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FIVE-AXIS MACHINING SUPPLEMENT
September 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
PRODUCTION MACHINING
environments, you need to be committed
to continuous improvement and
continually raise your game.
“By investing in the latest, and most
advanced, machine tool technologies,
and by combining our manufacturing
prowess with excellent customer service,
we have found that we have been able to
grow our business.”
Established in 1983 by current
managing director Tom Brown, over the
last 35 years the company has grown
steadily from being a one-man band to a
business that now employs 20 members
of staff.
Other changes in the company have
been even more noticeable – and
dramatic. Says Brown: “When the
company was created, it operated out of
a couple of old garage units. As a
edgling engineering subcontractor, we
were, at that time, relying on a couple of
used manual machines to machine parts
and to make a living.”
In stark contrast to these early days
the company today has 14 CNC machine
tools and is looking to increase its oor
space by the end of the year by an extra
4,000 ft2.
The company’s customer pro le and
customer base has also changed
signi cantly. Brown again: “We are a Tier
2 supplier in the sectors where we
operate. The investment we have made
in plant, people, technologies, systems
and processes has enabled us to
consolidate our position in these sectors
with existing customers and win
contracts with new customers, too.”
This is exempli ed by the company’s
position in aerospace sector, where its
AS9100 accreditation has been
instrumental in achieving a number of
new contract wins. This increase in
demand for the company’s services did,
however, create some production issues,
resulting ultimately in the decision to
invest in the new Mikron MILL P 500U.
Explains Brown: “We audited and
reviewed our machining strengths and
weaknesses, and identi ed where the
‘pinch’ points existed. The exercise
helped determine that we needed to
increase our 5-axis milling capacity and
capabilities as a matter of some
urgency.
“We had previously invested in a
Mikron HPM 450U 5-axis machine some
years earlier and the machine had served
us well. We particularly liked the
machine’s built-in automation and the
way in which its integrated automatic
pallet changers have helped us increase
our productivity and ef ciency, and
reduce our operational costs.”
The company drew up a list of
technical and performance requirements
for the new machine and benchmarked
these against the 5-axis machines in GF
Machining Solutions’ portfolio. It became
clear that the MILL P 500U was the
preferred choice.
The Mikron MILL P 500U is an ultrahigh
performance, simultaneous 5-axis
machining centre that offers powerful
and dynamic material removal
capabilities, thermal stability and high
stiffness, to deliver unrivalled precision
and surface nish on complex parts.
It has axis travels of 500 by 600 by
450 mm (X, Y, Z) and trunnion swivel
of +91/-121°.
The machine features a thermo-stable
and symmetrical design, so that even
when machining at a fast pace and over
long production runs, accuracy and
process reliability remain high and
consistent.
The machine delivers fast
acceleration (1.7 G) and is equipped with
a powerful, high torque 36 kW Step-Tec
motor spindle. The machine’s
productivity is enhanced by its in-built
automation, which comprises up to
a 215 position ATC and up to a 12
pallet APC.
The company also wanted the
machine to be able to perform
interpolation turning operations.
Concludes Brown: “The MILL P 500U
is a great machine. It is accurate, fast
and exible. We mainly use the machine
for 3+2 positional 5-axis machining
operations, as opposed to full
simultaneous 5-axis machining, and its
performance to date, no matter what
we’ve asked it to do, has been
exceptional.”
Mazak technology supports AE
Aerospace’s journey to ‘glass factory’
West Midlands business AE Aerospace
has invested £1.25 million in six new
Yamazaki Mazak (https://is.gd/otocah)
machines, four of them 5-axis models,
boost capacity in the face of growing
demand and deliver its ‘glass factory’
business model.
Since being established in 1996,
AE Aerospace has become recognised as
one of the region’s fastest-growing
manufacturers. Over the last ve years,
the business has more than doubled
productivity and seen a seven-fold
increase in sales. Investment in people,
plant and machinery has been integral to
that growth and that ambitious spending
programme will continue to help the
business meet its future goals.
The £1.25 million investment follows
the company’s move to larger premises
at Network Park, Birmingham, with AE
Aerospace focusing resources on
increasing output to satisfy its evergrowing
order book. Key to that is
ramping up 5-axis capacity, which saw
the spend made in the 12 months prior
to February 2019.
The 5-axis machine complement takes
in three Variaxis J500/5X machines for
complex milling and an Integrex J200
Smooth to increase its 5-axis mill/turn
capacity on smaller complex
components. The other two machines
are a VCN530 4-axis, to double capacity
on larger milled components up to
1.25 m long, and a VCP400 VMC to help
meet a speci c export order.
The Variaxis J500/5X models have X,
Thomas Brown Engineering is
holding tight tolerances with its
Mikron machines
/www.machinery.co.uk
/otocah)