Huddersfield manufacturer buying Kellenberger machines. HB Bearings specified the Kellenberger K100 with a Wenger WeStep 650 automation solution. The WeStep 650 is capable of loading shaft parts up to 650mm long and up to 260mm diameter, HB is optimising this capability to run components from 7mm up to 38mm diameter in high batch quantities, the parts are fed in pallets that are drawn in and processed by a chain conveyor. Pallets are indexed under the line gantry and when a pallet of parts has been processed, it is placed on the upper finished parts conveyor and removed at the operator’s side. 

Looking at this productivity, Katrina Wood adds: “This machine has speeded up the number of rollers we are making in a day. We were making around 90 rollers and this machine can do 400 to 500, depending on the size. If the size is smaller, we can do a bigger batch within a day. It’s had a massive impact on the business. I don’t have to worry about the rollers, the quantities or quality when I’m issuing jobs or when I’m thinking about the deliveries. This isn’t a problem to me anymore.”

Katrina Wood continues: “The machine has made life easier. I do the sales, but I also come down to issue all the jobs and expedite, this headache is now gone. Customers are approaching us and being confident in the fact that we can deliver big quantity batches. We’re getting repeat orders, but it’s not just a case of the quantity, it’s the quality, it’s the customer service. It’s the whole rounded service that we give here at HB Bearings.”

The company has placed its faith in DF Precision and the Kellenberger brand over the years, with more than 8 Kellenberger machines on the shop floor. The company has a Kellenberger machine over 22 years old. Commenting upon the 22-year-old machine, Darren Mawhinney from HB Bearings says: “The old machine is making the same parts as it was 20 years ago.  We are still grinding bearings to an accuracy of around 5µm, if not better on these kinds of machines. On the job it’s running on at the moment, it is running with a repeatability of 3µm.” 

Another of the most recent purchases at HB Bearings was a Kellenberger K10. Alluding to this, Darren says: “We decided to buy this machine to complement the production of our Gamet Bearings standard products. This machine offered us the opportunity to streamline that side of production and we’re finding the repeatability of this machine to be 1µm. It’s fantastic! When the bearings are in operation, they are extremely quiet, and this is because they are super precision bearings – they need to have a running accuracy of within half a micron. So, we needed a machine that’s capable of producing this precision, quality and repeatability.”

Attaining micron repeatability and micron run out on the bearings is a daily practice for HB Bearings. As Darren adds: “We produce these bearings from one-offs up to batches in the region of hundreds-off. On the Gamet side alone, it’s a 25mm bore up to 700mm OD and on the HB bespoke bearings, we do a 6mm bore up to 1m OD. The additional machine has just given us so much capacity. It lets us keep up with customer requirements. It is letting us get ahead of our customer requirements now, so we’re building up good stock quantities, shorter lead times and again the accuracy of the parts. It is highly instrumental in our goal to get our components right first time.”

With both CNC and manual grinding centres, HB Bearings uses its manual machine tools for F1 bearings, vintage vehicles, reverse engineering and bespoke bearings. As Darren continues: “This is why we keep the manual machine shop going. But for our production side, the CNCs are the correct way to go. They’ve moved our company forward so much over the last 20 years, especially with the new K10 and the K100, our production capability has increased considerably.”

Adding his thoughts on the Kellenberger K100 with Wenger automation, Darren says: “We are manufacturing super precision taper rollers and we will do these in batches of ‘tens of thousands’. They come back from heat treatment and then we finish grind them through the Wenger loading system and the K100 to a precision and repeatability of 1µm. It’s our second automated loader, when we had seen what is available from Kellenberger and Wenger – it was an obvious choice for us.  We had to move forward, and we had to make sure that we could deliver for our customers.”

“Kellenberger has been here for the last 20 years, so we’re expecting the same again. Our shop floor operators are well used to the machines, the operating system, they all know their way around them so there’s no reason for us to look elsewhere. Everybody’s happy with the machines, and the support we get, and we’ve never been able to fault the support we’ve had. Kellenberger has been perfect for us.”

Appealing state-of-the-art technology

At the Apex Tool Group GmbH (ATG) the S31 grinding machine from Studer is proving truly universal. From individual parts to series runs, it grinds shafts for Cleco assembly tools, an ATG Power & Hand Tool brand.

The showroom at Apex Tool Group boasts a range of different assembly tools from the Cleco brand. These include pneumatic and electric screwdrivers, either corded or with rechargeable batteries. 

As Niko Schindelarz, Supervisor Machining, explains: “Many manufacturers consider Cleco assembly tools to be very high quality and a major contribution to this is the extensive vertical integration at Apex. The company produces essential screwdriver components and this applies to motor and gear shafts, levers, valves and cams.”

Flexible for variants and individual features 

“Due to a large number of variants, we need components in small series and even individual pieces at very short notice,” explains Johannes Mäule, Production Engineer. This applies to all production steps from turning, drilling and milling through to grinding. “We need to grind our motor and gear shafts to just a few µm. This is essential to ensure the extremely quiet running and long service life of our screwdrivers,” adds Niko Schindelarz. 

This was very complex until recently. Only one proven grinding machine from the early 1980s was available for cylindrical grinding. To grind the large number of 30 to 650mm long shafts with diameters from 3 to 65mm, it was necessary to manually reset the machine.  “It was increasingly uneconomical. Set-up times generally took 2 to 3 times as long as the machining times,” explains Johannes Mäule. 

 

Generation transition

With the changing technical environment, the company decided to invest. “We need the latest future-oriented technology to be an attractive employer and inspire new talent to come and work in our company,” adds Niko Schindelarz. After comprehensive comparisons of different machine concepts, the company invested in a Studer S31 universal cylindrical grinder. 

As Niko Schindelarz explains: “It was necessary to carefully prepare the requirement analysis to obtain the necessary budget from the commercial manager in the US. We demonstrated the operational benefits that the higher initial investment will quickly prove profitable.”

The production engineers in Westhausen can now grind the entire range of shafts on just one machine. The S31 cylindrical grinding machine is easily accessible for workpiece and grinding wheel set-up. Agreeing with the machine operators, Niko Schindelarz praises the ergonomics. “The production engineers benefit from much shorter set-up times in comparison to previous grinding machines. The special Quick-Set function only available on Studer grinding machines makes an essential contribution.” 

Cornelius Wecht, responsible for Studer sales in South Germany, reports: “Thanks to Quick-Set, the control stores the precise dimensions of all grinding wheels. This means you can quickly set up frequently used and repeatedly dressed grinding wheels and use them again immediately. The control knows the dimensions after mounting the grinding wheel and there is no requirement for re-measuring or dressing on the machine.” 

The S31 cylindrical grinding machine at Apex has a wheel head with a B-axis that can swivel in steps of 1°. It comes with two spindle drives, one equipped with a grinding wheel for straight plunging and the other for angular plunging. This also contributes to short set-up times and maximum flexibility, making the machine a truly universal proposition

Rollomatic is Femto Fast

With new machines continually being developed, it’s not that often that you come across something far ahead of anything else and operates on such a high technical level that one can only marvel at the engineering development. By Chris Boraston Advanced Grinding Solutions Ltd

Engineers are always chasing seconds; especially when it comes to reducing cycle times. Over the years, Advanced Grinding Solutions has been tasked with achieving cycle time savings. However, understanding how Rollomatic’s latest laser machine for manufacturing PCD and other special tooling, requires a different level of understanding.

A microsecond is one millionth of a second, a nanosecond is one billionth of one second, and a picosecond is one trillionth of one second. All are very short and fast but the Rollomatic LaserSmart® 510 Femto Laser machine works in femtoseconds. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of one second or a million billionth, of one second or 1,000,000,000,000,000th of one second. At this level, numbers can get a little hard to appreciate. One way to look at this is in terms of how far light can move in a given amount of time. Light travels about 186,000 miles in one second. That means it travels about 30 centimetres in one nanosecond. In one femtosecond, light travels just 300 nanometres — just slightly larger than the smallest bacteria.

The Rollomatic LaserSmart machines were first shown over 10 years ago at the IMTS exhibition in Chicago – but they have been further developed by Rollomatic. Noticing the developments using short-pulse lasers or so-called cold source laser systems for human eye surgery by the medical industry, Rollomatic has seen how the super-fast lasers could be used for manufacturing cutting tools and inserts and the Rollomatic 510 Femto machine is the pinnacle of that work. This machine has now been taken up by major PCD, Diamond and CBN cutting tool manufacturers such as Paul Horn and DTS. The laser machines have been given their dedicated production line within the Rollomatic machine tool plant in Le Landeron, Switzerland. Operating in femtoseconds brings some major advantages when looking to manufacture PCD, ceramic, CVD diamond and PCBN cutting tools. This is the world’s first femtosecond ultra-short pulse laser cutting machine for ultra-hard materials with 30% faster feed rates when compared to conventional laser machines with a pulse width 1,000 faster than pico lasers.

Rollomatic is understandably secretive when it comes to specifying machine settings, but the laser machining process has many parameters that influence the cutting result. However, the main variable parameters are the power of the laser, the wavelength, frequency, pulse length and the machine tool axis speed. The Rollomatic software ensures the operator only has to select the type of material to be machined and the recommended settings are automatically recalled. 

The laser pulses are so short that zero heat is produced; the laser beam is simply not in direct contact with the cutting tool surface for a long enough amount of time for any heat to be generated. Even when working in picoseconds or nanoseconds tiny particles of dust are melted and you can suffer from temperature transfer issues that effect the surface structure of the cutting tool. The femtosecond pulses simply laser away, micron by micron, and the material is immediately vapourised. The latest Rollomatic laser machines are 450% faster than the last generation and some 500% faster than the conventional EDM process that is most often used to machine PCD tooling.  The process creates cutting edges with a radius of under 0.5µm but end-users are also able to freely define the desired edge condition with a 3, 6 or 9µm radius.

PCD tools often require a mirror-like surface finish. The machine can achieve a surface finish of just 0.048µm Ra on a primary relief of a profile insert in PCBN material. A super mirror-like finish is generally twice as rough as that and finishes to this level cannot be achieved by processes like EDM or grinding. 

Rollomatic now offers the LaserSmart 510, the LaserSmart 510 Femto and the new LaserSmart 810 XL machine. The 510 versions have been developed for machining smaller tools whereas the 810 machine is used for producing larger PCD cutting tools. Apart from producing PCD tools, the machines can process ceramics, tungsten carbide, sapphire, glass or other ultra-hard materials and the machining process is automatically adapted to suit the chosen material. 

The 510 machines have a general working range for producing tools of up to 190mm in length and from 0.1 to 80mm in diameter. The larger 810 machine produces tools up to 350mm in length and up to 300mm in diameter with a weight of up to 15kg. The latest 810 XL machine can be equipped with up to seven cameras to ensure the process can be monitored during production. The machine also benefits from a patented 6th CNC axis for smoother and faster sweeps of the laser beam. Despite operating at levels using femtosecond speeds, Rollomatic did not stop development there. The latest 810 machine uses a granite bed and now has a 3D-printed ceramic axis that is 3 times lighter and more rigid than cast iron.

Sven Peter, Rollomatics Laser Product Manager, further clarifies the positioning of the laser machines: “Many sectors rely upon the use of diamond tooling which is now irreplaceable as a cutting material in the form of CVD layers or as a PCD tip. However, the unsurpassed hardness that makes it so valuable often limits the tool geometry. With the laser machines from the LaserSmart series, such restrictions are overcome. Using the speed and precision of the Femto laser, boundaries are lifted, both in terms of tool design and quality. The demand for such tools across all industries is rapidly increasing and these can now be produced not only much better but also considerably faster thanks to the Rollomatic laser technology.”

Why OEE might not be the right metric for CNC productivity

By MTDCNC’s Rowan Easter Robinson

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a measure often banded around by manufacturing management experts. It supposedly combines three metrics into one single measure that represents shop floor productivity. Like many simplifications, this doesn’t fully capture the major differences between manufacturing methods. For example, what works for a bottle-making facility won’t work for a CNC machine shop.

Firstly, what is OEE?

To break it into its most fundamental form, OEE identifies how much of your manufacturing time is actually productive. For example, an OEE score of 100% identifies that you are producing only good parts with no rejects, as fast as possible with no downtime – it’s the utopian dream. It means that your quality, performance and uptime are all at 100%.

When we measure OEE, we can gather insights on how to systematically enhance manufacturing processes. However, OEE is claimed to be the single best metric for benchmarking, identifying losses and improving productivity or eliminating waste – in my opinion, this is not strictly accurate.

So, how is OEE calculated?

OEE = Availability * Performance * Quality

Where:

Availability = Actual uptime/planned uptime

Performance = Actual cycle time/ideal cycle time

Quality = Good parts/total parts

Availability 

Availability is really easy to calculate, either by hand or with machine monitoring. It is even shown as ‘pride of place’ in a dashboard on a TrackMyMachines dashboard that I work with.

Quality

Quality is again, easy to calculate. Once you’ve inspected your parts, you know the ‘good’ proportion. There are also statistical techniques you can use if you’ve got a large batch and only want to inspect a certain subset of them.

Performance – the potential misfit

Performance however is tricky. What is the best possible cycle time for a given part? It’s as low as possible – right? Well, if your only limiting factor is your cycle time, then it must be. There’s no machine shop I’ve seen whose limiting factor is only cycle time, this is for a myriad of reasons. A lower cycle time might increase tool wear and cost more over time. Or someone might not be available to change over a part if it’s finished too quickly. Sometimes if a machine has a longer cycle time, you can save on tool wear and an operator can run more machines. It’s a little more complicated than just reducing cycle times.

What is an ‘ideal’ cycle time anyway? If you’ve got a new part or manufacturing process, there is no way to know exactly how long it will take to produce. The job of estimating this cycle time is often left to an extremely experienced individual, whose best guess might still be out by a factor of 2 or more. So, the ‘performance’ portion of OEE isn’t really possible to calculate in many cases.

There’s another point to consider here too. If you have a long-running part that you set in the evening and leave to run overnight, you’re getting ‘free productivity’ regardless of what its cycle time is. It is these 3 factors that, in my opinion, can play a part in making the ‘performance’ measure not only less useful but potentially misleading and harmful to your efforts in increasing actual productivity.

Since this performance measure consists of one-third of your total OEE metric, if it’s wrong then using that metric as an indicator of productivity might be one-third wrong too.

Where did OEE come from?

Focusing on just a single OEE measure might not be able to capture all of this operational complexity. That’s probably because its origins were founded in specialist manufacturing plants with assembly lines – factories that make bottles, pharmaceuticals, cars, iPhones or any other mass-produced product. These factories make much larger volumes. CNC machine shops are quite literally at the opposite end of the spectrum, especially the shops that have a huge variation in their daily workload, often with small or differing batch sizes and component types.

Take a more nuanced approach

Instead, a less rigid approach is needed that considers the needs of the business and its engineering capabilities. Rather than just observing a simplistic metric, try to follow the manufacturing thread for a component or batch of components clocked into and out of each work order operation. Find out how much time that operation spent doing useful work (probing, cutting etc), semi-useful work (work setting, tool changing) and non-useful work (machine sitting idle). You might be surprised to find that during that 3-hour operation, the machine only spent 50 minutes doing useful work! Regardless of how your costs are calculated: either by person-hours, machine hours or a combination; There are savings to be made by investigating and improving this dead machine time.

