When a Welsh subcontract machining company wants to extend capacity, it invests in the latest CNC turning centres, lathes and feeding equipment rather than expand working hours or add shifts.
As the third generation managing director of family-owned TS Henderson located at the foot of the Brecon Beacons, UK, Rob Henderson maintains: 'Most people arrive here thinking they will find a field of sheep, a cow shed and tractors, and they are actually quite surprised - and naturally relieved - when they see our 15,000ft2 factory, our portfolio of over 20 high-tech CNC machines and, in particular, how we utilise our nine Colchester CNC Tornado two- and three-axis turning machines.' Henderson never fails to be amused by the expectations of potential customers when they arrive at the Hay on Wye (Herefordshire) based specialist supplier of high-quality sub-contract parts to, for example, companies in the automotive, electronics, lifting gear, marine and motor sport sectors. While all these customers are based in the UK, he suggests that 80% of the parts he supplies are eventually destined for export. Henderson is very serious when it comes to making the most of his high-tech CNC machining technology to satisfy customer demands for a wide variety of prismatic and shaft-type components in varying batch quantities.

Most of the company's turning work is produced on the Tornado machines - a mixture of two- and three-axis Tornado 80, 90, 220M and the latest T6M models that have been installed progressively since 1996.

All equipped with bar feeders for unmanned, automatic running, the Tornados have consistently proved to be reliable generating high returns on their investment in the production of all manner of parts in all materials - including the often problematic 316 stainless steel - an important factor in his continual investment in the marque against the demands of his order book.

He says: 'In addition to offering the right specification at the right price, the Tornado machines bought from Colchestersales have always been supported with excellent back-up.

This is crucial to us.

And if we do have a problem, with either the machine or programming, for example, we can get superb 'phone support - which means they're not automatically sending out an engineer followed by an invoice.

Customer service on this level means a lot to me, and it gives me great confidence when I need to invest,' he insists.

Henderson's capital expenditure philosophy is equally as pragmatic: to meet any sustained hike in demand, he simply buys additional machines rather than extend the working hours; even though the company's single day shift for 5.1/2 days a week is complemented by the extended running capabilities of the Tornados via bar feed systems.

Currently employing 28 people he outlines: 'If we added another shift, i e, a night shift, we would effectively have to almost double the workforce but you have to be mindful of the effect of a quiet period which could lead to having to lay people off.

For us, installing another machine is a much simpler solution.

Machines do not go to the dentist, they do not have personal problems, and if the workload does dip, then they can be switched off.' Thankfully, he reflects, it has been some time since any machine has stood dormant through lack of work and, in fact, increasing demand - especially for turn/milled parts - during the past two years has spurred the BS EN ISO 9002-accredited company to invest in three-axis driven tool turning cycles from Colchestersales.

It has installed both the Tornado 220M and latest T6M models during 2005 to complement the six Tornado 80 models and a single Tornado 90 two-axis machine.

These machines complement six machining centres and an impressive multi-spindle turning, milling, grinding, thread rolling and centreless grinding capacity.

Specifically designed to combine previous separate operations into a single cycle, TS Henderson has found increased productivity has been achieved at an unrivalled cost-to-performance ratio.

The latest Tornado T6M has a 54mm bar capacity, offers a swing over the bed of 440mm and maximum turning diameters and lengths of 200mm and 450mm, respectively.

With a 15kW spindle motor providing spindle speeds of 6,000 rev/min, coupled with rapid traverse rates of 25m/min and 30m/min in the X and Z axes, for the 12 driven tool VDI 30 turret, the machine has satisfied every demand that Henderson has so far presented it with.

Workpieces successfully machined in a single cycle sequence of turning and milling extend from the complex to the fairly simple, including filter adaptors for the automotive sector and even single parts for steam engines.

In addition to highlighting the machine's impressive build qualities as enabling consistent performance, the Duo-stable construction that uses an inert concrete composite encapsulated in a heavy-duty fabrication and reinforced with a network of ribs for excellent thermal and dynamic stability - Rob Henderson also points to the T6M's Fanuc 21i control system as being particularly beneficial.

The CNC includes the Colchestersales-developed Manual Guide - i conversational programming technology.

This has high level graphics support giving full simulation and verification of any cutting cycle in both 2-D and 3-D plus the ability to manipulate machining operations so that the part and toolpaths can be viewed from any angle.

Not only does this system interface with all major CAD/CAM systems but it also makes programming of single part cycles extremely effective, quick and simple.

Equal praise is also bestowed upon the accompanying ColCAM off-line programming software: 'Once a job is programmed, the cycles are easy to follow with 3D graphics showing the tool tip shape, and axial and radial drilling and milling tool paths clearly depicted,' he says.

Commenting on the effectiveness of 'upgrading' to three-axis machining, Henderson does not mince his words: 'I cannot say that we always achieve fantastic reductions in cycle times on multi-operation work through one-hit machining,' he comments.

'But the real benefit is the reduction in the number of operations, setting and inspection which reflects on reduced lead times and the associated labour resource of transferring parts to, say, a machining centre or pillar drill.' This down-to-earth business philosophy is applied to every aspect of the company - for example, almost GBP 100,000 of round steel/stainless bar, as well as brass, bronze, aluminium and Nylon, is maintained as a key factor to provide immediate response to all customer demands, to complement the usual just-in-time delivery schedules.

And in terms of customer service, it has not been unknown for the TS Henderson delivery van to be despatched to a distant customer with just a handful of parts on board, to meet a particular request.

'Sub-contractors are service providers,' Henderson concludes, 'You need the right equipment to perform the task which we have managed to achieve but if you don't provide a service you will not stay in business.