Slant bed CNC production lathes, equipped with optional mill/drill facilities, are being offered at attractive prices.
C Dugard Machine Tools market, distribute, install and support their own range of CNC lathes and vertical machining centres throughout the UK and Europe. The Eagle brand has achieved wide recognition for quality, reliability and speed of operation at remarkably cost-effective prices. Indeed, the Eagle vertical machining centres have become one of Europe's fastest selling range.

Dugard have just introduced three new CNC Lathes as part of the Eagle range: * the Eagle 100 (6-inch chuck; prices start at GBP 25,000) * the Eagle 200 (8-inch chuck; prices start at GBP 31,500).

* the Eagle 300 (10-inch chuck; prices start at GBP 42,500).

Prices will vary according to the specifications/options required, however accurate prices are available by telephoning C Dugard Machine Tools on 01273 732286 All three Eagle lathes are of Slant Bed configuration with Mill/Drill facilities available as an option.

There are two versions of each machine to choose from: * a direct drive spindle for general applications or * a high-torque, two-speed gearbox for the most demanding applications.

All the Eagle CNC Lathes are available with Fanuc or Siemens Control Systems, together with parts catchers, bar feeds and tool setting probes.

It doesn't always have to be a gantry solution where CNC lathe automation flexibility is concerned, here isa fully automated piece handling station in an extremely small space.
It doesn't always have to be a gantry solution where automation flexibility is concerned. Increasingly demanding requirements with regard to installation areas and loading times are a good reason to look for other, new solution approaches. With its newly developed swivel loader, Emco, for the first time, has a fully automated piece handling station in an extremely small space.

The name can be traced back to the type of movement sequence.

A longitudinal axis Q1, which is NC-controlled and can therefore be influenced 100 % from the handling program, assumes the loading stroke in the Z-direction and the Q-axis (swivel axis) assumes the X-movement.

Extremely short traverse distances automatically result in short loading and unloading times.

Flexible gripper systems open up a broad application range for the solution.

As a result, a large number of extremely different systems have been installed and commissioned for customers over the past several months.

Examples are : * Case 1: Emcoturn 332Mcplus - pre-moulded injection moulded parts needed to be re-machined.

Machining required is only one chucking fixture.

This was accomplished with a vibration conveyor, a swivel loader and an Emcoturn 332MC plus.

The double gripping head on the loader picks up two parts from the feed and transports them to the main and counter spindle.

At the same time, a part is machined on each spindle.

The finished parts are then pushed into a discharge system.

Loading and unloading time per part: 5 sec., cycle time per part: 10 sec.

* Case 2: Emcoturn 332MC plus - pre-moulded copper parts needed to be automatically fed and machined.

Feeding was carried out with a cycle chain conveyor (approx.

500 parts).The swivel loader provides for part handling.

Machining is carried out simultaneously on the main and counter spindle.

The finished parts are ejected onto a collection conveyor and fed to the subsequent process.

It was possible to produce 9 different parts without loading and unloading including part transfer: 9 sec.

* Case 3: Emcoturn 345-II - pre-moulded steel parts turned on a lathe.

The goal was a short run-through time with simultaneous flexibility for future parts.

The raw parts are stored in 8 feed chutes, grasped with the gripper and loaded into the machine.

Cutting is carried out in just a few seconds.

Due to the simple ejection of the part into a discharge slide below the spindle, it is possible to load the next part while the turret is being emptied.

Total cycle time including loading and unloading: 11 sec.

* Case 4: Emcoturn 345-II - this time a shaft part had to be machined and handled.

Here as well, the swivel loader was the optimum solution.

The parts are stored in a 3-lane feed chute (approx.

150 parts).

The shaft gripper on the swivel loader transports the raw part into the working area.

There the parts are clamped on both sides and the recesses produced.

Following machining, the shaft is placed on a finished part conveyor with the catch device and transported away.

Loading and unloading time: 5 sec., total cycle time: 19 sec.

The above examples are only intended to show a selection of what is possible with the swivel loader.

The use of a CNC lathe 'Lights-out' package to supplement an existing pair CNC lathes to machine door furniture components has increased output without increasing the workforce.

