machining of jobs that others maybe didn’t
want, due to their dif culty or awkward
materials, so we knew we had to invest
wisely in machine tool capacity.” That initial
investment took the form of four machines
from XYZ Machine Tools (https://is.gd/
kufaha), two XYZ TC400 turning centres
(400 maximum turning diameter) plus an
XYZ 1100 HD and an XYZ 800 HD vertical
machining centres.
Among the key reasons to choose XYZ
as a machine supplier was its use of the
Siemens Shopmill and Shopturn control
systems, along with the solid construction
of the machines with their box slideways
and overall machining capacities. “We nd
that using the Siemens control we can cut
programming time in half, thanks to the
easy-to-use interface and graphics. We can
also edit those programs quickly as well,”
says Stokoe. “The rigid construction of the
machines, along with powerful spindles,
also suited the work we envisaged we
would be machining, which involves hogging
out material. In our view, the XYZ machines
can do the work of machines that would be
TURNING MACHINISTS GO ROUND IN CIRCLES MORE EFFICIENTLY
Expert Precision Engineering chose technology from XYZ Machine Tools to support its
new business. And success will see the fi rm return for more machining capacity
twice the price, so they provide excellent
value for money and cost-effective
machining, delivering savings that we can
pass on to customers.”
With no such thing as a typical batch
quantity – work for the company runs from
one-offs to more general 20-30-off batches
– the ease-of-use of the XYZ machines and
the Siemens controls are paying dividends
for Expert Precision Engineering. “Key to
our success is being able to push work
through quickly and accurately and give
customers the con dence that we will
deliver on our promises,” says Thompson.
“With the XYZ machines, we can be cutting
metal within hours of receiving an order and
with the skills we have within the business
we know that anyone can step up to the
machines and program, set and operate
them, without any issues. This ability to
deliver on-time has had a positive effect on
business and we are seeing a change in
the work we are getting, with more complex
and competitive work coming our way,
which in turn will allow us to invest further
in XYZ machines.”
Industry & product news in brief
HPC Services has invested more than £600,000 in a trio of
Nakamura turn-mill centres from the Engineering Technology
Group (ETG). https://is.gd/osojan
Following year-on-year sales growth, Tornos UK has expanded
its team with the addition of three skilled engineers.
https://is.gd/mujive
Nine orders to the value of £2 million were
placed at Citizen Machinery UK’s rst Open
House at its new Midlands turning centre of
excellence in Brierley Hill. The company
reports that the order total is likely to double
in the immediate aftermath of the event.
Attendance over the three days exceeded
300, a record number. https://is.gd/bucevo
Two sliding-head, twin-spindle turn-mill
centres of 32 mm bar capacity have been
added to Citizen Machinery’s Cincom
programme – L32-X LFV and L32-XII LFV. Both
feature the rm’s patented low-frequency
vibration (LFV) software. https://is.gd/cicama
A twin-spindle, 10-axis CNC turn-mill centre, the Miyano BNA-
42GTY LFV, has been introduced by Citizen for manufacturing
complex components in one hit from bar stock up to 42 mm
diameter. https://is.gd/uxowib
The second generation of the G200 turn-mill centre, designed
for the complete machining of components from bar or billet, has
been introduced by the German manufacturer, Index.
https://is.gd/penuwu
For several months, Tornos has been launching a number of
products that form part of its entry-level portfolio of turning
machines. Now, with the introduction of the Swiss DT13 and
Swiss DT26 turning machines, a full product
line-up is available. https://is.gd/zerime
Iemca has introduced a new bar feeder,
designed to maximise productivity during
unattended turning and mill-turning of larger
diameter components in single-spindle, xedhead
lathes. https://is.gd/farafi
A newly developed insert geometry for
grooving and parting titanium workpieces has
been introduced by Horn. https://is.gd/coxove
Walter GB has added two multi-edge tool
systems into its range of products for grooving
and parting-off – the Walter Cut MX, which has
four cutting edges, for parting-off small
workpieces up to 12 mm diameter, and the
Upgraded CoroPlus ToolPath software
is now available from Sandvik
Coromant
two-edge Walter Cut GX34 for work up to 65 mm diameter.
https://is.gd/axerut
Manufacturers using PrimeTurning technology from Sandvik
Coromant can now access upgraded CoroPlus ToolPath software,
which is designed to help accelerate operations and planning
processes. https://is.gd/eyehud
www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets August 2019 43
/
/osojan
/mujive
/bucevo
/cicama
/uxowib
/penuwu
/zerime
/farafi
/coxove
/axerut
/eyehud
/www.machinery.co.uk