It’s the closing of the loop between expected machining time and actual machining time that’s going to supercharge your growth as a business. Although this investigative work by hand is certainly possible, it really can be time-consuming. An automated machine monitoring system makes this information transparent and easy to build a clear picture of what is happening on your shop floor.

Guhring helps Robo Challenge crush competition

When it comes to creating a wow factor in the manufacturing sector and engaging the masses; few names stand out like Robo Challenge. As a creative company that brings ideas to life, Birmingham-based Robo Challenge are the innovators and manufacturers behind TV shows like Robot Wars and they are famed for work on prestigious TV shows like Blue Peter, Guy Martin’s shows, The Gadget Show and many more.

For Robo Challenge, meeting deadlines is critical. If a new jet-powered vehicle, robot or kinetic sculpture is not ‘on-set’ and fully functional on deadline day, the filming crew, set, cast and support staff are all delayed which is why the company relies upon Guhring as its cutting tool partner.

Bringing engineering creativity to the world of TV, new media, the gaming and entertainment sectors requires innovative technology – and delivering this to stringent deadlines is critical. Operating within this framework, the regular day-to-day for Robo Challenge is to design a concept based upon a brief and take it through full production, assembly and testing to ensure that the final project, however whacky it may be, meets not only the aesthetic requirements but also the functional demands too. This mass undertaking is usually turned around in just a couple of weeks. To achieve this, the Aston-based company works closely with Guhring for the provision of both standard and special cutting tool solutions. 

Discussing the company background, Robo Challenge Co-Owner and Creative Engineer, Grant Cooper says: “The company was set up 15 years ago by my brother and I, and we started building fighting robots when we were in school and we were watching Robot Wars as kids. We started with remote control cars and strapping knives and spatulas to them and eventually, we got better and better and the robots got more dangerous. That eventually led to TV show work where we found Guhring.”

“We may be a small business, but we are a fast-paced and fast-turnaround company. Very often we will only have a few weeks from the design concept through to the complete product, so the technology and machinery we have here is critical to our operation. We don’t know what we will be making from one day to the next, so we need a tooling supplier that can provide us with products either the same day or the next day. This is why we work closely with Guhring, as they will manufacture tools to suit the jobs that we do. The turnaround time on tools is critical.

To ensure the company can meet its tight deadlines, it has also invested in a GROB G350 machining centre and a Quaser MV184EH machining centre from ETG. Discussing the relationship with Robo Challenge, Guhring UK’s Dave Hudson says: “Working with Robo Challenge has been superb over the years. The first time we encountered Robo Challenge was when they came to our trade counter at our old Castle Bromwich site and asked for a few drills. This has evolved, and now we are heavily involved in their industrial projects from day one. Robo Challenge now buy a complete array of tools from us and this includes everything from the shrink fit machine and respective tool holders, drills, taps, reamers, milling cutters and bespoke tooling.”

“The latest I have had a phone call from Grant is probably around 10 o’clock at night, as these guys work 24 hours. As we hold a lot of stock and are located around the corner from Robo Challenge – it’s a very beneficial service for both them and us. When companies like Robo Challenge need a drill that is 300 to 400mm long at 4, 5 or 6mm diameter – we always have something on the shelf in Birmingham to accommodate their needs.”

Looking at a crushing jaw part being machined on the Quaser MV184EH machining centre for a new fighting robot, Guhring UK’s Chris Bush says: “To get an impressive surface finish on this 7075 aluminium component, we are applying a PCD ball nose cutter that is manufactured at our facility in Birmingham. This HPC tool holder provides high runout accuracy and deals extremely well with the radial forces during machining.”

Adding to this, Grant Cooper says: “For this robot, we need at least two custom tools. One is a 6mm ball nose PCD. As we are running this with a 4th-axis rotary unit, we are running 3+1 toolpaths, so we are cutting a lot of the part with the centre of the tool. The tool is custom-made, so we do not get swarf clogging on the tip of the tool. We have through coolant on the tool to make sure the cutting edge is clear at all times – this gives us stunning surface finishes. Another critical factor that we found, is the toolholders. We found a massive difference between running ER holders and side locks. Our favourite is the Guhring HPC toolholder, the versatility is excellent. We use a lot of shrink fit in various areas. However, this gives us amazing versatility of different collet sizes, so we don’t need to have 20 or 30 of these toolholders. We can have just five or six and we can still run most of our tooling. Most importantly, the runout is very low – it’s around 3µm on these toolholders. They have excellent repeatability and the clamping force is exceptional. They are better than anything we have ever had, and that includes hydraulic holders. That is why they are used for virtually every milling process.”

Known for building fighting robots, Robo Challenge also undertakes a lot of fast-paced rapid turnaround work as well as a lot of one-off work for all sorts of weird and wacky projects. As Grant continues: “One of those recent projects is a very high-end piece of jewellery machined from a solid billet of tungsten on the Quaser MV184EH machining centre. We found this very difficult to machine, as we are normally working with aluminium, but this is a whole different beast and a material we have never worked with before. Guhring specified some Signum-coated tooling and the difference in cycle time was incredible. We were running some standard coated tools that were lasting between five and 10 minutes on this material, we then ran some Signum-coated tools and they were running up to 30 hours on tungsten. The finish we got was absolutely phenominal.”

In conclusion, Grant says: “We have worked with Guhring for over 11 years and we have never had any issues. So, when one of our biggest clients came to us and supplied us with their 5-axis GROB machine and trusted us with the manufacturing of all of their products – we went straight to Guhring to make sure that machine was kitted out with all the latest tooling. That includes the slimline shrink fit holders, PCD tooling, a range of through coolant drills and all sorts of other tools – but whatever is in that machine it is fully kitted out with Guhring products. That is because when we have a failure from our own doing, we know that we can get support from Guhring instantly without having to down production. We certainly put all of our trust in Guhring, their support and products.”

 

Front of the Q

With its ‘Infinite Possibilities’ cutting tool philosophy, Quickgrind is an industry leader in bespoke cutting tool solutions. Now, to support the ‘Infinite Possibilities’ ethos, the Tewkesbury manufacturer has introduced its new ‘Q’ Series of standardised end mills.

As a company that delivers solutions for the challenges of the industry, Quickgrind already had more than 120 different product items in its standard range that complement the specialist tools. However, the new ‘Q’ Series adds a completely new lineup, taking the standard lines to more than 400 items. 

Providing a tool for every application, the new additions to the standard line-up include the new QPlus2 range of 4-flute 30-degree helix MX coated end mills with a variable index geometry for machining a wide range of materials. The sharp corner geometry makes it a preferred choice when trying to achieve a square edge. Ranging from 1 to 20mm in diameter with tools from 1 to 6mm available in 0.5mm increments, the series is also available with additional extended reach. This comes in the form of the QPlus2-LS which is available from 3 to 20mm in diameter. This extension to the 4-flute 30-degree helix MX coated long series end mill makes it suitable for reaching into cavities and other surfaces where reach and rigidity can be a challenge.

Also new is the QBall, a 4-flute MX coated ball nose tool with a variable index. Perfect for profiling, this range is available from 1 to 20mm diameter with increments in line with the QPlus2 series. Complementing the QBall is the exemplary new QChamfer. This 4-flute 90 degree CX Plus coated chamfer mill is suitable for a diverse range of materials and is ideal for chamfering, countersinking and spot drilling; making this a universal solution for end users.

For high-performance machining, Quickgrind has unleashed the new QVari. Available with 4, 5, or 7 flutes, the QVari has a variable helix and design with X-Red coating that makes it an astute choice for roughing and finishing with one tool. It is suitable for both conventional or trochoidal machining strategies. The QVari is also available with another variant, the QVari CR. This is available with a corner radius for profiling components. The quality carbide and coating make it suitable for machining steels and HRSA type materials. The QVari is also offered with a long series version from 6 to 20mm diameter to ensure that high performance can be attained on all types of components. When it comes to trochoidal milling strategies and high-performance cutting, the 5 and 7-flute variants are Quickgrind’s first choice performers. 

Completing the new product range is the QAlu. Available with three variants that include the QAlu, QAlu-CR and QAlu-R, this 3-flute 40 degree helix tool with polished flutes and 3 teeth provides balanced HSM when machining aluminium and non-ferrous materials. The QAlu and QAlu-CR tools can be used for both roughing and finishing applications at high speeds and feed due to the geometry. Suitable for either conventional or trochoidal machining strategies, the series is offered in a diameter range from 3 to 20mm. Each tool has a specific purpose with the QAlu-CR suited for both roughing and finishing applications at higher speeds and feeds due to its geometry. Suitable for either conventional or trochoidal machining strategies with a wide range of corner radii for each diameter, this tool is suitable for machining aerospace-type parts. Complementing the QAlu-CR is the QAlu-R roughing tool with an NF flat created geometry and TX-R coating for use in both conventional or trochoidal machining strategies with increased material removal rates.

Ceratizit delivers for CNF

When Aylesbury-based CNF Precision Engineering won a significant order to machine exhaust collector manifolds for a high-performance motorsport customer, the company called upon Ceratizit for additional support. 

With over 50 years’ of machining components for the aerospace, defence, medical, electronic, and motor industries; utilising everything from two-axis lathes through to multi-pallet 5-axis machining centres, the issue faced by CNF was the complexity of the components. The parts came in six variants, along with the material from which they were made, 304 stainless steel. 

“When we were faced with stainless steel that required extra long tool overhangs, we knew we would need additional technical input,” says Mark, CNF Precision Engineering’s Production Manager. With Ceratizit being a major supplier of workholding and tooling to CNF Precision, it was an easy decision to call in Nev Frisby their local technical sales engineer. 

The manifolds had to be machined from stock billet material, so the first port of call was workholding, where Ceratizit’s MNG 3 location plates and ZSG 4 vices with bespoke jaws were used on CNF Precision’s 5-axis machining centre. Tooling posed a greater challenge due in part to the extensions that were needed and the intermittent cutting, the latter causing tool life issues. To reassure CNF Precision Engineering, Ceratizit provided a range of tooling on trial, with no commitment until the process had been completed. Key to that success was the 35mm diameter KUB Pentron indexable insert drills for the main internal port machining with 4XD flute length, along with a selection of high-feed indexable insert milling cutters using button and square inserts. The finishing was completed using Ceratizit’s Silverline solid carbide mills and Torus cutters.

The collaboration between CNF and Nev Frisby resulted in cycle time savings along with greatly improved tool life. For example, the indexable milling inserts are providing a 300% increase in tool life after testing a variety of carbide grades. The final grade of choice was Ceratizit’s CTCS245 grade for heat-resistant materials. A tool life gain up to 30% was seen when switching to Silverline cutters for finish milling from the previous competitor tool. In terms of cycle time, the work undertaken with the Ceratizit Torus cutters proved to be productive, with a decrease in cycle time upward of 50%. This was generated from the switch from a conventional ball nose cutter to a Ceratizit Torus Monstermill cutter.

With the project now running smoothly for CNF Precision Engineering, all of the tools used across the exhaust manifold variants have been loaded to the TOM840 tool vending unit. This ensures tools are available 24 hours a day if required. “The collaboration between Ceratizit and CNF highlights the support that we can provide on machining applications. This project threw up a variety of challenges, but the extensive range of tooling in our Ceratizit portfolio ensured that parts are being machined within the quoted cycle times with tooling costs minimised due to extended tool life,” concludes Nev Frisby.

High-feed helical proves 14 times faster than a toroidal mill

Horn has implemented an application at Jörg Bamann Mechanische Werkstatt, a job shop in Geretsried, Germany, where its DAH high-feed, indexable-insert milling cutter in a B-axis lathe can helically interpolate a circular groove into a round steel workpiece 14 times faster than a toroidal mill. 

The 42CrMo4 (1.7225) alloy steel billet, quenched and tempered to 1,000N/mm2, requires a 40mm wide groove having a 240mm outside diameter and a depth of just less than 90mm to be rough-machined. The component is a key part of a hydraulic rotator, used in construction and forestry for rotating attachments carried by excavators.

Seeking to optimise the groove machining process, owner Jörg Bamann approached carbide insert and cutting tool manufacturer Horn application engineer Korbinian Niedermeier. He recommended a high-feed milling solution. The subcontractor has been using Horn products for two decades, so knows the supplier well. Bamaan said: “Before switching to milling, we tried to produce the recess in the component by axial turning, but it did not prove to be viable. We tried tool solutions from various manufacturers, but none of them had the technical capabilities we needed. Turning resulted in long chips and, due to the large groove depth, caused vibration that negatively affected the life of the inserts.”

Next, the subcontractor tried replacing the turning tool with a conventional, 5-flute, toroidal milling cutter with indexable inserts in the B-axis tool spindle of a DMG Mori CTX 800 TC turning-milling centre. The roughing process was faster than axial turning but resulted in vibration and a high level of noise. Furthermore, the machining time was still too long for Bamann. About 100 minutes were needed to produce the groove and each cutter was able to complete only 30 components before the inserts needed to be changed. Further process optimisation was called for.

Niedermeier proposed a 40mm diameter, high-feed DAH mill with five triple-edged inserts. At a cutting speed of 150m/min, the tool is helically interpolated into the rotating workpiece with a continuous infeed depth of 1mm and 0.8mm feed per tooth. The new machining time for the recess is now just seven minutes per component, more than 14 times faster, and the life of the indexable inserts has increased threefold to 90 components per edge. 

Bamann confirmed: “We are very happy with the result. Using the high-feed milling cutter has reduced the cycle time considerably and the load on the machine has also decreased, as cutting pressure and vibration are lower. There is still more potential for machining improvement.”

Established in 1964 and now in its second generation of ownership, Jörg Bamann Mechanische Werkstatt CNC mills and turns parts for customers in a variety of industries in batch sizes ranging from one-off to series production. The company’s many years of experience in processing steels including stainless, aluminium alloys, non-ferrous metals, titanium and plastics are a testament to its expertise and versatility. The use of modern CAD/CAM systems enables components to be machined quickly and cost-effectively to meet customer requirements.

Aviation is on the up despite titanium-tough conditions

The return of wide body aircraft, growth in business jets, expected higher defence spending and a big sustainability drive including hydrogen propulsion. These are some of the trends shaping the recovery of aerospace manufacturing through 2022 and into 2023. Will Stirling reports.

Making components for aircraft demands resilience: the months of work required to pass rigorous accreditation is not for the jobbing manufacturer. After some very good years, suppliers to the aerospace primes had to dig deep in 2020 and 2021 as orders nosedived. So, 2022 was a recovery year despite some headline bumps, like Rolls-Royce’s falling share price (it has rallied since mid-October and broke the £1 mark on 4 January), and the forecast is good. The year’s end was strong for aircraft deliveries, with 92 single aisle aircraft and 24 widebodies delivered globally to customers in November, as the industry continues to recover from the slump of 2020 and 2021. A successful December marked 1,000 deliveries in 2022 for the first time in three years, a year that saw the fastest pace of orders since 2015. The collapse in wide body aircraft (WBAs) during Covid punished the industry, but these bigger aircraft are returning.

