TOOLING WORKING TOGETHER FOR GREATER BENEFIT
produces the different stainless steel
components around the clock, without any
operator intervention.
Even before the installation of the
machine, Frederick Shortt, application
technician at DMG Mori, and his
development team created and simulated
the numerical control (NC) programs with the
Vericut NC code simulation and optimisation
system (CGTEch, www.is.gd/yuyeli ).
“Together with Sandvik Coromant, we
optimised all programs in such a way that
as few tools as possible are needed,”
Shortt explains.
In other words, Bremont only bought what
it really needed. And as this all took place
before the installation, Bremont was able to
start producing from day one.
“This joint optimisation meant that any
teething problems were reduced to a
minimum and the investment quickly paid off
for Bremont,” explains James Rhys-Davies,
strategic relations director, Northern Europe
at Sandvik Coromant.
“The call for such turnkey solutions will
increase steadily. Although the preliminary
costs are sometimes a little higher, the
bene ts of a fast return on investment and
maximisation of machine availability make
such turnkey production cells a very
attractive option, as cost per part is
generally much lower,” he adds.
PUSH-BUTTON PRODUCTION
Exactly as planned, Bremont was able to
start full production of the watch
components immediately after installation of
the new machine. Malcolm Kent, production
manager at Bremont, was extremely
satis ed with the results.
“We were surprised at the speed and
high quality to which we can now produce
the individual components,” he says.
“We produce very complex parts with
tolerances of 3 to 5 micron, where quality
and precision are of paramount importance.
Thanks to the NTX 1000 in combination with
the Sandvik Coromant tools, the processes
are absolutely trouble-free.”
Adds Sandvik Coromant’s Bates:
“Thanks to the collaboration between
Sandvik Coromant and DMG Mori, it was
possible to start production on the NTX
1000 on the very rst day.”
At subcontractor Newport CNC, set up by
Steve Knowles more than 10 years ago,
it has been UK tooling manufacturer and
tooling distributor Industrial Tooling
Corporation (ITC, www.is.gd/bakuku ) that has
been the company’s partner of choice in the
matter of tooling.
At the start of his business, Knowles
bought his rst machine and worked
evenings and weekends while keeping the
day job going. His rst port of call was Haas
Automation (www.is.gd/irakif ), from whom
he acquired a Haas VF4SS machining centre
and employed ITC cutting tools.
Building its early success in the high-end
automotive and aftermarket industries,
Newport CNC is now entering its 11th year of
business and the company has celebrated
this with several investments. Before the
Covid-19 pandemic, Knowles had planned a
move into a new factory and the purchase of
its fth Haas machine, a ST20Y turning
centre. The subsequent shutdown created
several obstacles, but the ve-employee
business has now moved into its new
4,700 ft2 facility in Milton Keynes and has
installed its Haas turning centre.
Commenting upon the challenge,
Knowles says: “Our new facility is three
times the size of the previous site and the
Haas machine is the rst turning centre we
have installed. Despite the challenges of the
pandemic, we are con dent that our new
machine and the new facility are a bedrock
for us to build an even stronger business in
the future.”
Another of the bedrocks of the business
from day one has been ITC’s cutting tools:
“I have used ITC cutting tools for over 20
years and they have never let me down.
When I started this
business, my rst port of
call was Gary Bambrick at
ITC. More than 80% of our
work is aluminium
machining and the solid
carbide aluminium cutters
from ITC are beyond
compare. I have had sales
reps from virtually every
tooling company trialling
tools here down the years and none of them
can match the tool life, productivity, surface
nishes and overall performance of the ITC
aluminium range. Over 80% of our cutting
tools are now supplied by ITC and we have
little interest in wasting time trialling
alternative tools; time has proven that we
are already applying the best tools available
for our business.”
The company boasts 3-, 4- and 5-axis
machining, as well as Y-axis turning
capability, and 75% of the company’s work
involves aluminium machining, the remaining
25% a mixture of titanium alloys, plastics
and stainless steel. In all of that, however,
ITC has been instrumental in the tooling
strategies adopted by Newport CNC.
For a number of years, the ITC 3081
Series of solid carbide end-mills for
aluminium has been the go-to cutter, but the
range has broadened over time to take in
the Britcut Series of two- and four- ute endmills
in diameters of 4, 6, and 10 mm. With
centre cutting, a facet relief and a 30° helix,
Newport CNC has opted for the TiAlN-coated
option for machining a complete variety of
material types. Following that, the 3152
three- ute short length AlTiN coated endmills,
the 2112 and 2012 Series of
ball-nose end-mills for pro ling and also the
4071 Series of chamfer tools have been
adopted by Newport CNC.
ITC is a distributor of Widia solid carbide
end-mills and these have also been applied.
Newport CNC trialled the Widia VSM11 high
feed 40 mm diameter face-mill, which,
compared to a leading tool manufacturer,
delivered a tool life improvement of 30% and
a productivity increase of 40%, all while
Sandvik Coromant &
DMG Mori delivered a
push-button solution for
Bremont
www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets | December 2020 33
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