SUBCONTRACTING SUPPLY & DEMAND
Close-up of the Xpert 40 in operation at
Inishowen Engineering, see box, below
(https://is.gd/vomuwi). Positioned adjacent to
one another at the company’s 5,000 ft2
facility, the machines create a exible, high
productivity milling cell.
Deciding to invest in new machines from
MACH Machine Tools represents a signi cant
departure for Delavale. Prior to the new
acquisitions, the company largely purchased
pre-owned machines from Machine Tool
Sales Online (MTSO) which, like MACH
Machine Tools, is part of the Vigilance Group
of companies. New machines were acquired
from a different supplier.
Indeed, it was during a visit to MTSO’s
Bristol showroom facility that Delavale’s
managing director, Steve Burrows, having an
eye on acquiring a pre-owned machining
centre, spotted a new MACH 710MM+ for the
rst time. The machine offers a capacity of
710 by 400 by 450 mm in the X, Y and Z axis
respectively.
Says Burrows: “MACH 710MM+ machines
have a number of attractive features and their
speci cation compares favourably with many
mid-size vertical machining centres on the
market. Particularly appealing was the directdrive
spindle con guration which, unlike
belt-driven spindle options, is much quieter
and more responsive. The machine’s faceand
taper tooling and 48 m/min rapid rates
were other key selling points.
“After its delivery and installation, one of
the rst jobs loaded to the machine was an
existing precision aluminium component,”
he continues. “The MACH 710MM+ delivered
immediate bene ts, most notably a 50%
reduction in cycle time and the elimination of
manual nishing operations.”
Due to the performance and productivity
improvements gained from the MACH
710MM+, just a few months later Delavale
ordered a second identical machine.
In Hertford, Mills CNC (https://is.gd/
ugoyob), the exclusive distributor of Doosan
machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has
supplied subcontract specialist Qualiturn
Products with a Doosan DVF 5000 5-axis
machining centre. The machine, one of the
rst of its type in the UK, arrived shortly after
the company relocated to new 20,000 ft2
premises.
“The DVF 5000 investment was made to
improve our milling capabilities and
complement our existing technologies,” says
Nick Groom, Qualiturn’s managing director.
“We are keen advocates of one-hit machining
and, wherever possible, look to automate our
processes.”
This commitment to continuous
improvement through automation led
Qualiturn (in 2014) to invest in its rst Lang
(https://is.gd/wevufa) Robo-Trex robot
system. The set-up uses mobile trollies that
are loaded with multiple vices that hold
workpieces. These workpieces – once
prepped – are loaded into a Doosan DNM
650 machining centre by the system’s robot.
Due to the success of the DNM 650/Lang
Robo-Trex automated manufacturing cell, the
company decided to invest in a second cell,
based on the new DVF 5000, which has a
capacity of 625 by 450 by 400 mm in the
three linear axes.
“Our new cell is fully operational and runs
24/7,” says Qualiturn’s Groom. “The Doosan
DVF 5000 is a high performance machine
and, by integrating it with an automated parthandling
system, we’ve been able to exploit
its full potential. As a result, we have
experienced productivity gains and reduced
lead times, both of which make us more
competitive.”
Sheet metal fabrication and CNC machining subcontractor
Inishowen Engineering has increased the size of its production
facility in County Donegal, Ireland. The move follows an €11 million
investment in a new 160,000 ft2 factory that opened on a sevenacre
site in Drumfries in early 2019.
As part of the expansion programme, which started in April
2017, an extra €19 million has been spent on machine tools,
a pair of robotic welding stations and nishing equipment, including
shot blasting booths.
In addition to the replacement of a CNC tube bender and a
plasma cutting machine with more modern plant, and the purchase
of another large machining centre, further machines introduced
include a 12 by 2 m capacity 6 kW at-bed bre laser cutter that
arrived in 2018. This machine joined two 4 by 2 m capacity models
of similar power installed in 2015 and 2017. All are BySprint Fiber
models supplied by Bystronic UK (https://is.gd/iludiq).
Also on site from the same source are seven press brakes,
including two Bystronic Xpert 6 m, 650 tonne capacity machines
that arrived in 2019, as well as a machine for the CO2 laser cutting
of tube up to 305 mm diameter by 12,500 mm long. The tube
laser can complete in ve minutes what might take four hours of
manual milling and drilling on different metalcutting machine tools.
Additionally, during the spring of 2019, Bystronic supplied and
installed an automated sheet storage and handling system that
continually loads and unloads material to and from the company’s
laser cutters. As a result, Inishowen estimates that output from the
two smaller lasers is up by 30-50%.
Inishowen Engineering’s owner and managing director Michael
McKinney says: “The BySprint Fibers not only cut signi cantly faster
but cost less to service and run as there are no optics or need for
assist gas, and electricity consumption is much lower. Moreover,
greater reliability means we are con dent in leaving the machines
to run unattended overnight.
“Smaller rms may struggle to nance the acquisition of top-end
machines, but only by doing so is it possible to obtain quality
coupled with competitive cost-per-part production,” he concludes.
€30 million factory expansions
48 April 2020 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
/www.machinery.co.uk
/wevufa
/vomuwi
/ugoyob
/ugoyob
/iludiq