In December, United Airlines placed an order for 100 new 787 Dreamliners with options to add 100 more – the biggest WBA order by a US carrier in commercial aviation history. Flying hours for large engine aircraft continued to increase across 2022, good news for Derby-headquartered Rolls-Royce, although these are still below pre-pandemic 2019 levels. A low pound valuation, touted as a blessing for UK exporters, is less helpful for companies with international operations. Here some aerospace companies tell MTD what’s happening and their expectations for 2023. Fortunes have differed across regions and business segments. “The Midlands was badly affected by the pandemic because there is a lot of dependence on the large, long distance aircraft like the 787 and A350, through Rolls-Royce but also through other customers, who were worst affected by the pandemic and are the ones that are still slowest to recover,” says Dr Andrew Mair, CEO of the Midlands Aerospace Alliance. “The Midlands is recovering more slowly than some other regions, just as it benefited more than other regions in the boom around 2015.” “For 2022 highlights, the Airbus single aisle 320 family is still ramping up as Airbus tries to take market share from Boeing. Business jets were, possibly unexpectedly, very positive. During the pandemic, those who could afford them were using business jets for health and safety reasons. Defence hasn’t changed, it has been steady all the way through. A boost related to the Ukraine War is potentially going to come. Diversification was a theme in the last three years, as companies sought new business outside aerospace.

 

It’s much easier to switch out of the tightly regulated aerospace work into general manufacturing, than the reverse.” Aerospace is such a long term game that big programmes ride out downturns and, often, recessions. Several prime companies are invested in Airbus’ Wing of Tomorrow (WoT) technology programme, where GKN’s new £32m Global Technology Centre in Bristol is a key partner. Wing of Tomorrow captures wing design, materials, manufacturing methods and even propulsion systems designed to reduce the carbon emissions of flying. GKN’s H2GEAR programme has recently reported good news. After its first round of system level trade studies into hydrogen fuel systems, showed that GKN’s developments in the fuel cell system integration, combined with hyperconducting power network and motor drive systems, will enable hydrogen electric propulsion to be scaled up more quickly than was originally expected.

JJ Churchill in Market Bosworth changed considerably through the pandemic. Despite huge order books, when the nearly debt-free family business needed a credit facility for working capital, the bank said no, and that “aerospace and aviation were ‘too risky’”. It is now majority-owned by a US private equity company that understands the order book and the risk profile. JJ Churchill specialises in manufacturing blades for gas-turbines and is strongly vertically integrated.

About 90% of the business is focused on aerospace and, specifically, high value turbine blades which are more technically demanding. It still supplies compressor blades, including most recently for the Rolls-Royce Ultrafan development project. As wide-body civil aerospace orders slumped, the 84 year-old company switched to business jets – a segment less impacted by the pandemic. “Private jet travel grew as Covid required social distancing and commercial flight options for higher net worth customers reduced,” says Executive Chairman Andrew Churchill. The company now supplies blades to engines for the Bombardier 6500 and Gulfstream 700 as well as the soon to be launched Gulfstream 800 and Dassault’s Falcon 10X business jet. The 10X is the first time the French-owned Dassault has used a Rolls-Royce engine platform, from their ‘Pearl’ family, in its history. “It has a been a tough time and, despite a £150m order from our biggest customer, the banks pulled their support – even though we hadn’t borrowed beyond standard asset finance for 15-years,” says Andrew. “I never thought we’d be PE-owned, but we now have a committed partner, a third of a £1 billion order book, a strong year ahead and a strategy to become a serious mid-cap company in the next five years. C’est la vie.”

The fortunes of aerospace can be reflected by sales of machinery popular in that sector. NCMT distributes and supports precision engineering companies with Okuma and Makino machine tools in the UK and was founded in 1964. The business is positive about this year. “Our perspective is that the aerospace sector has started to boom again,” says NCMT’s Sales Director, Ian Horton. “There has been a massive upturn in enquiries over the past five months and machine sales over the last two months have been as robust as in 2018 and 2019, which were very good years. Business is spread evenly across airframe and engine component manufacture, large and small machine tools, both for the Makino and Okuma, both Japanese brands. Coincidentally, two very large orders were received the day these words were written (late December).

VIPER grinding of blades and vanes on the Makino machine platform is also coming back strongly,” Ian adds. Sylatech is a multi-discipline business in North Yorkshire specialising in investment casting, RF microwave technology and CNC machining. It has been involved in the ‘Sharing in Growth’ programme that assists SME precision engineering firms to qualify for new contracts and grow. About 80% of the business is in aerospace and defence and space, and the company recently decided to define a STRATEGY focusing on aerospace, defence and space and communicate its strategy to the workforce. “Civil aerospace in 2022 bounced back very strongly, we are looking at about 20% growth in 2022 and it’s possibly slightly stronger than pre-pandemic,” says Commercial Director Gordon Gunn. “Much of what we make goes into all sizes of aircraft, including parts fitted into the weather radar, within the aircraft nose cone. We also make static dischargers, so we have versatility.”

Parting of the Ways

Back in the seventies, ISCAR introduced SELF-GRIP, the brand name of the original parting tool design concept. The concept of the SELF-GRIP tool (Fig. 1) was a pressed carbide insert clamped into a tool blade using the blade’s elastic forces without the need for mechanical securing elements. The SELF-GRIP tool proved to be a game changer in parting. 

ISCAR quickly established its name as an authority in parting applications. Today, ISCAR’s ongoing inventions of new parting tools continue to attract great interest.

In parting, the rigidity of insert clamping is a key factor. The desire to achieve economical use of workpiece material dictates the ultimate reduction in cutting width. An increase in the diameter of the workpiece leads to an increase in the tool’s overhang. The narrow width of the insert and the blade can degrade the tool’s dynamic behaviour and ultimately affects machining performance. Improving rigidity and increasing strength to assure effective cutting are key factors when designing a parting tool.

The SELF-GRIP has been upgraded and expanded and the evolution exemplifies a logical progression of highly engineered solutions throughout several generations of R&D engineers. Pinpointed high pressure coolant (HPC) provides advantages for better parting performance by decreasing cutting temperatures by assuring excellent chip breaking, which improves surface finish and prolongs tool life. In machining difficult-to-cut heat-resistant superalloys and austenitic stainless steel, HPC reduces or even eliminates the built-up edge phenomenon. 

The production of effective inner coolant channels in thin tool blades is a difficult engineering task. One of the ISCAR solutions is the DO-GRIP parting tools, which carry an insert with two cutting edges. The edges are twisted relative to each other; thus, the non-working edge does not limit the cutting depth of the tool. (Fig. 2).

                   

The PENTACUT family of star-shaped carbide inserts were originally designed for parting small diameter workpieces. These inserts provide five cutting edges and are clamped in the pocket by a screw that passes through the insert’s central hole.  The evolution of 5 cornered inserts proved difficult when cutting large diameter workpieces. The insert needed to grow, making the task problematic and economically impractical.  The solution was the PENTA-IQ-GRIP – parting tools with five cutting edges. They enable parting in diameters up to 40mm with an innovative dovetail securing principle. The tools utilise relatively small inserts. In addition, there are PENTA-IQ-GRIP tools with an HPC option (Fig. 3).

The SELF-GRIP concept used the elastic behaviour of a parting blade. This paved the road for the TANG-GRIP which functions on the principle of support for the insert to counteract cutting forces applied on the tool. (Fig. 4). The orientation of the insert pocket was changed compared to the SELF-GRIP tool design, and therefore support is achieved by the long and rigid rear wall of the pocket. TANG-GRIP has a solid stopper, unlike the friction retaining force that characterises most parting systems that feature a self-clamping insert. This eliminates insert pull-out. 

There is also another side of the ‘parting’ coin – increasing the feed rate causes an increase in cutting forces. This worsens when the bar diameter and depth of penetration become larger, resulting in blade deflection. The method of utilising Y-axis parting is a way to overcome the problem. Y-axis parting is common on multi-tasking machines with a Y-axis drive that assures appropriate feed motion.

Compared to traditional parting, Y-axis parting improves the dynamic behaviour by using tangential cutting forces. When parting in the direction of radial forces, blade rigidity is reduced.  Once again, ISCAR invented a solution with the LOGIQ-F-GRIP, a new tool family characterised by a square adapter with four inserts mounted on each of its cutting tips. (Fig. 5). The adapter combines both blade orientations (in X and Y-directions) which provide a balanced-rigid design. The adapter has 4 insert pockets and prolongs tool life. 

When searching for the right parting tool, all manufacturers stand at the parting of the ways. ISCAR’s milestones in creating parting systems demonstrates its commitment to advanced solutions to meet customer demands.

On the right track

When Warrington-based Jones Nuttall reviewed the overall service and support from its supply chain partners, cutting tool vendors were under the microscope. This forensic review opened the door to the perfect supply chain solution – UK cutting tool manufacturer, Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC). 

Located in the North-West, Jones Nuttall is a subcontractor with more than 60 employees that supply more than 30,000 different parts to over 250 clients every year. Clients includes names such as the London Underground, Network Rail, the Linde Group, ScotRail, Bombardier and countless others in the rail, energy and offshore sectors. The versatile machine shop has over 12 CNC Hurco milling machines, and 8 CNC lathes including Mazak, Hurco and Cincinnati. 

Producing everything from 1-offs and small batches up to runs of 1000+, the company utilises everything from solid carbide and indexable tools for turning, milling, drilling and threading. When the company was witnessing indifferent service from its regular vendors, a situation created from staff changeovers, and extended product supply lead-times from overseas – it turned to ITC.

Supporting Jones Nuttall, ITC Technical Sales Engineer, Chris Fairbrother says: “We understood the issues faced by Jones Nuttall and introduced ITC product ranges. To emphasise the quality of the ITC tools, we first manufactured special form tools for hydraulic components used in the fluid control industry. With supply chain issues from its previous vendor on special tools, we understood the requirements, providing technical support and then manufacturing special tools with a rapid turnaround time. The tools performed exceptionally well, and this laid a foundation of trust and confidence in the ITC brand.”

With the relationship rapidly blossoming, Jones Nuttall incrementally introduced more ITC solid carbide end mills and drills to its shop floor with impressive results. As ITC’s Chris Fairbrother adds: “Initially, the performance of the ITC solid carbide end mills reduced tooling costs by more than 20% at Jones Nuttall. Reaching beyond the reduced tooling costs, we also demonstrated impressive productivity gains. This has been achieved in many instances by introducing the BIG KAISER back-ends to improve rigidity, stability and runout. By combining the Widia VariMill Xtreme end mills and BIG KAISER back-ends, we have delivered some exceptional results.” 

With such impressive results, ITC has now installed a vending machine at Jones Nuttall and the extremely diverse range of ITC, Widia, BIG KAISER, BASS and Kemmler products are all suppliers to the subcontract manufacturer.

ITC proved its value when trialling tools on clevis connector components for the rail industry. The company machines over 1000 clevis components from EN8 steel each month on its large bed Hurco machining centre. With a cycle time of 30 minutes per part, ITC’s Chris Fairbrother initially introduced the Widia VariMill Xtreme solid carbide end mill for machining an 18mm wide slot. By combining the Widia VariMill Xtreme and BIG KAISER back-ends, the 45mm deep slot was machined in four passes with a DOC of 11.25mm at 175m/min spindle speed and 0.06mm feed per tooth. Producing two slots per part, the Widia VariMill Xtreme extended tool life from 40 parts to 120 parts whilst slashing cycle times from 30 minutes to 12 minutes.

After seeing the significant productivity gains achieved, unbelievable tool life and high material removal rates, ITC was invited to trial the Widia Varimill Xtreme on a clamping screw component. Once again, the results proved impressive with the cycle time reducing from 5 minutes to 30 seconds. This set a precedent, but the ITC engineer could see the potential to go further. 

ITC was given the opportunity to continue trials on the clevis parts. With a discount and special offer on the Widia TopCut 4 indexable drilling line, the Widia TopCut 4 was successfully trialled and implemented on the longstanding clevis components. Moving from carbide-tipped HSS drills to the Widia TopCut 4, Jones Nuttall once again witnessed improved process reliability, productivity and cost reductions. Drilling to a DOC of 44mm with a 20mm diameter Widia TopCut 4, the cycle time was reduced from 1 minute to just 8 seconds.

Hexagon Creates Shopfloor Synergy

Formed out of a previous company that had been trading since 1976, Tooling 2000 has invested more than £1.8 million in the last two years in its 5-axis laser cutting and CNC machining departments. The investment also included the upgrading of some of its Hurco machining centres, keeping with the brand due to the ease-of-programming. For more complicated components that demand a high-end CAM solution, the company has turned to Hexagon. 

Gary Williams from Tooling 2000 says: “Hexagon software has created that synergy right from concept through to delivery of parts. We have opted for Hexagon software, so we can program our components off-line. We were predominantly working in the automotive sector for customers like Rolls-Royce and Bentley. What we are now looking to do with our increased investment is diversify into new market sectors such as general engineering, military and rail. Having Hexagon come on board and support us, I feel we can move into different industry sectors comfortably and competently.”

Picking up the story, Hexagon’s Marcus Gardner adds: “Hexagon has predominantly been known down the years as a metrology company, producing and providing solutions for CMMs right down to measuring equipment for inspection. The products being used from our portfolio at Tooling 2000 include VISI design, validation and creation of data imported from customers. They take that data once it is validated within VISI and move into the manufacturing world where Hexagon’s Work NC is used to manufacture components. This is used for everything from 2-axis right up to 5-axis simultaneous machining.”

“This provides machine verification and ‘prove-outs’ to reduce bottlenecks on the shop floor – this is completed with our product NCSIMUL. NCSIMUL takes the G-code verification and removes any operator errors from the business. Following the machining processes, we take this back to metrology, and we use the Romer Absolute Arm on the shop floor. This allows Tooling 2000 to take a part from the machine and conduct some quick analysis and measurement. For full-scale inspection, we have the CNC-controlled CMM and inspection area,” says Marcus. 

“Another major benefit of the Hexagon portfolio with it being in production software and metrology is that they all talk to each other seamlessly. This creates a link between the software and hardware and vice versa. For example, VISI can talk to the Romer Arm through a plug-and-play synergy. This gives us great belief in our products on the shop floor.”

Adding to this, Hexagon’s Philip Smith says: “What we have done at Tooling 2000, is we have taken the VISI software and the native data and then taken the feature data in Work NC to capture that data. With customers like Tooling 2000, we work on a project basis where we plan everything from the start, from training to testing the processes and the postprocessors to making sure the customers cannot have a collision. We also spend a lot of time building the tooling into the system. When we do this, we are also capturing the data from the machinists on the shop floor. We build this information into Work NC. As an example, we have taken one part from two days of programming to just four hours. That is the benefit of working with the customer, building a relationship and working with the tools around us to put that data and technology inside Work NC.”

“Once we have this configured, we apply NCSIMUL to run the raw G-code. This enables us to see if there are any offsets on the control, investigate the tool changes and optimise the G-code to provide an accurate cycle time that takes into account acceleration, deceleration, macros within the controls and tool changes.”

