Over three days during MACH 2002, two advanced modern apprentices will be battling it out as finalists for the Turning Award trophy and cash prize sponsored by the show organisers.
Over three days during MACH 2002, two advanced modern apprentices will be battling it out as finalists for the Turning Award trophy and cash prize sponsored by the show organisers the Machine Tool Technologies Association (MTTA), in the UK Skill CNC Competition. The two contestants, Adrian Trow of Nickerson Europe based in Wellingborough and Craig Lownie of Weatherford Completion Systems of Arbroath, will have at their disposal two of Colchester's latest Tornado 220 CNC slant bed lathes. These machines are also being shown for the first time at a UK exhibition on the 600 Group stand 5538 in Hall 5.

Each apprentice has 22 hours to complete the set task which involves programming and machining two components, one in aluminium the other in mild steel.

Prior to the start of the competition on Monday 29 April, both aspiring engineers will spend two days at the Colchester Lathe factory training school in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, where they will be put through an intensive programming and machine familiarisation course.

This will be followed with a further day's tooling instruction at the plant by Kennametal Hertel.

The test components are complex involving turning, grooving, internal chamber machining and threading.

An important element in the competition will be the ability of the contestants to conform to drawings, dimensions and surface finish requirements while overall presentation will also be gauged by the three independent judges.

The more difficult steel component will account for 60 per cent of the possible marks.

Compliance to main dimensions, which includes tolerances of 21 microns, will make up 50 per cent of the available score for each part.