TURNING POSITIVE EXPERIENCES PROCLAIMED
due to the absence of load monitoring, which
the new model has, to detect worn or broken
tools and automatically stop the machine.
This and a 5-axis machining centre bought in
2018 can both run in such a way, which
leads Aymes to say that rapid amortisation
renders the initial purchase price much less
important, adding that these two machines
will pay for themselves faster than all the
others on the company’s shop oor.
Scot Bennett Engineering, which supplies
milled and turned parts to the automotive,
agricultural, lighting and industrial sectors,
has purchased its second Nakamura
AS200LMYS from the Engineering Technology
Group (ETG – https://is.gd/ulufay) to help it
cope with a 16% increase in demand.
The 165 mm diameter chuck, single-turret,
15-station live tool and twin-spindle machine
will reduce cycle times by up to 25%, as well
as removing secondary operations on more
than 40 different product lines.
FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE PROMPT
“The Nakamura is a high quality machine and
delivers the precision performance, speed
and exibility that we need,” explains Rob
Bennett, who took over the business from his
father in 2010. “We already have an AS200
on the shop oor and know, rst-hand, what it
can give you. This second machine will give
us extra milling capacity and we have made
sure that we have con gured it exactly the
same and chosen the same workholding and
software.”
He continues: “By doing this, we have
removed the need for any extra training,
whilst also speeding up the install process.
ETG is a long-standing supplier and the
service we received was second to none –
as always.”
Jon Mannion, regional sales manager at
Engineering Technology Group, adds:
“It’s great to supply Scot Bennett with this
technology, just three years on from its rst
purchase with us. We’ve put our industryleading
maintenance, service and repair
package in place on this machine to ensure
minimal downtime for a customer that is
growing fast.”
G Zero Machining Services is a family-run
engineering business located in Ellesmere
Port, Cheshire. Led by managing director
Shaun Hackney, his sons Andrew and Steven,
and son-in law Cameron work alongside him.
After Andrew began writing programs for other
companies, he realised there was also a
demand for CNC machining. He knew his
customers wanted their parts manufactured
in the UK, rather than risk quality issues and
lengthy lead times when sourcing from
overseas, so the family came together to
create G Zero.
With the company’s rst order secured,
Shaun gave his local Haas sales manager a
call. “We’d all worked on Haas machines
before,” he explains, “so we knew what we
were getting. We really like the Haas control,
because it’s so user friendly and identical on
each machine, so it makes the work so much
easier to have that continuity.”
For their rst investment, G Zero
purchased two Modular Mini Mills (406 by
305 by 254 mm), a VF-2SS Super Speed
vertical machining centre (762 by 406 by 508
mm) with 2-axis trunnion rotary table and an
2-axis ST-10 lathe (356 mm diameter by 406
mm length). These were followed a few
months later with a second VF-2SS,
purchased to open up the working envelope
without the need to remove the trunnion. The
machines suit the company’s strategy of only
machining parts that can be manually
handled.
Of the lathe, Shaun says: “The ST-10 is a
lovely machine to use. We were all novices
when it came to turning, but we’ve come a
long way in a short space of time. Haas
allowed us to bank our training, so when we
were ready the engineer came to us for three
days and guided us step by step. As we were
already familiar with the Haas control, we
found the lathe easy to program.”
G Zero’s customers operate mainly in the
automotive industry, including the twowheeled
variety, such as CCM Motorcycles.
“We have our own design house, so we start
by producing a prototype before moving on to
making batches, typically around 100. Our
most recent design is a set of jigs and
xtures for Bentley Motors,” Shaun adds,
concluding: “We’re very pleased to have
brought Haas into our factory. We always
wanted to buy new to guarantee the accuracy
of the machines. The price was great and the
after sales service has been brilliant, their
support has been invaluable.”
Scot Bennett Engineering duplicated
its existing Nakamura-Tome
installation. Rob Bennett (Scot
Bennett Engineering managing
director, right) and Jon Mannion of
ETG are seen here in front of the new
machine
With start-up G-Zero’s fi rst order secured,
the company contacted the local Haas
sales manager, who duly helped the
company kit out its production area
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