Concluding on the partnership with Hexagon, Gary Williams from Tooling 2000 says: “Having the Hexagon software on site now allows us to provide customers with more accurate quotes with a shorter lead time. The Romer Arm gives us the ability to reverse engineer projects on-site. It also gives us the ability to take the Arm off-site to capture data from larger jobs that cannot be brought in. This gives us the ability to reverse engineer and manufacture large components. Recognising OEM requirements, we have successfully attained IATF:16949 to support that, we have put in a CNC CMM that allows us to repeatedly and accurately check any production parts we manufacture. The CMM is driven by Hexagon software, once again creating that synergy from concept to delivery.”

A Vision for Quality

As a global supplier of complex components and assemblies to the aerospace sector, Benham Precision Engineering knows the meaning of quality. Its machining centres create parts such as manifolds, bodies, castings and casings – products that are critical to safety.

Based across the company’s two sites in Southampton, a team of engineers and an impressive technology suite is clear evidence of Benham’s ethos of continual improvement. That dedication has been a driving force behind the continued success. It has also played a major role in the decision to invest in the inspection side of its operations in recent years. It is the owner of three optical, non-contact measurement systems supplied by VICIVISION UK which, according to Programme Manager Joe Benham, has taken Benham’s metrology capabilities to a whole new level. 

He said: “Speed, repeatability and accuracy were three things we are looking for. Obviously, on-time delivery is absolutely essential, as well as the quality of the parts. We need to make sure that our customers can satisfy their demand requirements, but also maintaining the fact that a lot of our product is critical to flight safety and therefore the quality needs to be absolutely 100%.”

“What VICIVISION has provided is a reliable, repeatable, accurate measurement solution. We work down to sub 10-micron tolerances and we’re able to reliably repeat those processes using the equipment around us and the technology to verify what we’re doing. The VICIVISION machines have become evident as tools for reducing different methods of verification. Previously we would be utilising micrometers, height gauges and shadowgraphs to check components, now we’re capturing all of that within a minute on a VICIVISION machine. It’s completely revolutionised the way we inspect parts.”

VICIVISION’s optical measuring solutions cater for turned, ground and cylindrical parts. Using a combination of video camera technology and light projection to automatically deliver fast, detailed and consistent results independent of the operator. Whether it’s diameters, angles, orthogonalities or thread pitches, coaxialities, cylindricities, axial runouts or dynamic parallelisms, the most complex features can be inspected in seconds.

Having initially installed an MTL1, Benham now also runs two systems from VICIVISION’s Techno range. The wide measuring fields, impressive load capacities, high-resolution and intuitive software make the M306 and M309 suited to both current and future manufacturing demands.

The improvements they can contribute to a significant reduction in rejects and rework, immediately increasing throughput and positively impacting profitability. Mr Benham said: “The benefits were immediate. We could see from the first moment that we utilised the VICIVISION machine that the rate we were inspecting work increased. 

“We’ve seen reduced lead times, which has given us an advantage over other businesses within the sector in terms of enabling us to get the products to our customers quickly and efficiently. Going forward, we are looking to use the ProLink software in conjunction with the VICIVISION systems, so that we have real-time data for the operators at their work stations.”

Based at its Innovation Centre in Derbyshire, VICIVISION UK has a team of engineers with a knowledge of the full hardware and software range. By offering installation, calibration, fixturing solutions, programme creation, applications support and bespoke training, its turnkey packages make for smooth project set-ups so that customers will start reaping the advantages of optical measurement from day one. Mr Benham added: “The future looks very promising for Benham as we continue to invest in technology, people and processes. We want to very much focus on productivity through technology. We believe the use of optical measurement equipment to assist in that will be key. Having seen the capability of the VICIVISION equipment we knew it was a sound investment for Benham and we knew that the investment would be paid back. It’s enabled the business to move forward and up another level.”

Southern Manufacturing celebrates 25 years of success

As the largest annual engineering show in the UK manufacturing calendar, Southern Manufacturing & Electronics will return to the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre in Hampshire from 7th to 9th February. The event is a showcase for industry and engineering from across the UK, Ireland, continental Europe, the Americas and Asia, attracting thousands of visitors. 

With more than 600 companies in attendance from the production, mechanical, electrical and electronics engineering sectors, there will be plenty to see for everyone involved in the manufacturing arena. This will include suppliers of machine tools and tooling, workholding systems, metrology equipment for both tactile and non-contact measurement and inspection, test and inspection systems, finishing machines, laser cutting and marking equipment, additive manufacturing machines and consumables, industrial hardware, production and planning aids, and engineering and business software on show. Also exhibiting will be mechanical, electromechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical and electronic components and assemblies alongside sensors, drives, rotary encoders and linear scales. Prevalent will also be Industry 4.0 solutions, controls, displays, HMIs, data acquisition systems, augmented and virtual reality, robot and cobot machine tending, subcontract services and automation solutions. 

 

AutoAero will co-locate with Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2023 and there will be a specialist theme within the exhibition devoted to aerospace and automotive engineering. A technical seminar programme will run every day to give visitors and exhibitors alike valuable learning opportunities. Attendance by suppliers of machine tools and accessories will be especially strong this year. Ajax Machine Tools will show its CNC Atom lathes with Fagor and Siemens control options and Proton milling machines in 3, 4, and 5-axis versions with Siemens controls. Tube and pipe bending machines will be on the AMOB stand. Laser cutting, profiling and marking equipment company Boxford will display an integrated, floor-standing, CO2 laser capable of cutting and engraving materials from Perspex to wood. It will also exhibit a bench-top fibre laser capable of marking and engraving almost any metal.

Bruderer UK will promote its high-speed, spotting and try-out presses, coil and wire handling equipment, servo feeds, gas springs, roller and spray lubrication systems and tooling. Laser cutting capability integrated into a sliding-head lathe will be the highlight of the Citizen Machinery stand. Haas Automation will underscore its position as one of the world’s largest machine tool manufacturers at the show.

Chinese manufacturer Jinan Bodor CNC Machine Co will emphasise that its 30,000m2 super factory in Jinan is the world’s largest producing fibre laser cutting machines. It employs 2,100 staff including some 350 in R&D. Okuma and Makino agent NCMT will present a machining centre, turning centre and EDM platforms for extremely high accuracy part production, from stand-alone machines to complete production lines involving a high degree of automation. It will exhibit an Okuma M460V-5AX 5-axis VMC. Finally, YMT Technologies will promote its extensive range of machining centres, turning centres and integrated automation as well as Tuscan toolholders, machine vices, rotary tables and heat shrink machines.

Visitors will also be able to see workholding and automation solutions from 1st Machine Tool Accessories, Lang Technik and Thame, rotary tables from Lehmann, Roehm chucks, cutting tools from Guhring and ITC, Mate CNC punch press and press brake tooling and laser consumables, Oemeta coolants, cutting fluids, lubricants, greases and oils, Heidenhain controls, encoders, DROs, touch probes and length gauges, Servo Components & Systems’ linear electric actuators and motors, servo drives, brushless motors and gearheads, plus a vast array of washing, surface finishing and additive manufacturing machinery.

TMC makes Southern Show debut

In November, XYZ Machine Tools invited members of the press and customers to an Open House event at its Nuneaton showroom to announce the arrival of the new XYZ TMC (Toolroom Machining Centre). The new TMC will be a highlight at the forthcoming Southern Manufacturing and Electronics 2023 show where XYZ has taken two stands at the exhibition (H260 and G260).

One stand will be dedicated to the brand-new TMC range of machining centres that incorporates the renowned ProtoTRAK control system on the four machines in the range. This builds upon the existing linear rail machines offered by XYZ. 

“Our ProtoTRAK-controlled mills and lathes are a staple of many toolroom and low-volume environments, so the logical step was to add even greater versatility and options of progression for these users, with the development of the TMC range. Our success is built on that of our customers and, our machine tool development reflects the needs of customers to improve their machining performance in a controlled and efficient way,” says Nigel Atherton, Managing Director, XYZ Machine Tools.  

The introduction of the RMX ProtoTRAK® control system will provide familiarity for existing users of XYZ Bed Mills. For engineers less familiar, the touchscreen interface and easy-to-use programming tools will demonstrate how the control is ideal for low to medium production. With a fully enclosed machining envelope and a 12 or 20 station automatic tool changer, the XYZ TMC is suitable for businesses aiming to increase productivity in low to medium volume environments. The four machines are based upon the proven three-axis linear rail vertical machining centre carcass and are available with 500, 750, 1000 and 1600mm X-axis variants. Equipped with fully enclosed guarding, all models have an 11kW spindle motor with 8000rpm and an optional 12,000rpm spindle. 

The ProtoTRAK control provides a TRAKing feature that uses handwheel movement to prove the program whereby the faster the operator winds, the faster it machines. Stop or reverse the handwheel and the machine does the same. The TMC series is also fitted with a remote handwheel to move all axes. Furthermore, electronic handwheels are an option that enables users to use the machine like a bed mill, using the DRO facility for manual machining, while having the security of fully enclosed guarding. The RMX ProtoTRAK control also simplifies programming with the ability to program at the machine using its conversational programming software or offline programming with ProtoTRAK’s G-code compatibility for more complex 3D components. 

The latest RX control (RMX for milling and RLX for turning) adds even more features, including Enhanced ProtoTRAK Assistance (EPA) that gives instant access to in-depth support during the programming/operating procedure. This feature addresses the change in skill sets whereby upcoming machinists may have lower levels of engineering/metal cutting experience but higher acceptance of computer technology. Adding to this, the Auto Geometry Engine (AGE) is a specific feature that is effectively a CAD capability within the control, allowing users to overcome issues when data is lacking from drawings. Touchscreen capability takes AGE a step further with its new ‘Tap to Guess’ feature that shows the part on-screen and allows users to tap the screen where the intersection or tangent point is unknown, automatically calculating the dimension data. 

Complementing this is the Adaptive Toolpath feature. More commonly found on high-end CAD/CAM systems, the ‘look’ feature now runs alongside the inputs for program verification along with live updating of program events. This will also show a conventional toolpath and give the user estimated cycle times to ensure the most efficient method has been selected. The control also comes with the option of adding a DXF Converter that completely streamlines DXF file imports, eliminating the need for supplementary software. A further development is an ability to mix DXF and manual programming during program generation, giving the user total flexibility, facilitated by the touchscreen. The RMX ProtoTRAK control is also capable of handling Parasolid 3D model files, making the machining of more complex 3-dimensional parts straightforward. 

“With over 15,000 ProtoTRAK controlled mills and lathes installed in the UK extending the use of this versatile, flexible and productivity enhancing control will be a relatively straightforward step for many toolroom, low-volume production environments. Throughout the past 1-2 years we have continued to innovate, and these new developments will bring ProtoTRAK and XYZ Machine Tools to a wider audience,” concludes Nigel Atherton.

Charging onwards

Welcome to the final MTD magazine issue for 2022. As we turn the page on 2022 and look towards 2023, are you excited and upbeat about the opportunities that 2023 has to offer – or are you a cautious optimist? No, I’m not interested in the pessimists’ perspective, it’s something that is somewhat fuelled by the negative narrative of the mainstream media – was 2022 really that bad? 

Ok, so inflation has taken off, there’s the Ukrainian war, global political unrest, our household and business energy bills are rising, our beloved Queen has passed and in the middle of all this – government is an unmitigated disaster. But compared to the pandemic, it’s really not that bad! Covid genuinely was ‘unprecedented’ and we’ve all come out more resilient than ever before. Whilst the tail end of 2021 brought a slim scattering of exhibitions, 2022 brought us MACH, the Farnborough Airshow and more recently IMTS, AMB and the Advanced Engineering show. As Covid is pushed further back in the rearview mirror, the shows are increasingly well attended. 

The MTD team has recently been to events at Hexagon (see pages 24 to 26), XYZ, ISCAR, Citizen, AXYZ and FANUC, and countless others are yet to come throughout the remaining weeks of the year. It’s great to see and feel the buzz of events and the confidence of engineers to actually visit events. The IMTS and AMB shows introduced a glut of new innovations that will be present at many of the autumn events and it’s exciting to see our readers out there investigating the opportunities to drive their businesses forward. 

In Will Stirling’s end-of-year review, he looks at both the challenges and opportunities of the manufacturing sector and provides some statistics from the MTA’s Geoff Noon. We also have some great features in our regular sections as well as the second of a two-part report on Prima Power. We also have a special ‘Women in Manufacturing’ report where we talk to Philippa Glover from CNC Robotics and Nicole Pellizzon from Autodesk, two inspirational ladies that are trailblazers in the industry. They talk to MTD about everything from James Bond and rockets to role models, mentors and the UK’s industrial strategy.  

UK Manufacturing & Engineering SMEs report high levels of job vacancies

Many manufacturers are now considering a 4-day working week

The UK’s Manufacturing & Engineering SMEs are continuing to report high levels of vacancies as the unemployment rate in the UK remains close to its lowest level since the 1970s, and while demand for talent is starting to slow (the number of job vacancies fell slightly for the first time since August 2020), many firms are considering moving to a four-day week. 

l 62% (UK average: 59%) of Manufacturing & Engineering firms currently have vacancies 

l 50% (UK average: 51%) have struggled to fill vacancies over the last 12 months   

l 37% (UK average: 38%) think there’s a skills shortage in the industry 

The latest independent research* from Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing reveals that 62% of Manufacturing & Engineering respondents to the survey indicated they had vacancies available. 

For many Manufacturing & Engineering businesses (51%), filling a vacancy has been a struggle over the past 12 months. The length of time it takes to fill a vacancy varies, but for 50% of firms, it ranges between two to three months, while for 33%, it typically takes up to 30 days. Around 14% of businesses find it upwards of four months to find a suitable candidate for a role. 

Yet, despite business owners saying recruitment has been a struggle, it doesn’t appear to be more difficult than it was previously, with 44% of the view it’s ‘the same as it’s always been’; 32% feel it’s ‘easier than before’ while 20% find it ‘more difficult’. 

Skills crisis?

With much having been said and written about the skills crisis, our research shows nearly two in five respondents are of the view their sector faces a skills crisis, while 46% say there is not; 17% are unsure.  

Four-day week

Interestingly, over half (60%) of firms polled have either already implemented a shorter working week (17%) or are considering it (43%); 35% are not considering it and the rest are ‘unsure’. Unsurprisingly, London tops the list of regions most likely to implement a four-day week, followed by East Anglia. 

Our view

“Small businesses are facing a multitude of pressures, but one thing we do know and understand is how resilient they are,” said Steve Gee, CEO of Close Brothers Asset Finance’s Industrial Equipment Division. “There are many options available to employees and employers are having to be creative to ensure they can attract the talent they need to guarantee success.” 

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from a Censuswide survey conducted in July 2022. The survey canvassed the opinion of 911 SME owners across the UK and Ireland and across several industries on a range of issues affecting their businesses. 

www.closeasset.co.uk

Give us the parts and we’ll finish the job

Reviewing the state of play in late 2022 and looking ahead, companies that manufacture goods in the UK will be writing a very long Christmas list. Political and fiscal stability, yes, plus lower energy costs, lower inflation, control of interest rates, access to workers, and more orders. Above all, though, they need faster delivery times of parts. Will Stirling reports.