The use of a Colchester Tornado 90 'Lights-out' package to supplement an existing pair of Colchester Tornado 80 CNC lathes on a new contract to machine door furniture components, has enabled Birmingham-based Paraid to increase production capacity without adding to its workforce and produce groups of parts with extremely rapid change-over. Purchased from Coventry-based Datamach, the Midlands distributor for Colchester, Paraid was able to overcome problems it had always encountered when installing additional new machines that it had to recruit and train two new setter operators. Says manufacturing director Mark Wallace: 'With the Lights-out Tornado package which includes a bar feed, axis torque monitoring for tool wear and breakage and in-built swarf conveyor, we were in the ideal position that the machine only needed part-time operator attention.

This meant that no extra people were needed.' Although the application at Paraid was developed in such a way that the sister tooling replacement was no longer used, tool monitoring has remained a valuable asset and contributes a high confidence factor to allow minimally manned operation of the machine.

Paraid's operations are split into two distinct areas which majors on manufacture and sale of the EVAC+CHAIR, a light-weight foldable chair developed for evacuation of disabled people from high rise buildings.

This ingenious system is ideal for on the level or on stairs, where its tracked runners allow easy negotiation of stair descent angles up to 38 (degrees).

Managing director Barry Scholes explained: 'We set up Paraid in 1986 to manufacture and sell the EVAC+CHAIR in all markets other than North America.

Initially, production was subcontracted but in 1995, with the aid of a Regional Selective Assistance grant, we bought the current factory so we could manufacture in-house and have more control over quality and delivery.

While this was very successful, we found we had spare capacity and so decided to move into subcontract machining.' At the time, the company had CNC milling and tube bending and had recently installed its first Tornado 80 CNC lathe.

By 1998, a second Tornado 80 was installed and the company's skills base expanded.

This led to Investors In People status - while the subcontract capability led to ISO9002-approved quality system and steady growth in the subcontract business.

'The Tornado gave us a well-built, simple to use machine at a very competitive price,' said Mark Wallace.

He felt there was little competition in value for money terms and says: 'It enables us to develop our subcontract machining with a high degree of success and confidence.

Whereas in 1995 we had no CNC capacity, we now have eight CNC machines, including three machining centres.' He describes how the Tornado 90 Lights-out was the ideal purchase.

'We were very familiar with the normal Tornado and found programming has proven to be just as straightforward and because the MBF 1000 bar feed is also programmed at the Fanuc control, it makes the setters life so much easier.

The unmanned running capability was a very attractive feature and this has certainly paid its way.

However, one advantage is that as many of our parts are similar but are made from different materials,' says Mark Wallace.

He describes how for their applications they find the Tornado 90 more productive to set with all the tools installed in the 12 station turret for turning up to three similar parts because they can take advantage of instant changeover.

'Although this precludes use of sister tooling, we still have the advantage of tool monitoring for running under limited manning and the gentle handling of the parts-catcher ensures we never mark a fine surface after its machined,' he maintains.

It was the winning of a contract to supply components for high quality architectural ironmongery, in 1999 that brought a change to Paraid.

As Barry Scholes explains: 'We were initially approached to help develop for production a newly designed range of handles.

Once this was completed, we were asked to supply the components which rapidly filled any spare capacity.

We are now the exclusive supplier of components, as finished kits of parts, and the contract includes our management of subcontracting for any polishing, anodising and powder coating processes.' The Tornado 90 'Lights-out' package was bought mainly to service this contract which, taking finish variations into account, amounts to 50 part numbers.

In terms of actual machined components there are 25 produced from 316 stainless steel, aluminium and nylon and some from mild steel.

Component length ranges from 10mm to 125mm with batches of around 1,000 produced against a monthly schedule.

The company machines most of its door furniture components from 20 mm or 25 mm bar stock.

While the complete range have to be turned, some also need second operation milling and cross-drilling and/or a drifting operation to locate the lock through-bar which actuates the latch.

Says Mark Wallace: 'Tolerances are not tight, but a consistent surface finish is critical as the stainless steel parts are polished and the aluminium parts subsequently anodised.' He then describes a typical operational sequence which involves turning the outside diameter and end spigot, screw-cutting the spigot followed by finish boring and part-off.

A second turning set-up is then used to produce a radius end and any milling or drilling operations are performed on one of the machining centres or the drifting press.

'Typical cycle time is around 90 seconds for aluminium parts and up to twice that on stainless steel,' he adds.

Due to the regular need for machining both ends of the workpiece and for second operation milling and drilling, Mark Wallace had considered both twin- spindle lathes and mill-turning solutions.

