Mitre Industries has
brought maching in
house, initially with
an XYZ Machine
Tools SMX 3500 bed
mill, followed by an
XYZ 1000 LR vertical
machining centre
Firms go for
better cuts
Mitre Industries brings machining in house, backed by XYZ Machine
Tools’ technology; BSC Filters gets a capacity boost with an
additional Quaser from Engineering Technology Group.
Fabricator and sheet metalworker Mitre
Industries has, with the help of
machinist subcontractors, built a
successful business that takes in jigs and
xtures, storage systems, duct work and
materials handling systems. But the rm’s
very limited machining capacity and reliance
on those subcontractors meant that it was
often at the back of the queue, due to the
low volume and infrequent nature of its
requirements.
The situation became untenable after
Mitre Industries won a large contract that
would be subject to tight deadlines, so the
decision was taken to invest and bring
machining in house. Equipment from XYZ
Machine Tools (https://is.gd/kufaha) was
selected for the task, initially an SMX 3500
bed mill, followed by an XYZ 1000 LR
vertical machining centre.
Explains David Butcher, director, Mitre
Industries: “The risk of relying on a
subcontract machinist to meet our deadlines
was too great and it would have been a
gamble we were not willing to take. Our
suppliers had always delivered to the
highest quality, but we recognised that we
were well down the pecking order when it
came to getting work done, which was a
situation we fully understood. At the time,
my son Andy, a skilled machinist, was
looking for a new challenge, so that provided
the perfect opportunity to bring him onboard,
along with some new machining
capacity.”
But with the new contract requiring fast
action, fast supply of equipment then
became the issue. An order was placed for
the XYZ SMX 3500 bed mill, which was
installed around three weeks later, once
space for it had been created. This machine
was intended to cover the majority of the
machining on the new contract. With its
1,372 by 356 mm table size, along with axis
travels of 787 by 508 by 500 mm (X, Y, Z),
plus its ProtoTRAK control, it was capable of
tackling most of the work.
However, when the initial contract
increased, the need for additional capacity
became apparent, so the decision was taken
Industry & product news in brief
Despite many machine tool companies reporting a softening of
the UK market in 2019, machining centre and lathe manufacturer
Hurco Europe has enjoyed its second-best turnover ever.
https://is.gd/agozon
Broadbent Stanley and Czech Republic-based Fermat Group have
signed an agency agreement for the latter’s heavy duty machines.
https://is.gd/hoqupe
DMG Mori Co, the Japan-listed part of Japanese-German
machine tool expert DMG Mori, has signed a memorandum of
understanding with camera and measurement expert Nikon
Corporation. https://is.gd/eyusoc
Designed for high volume production and unattended operation,
the redesigned Haas EC-400 is faster, more compact, more rigid
and more capable than ever before. https://is.gd/upamiq
The Doosan DEM 4000 is a compact 3-axis vertical machining
centre, offering 550 by 400 by 450 mm travels in X, Y and Z, plus
24 m/min rapid traverse rates in all three axes.
https://is.gd/ohohul
Dugard’s range of cost-effective vertical machining centres has
evolved, with the company working closely alongside its longstanding
Taiwanese partners to instigate enhancements across
the series. A smaller footprint, larger work envelope, faster rapid
travels and a wider choice of control system feature on the Dugard
550, 760, 1000 and 1350. https://is.gd/bacomo
34 February 2020 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
/kufaha)
/agozon
/hoqupe
/eyusoc
/upamiq
/ohohul
/bacomo
/www.machinery.co.uk