MTD’s content is unashamedly positive in its promotion of manufacturing. But it is difficult to be exclusively positive when reviewing the sector in 2022 and looking immediately ahead. Barclays’ weekly newsletter on the sector, in October, says recent ONS data shows turnover in the manufacturing sector decreased by 9.2% in 2022, from £636bn to £577bn, while the number of people employed in manufacturing decreased by 1.7%, compared to the previous year. 

It adds that the total number of manufacturing businesses has fallen from 270,000 at the start of 2021 to 244,140 in 2022. The decrease in the number of companies can be attributed to falling orders in an economic slowdown, with output falling for the third month in a row, and orders declining for a fourth consecutive month in September 2022.

Companies are under intense pressure – a phrase that is becoming a cliché – from multiple forces. Supply shortages, a doubling of energy costs, raw material inflation, and the low availability and ‘stickiness’ of skilled employees. Energy costs alone are a serious issue but energy-intensive businesses like steelmaking have access to special energy cost support from the government. Pay levels are under immense pressure because of high inflation and unions are taking industrial action every week. It is tough out there.

Despite the newsreel of difficulties, positives include substantial tax relief on capital equipment purchases, a recovery in aerospace orders, electrification opportunities and regular news of factory investment. Tevva Trucks has opened a new factory in Tilbury to manufacture electric trucks, Stellantis’ Luton plant has manufactured the first FIAT van in the UK, Guala Closures is investing £36m in a super-factory in Lanarkshire and KLA Corporation, a US manufacturer of electronics equipment, plans to build a new R&D and manufacturing centre in Newport, Wales. Battery manufacture capacity, such as a potential new factory by Taiwan’s ProLogium, is growing constantly there are many more anecdotal stories of factory investment.

But choosing the UK as the preferred location for big new factories of global companies that employ hundreds of workers is, at the moment, a very tough sell. Weeks of political discord, the falling pound and costly borrowing rates for government bonds have eroded the UK’s international reputation. Even with a new prime minister with Chancellor experience, it will take a mighty effort to restore this in a medium-term timescale. 

Cries of ‘We cannot get the parts’ ring out across the land

Give us the tools, and we will finish the job. Politics aside, the biggest factor influencing manufacturing is the shortage of key components. Born of the Covid pandemic, huge demand bottlenecks for semiconductors or chips and the electronics they are found in needed to build cars, aircraft, white goods and machine tools are still unwinding and look set to continue.  PP Control & Automation needs products like PLC controllers to build its range of power control units. “2022 has been a challenging year for many manufacturers in controls & automation, albeit order books among UK-based OEMs are strong and demand is maintaining,” says CEO, Tony Hague. “The overriding negative has been the availability of parts, with lead times once estimated for 1-2 weeks now turning into 18-24 months. That is the scale of the problem, driven by the scarcity of micro-electronics.” Tony is positive about suppliers’ ability to grow in 2023, but this gross delay in parts is an existential problem that will simply thwart the potential for growth.

Because semiconductors are found in everything from a vacuum cleaner to an Xbox, when Covid annihilated ‘semcon’ supplied from Taiwan, Korea and China, every manufacturing segment caught a cold. Machinery builders, MTD’s sweet spot, have been heavily affected. “Constraints in delivering machines come from the problem in getting electronic components (mainly for controls); the problems this caused for the automotive industry is well known but it equally applies to machinery suppliers, including machine tools,” says statistician at the MTA, Geoff Noon. “In our Business Survey, discounting the number one answer about constraints on activity which is always ‘lack of orders’, in both the first and second quarters of 2022, the most commonly reported constraint (and not just from machinery companies) was ‘delivery from suppliers. Early signs for the Q3 survey are that while this may have slipped back, it remains a significant problem.” 

Substantial tax relief is working

To counteract, if not precisely, pressures from supply shortages and inflation, machinery buyers now have generous capital allowances to reduce their tax bill. Firstly, companies had the Annual Investment Allowance to write down capital spending against tax, then from April 2021 to March 2023, the Super Deduction scheme offers 130% first-year relief on qualifying main rate plant and machinery investments until 31 March 2023. The Treasury introduced this because existing low levels of business investment have fallen further since the pandemic, reducing by 11.6% between Q3 2019 and Q3 2020. 

Geoff Noon says: “We believe the super deduction had a positive impact on capital spending although it is hard to see in the data yet because machinery and related software is a relatively small part of the overall investment data in which analysts look for the impact. In our survey of visitors at MACH, 58% said that they had increased their investment plans for the coming 12 months as a result of the super deduction scheme (broadly the period to the end of the

scheme) and 39% said that the enhanced Annual Investment Allowance (temporary extension to £1m at the time but recently announced by the Chancellor to be permanent) had boosted their plans.”

The MTA also say that changes in the automotive industry are affecting the machine tool industry profoundly. Honda has closed its plant, automotive output suffered terribly during Covid and while retail sales at Jaguar Land Rover are up by 88,121 by 30 September (a 9.3% increase on the previous quarter) and there is some recovery, volumes are struggling in 2022 as cars transition to electric. 

“The move to electric/hybrid vehicles is an issue for the machine tool industry, especially where the UK makes more IC engines than we do cars,” says Noon. “Recent studies in Europe suggest that compared to a conventional car, a hybrid vehicle needs 105% of the machine tools in its manufacture but a pure battery-driven vehicle needs only about 60% of the machine tools. We have probably seen the last major investment in new internal combustion engine facilities (there will be some replacement spending in the next few years) which will limit the growth in machine tool demand even in the short-term.”

On the plus side Arrival, along with Tevva the UK’s newest vehicle manufacturer at scale, has produced its first production verification vehicle from its micro factory in Bicester, finished its first batch of vans for road testing in September.

Aerospace recovery gaining speed, plus 2023 outlook

After a punishing two and half years, civil aerospace is beginning to recover, order books for Airbus and Boeing are growing and some companies have a near-plump pipeline of orders. ADS, the aerospace trade body, says that in April 2022 aircraft orders collapsed by 40% from their 2019 highs, and ADS’ latest figures showed this had improved by only 2% since 2022. But head of communications Alexander Hamilton says many signs are positive. “Firstly, deliveries have picked up, which is a good sign of both demand and manufacturing capacity. Flight numbers from and to the UK are just 15%, in Europe 12%, down on pre-pandemic levels, so while lower, this is well up on where it was 12-months ago. Long-term production rate forecasts from Airbus and Boeing are strong, with both looking to ramp production up to pre-pandemic levels – to about 64 aircraft per month for Airbus – in the next two years.” 

This ramp-up will pass on to suppliers and ADS expects an end-of-year push in aerospace production. If there has been a move in the complexion of what aerospace companies make in the UK, there has been a strong emphasis on more composite structures, R&D and manufacture, in recent years. “There is more investment in R&D in composites, thermoplastics and testing now. The Wing of Tomorrow programme covers some of this,” says Aimie Stone, ADS’ senior economist.

SMEs are often the bellwether for sector health as orders trickle down the supply chain, and Produmax in Shipley is a good example. The company specialises in the design and manufacture of flight control components. Some diversification has been key. “During the pandemic, we have onboarded about 10 blue chip customers, within and outside civil aerospace,” Finance Director Mandy Ridyard says. “We’ve diversified into more countries, companies and platforms – obviously a heavy shift into narrow-body aircraft. The pandemic democratised locations: as no suppliers could visit OEMs and tier ones, it became easier for you to visit them cold – distance became no barrier with covid. We became more successful at engaging with new customers.”

The pandemic hit all aerospace companies hard, but Mandy says now Produmax is seeing growth – not in the volumes they wanted in 2022, but now at a pace, they never would have expected. “Next year our turnover will be greater than pre-pandemic; 15%-20% bigger in 2023 than this year, and thereafter almost double our size pre-pandemic. Necessity has been the mother of invention.”

There are many challenges manufacturing firms must handle, fix, solve or fudge in 2023, but most of them have been here before. Political stability, control of interest rates and improving the flow of critical components are three must-haves. “Looking ahead into 2023 and assuming we avoid a global economic meltdown and full-blown recession, UK manufacturing, with its incredible resilience and innovative nature is still well positioned for growth,” says PP C&A’s Tony Hague. “The automation space has guaranteed growth. Automation is needed to reduce our reliance on labour availability, reduce energy consumption, reduce overall manufacturing costs, and drive increased productivity.”

CAM system underpins 400% revenue increase

Founded in 2018, Nerc Precision Engineering Ltd (NPE) was set-up by Konrad Nerc as an instrument to help the entrepreneur ‘follow his dreams’. Working a full-time job whilst setting up NPE, the Bristol-based business owner is now making those dreams a reality with the installation of a DMG MORI 3 and 5-axis machining centres and Leadwell 3 axis machining centres– all programmed with Fusion 360 CAM software from Autodesk.

Since its inception, the company located near Bristol airport has undertaken subcontracting work in the defence, offshore and power generation, general precision engineering, automotive and aerospace sectors. Bristol is one of the UK’s major aerospace manufacturing clusters with local aerospace businesses including Leonardo, Airbus, GKN, Boeing, Safran and many others, so it was a prudent move for the company to recently move into this once-again thriving local marketplace. Aerospace manufacturing is inherently challenging with components that often require complex 5-axis machining from materials that are expensive and difficult to machine.

Recalling the early days of NPE, Managing Director, Konrad Nerc reflects: “When I first started NPE, I researched many different CNC machines and CAM software to see which ones would best meet my needs. It was evident that Autodesk’s Fusion 360 was the most suitable system for our business. As the business evolved into complex 5-axis machining, many of my competitors were using the same high-end CAM system, so the logical choice was for me to do the same – after all, if it’s good enough for them, it should be great for me”. This diversion away from Fusion 360 resulted in multiple technical problems and lengthy implementation delays that meant the system ultimately failed to meet NPE’s needs. Konrad goes on to explain: “When you spend tens of thousands of pounds on a CAM system, you naturally expect it to deliver great results. We provide a top-quality service to our end customers, but the CAM system was causing us too much pain so we decided to look at alternatives. It was apparent that the 5-axis strategies and the Machining Extension within Fusion 360 was all I ever needed.” 

 The ISO: 9001: 2015 registered business fully embraced Autodesk Fusion 360 and the Machining Extension, and it hasn’t looked back since. Commenting on Fusion 360, Konrad says: “Our business has grown by 400% in just over a year and we can attribute a lot of this growth to Fusion 360. Fusion 360 is a CAM system that is ‘made for making parts’.”

To understand the impact that Fusion 360 has had on this company on the Gloucestershire and Somerset borders, it is worth understanding the type of work undertaken. Like many subcontractors, NPE produces anything from prototypes and small batches up to short production runs in the region of 5000 components – all with geometries and complexities varying greatly from one job to the next. 

Getting the right (CAM) tools for the job

Fusion 360 is undoubtedly a leading CAM system for 3- and 5-axis machining, simultaneously it is also an industry-leading system for start-ups and small businesses looking to make their first steps into CAM – a system for all companies and applications. 

As Konrad explains: “The previous system wasn’t a good fit for our business, but Fusion 360 is perfect. It has an extremely cost-effective price point making it a great choice for start-up businesses. In our case, we needed 5-axis programming tools, so we adopted the Machining Extension. I’m the first to admit that Fusion doesn’t offer every single option seen in some of the more expensive packages, but it does everything I need and I’m not paying extra money for features I don’t use. In my view, it is better than other so-called market-leading systems.”

 

The Shop Floor

Whilst batch runs can extend into the thousands, NPE is typically producing up to 10 different types of parts in a day – all with different batch sizes. This makes the programming speed of the CAM system critical for getting jobs through the shop as quickly as possible. Discussing this, Konrad says: “Producing lots of different parts, we needed a CAM system that fits with our business and can compress our programming times. We have default tool positions set up in each of our machining centres with some special tools in the remaining tool positions in the automatic tool carousels. Likewise, we have a corresponding tool library set up in Fusion 360 with default tool positions in each tool pot of the machines’ tooling carousels. Within the Fusion 360 tool library, we also have default speed and feed settings for each tool. When this is all set up, Fusion makes it as easy as selecting the appropriate face mill or end mill and hitting the ‘OK’ button.”

NPE now has three seats of Fusion 360 with two seats also incorporating the Machining Extension. Alluding to this, Konrad adds: “Each machinist programs and runs their jobs from start to finish, programming the jobs with Fusion 360 at the machine. This gives every machinist a completely rounded skill set and avoids the potential bottleneck of having just one programmer in the office – it also instils a sense of ownership and pride when a machinist follows the job from drawing to delivery.”

“When we first receive a drawing or model from a customer, we input that straight into Fusion 360 and the machinists program the parts and make any necessary amendments at the machine.”   

Streamlining Production

With NPE programming approximately 10 different parts a day, the speed of programming is critical to throughput. As Konrad adds: “The programming time with Fusion 360 is 50 to 100% faster than with our previous system – this makes a huge impact on our throughput and subsequently our profitability. What Fusion 360 gives us is the least amount of clicks to get my spindles turning. This means we can make more parts every day.” Most manufacturers have focused on automation, and NPE is no exception: “Automation is so important and can make or break a business. We’ve built a reputation for delivering projects faster than our competitors and this is at least in part thanks to Fusion. We use some of the smart strategies, like Steep & Shallow and Feature Recognition to simplify programming. For example, Fusion 360 can recognise an M3 thread in the CAD and automatically assign a 2.5mm diameter drill for that feature. This saves us huge amounts of time and stress, and means we can shorten our production times.”  

“Not only does Fusion 360 compress our programming times, but it also has industry-leading toolpath strategies. We recently won a major aerospace contract and whilst we weren’t the cheapest option for the customer, we can turn parts around faster than anyone else and to a higher quality – this was the defining difference in why we won the business. Fusion 360 was instrumental in this. The toolpath strategies are making a significant difference to our surface finishes and the blending of surfaces – this is having a major impact on the aesthetics and quality of our parts.” 

 Reflecting on the adoption of Fusion 360, Konrad says: “Fusion is ideal for all types of manufacturing business. Sure, you get CAD and CAM and the price is really appealing but there’s more to it than that. The time and effort needed to get it up and running was much lower too. Our previous system took weeks to learn and involved expensive training courses – during which time our machinists were busy and couldn’t work on customer projects. That’s tough for any business to handle, and is especially true for a startup. Fusion is different, we trained ourselves using YouTube  videos, were machining by the end of day one, and delivering finished customer parts by the end of the first week.” When asked about the ongoing costs, Konrad explains: “Some people aren’t keen on software subscriptions, I don’t know why as they work perfectly for us. There’s no huge upfront payment, and I only pay for the products and tools that I need when I use them.” 

Thinking about the future at NPE, we probe into Konrad’s plans. He smiles: “When I look back at the early days of NPE, I know I made some good and bad choices – swapping to Fusion 360 is definitely one of the better ones. Autodesk played a big part in getting to where we are now, but I’m even more excited about what’s coming in the months ahead.”

“I signed up to be part of the Fusion 360 preview team, meaning I get early access to future functionality. I’ve already started using the new 5-axis deburring toolpath and I love how it works. Even though it’s not been fully released yet, it’s allowing my team to improve the quality of the parts we make, making us more competitive. With so many powerful options coming, we are excited about the potential. Autodesk and Fusion 360 have empowered our business.”