Five microns maximum variation over time in the accuracy of a turned component is claimed by the Japanese lathe builder for its new, compact CNC lathe, selling at GBP 59,000.
Five microns maximum variation over time in the accuracy of a turned component is claimed by the Japanese lathe builder, Takamaz, for its new SX-07 lathe, available in the UK through sole agent, Yuasa Warwick Machinery. The 20mm bar machine (optionally 35mm) has a compact footprint for a twin-opposed-spindle lathe - just 1.8 square metres. Considering the attention to constructional detail to achieve high precision turned parts production, its GBP 59,000 price is regarded as competitive.

A new technique for Takamaz, which supplies 40 per cent of its output to Japanese automotive plants, is to mount the headstock symmetrically about the spindle centreline to equalise movement in all directions resulting from thermal changes.

In addition, to eliminate heat transfer from hydraulic oil to the headstock, air clamping of the 5 inch main spindle's collet chuck is provided (although hydraulic may be specified).

Again with minimisation of heat transmission in mind, Takamaz has designed the SX-07 so that the hydraulic tank, coolant tank and electrics are isolated from the bed casting.

Pre-tension is applied to the ballscrews in all axes, not just those that deliver the 100mm X and 140mm Z movements of the 12-station turret but also to A, the 250mm sub spindle traverse.

It is the X-axis that directly affects the radial accuracy of the component, so a heat-balanced construction has been provided and the screw has been made as short as possible to reduce thermal expansion.

Both main and sub spindles offer a generous 8,000 rpm so production rates may be maintained when dealing with small diameter, non-ferrous workpieces.

Contributing further to high productivity are 18m/min rapids in all axes.

For component ejection, a parts catcher and outfeed conveyor are supplied as standard.

Control is provided by the modern Fanuc 21i-TB, which helps to maximise the number of components in the bin at the end of a shift through its high speed processing capability and comprehensive help during shop floor programming.

Since a bar-fed CNC lathe was installed, it has operated virtually 24 hours a day with very little manual intervention other than for set-up, bar replenishment and part inspection.
Usually when a machine sits unattended in the corner of a workshop it means that something is not quite right. However, in the case of the Colchester Tornado 'Lights-out' A50 CNC lathe installed by RK International of Erith, at Vire Engineering of Totnes, nothing could be further from the truth. Since the machine was installed, it has operated virtually 24 hours a day with very little manual intervention other than for set-up, bar replenishment and part inspection.

This has firmly established a reputation within the company for consistency, reliability and accuracy and the only complaint from the shopfloor being that there is only one installed.

The south Devon based company is the machining subcontract arm of a small group of companies under the ownership of Mrs Jan Vincent.

One of its principal activities is to produce a range of high quality hose and pipe fittings for motor sport applications from Clubman up to Formula One.

They are supplied to sister company Exact Engineering for distribution as discrete fittings and made-up hose assemblies for brake, fuel, oil and coolant systems.

In addition, Vire also produces precision turned components for defence and aerospace applications.

As Mrs Vincent explains: 'Most of the parts we produce are to established designs which add up to around 2,500 different components made from stainless steel, aluminium, titanium and mild steel.

As part of the production process, many are plated, polished or specialist treated.

Most parts are produced from bar which have a hose attachment at one end and a coupling or banjo union at the other in batches that range between 50 and 2,000.' The company is a long time user of CNC machine tools, particularly for external subcontract machining.

In the past, most of its fittings have been produced using plugboard semi-automatic lathes which were very cost competitive because of the low hourly rate.

This is particularly so on larger batches due to the use of form tools to generate outside diameter profiles.

Les Hutchings, Vire's general manager, comments: 'Accuracy requirements on the couplings range from +/-0.1 mm down to +/-0.025 which was just within the capability of the plugboard machines.

We tended to use CNC for subcontract work but in the run-up to buying the Tornado from RK International we were looking to find a machine that could service both sides of the business.

In practice, the Tornado has proved very productive which we put down to the 'Lights-Out' package supplied with it.' The Colchester 'Lights-out' package comprises the Colchester developed MBF 1000 short bar magazine, Renishaw turret-mounted Tool-Eye probing for tool set-up, an infra-red linked Renishaw touch probe for parts gauging, a parts picker with conveyorised off-load and a swarf conveyor.

The turret has the standard 12 tool stations of the Tornado and control is by a Fanuc 21-Ti system.

However, the machine is different due to the integrated axis torque monitoring, work scheduling software and a sister tool replacement capability.

The MBF 1000 bar feed will hold 12, 40mm bars and up to 10, 65mm diameter bars and is fully integrated with the machine.

