TURNING NEWS IN THE ROUND
KOSO KentIntrol’s latest investment
has been this Starrag Group Heckert
630 DBF HMC machine that offers
single set-up production
Bundles of energy
Steed Webzell reviews the latest installations and process
developments in the energy sector, discovering a common theme of
component complexity that demands carefully selected investment
KOSO KentIntrol’s latest investment in
a Heckert 630 DBF horizontal
machining centre from Starrag
(https://is.gd/akakav) is paying big dividends
in the machining of valve bodies,
predominantly because the machine’s
capability for single set-up, multi-tasking
machining has eliminated the need for two
separate machines, along with all the
associated resetting and queuing times.
The success of the DBF machine builds
on the prowess of the company’s other
Starrag brand machines – in particular, a
Scharmann Ecoforce HT2 with integrated
P600 facing head, which has consistently
and reliably proved its worth in the single
set-up machining of larger workpieces at the
company’s Brighouse, West Yorkshire, site.
And the Heckert DBF’s record in increasing
KOSO KentIntrol’s machining capacity of
smaller valve and globe bodies, and its
ability to effectively transform the production
process for such parts, is now drawing
similar acclaim.
“In addition to replacing separate
machining operations, the Heckert DBF has
effectively ‘simpli ed’ the production
process by allowing us to load once with raw
material, undertake complete machining,
then unload a nished part ready for
inspection,” explains Richard Addy, machine
shop manager. “This also means we’re
effectively getting more parts per week from
the machine than we were using separate
machines by, of course, eliminating queuing
times.”
Established in 1967 (as Introl) and now a
worldwide supplier of valves (choke, control
and butter y), as well as actuators and
instruments, to sectors such as oil and gas,
petrochemical and power generation, KOSO
KentIntrol purchased the Heckert DBF to
increase its capacity for machining valve and
globe bodies in the 1-6” range ( ange outlet
bore size), from materials that include
Inconel.
“We were previously using two machines
to complete the bodies,” says Addy. “A lathe
to produce the ange and plug-way in three
operations; then the part often had to queue
for a separate operation – and additional
set-up – on a drill, the nal operation. In
needing to increase capacity, and with a
good working relationship with Starrag,
we had no hesitation in selecting the
Heckert 630 DBF, which offers a machining
capability and speci cation that more than
meets our needs for valve bodies.”
The Heckert 630 DBF boasts X-, Y- and
Z-axis travels of 1,070, 870 and 1,200 mm,
respectively, along with ±35 mm in the
U-axis (turning). Using the DBF, the strategy
for producing angle bodies in one-hit, and
globe bodies in two operations, has replaced
the comparatively longer and more laborious
process of: loading the lathe; setting up and
machining the rst ange; setting up and
producing the second ange; setting-up and
making the plug-way; moving the body to the
drilling cell; and, nally, setting-up and
drilling.
“On Duplex bodies, for example, we’re
taking 3 mm cuts at speeds of 60 m/min
and 0.25 mm/rev feed rates,” says Addy.
“However, it’s a careful balance between
cutting depths, speeds and tool wear; we
aim to prolong tool life as much as we can.”
On the other side of the Pennines, at the
Stalybridge facility of subcontractor Numac
Engineering, a Hermle C42UMT 5-axis,
trunnion-type mill-turn centre was installed
by UK agent Kingsbury (https://is.gd/fucumu)
in October 2019 to strengthen the
company’s prismatic machining capability
and simultaneously add extra turning
capacity. Numac secures more than half of
its business from the oil and gas sector.
A wide variety of metals is machined on site,
encompassing most grades of stainless
steel, as well as titanium and nickel alloys
36 November 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
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