Delivering process visibility

Founded in 1979, the RJ Group has primarily been involved in the production of automotive components since its inception. Located in San Giorgio Canavese near Turin, the Italian manufacturer now has manufacturing sites on three continents. To succeed in this highly competitive industry sector, the RJ Group is continually striving to improve its production and processes – it is here that Siemens has delivered a multitude of benefits.  

With a client list that includes globally recognised automotive brands such as Maserati, Fiat Chrysler Automotive, Iveco, Volvo and Daimler, the company produces components ranging from cabin lifting brackets to engine brackets, supports to complete injection pump supports, exhaust manifolds to belt tensioners, pulleys, assembled wheel hubs, bearing bushes, fan supports and oil pans. This range of components are produced at the North Italian facility that has a complete suite of Heller machine tools in its 110,000sq/m factory. The Heller machines are controlled with Siemens CNC systems, so when the company wanted to optimise its already impressive productivity levels – it called upon Siemens to help.

Nicola Cescato from Siemens says: “The objective was to help the RJ Group get better visibility of their processes, their machine performance and also extract better performance and optimise machining processes.”

To undertake all of this, Siemens engineers needed to evaluate existing processes. Discussing this, Nicola Cescato adds: “We use Manage My Machines, which is a cloud-based application based on MindSphere that can monitor and record performance to give visibility of all aspects of the production shop floor; and then we decided to be even bolder. Even though the RJ Group is very good at optimising and leveraging the maximum performance, they can use the adaptive control application from Siemens to further cut cycle times.”

“This was a challenge because the RJ Group is already mastering their productivity, their machines and their processes. However, we realised that with this software that measures the torque of the spindle and adjusts the feed rate, we were able to gain significant time in these processes.”

Considering the thousands of Siemens CNC control systems already operating in the manufacturing sector worldwide, Nicola Cescato continues: “Most of the Siemens controllers are supported by this technology, even the older control systems. So, for other controllers, we have hardware that can be added to achieve the same performance level. This means that manufacturers can utilise Siemens as a consultant like we have worked at the RJ Group to achieve these performance benefits.”

Alluding to the return on investment (ROI) at the RJ Group, Nicola adds: “The time to provide a return on investment was very short, it is usually from 3 to 9 months. At the RJ Group, we were on the higher side of this because of their ability to already optimise their processes. The main challenges with the RJ Group were to understand how they work with their processes and how we could help them with our products. The second factor was to achieve better performance in a company that was already well known for being very efficient and very productive. The third consideration was to do training with the RJ Group staff, so they are more independent, and they can use these tools without relying on Siemens personnel.”

Discussing the project from an RJ Group perspective, Dr Cristian Iuculano Mamao says: “Our relationship with Siemens is very long and in fact, most of our machine tools have a Siemens control. So, we have worked for many years with Siemens and in recent years we have digitalised our production to ensure that analysis is done automatically. Added to this, we wanted a ‘real time’ overview of our company and the production, so we could act immediately on production to make changes and solve any problems as soon as they happen.”

“We wanted to reduce our cycle times, even though our cycles were already very well optimised. So, it was such a challenge for us and also for Siemens to try and reduce this, but we gained good results with the adaptive control software, and we reduced our cycle times by around 10%. For this reason, we are going to extend all of these results to all of our other facilities which includes one in Brazil and another in the USA,” says Dr Cristian Iuculano Mamao.

VERICUT optimises machining for Formula One racing team

The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team relies on VERICUT verification, simulation and optimisation software from CGTech to guarantee the successful machining of its high-complexity, high-value components. A VERICUT user for over two decades, the team has engrained VERICUT into its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), aware of the benefits it provides in reducing machine collisions and component scrap.

Today, the Machine Shop at the Team headquarters in Brackley, not only manufactures parts for the race cars, but also for several customer programmes, including other Formula One Teams and the INEOS Britannia Americas Cup Sailing Team.

“We are pretty diverse with our component supply, but in all cases reaction time is key. For our race car, we sometimes only have 24 hours from design release to delivery,” reveals Machine Shop Manager Robert Brown. “VERICUT gives us the confidence to start the machine running safely, enabling us to switch our focus onto another activity, such as writing programs or setting up tools for the next part. This is far preferable to requiring the presence of an operator at the machine to mitigate the risk of a collision.”

Formula One Teams have been operating within an FIA cost cap, so the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team cannot afford to be non-productive. 

“Today, championships could be won or lost in the factory,” states Mr Brown. “Obviously without the right drivers we’re not going to win, but there’s a reason the sport currently has three dominant teams. Those teams can develop and engineer cars on a scale that no one else can match.”

According to Production Engineer James Peddle: “Some thought the cost cap would change the order of the grid, but the well-resourced teams with good structures and processes in place have continued to do well. At Mercedes, we’ve got leaner and doubled down on how much value we can extract from our time. As an organisation we are more efficient now than we were two years ago, before the introduction of the cost cap.”

Advanced machine tools

The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team has 25 machine tools on-site at Brackley, including 5-axis machining centres, turn-mill and multi-axis CNC lathes. 

“The enemy of Formula One cars is weight, so approximately 60% of our parts are made from various types of aluminium alloy,” says Mr Brown. “A further 30% are made from titanium, with the remaining 10% comprising steels, other alloys and plastics. Batch sizes of 8-12 are typical for our 5-axis machines. This is our speciality and the team gets its value from this department. We can get high-complexity parts up and running quickly, working closely with the design team to manage any iterations.” 

One of the principal challenges is minimising cycle times for these highly complex components without compromising quality. A recent case in point was a titanium front axle.

“The cycle time was in the region of 70 hours over five operations,” says Mr Peddle. “Due to the nature of the material, we were limited by the speed of machining. However, by using the latest machining methodology from one of our suppliers, we managed to reduce the lead time by 50%.”

“We always get a really good solid-model transfer from tooling suppliers into VERICUT for our simulations. Whenever we need a bespoke cutting tool, we can do the modifications virtually and seamlessly, and complete the simulation before we place our order for the tool.”

Added value

There is little doubting the value that VERICUT adds to operations at the Machine Shop of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team. Mr Brown was with the company when the software first arrived over 20 years ago.

“Previously we would export CNC code from our CAM system, alongside creating some CNC code conversationally and editing this together into a single CNC program. We had too many collisions on the machines and too much scrap as a result of human error. But once we had VERICUT, we could export all of our CNC code from CAM and validate it (using VERICUT). The initial investment was all about reducing risk and over the years that thought process has continued. We know that better use of CAM and more use of VERICUT simulation will reduce errors and the risk of machine collisions. If code goes through VERICUT, we know it’s safe.”

Today, tool transfer from the CAM session, through VERICUT and onto a tool sheet is virtually seamless at the F1 Team. The opportunity for human error, perhaps adding incorrect details or picking the wrong geometry, is significantly reduced. 

“It’s always been about reducing scrap and protecting machine tools, which are very expensive assets,” says Mr Brown. “A new spindle is around £20,000 these days. We’ve damaged spindles in years gone by, and when we scrutinised the root cause, it was predominantly human error. Utilising VERICUT to simulate the CAM session has removed the human error. Today, every CNC machined component is validated via VERICUT.”

The process

When the design department at the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team releases a CAD model, the Engineering team imports it into a CAM session where various templates exist for the different machine tool types. 

“We program within the context of the machine regarding travel limits, access and other parameters,” says Mr Peddle. “Once we’re happy with the program we post-process it and use our CAM-to-VERICUT interface to replicate the set-up we created in the CAM software before running the simulation. We also use VERICUT’s AUTO-DIFF module to check for any excess material or gouging. This is important as we don’t want to reach the end of the program and identify that we’ve missed a section of machining or gouged the part. It would be difficult and increase the risk to manufacture some of our parts without AUTO-DIFF, by solely relying on the CAM package.”

He continues: “Another advantage is simulation speed, which in our experience is far greater than the core CAM product. This ensures a much more efficient and flexible work stream, where we can be programming certain component features while simulating others.”

Around 30 employees at the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team are trained to use VERICUT, at various levels. Production Engineers might need to create, edit or interrogate sessions, whereas machine operators might only replay the simulation to identify what type of machining operation is coming next in the sequence.

Regular investment

“CGTech has a good library of machine tool templates, so they can usually provide a template ‘off-the-shelf’ or create a bespoke version if required, based upon their extensive library,” explains Mr Peddle. “The support is always excellent, quickly resolving any issues we might have.”

Adds Mr Brown: “CGTech regularly spends time on site with us, periodically through the year, integrating with our CAM team. They understand what we do here and what we need from VERICUT. We have a very strong relationship with them.”

“We’ve recently done a lot of work reducing our 5-axis milling cycle times,” says Mr Peddle. “CGTech has a really good relationship with our machine tool suppliers, which meant they were able to gain access to certain machine parameters and build that information into our VERICUT projects, helping us to simulate the digital cycle time compared with the actual cycle time.”

Another benefit of VERICUT is its independence from the CAM session. The programming stations in the office and on the shop floor at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team have multiple screens, so users can work on CAM and VERICUT sessions in parallel.

“Due to our compressed manufacturing lead times, we’ll routinely start machining a part before the program is complete, so we can be simulating while we are creating the next sequence of CNC code in the CAM session. We always have a finite amount of time, so we’ll begin roughing as soon as a part is released and get as far as possible before waiting for more code. It’s the only way we can achieve on-time delivery, which translates directly into the machine shop adding performance to the race car.”

Concludes Mr Brown: “Tools such as our CAM system and VERICUT verification, simulation and optimisation software ensure we get the best result possible in the finite amount of time we have.”

Measuring Up

To celebrate the opening of its new showroom, Hexagon hosted a launch event at the end of September. Exclusively hosted for customers and members of the press, the event presented all of the very latest technology that enables manufacturers to take complete control of all the key stages of their manufacturing processes – from the design concept through to the finished component. MTD magazine went along to find out more.

Hexagon has an unfathomably extensive portfolio of digital manufacturing technologies that span everything from CAE solutions for design and engineering, CAD/CAM and production software, metrology hardware and software as well as data management and analytical tools. Now, with the opening of the new facility, manufacturers can visit the showroom and receive demonstrations and technical application support. 

Giving his perspective on the event, John Drover from Hexagon says: “We’ve had a gap of several years during the pandemic, this event and our new showroom is a chance to reintroduce our customers to the latest products and build upon our relationships. We can now have our customers see our technologies on-site in our new showroom and share our journey. We aim to take customers through the entire manufacturing journey. As a family of businesses that are unique in our offering, we have a complete suite of interlinked solutions and at our new showroom, we can demonstrate this.”

Like the unfathomably diverse Hexagon portfolio, the new showroom caters for the expansive needs of the industry with six different product stations. One station encapsulates the potential of the Hexagon portable measuring range with the Leica Absolute Tracker AT960 MR. The AT960 MR offers 3D measurement volume up to 40m in diameter with 6 degrees of Freedom (6DoF) measuring volume up to 20m diameter. The robust laser tracker provides high-speed dynamic measurement as standard. Looking at tracking technology at the event, MTD spoke with Andrew Yeomans, the Managing Director of A-MET Metrology Ltd, Andrew said: “I think it’s been a brilliant event for Hexagon, showcasing all of the latest technologies but also showing where they are expanding and growing into; offering real manufacturing solutions.” 

Discussing his relationship with Hexagon, Andrew told MTD: “We offer 3D metrology solutions for everything from production line building to body-in-white solutions and we also offer Hexagon’s full suite of equipment and software; and we have just bought the latest AT500, which will help us expand our business. We have a Hexagon Global CMM and after this, we required portable solutions to go on-site for customers. To take solutions to the customers, we bought an Absolute Arm with a scanner to gather Point Cloud data.” 

Discussing the latest investment, the Leica Absolute Tracker, Andrew says: “The portable arm is restricted in the measurement volume that it has, so you only have the measurement volume for the size of the arm. With the new Leica Absolute Tracker AT500, we can take the solution onto the shop floor or even within the manufacturing environment. This gives us up to 160m in one length measurement or 320m as diameter. We can now place the tracker in the middle and measure all around the factory – this will be used in the vehicle building industry and the aerospace sector to validate jigs and fixtures. We have a big project working with a company at BMW UK for measuring the whole body-in-white projects that are being installed at the moment – the new Leica Absolute Tracker AT500 can be used on this project.”

Another station demonstrated data and information management systems. Of critical importance in the modern manufacturing environment, Hexagon displayed how its QDAS SPC suite provides reliable quality data to evaluate processes. This was complemented by the Hexagon SFx platform that integrates, analyses and transforms manufacturing data into actionable information, driving increasingly autonomous processes. 

A third station, suited to the design engineering fraternity presented NCSIMUL. This ‘all-in-one’ CNC simulation software manages the complete machining process from the NC program to the machined part. It incorporates automatic G-code programming, simulation and cutting tool management. 

The next station introduced the stationary measuring portfolio with the Leitz SIRIO CMM that can tackle a virtually limitless number of measuring tasks with its automatic probe changer, rotary table and pallet system. At the event, the Hexagon stationary measuring technology highlighted its potential with e-mobility and powertrain component demonstrations from the automotive industry. 

Discussing this, Hexagon’s Oliver Noakes alluded to the Precision Measuring Machine (PMM) saying: “This system comes into its own when we are talking to customers with really high accuracy demands. We apply this technology to customers that come to us with examples such as gearbox and transmission requirements. We can change between different contact sensors on the CMM. This varies from optical sensors to roughness sensors and laser solutions. We can use all of these in combination in one measurement run to get the best out of the machine.”

Looking at the horizontal solution that was on show, Oliver adds: “The vertical solution is configured to the absolute point of accuracy for final inspection. The Leitz Reference Sirio HP is perfect for sampling one in 10 or 20 parts to sample the process – it provides higher throughput with a very high level of accuracy.” 

The Production Software station presented solutions for CNC machine shops, the sheet metal industry and also the wood/stone machining industry segment. The Hexagon software division incorporates EDGECAM, ESPRIT, RADAN, VISI, WORKNC, WORKXPLORE, SURFCAM, SMIRT, JAVELIN and many more packages that cater for different production methods. Leading the industry in everything from CAD/CAM, simulation, digital twins and smart factory solutions that encompass the entire manufacturing ecosystem from ERP and MES to planning and control systems. 

The final station was all about automation and flexibility with the Absolute Scanner AS1 demonstrating its capabilities on an automotive ‘body-in-white’ example. The AS1 is the flagship 3D scanning sensor for the Absolute Tracker AT960 and Absolute Arm 7-Axis systems that uses cutting-edge blue-laser technology and advanced programming for non-contact 3D measurement. This worked in situ with TEMPO, the cost-effective automated part-loading system that increases throughput and maximises operational capacity. TEMPO enables autonomous measurement free from interruption. Whether you have overnight production requirements or staff need to switch their focus to other important tasks, TEMPO allows manufacturers to maintain output even when CMM operators are unavailable. Discussing this solution, Kieron Mcloughlin from Hexagon said: “Our new automation cell demonstrates laser tracking technology from Leica and incorporates a FANUC robot to simplify the throughput of components. We are using the system with super cat-eye reflectors to track the accurate positioning of the turntable, which essentially helps to stitch the data together. Traditionally, you would have to program the robot with the controller, but with our new software, this can be done off-line. On this system, we can measure a volume of 3m with a payload of approximately 3 tonnes – this makes it perfect for body in white applications and other instances where you need to have increased throughput.”