This means changeover takes less than 15 minutes to switch say from hexagon to round bar and programming is quick at the machine's Fanuc control due to the dialogue input.

To help control production quantities when running unmanned, each bar is measured by the bar feed system and the number of programmed pieces available from each bar calculated which ensures the machining cycle is stopped when the batch is completed.

'We saw the Tornado as filling the gap between the plugboard machines and our existing CNC lathes.' Les Hutchings explained: 'In practice the unmanned running capability makes it cost-competitive with the plugboard machines as the direct labour requirement is so much lower.

The Tornado provides far more consistent accuracy than the plugboard machines with very little need for adjustment so its proven to be very popular on the shopfloor.' This statement is borne out by Ian Andrews who regularly programs and sets the machine.

'We set the Tornado for batches of 1,000 to 15,000 parts and then do a routine dimensional check every 45 minutes or so.

During the time that the machine has been in use I rarely make any offset adjustments to keep a job in tolerance because the tool monitoring system is so effective and repeatable once the limits are established.' The axis torque monitoring limits are set to replicate empty, worn or broken tools by teach repeat, operator input or by insertion into the part program.

When the critical point is reached the software automatically initiates an immediate stop or sister tool replacement.

At anytime the operator can check look at the screen to see in real time the tool loadings.

Explains Ian Andrews: 'In practice, we use the sister tool replenishment to double up on the roughing tool and small diameter drills and find we get very consistent results in terms of both surface finish and tool wear patterns.

While most jobs are mild steel the Tornado also performs well on stainless steel parts.

It has the advantage of constant surface speed machining while the short bar magazine means we can run at optimum speed at anytime without vibration, so finish is always very good.' Tim Woodward, Vire's assistant foreman points out that due to the single point turning advantage against the plugboard methods, once the tool is initially set the insert can be quickly indexed or replaced in situ and an offset adjustment made.

Because the plugboard machines used form tools they need to be taken-off, reground and re-set.

'Even if there is a spare tool to hand, the changeover process took far longer which means on small batch work we can sometimes set the Tornado and complete the run in less time then it would take to set a part up on the plugboard.' Reflecting the decision to purchase from RK International, Mrs Vincent comments: 'The Tornado has really proven to be cost-effective because it can be left unmanned at night.

It is reliable and has been holding tolerances consistently across a complete batch of work.'

Making its UK debut at Mach 2002 machine tool show is the Hueller Hille Hessapp DVH 450 self-loading, single-spindle, double pick-up turning machine designed to reduce cutting time.

Making its UK debut at Mach 2002 machine tool show is the Hueller Hille Hessapp DVH 450 self-loading, single-spindle, double pick-up turning machine designed to reduce cutting time with optimised cycle times. The model has a built-in grinding facility and is ideally suited to a variety of automotive applications. On show too is a Hueller Hille Diedesheim nbh 95 horizontal machining centre, which offers outstanding machining quality of steel and cast iron products as well as mixed machining of aluminium.

The nbh 95 has an optional capacity of up to 144 tools.

The latest technology in scanning co-ordinate measurement machines will be demonstrated in the form of the Giddings and Lewis Sheffield Endeavor Flexspan machine.

A turned parts subcontractor has transformed its business since converting from plug board operated automatics to computer-controlled production lathes.
Poole-based Winton Precision Engineering is a classic example of a turned parts subcontractor that has transformed its business since converting from plug board auto's to computer-controlled lathes. The company's first CNC turning machine was installed in August 1997 and just two years later there were no manual machines on site. Latest acquisition is an Index ABC lathe from Geo Kingsbury.

The machine was installed mid 2000, bringing Winton's tally of CNC turning machines to eight, five of which are bar-fed.

The big difference with the Index lathe, however, is its ability to produce components complete in one set-up, allowing longer runs up to 10,000-off to be produced economically.

To this end, a full length Index magazine for 3.2 metre bar has been fitted.

Said Winton's owner, Peter Kenchington, 'A typical hydraulic coupling that was previously produced from 30 mm hexagonal steel bar in two operations on separate machines used to take a total of 2 minutes 15 seconds.

Now the same part comes off the Index complete in just 50 seconds and this could be improved upon further.

Moreover, there is no work-in-progress taking up space on the shop floor.' The component requires OD turning, undercutting, single point threading, drilling, and turning of an internal cone profile on the front end.

A synchro spindle in the top turret supports the machined end during part-off; then presents the component to end working tools mounted above the spindle for facing, counterboring and chamfering.

Finished components are dropped into a parts catcher and emerge on a conveyor at the right hand side of the machine.

'Much of our work is hydraulic parts for tractors and earthmoving equipment and deliveries have to be just-in-time,' continues Mr Kenchington.

'However, to ensure that we have a buffer stock to guarantee JIT supply, we tend to run off batch quantities sufficient for several months.

This also allows us to benefit from the economy of longer runs once the machine is set up.' Tolerances that Winton is required to hold are fairly open at 50 microns, well within the capability of the Index ABC.

However, with one-hit machining there is no danger of accumulative error due to repeated set-ups, so repeatability of component dimensions throughout a batch is significantly better.

Most parts are produced from steel bar, some in brass, and hexagonal rather than round stock is used to avoid polygon turning of bolt flats.

Nearly every component Winton produces needs a second operation on the reverse end.

In the first 18 months of service operating a double shift, 6 days a week, only 10 different parts were put on the ABC, such is the length of batches and the frequency of repeat runs.

Programming is carried out on the shop floor using the C200-4 CNC.

Peter Kenchington is now looking to expand the variety of components he produces to include diesel fuel injector parts requiring cross hole drilling.

This will allow him to take advantage of the lathe's driven tool capability and increase still further the added-value content of the components he supplies.

A three-axis, slant bed CNC mill/turn lathe brings the latest developments from a larger capacity 220 machine into a more compact 210mm turning, 52mm bar capacity machine with 12 driven tool stations.
The Colchester Tornado 120 three-axis, M-series 600 slant bed CNC mill/turn lathe brings the latest developments from the larger capacity 220 machine into a more compact 210mm turning diameter, 52mm bar capacity machine with 12 driven tool positions. Central to the competitively priced, driven tool Tornado 120 M specification, is the combination of the flexibility of 12 driven tool positions, its high metal removal and accuracy capability. High metal removal and accuracy is achieved through the adoption of the patented Duo-stable base foundation and bed construction that significantly upgrades the stability of the turning platform with 25 per cent improvement in damping.

Duo-stable uses a steel encapsulation with a polymer concrete base fill, incorporating strategic reinforcement, which is coupled to a cast iron bed.

The machine features heavy duty slideways which operate in a thermally stable cutting zone.

The Tornado 120 M has a 12-station 30 VDI all-driven tool turret powered by 3.7kW motor giving 5,000 revs/min with 16.5Nm of torque which is ideal for high performance drilling and milling tasks.

The mill/turn specification includes disc brake spindle positioning for the C-axis drive and from the options list, a hydraulic tailstock with 63mm quill can also be selected.

The main spindle is driven by 15kW Fanuc motor and the machine can be specified with 170mm or 210mm chuck size or 52mm bar feed.

Maximum spindle speed is 6,000 revs/min and rapid traverse rates are 25m/min in the 185mm X-axis which has linear scale positioning for higher accuracy, and 30m/min in the 450mm Z-axis.

Turret indexing time is quick at 0.3 seconds which contributes to the minimisation of non-cutting times.

In keeping with the rest of the Tornado range, options include the 'Lights-out' package which incorporates integrated swarf conveyor and Colchester's MBF 1000 bar feed system programmable at the Fanuc 21i-Ta control.

As part of the unmanned running package, a parts-catcher, axis torque tool monitoring, on-board production control software and a graphics-based programming cam system are featured with Renishaw's component probing system.

CNC production lathes have proved fully capable of meeting accuracy and productivity requirements on bearing components, which could easily pose quite a challenge to the uninitiated, says the user.
With a 20 year production-record at Barden Corporation in Plymouth, of which at least the last decade was spent running triple shift during the week plus through the weekend working, Traub has set a standard that is very hard to beat when it comes to justifying replacement machines. However, it was not a foregone conclusion when the FAG Group subsidiary was making its plant purchase replacement decision for its aging Traub TNS twin-turret and synchronized spindle lathes. But, in the final analysis, three of the latest Traub TNC twin- spindle, single turret machines still topped the justification charts.

Barden Corporation is one of the world's leading suppliers of high precision bearings for industrial applications.

The Plymouth factory manufactures a wide range of high precision ball bearings for an equally wide range of applications from 'instrument' bearings for use in aircraft gauge systems and dentist drills right through to clutch thrust bearings for Formula One racing cars, machine tool spindle bearings and bearings for turbomolecular pumps.