The event welcomed some of the most prestigious manufacturers in the UK and these key customers were quick to dig into the detail of the new technologies with application experts from Hexagon. If you would like to visit the facility and investigate the vast range of technologies available, readers can contact Hexagon for further details.

Prima – A powerhouse behind automotive innovation

In the September issue of MTD magazine, we reported on our trip to Prima Power in Turin and the visit to the company’s HQTC (Headquarters and Technology Centre). As well as investigating the innovation that is literally pouring out of this facility, we spoke with Luca Bianchini, 3D Laser System Sales and Business Development Manager. By Rhys Williams

Luca told us how Prima Power has impacted the automotive industry down the years and how it has been the fulcrum for so many innovations in the marketplace today. For readers that may have missed the September feature, Prima Power is the laser and sheet metal business unit of the Prima Industrie Group. With a product range that encompasses 2D and 3D laser, punching and combined punch/laser and punch/shear machines, press brakes, panel benders, FMS and automation, and software, the company has eight manufacturing facilities spread across Italy, Finland, the USA, and China.

Starting the conversation by looking back at the automotive industry in Northern Italy and how Prima became the benchmark in the sector, Luca says: ‘Our company was established around 45 years ago, and was originally known as Prima Progetti, developing software for various applications, including measuring machinery. From this they went on to develop the first double air-conditioning system for a local automotive manufacturer, to manage the temperature inside the vehicle.”

“At the same time, there were rumours that a CO2 laser was being developed to cut through material at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s. Our company had a measuring machine, so they put a laser on the machine to move the laser over a part. This was the very first application for laser cutting. It was cutting carpets of vehicles with lasers for a US automotive group. When the laser became powerful enough to cut metal, they were used to weld the roof of the same manufacturers’ cars. In the early 1980s, a local automotive manufacturer had over 100,000 employees and a lot of staff were manually cutting metal for prototypes. So, they developed the first 3D laser cutting machine. The machine was typically a measuring machine with a laser head, but there was no CNC control to manage the laser process – a company was opened called Prima Electronics to develop the CNC and the PLC, and to this very day, we still manufacture our servo drives and controls.”

“In the 1980s, our competitors didn’t have 3D lasers, only 2D lasers. Through the 1990s we grew by acquisition, buying a company in Switzerland for 2D laser technology. At the start of the 2000’s we bought two more companies and in 2008, we acquired Finn Power – all of our acquisitions evolve around our progress in the laser and sheet metal industry.”

Looking more specifically at the technology, Luca adds: “3D laser was always a niche until the late 1990s when the Swedes developed the first hot stamping steel technology for its vehicle body panels. That made their cars much safer and lighter. However, the only way to cut this material was with a 3D laser – when other vehicle manufacturers started to catch up and use this technology, the 3D laser became popular throughout the entire automotive industry and beyond. When I joined Prima in 2006, it was the Germans that were adopting our technology for hot-stamped body panels. The first challenge between us and a competitor was cutting the B-pillar protection panel. At the time, the pillar was 2mm thick and with a CO2 laser, the cycle time was 75 seconds. It was a race between us and our competitors, as each customer came to us asking ‘how fast can you cut it?’”

“In the modern vehicle chassis there are more than 30 hot stamped parts – multiply this by the cycle times and the volumes – you would need thousands of 3D laser machines. At one particular manufacturer, there were 27 parts for 500,000 vehicles per year, by 2015 they were producing 15 million vehicles in China. Now, we have more than 50 million vehicles produced with hot-stamped steel – exponentially growing the need for 3D laser machines. During the period from 2008-12, we were also integrating the new Fiber Laser technology – which meant we could double the cutting speed. Initially, the machines were faster than the laser technology but with Fiber Laser, the technology became faster than the machines. Ever since we have been making machines faster and faster as laser technology is no longer a limitation. Looking back at the German B pillars, we were cutting at 7 to 8m/min but the arrival of Fiber Laser moved that to 10, 12 and now beyond 15m/min.”

The move to automation

“It was the crisis in 2008 that opened the market for us. Before the crisis, Americans never considered saving fuel, making cars more resistant and safer or ultimately capable of improved fuel consumption. When the US had the crisis, these factors became important and we started selling 3D laser machines for hot stamping applications to the US – this was because the American companies started switching their manufacturing methods to fall in line with what was already adopted in Europe. The US market manufactures 17 million cars a year. Once upon a time, the machine was faster than the laser; then with Fiber Laser, the laser was faster than the machine. Now, we have evolved the machine to keep pace with the laser, but we have a new challenge – changeover, the human element and automation.”

“In 2010, I visited an Italian manufacturer and I recall the machine always having 10am and evening downtime. They were producing A-pillars – a 2m part that weighed 10.5kg with a cycle time of 60 seconds for laser cutting. I investigated the downtime issue – essentially the shift started at 6am and the operator was changing a 10.5kg part every 1 minute, so by 10am the operator had shifted more than 2.5tonnes. Exhausted operators would eventually trip out the safety curtain and at a large plant, the maintenance engineers would take more than 10 minutes to get to the machine. This type of scenario is why we are looking at complete automation.”

“Naturally, we develop the ergonomics of our machines for the operators, as we know automation is not ideal for every operation. Where we are further evolving is software development, integrating our technology with the customers’ automation systems. Each customer will use different automation platforms and production lines – and our software and machines need to work across multiple platforms. What we are doing now is developing fixtures and workholding as well as simulation technology and more to coordinate with customers’ automation requirements – we are a complete turnkey supplier. Looking to the future, everyone is finding it difficult to find skilled technicians and well-developed people. For us, the goal is to simplify the process. Ideally, you should be able to push a button and the machine can work by itself. This utopia is not easy and it requires a lot of development, but this is where we are heading.”

“The other area of potential change is the evolution of the business model. Companies are moving from machine or turnkey solution purchases – to selling machines on a cost-per-part basis. The machine is a service. If you ask a customer what their product is, in most instances, they don’t have a product – their purpose is to go from sheet metal to the finished part for their customer. What happens in the middle is important, but it is not the goal, it is the means. Manufacturers are asking for more flexibility and the ability of CNC machines to make a lot of things was the starting point. Now, manufacturers want extremely flexible machines capable of making a lot of different things – they want to be flexible in volumes. That is the most difficult challenge and one we are constantly evolving,” concludes Luca. 

Approaching The End Game

Luca told a fascinating story on Prima Powers’ automotive pedigree, the speed and agility of the machines and the integration of automation – much of this was on show in the HQTC. Added to the machines discussed in the September edition of MTD magazine (see the edition here http://read.mtdpublishing.com/september-2022), the HQTC also houses the company’s 2D Fiber Laser, the Laser Genius+ 1530. Undoubtedly the quickest machine in the HQTC, the Laser Genius+ has an axis speed of 180m/min and acceleration of 2.8g – all whilst retaining accuracy and repeatability to 0.03mm. 

And when it comes to automation, Barry Rooney kept the ‘pièce de résistance’ to the end of the tour, the PSBB (Punch, Shear, Buffer & Bend) System. The state-of-the-art FMS cell started with a robot-loaded FL Storage Series sheet stacking system that accommodated over 130 tons of material. Demonstrating the system, a robot unloaded a 3 by 1.5m steel sheet from the FL system and passed it to the Shear Genius EVO. The Shear Genius punched forms and holes, tapped specific holes, and subsequently cut the sheet….and a part popped out to a buffer area where parts that do not require subsequent bending can be extracted. However, in the demonstration, the part was flipped over in the buffer area and subsequently passed to the next machine – the Express Bender EBe 2720. 

The EBe 2720 servo-electric panel bender loaded the small part, centred and positioned it, conducted its bending operation, extracted the sheet and rotated it – and then folded the second, third and fourth edges. Once the part was finished, the EBe2720 at the end of the 20m+ long cell presented the part to the extraction point. Impressed by the level of automation, what was to follow took us by surprise. 

Whilst hypnotised by this relatively small part travelling through the buffer and flip-over station to the panel bender and subsequently the extraction point, we could still hear the Shear Genius EVO punching away at the other end of the cell. Unbeknown to us, the programme for the cell was to take the 3 by 1.5m sheet and produce six completely different parts – not one! In a cycle time barely longer than it took to pull out a camera, the cell had ejected 6 parts with different sizes, bends, forms and even threaded and deburred holes. To get a greater understanding of this fascinating technology, please scan the QR Codes in this feature.

Completely synchronised to minimise dwell times and maximise throughput, the cell is managed by the TULUS software that can connect ERP, Industry 4.0 and even automated programming. The PSBB is fully configurable and can even be connected to a Prima Power Night Train mass material storage system – essentially making the possibilities to connect multiple machines, buffer zones, storage and load/unload stations seemingly endless. If Prima Power has already achieved this level of speed, flexibility and automation – where does the evolution end? 

DMG MORI gets subby to pole position

As a company located in Daventry, just a short drive from Silverstone, the JRM Group specialises in design and bespoke manufacturing solutions for the automotive, motorsport, aerospace, marine and medical industries. The company also has a racing division that has progressed through rallying and onto being 2011 FIA GT1 World Champions with the Nissan GT-R. The focus of JRM Racing over more recent years has been in the GT3 endurance competition with the Nissan GT-R GT3. In 2021, JRM Racing was back with the Bentley Continental GT3 fighting for honours in the British GT Championship – behind all of this is a highly advanced manufacturing outfit with a suite of DMG MORI machine tools. 

The ISO: 9001 company has the DMG MORI LaserTec 30 SLM additive machine, a CLX450 as well as three DMU 75 monoBLOCK 5-axis machining centres, one of the best-selling machine tools in DMG MORI’s extensive range. 

When asked what the company is making on the machines, Mike Sutton from the JRM Group says: “We are currently producing wishbone components for a racing series over in Germany. The parts and materials that we machine vary massively and we are led by the customers’ requirements.”

Looking at why the DMU 75 monoBLOCK has proven such a successful acquisition for machining a diverse range of material types, Mike adds: “The spindle power. The machine has a very robust spindle, and it has a very high torque value. You can actually set the torque value on the machine, so you can input any given value, and this can be adjusted depending on the machine values. In the tool table, you can set the machine to stop if the machine goes over a certain torque value or spindle load.”

Looking at the wishbone components being produced on the machine, Mike continues: “We are currently using a cycle in hyperMILL called arbitrary stock removal and we are currently machining 25Cr 04 steel with a 40mm high feed face mill. The tool is running at an 8m/min feed rate with 0.5mm cuts and 50% of the tool diameter, which is pretty fast. The 0.5mm cut was recommended by the tool manufacturer. The way you machine with high feed cutters is that it takes small depths of cut at high speed. This is different to trochoidal milling where you take larger depths of cut with a smaller radial value.”

Looking at the agility of the machine, Mike continues: “It’s a large machine and we have it running at 80% rapid at the moment and it is feeding at 8m/min – and we could push it further depending on the material, the application and of course the tool capabilities.”

Alluding to the fundamental basics of the DMU 75 monoBLOCK, the machine has exceptional swarf fall away and access to the work area for the operator. As Mike says: “It’s very easy to access the work area and with the curved door, you have very easy access to the worktable once the machine is set at zero. Additionally, the swarf just falls away into the swarf conveyor and this conveyor can be set to come on at various intervals. We have it set so that every four minutes, it comes on for 15 seconds. The machine has quite a large swarf conveyor which will take a while to fill up, so it does not need to be on continuously. The machines are very good, very reliable, very robust and undoubtedly some of the best 5-axis machines that I’ve used in my time.”

The single piece cast machines are extremely stiff and rigid, and this sets the foundation for JRM Engineering to achieve dynamic machining speeds daily. As Mike adds: “You can feel the vibration in the floor, if the machines were not rigid, the vibrations would be going into the base of the machine – but the rigidity of the machines means that sometimes you feel the vibration in the floor.”

Looking closer at the setup on the machines, and in particular, the worktable that offers the ability to clamp large parts whilst also having the rotary table, Mike says: “On one of our machines, we have two parts in a single set up. On another machine, we only have a single component on the table as you need to hit the part from all directions, and you cannot put anything else at the side of it.”

Discussing the CELOS control system on the DMG machines, Mike confirms: “I really like working with this control. It took a little while to get used to, but it is very intuitive, very user-friendly and as long as you know what you’re pressing and when you should be pressing it – it works very well.” Comparing it to CNC systems of years gone by, Mike says: “First and foremost, it has everything that you need to see on the display. There is so much information on the screen that tells you how fast the machine is feeding, the spindle speeds, your positions and how far you have to go, you can also see the programme and it also has gauges where you can see how much power the spindle is using, the torque going through the spindle, the vibration on the spindle – and these can be set to the operator’s preferences. This helps to prolong the life of the spindle bearings and cutting tools. The machine has diagnostic tools and we have used the remote maintenance function where DMG MORI can actually log onto the machine and investigate and resolve issues remotely. You just have to get in touch with them, you are provided with a code that you have to put into the machine – and then they can remotely access and diagnose default problems, it is very good.”

Subcontractor turns to Dugard

With the turned components at DGF Engineering Ltd increasingly needing secondary milling operations on machining centres, the Royston-based subcontractor recently acquired a SMEC SL 2000M turning centre from Dugard. Founded in 2005, the Hertfordshire manufacturer produces a diverse range of components for a variety of industry sectors – it is here the Dugard SMEC has made a difference. 

Commenting upon why the company purchased the SMEC SL 2000M turning centre from Dugard, Liam Fernard from DGF Engineering says: “We picked this machine, as we needed an upgrade. The machine that we had was only a two-axis machine and we were getting more and more work that was needing additional milling work. This was tying up our CNC milling department for too long, we were looking around for a solution with live tooling. As we were happy with the service that we had received from Dugard on our previous acquisition, a Dugard 1000 3-axis VMC, we naturally looked at their lathes and this one ticked all the boxes.”

The impressive SMEC SL 2000M slant bed CNC turning centre has a 570mm swing over the bed and a 460mm swing over the cross slide with a maximum machining diameter of 360mm and a machining length up to 540mm. The 8inch chuck machine has a bore diameter of 76mm that accommodates bar up to 68mm. As with all machines in the SMEC range from Dugard, the SMEC SL 2000M is a powerhouse with a 15/18kW spindle motor that drives the spindle at a speed up to 4500rpm and a 3.7/5.5kW motor that drives the driven tooling stations in the 12 position tooling carousel – all in a machine with a total weight of 4000kg, demonstrating rigidity and performance when undertaking heavy-duty machining operations.

Looking closer at the specification of the new turning centre, Liam says: “We have a Hainbuch collet chuck on the main spindle with multiple collet sizes that allow us to hold up to 65mm bar diameter. We have a bar puller on the machine instead of a barfeed, so that will pull the bar through individually. We have three radial and three axial live tooling positions, and this allows us to do side milling and face milling to any capability. We also have the Siemens CNC control system and I love the Siemens control. Going from the previous machine, which was a FANUC to the Siemens, it’s just so easy to use – you can’t really go wrong. It has a nice big touchscreen, and soft key buttons – it’s just all there. We also have a part catcher on the machine, and this is a massive benefit to us. It helps on a production run; you can put a bar of material in and tell the machine to do 50 parts and then you are not scrambling in the bottom of the machine to retrieve components or losing them in the swarf conveyor.”

Discussing the components machined on the SMEC, Liam adds: “Batches are varied and volumes of up to 200 parts is a big batch for us. We will machine a bit of everything on this machine, there is no one product that we bought the machine for. It will help our production move much faster.”

Concluding on the service from Dugard, Liam adds: “The lorry was here one day to drop the new machine off and take the old machine away at the same time. The next day an engineer turned up to commission the new machine and we were up and running by the end of that day. Dugard has been excellent, and the investment is 100% worth it!”

Early adopter sees benefits of XYZ sub-spindle lathe

Quickits has developed a market-leading position in the manufacture and supply of valve mounting kits and fabricated brackets for customers across the valve and actuator industry. The capabilities of the Sutton in Ashfield-based company cover laser profiling, press brakes, fabrication, welding, powder coating and there’s a machine shop almost exclusively supplied with machines from XYZ Machine Tools.

That machining capacity was recently added to when Quickits became the first customer to take delivery of an XYZ SS 65 sub-spindle turning centre. The machine was introduced to the XYZ Machine Tools range following input from customers, who were looking for increased productivity and reduced spindle downtime, customers such as Quickits. As Group Managing Director Rob Smith explains: “The decision to purchase the XYZ SS 65 was driven by the need to eliminate some of the double handling of our components, mainly the couplings that we produce. With the XYZ SS 65, we can now produce components complete without the need to finish machine them on another machine. With the bar feed, we can run this machine continuously day and night with components fully machined once they drop into the parts catcher. In the short space of time that we have had the machine we are already seeing an increase in productivity.”

The ability to maximise spindle run time and eliminate expensive and time consuming set-ups will be a major focus for businesses as they look to maximise productivity in the face of increased competition and also rising energy costs. The XYZ SS 65 is ideally placed to meet these for companies such as Quickits that are looking to make that move to sub-spindle turning thanks to its high specification and competitive price. 

The XYZ SS 65 comes as standard with a 16.5kW, 4000rpm main spindle with a 200mm chuck and 65mm bar capacity, this is complemented by the 150mm chuck on the 11kW, 5000rpm sub-spindle, which has a 52mm bore. Both spindles feature a braked C-axis that allows substantial milling cuts for contouring, with each of the 12-positions on the German-built Sauter turret unit with live tooling at every station, with 100mm (+/-50mm) Y-axis travel. Maximum turned diameter is 380mm and the Z-axis travel is 520mm, providing a significant working envelope. Control is provided by the Siemens 828D ShopTurn 15 inch touchscreen control, which can be enhanced with the optional Siemens offline programming and CAD reader software if required. All of this is built around a 30 degree slant-bed design with linear ways for faster positioning speeds, it is a solid cast construction meaning the XYZ SS 65 weighs in at 5000kg, a solid base from which to maximise performance.

As Rob Smith and his team at Quickits is finding out, utilisation of the sub-spindle streamlines production by eliminating delays by removing the need to transfer work from machine to machine for second operations, work in progress is reduced and costs eliminated. “We have been utilising XYZ machines since we started the business 17 years ago and have always found them to be the best choice with regards to price and functionality. They suit our business and the after sales service demonstrated by XYZ is excellent compared to other machine tool providers. The addition of the XYZ SS 65 has seen that continue and with the productivity benefits that we have seen, we are certainly planning to invest in another XYZ SS 65 soon to further improve our efficiency.”

Subcontractor threads a route to double turnover

When David Swaffield started his own subcontract machining firm, DWS Engineering in 2006 after gaining a mechanical engineering apprenticeship in Crewkerne, he started out using manual machines, progressing to CNC prismatic machining in 2009 and fixed-head CNC turning the year after.

Frustrated at not being able to find pre-war BSW threaded nuts, bolts and other components for the family-owned 1923 Aveling and Porter eight-tonne steam roller he was refurbishing, he decided to make them himself, leading to the inauguration in 2017 of another company, Historic Threads. It was then that Mr Swaffield discovered the capabilities and production potential of CNC sliding-head lathes from Citizen Machinery.  

During the Second World War, the diameters of Whitworth threads were reduced to save metal. It is easy to obtain the later sizes, but the original larger varieties used to be scarce and difficult to source. That was until Mr Swaffield identified a business opportunity through steam-driven vehicle enthusiasts. 

Now a vast range of legacy threaded components from the biggest Whitworth to the smallest BA (British Association) size and everything in between, is manufactured by Historic Threads. This business now accounts for 60% of turnover. Despite its recent inception, the company is probably the largest stockist and supplier of pre-WWII threaded components in the world.

Although nuts, bolts, studs and pillars tend to have a small length-to-diameter ratio and can be satisfactorily produced on fixed-head lathes, Mr Swaffield learnt the benefits of sliding-head turning. In particular, that gang tooling allows short parts to be produced faster and the lathes are additionally capable of turning shaft-type parts if required. His father-in-law owned a subcontracting company and he was a user of Citizen sliding-heads.

In 2017, the first Cincom L32 was purchased to produce thousands of nuts and bolts every week. It was recognised that in-cycle milling and other prismatic operations would be useful for machining more complicated components, so a second-hand Cincom M32 with live tools arrived in March 2021. 

In March, the steep rise in demand for the legacy threaded components led to a third sliding-head lathe being installed, this time a new Cincom L32-VIII LFV. The modern machine has been supplied with an expansion kit to enable the nominal 32mm bar size to be increased to 38mm, allowing for instance a 3/4-inch nut to be turned from round bar. 

Shortly after the machine was delivered, Mr Swaffield received DWS Engineering’s biggest ever single order for the supply of brass, aluminium and stainless steel parts from 10 to 20mm in diameter for use in the assembly of make-up brushes and pencils. 

The latest Cincom is ideal for fulfilling this contract. For example, the LFV chipbreaking software avoids stringy swarf when drilling a 100mm long, 8.5 mm diameter hole down the centre of a 10mm diameter stainless steel pencil. 

LFV is also proving useful in avoiding birds-nesting when producing plastic components, such as a batch of 2,000-off, 20mm diameter black Delrin spacers that went through the shop recently.

Investment helps meet environmental responsibilities

In 2019, Midas Pattern Company Ltd decided to reduce its carbon footprint to deliver sustainability goals and lessen its climate impact. Within a year, the Bedfordshire-based business had attained process carbon neutrality and celebrated achieving carbon net-zero. Financed independently, Midas introduced a myriad of green methods as part of the #MidasGreenInitiative, including a farm of 650 solar panels which powers the plant, 100% LED lighting and a compressor system that uses 30% less energy.

On top of this, all packaging is shredded and recycled, single-use plastics are banned, and no waste goes to landfill. “There’s been a lot of hard work and investment in the last two years, but it’s certainly been worth it,” says Managing Director Alan Rance.

Part of this world-leading initiative means updating and investing in the most efficient equipment possible. Following the purchase of a colossal HAAS VF-11 in 2021, Midas has just taken charge of brand-new HAAS VF-9 and VF-4SS vertical machining centres.

“The VF-9 and VF-4SS have slotted straight in. They perform just as well as the larger machine, and they’re a known quantity for rapid reliability and capacity. This level of investment gives both our existing and new customers more confidence when placing orders with us. They see we own the right equipment for the job and feel protected and assured by what we can offer. We have a long-term vision for ourselves and our clients.”

“The new HAAS machines vastly increased our capacity, our versatility and improved our turnaround. We can now machine much larger jobs in one hit, so we’re not spending time setting up multiple parts. So, it’s certainly more efficient.”

Midas Pattern’s new VMCs share many energy-saving features, including an ‘Auto Power-Off’ setting that turns the machine off after a specified number of minutes idle. ‘Power-Off at M30’ sets the control to start a 30-second timer that will turn off all power unless interrupted. Sleep Mode puts the machine into a low-power mode for a programmed length of time.

In addition to a screensaver, the ‘LCD Backlight Off’ setting blanks the LCD after a specified idle time. A ‘Conveyor Off’ setting automatically turns off the chip conveyor as desired. The ‘Servos and Hydraulics Off’ setting automatically turns off the servos and hydraulic pump after a programmed period.

Midas has enhanced its latest purchases with high-speed machining for greater efficiency in cornering, and the VF-4SS boasts a super-speed 12,000rpm spindle. The VF-11 and VF-9 have ample room for large parts with an envelope of 3,048 by 1,016 by 762mm and 2,134 by 1,016 by 762mm respectively. 

“The side-mount tool changer is great as it keeps your tools outside the machine. This may not seem like a big deal, but the tool holder and spindle tapers stay clean, leading to less wear and tear.”

The company was founded over 30 years ago in St. Neots by Alan Rance, to manufacture precision pattern equipment for the local foundry industry before moving down the A1 to Bedfordshire. Since then, the site and the business has grown in stature and capabilities. Midas now commands over 30,000sq/ft and has diversified into a world-class precision polyurethane moulding company supplying a wide range of life-changing and life-enhancing industries, the largest of which are medical, MedTech devices and scientific instrumentation.

“Many of our customers have seen increased requirements during the global pandemic, particularly in investigation and testing in the medical and MedTech sector. As other industries have naturally seen a quieter period, we have been able to react quickly to the change in volume of work for those who need it. That has been very satisfying.”

Midas has been a HAAS customer for 25 years; their first HAAS investment was a VF-3 back in 1997. “We knew HAAS is perceived as a good brand,” says Rance. They have a name for reliability and accuracy. If we’re happy with a brand, why wouldn’t we stick with it? The first machine and the support we got from HAAS gave us the confidence to come back time and time again.”

Meeting production challenges with automation

Growth in global demand for its fire protection and fire suppression systems has driven Ardent to invest in a highly customised automated manufacturing cell.

Mills CNC, the distributor of DN Solutions machine tools has recently supplied Ardent Ltd with a cell, installed at Ardent’s facility in Roecliffe, which comprises a Puma 2600SY II multi-tasking sub-spindle, Y-axis lathe and a DNM 4500 high-performance 3-axis VMC integrated with a SYNERGi Sprint robotic automation system.

Since its installation, the cell has been used to machine a range of high-precision, complex components used in the company’s fire suppression systems. These components include brass BSP and Jig valves, supplied as blanks, that is machined in batches using both the Puma lathe and DNM machining centre – and batch-machined aluminium enclosures, machined from solid, on the DNM 4500.

Although the cell was installed in May, its development began several months earlier when worldwide COVID restrictions were being lifted and business was returning to pre-pandemic levels. Explains Paul Newton, Ardent’s Production Manager: “Although the pandemic did hit several sectors where our fire suppression systems and solutions are used, we were confident that it was only a matter of time before they ‘bounced back’. This, combined with a dramatic increase in demand from a growing number of mining customers, located primarily in Africa, who use heavy-duty excavators, bulldozers, loaders and crushers resulted in us reviewing the capacity and capabilities of our operations.”

Ardent’s existing machining resources comprised a Puma 2600SY lathe and a VMC. Operating, in effect, as standalone machines the company’s valve components were first machined on the lathe before being manually transferred to the machining centre for finishing.

Although the process worked it was not as efficient as it could be. The over-reliance on manual intervention was costly and created ‘dead time’, increased overall part cycle times and the cost per part. It was a similar situation with the machining of the enclosures, with machine shop staff having to be on hand to load and unload the parts manually.

The automation requirement

Focused on ramping up the machining of its valves and enclosures, Ardent required an automation solution to achieve unattended, lights-out production. The new automation cell comprises a new Puma 2600SY lathe and a DNM 4500 VMC. The automation element is provided by a heavily customised SYNERGi Sprint system comprising a Fanuc industrial robot and a grid plate to hold the brass blanks and aluminium billets. A robot linear rail, running between the Puma lathe and the DNM machining centre, enables the robot to service both machines.

Says Paul Newton: “As required, the cell is inherently flexible. “The Puma lathe, for example, is an integral part of the cell when machining our valve components but can also operate independently as a standalone chucking or bar-fed turning centre when the cell is being used to machine enclosures.”

The cell enables Ardent to either machine 63 valves or 12 enclosures at a time with minimal human intervention and is a significant improvement over what the company’s previous machining methods could produce.

Mitsubishi EDM helps boost turnover by 20% at Nicel

A new Mitsubishi SG12S EDM die sinking machine at motorsport subcontract machine shop, Nicel Precision Engineering is having a profound effect on productivity and throughput. The new EDM machine from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) is reducing lead times and Nicel’s reliance upon external sources to an extent that the machine is largely responsible for increasing turnover by 20% since its installation at the end of 2021.

Located close to Northampton in ‘motorsport valley’ and founded in 1999, Nicel has become so successful that it now boasts a strong connection with many high-profile motorsport companies, directly supplying almost all of the F1 teams as well as teams in other motorsport classes. 

Commenting upon why it is witnessing continued growth, Managing Director Kevin Banks says: “The motorsport segment want their work turned around very quickly. F1 teams typically want parts in a window from 4 to 14 days – but fast-turnaround next-day service is also quite high on the agenda. To turn work around this quickly, you need a diverse range of highly capable machine tools, highly skilled staff and material availability. Many of our subcontract competitors are quoting the F1 industry  6 to 12 weeks – and this is why we are winning more work.”

Mr Kevin Banks says: “We produce a  lot of intricate components for the F1 industry that require die sinking, one example is special-purpose bolts that have either Torx ends or other unique bolt-ends. Whilst our external EDM supplier is first class, the typical lead time is over 2 weeks with a more expensive ‘fast-turnaround’ service available. The cost of £4 to £15 per part for die-sinking is not the issue for us – it’s the loss of 100% process control and also losing full control over our lead times.”

The company spoke to fellow subcontract manufacturers and even F1 teams – the signs were all pointing towards Mitsubishi. Then, Nicel discussed the issue with one of its customers – a prominent F1 team that has a bank of Mitsubishi EDM machines. As Kevin recalls: “We were losing our flexibility and also the ability to react at speed due to not having our EDM capability. We thoroughly looked at the market and when we discussed our search with a major F1 customer, they kindly invited us in to see their EDM machines – a bank of Mitsubishi EDMs. They couldn’t speak highly enough of the machines that run long hours every day. That tipped the argument towards Mitsubishi.”

The company opted for the Mitsubishi SG12S from ETG, as Kevin adds: “The quality and the ETG service is a given, but we bought the machine for a few simple reasons. It has a self-probing facility that ensures every job coming off the machine is 100% right. We also bought it for its ease of use and simplicity. Another key point was the built-in fire suppression system which means we can run the machine unmanned overnight and additionally; the generator technology means the machine has a very low power consumption.”

Whilst Nicel runs a day shift with weekend overtime, the Mitsubishi SG12S runs complex jobs by day with simple jobs and batch projects to run through the night. As Kevin adds: “We have created our fixturing systems, so we can clamp 40 to 50 parts on the table and these will be processed overnight. With a 25-position tool carousel and automatic probing, it is perfect for lights-out running. We can set up a batch, run the machine overnight and they will be finished the next day. Previously, we would have subbed these parts out for £4 to £15 per part with a lead time of a few weeks. The EDM has eliminated the subcontracting costs and compressed our lead times to give us complete process control.”

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