Roy Sansom, Barden's production engineer who is associated with machine selection says: 'We've used Traub machines for around 20 years and found them reliable, consistent and accurate.

For the last 10 years they've run under triple shift conditions with some weekend working which means they have operated virtually non-stop.' The latest Traub installations comprise two TNC 42EGs and a larger capacity TNC 65EG.

Both have twin-opposed spindles with single turrets which offer faster traverse rates and enhanced rigidity.

Each machine has the capability to maximise spindle speeds by using short bar magazine feeders which helps ensure better component consistency.

Barden's bearings conform to APEC 7 and APEC 9 precision requirements and are made from bearing quality steels such as SAE 52100, AISI 440C, M50 tool steel as well as a proprietary corrosion resistant material developed by FAG.

The turning section produces thin walled inner and outer bearing rings in batches of between 500 or 1,000 with the occasional demand for smaller batches.

Accuracy requirements during soft stage machining are defined by the need to minimise grinding stock allowance, as the rings are subsequently heat treated and then ground to finished dimensions.

Typical machining tolerances are + 0.037mm on the bore and outside diameter and + 0.05mm on overall width and these dimensions are monitored using electronic gauging and SPC process control.

'Components tend to be produced from bar or thick walled tube,' Roy Sansom explained.

'While we use fixed head lathes for parts from 15 mm to 80 mm diameter we use sliding head machines for smaller components and here, the capacities of the three new Traub TNC machines allowed us to align the machine size closely to our product mix.' He reflects how the company used to have quite a substantial second operation requirement which is why it originally bought Traub TNS machines with the twin-turrets.

'This requirement has been considerably reduced and out of some 1,400 jobs that could be loaded to the turning section only two now have threads and three have slots.

The remainder are fundamentally just plain rings, although the thin wall section and internal profile features makes the maintenance of tolerance quite difficult,' he says.

The main difference between the TNC 65EG and TNC 42EG is the spindle bore and the respective maximum speeds of 4,000 revs/min and 5,600 revs/min.

All three machines are equipped with short bar magazine/loaders, conveyorised parts take-off systems and cyclonic coolant filtration.

In addition to these new machines, the company has also retained one of its older Traub TNS 65/80 in order to accommodate larger diameter work.

Among the more demanding jobs are inner and outer clutch thrust bearing rings used on Formula One Grand Prix cars.

Whereas most parts are conventional rings, the outer for the F1 application is essentially an annular channel while the inner is produced as an L-section annulus.

Both are very thin walled components with tighter tolerances and flatness requirements on the faces.

The F1 parts are machined on the Traub TNC 65EG and following initial turning, drilling and boring operations, the L-section of the inner ring is produced by trepanning in order to minimise distortion-induced stress on the bore.

Finish turning is carried out at 1,500 revs/min and 0.05mm/rev feed which is followed by part-off with the component fully supported by the sub-spindle of the machine.

Material is fed from short bar magazine/loaders which were selected for a number of reasons.

They reduce the floor area demand and, help to comply with the company's material storage and health and safety requirement because a 1.5 metre bar takes up less store space and is much easier to handle.

In addition, with batch quantities tending to be smaller, the capacity offered by a four metre magazine - as previously used - is simply not required any more and because there is less 'whip' optimised speeds and feeds can be maintained.

As each of the machines have 10-station VDI turrets, changeover is very quick and repeatable.

Each turret can provide up to nine main and nine sub-spindle tool positions, plus one dedicated part-off station.

In practice, many of the parts produced on the TNC machines require common tooling so relatively few tool exchanges are needed between jobs which further improves uptime and utilisation.

Most tools are maintained in the pre-set condition however, when a new tool needs setting, the Traub optical tool setting system ensures it is very accurately replaced without any lost time involving trial cuts.

'As we were with the previous generation Traubs, we're very satisfied with the new machines,' Roy Sansom concluded.

'They have proved fully capable of meeting our accuracy and productivity requirements on a range of components which, though they may appear straightforward to produce, could easily pose quite a challenge to the uninitiated.'

A GBP 250,000 contract for downhole tool components prompted a subcontractor to invest in a new oil country lathe which can operate in manual 'teach' mode and full CNC operation.
A GBP 250,000 contract for downhole tool components awarded at the end of last year (2001) by a US company to Wilkie Engineering, Newburgh, near Aberdeen, prompted the subcontractor to invest in a new oil country lathe from Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools. Built by Gurutzpe in Northern Spain, the 750mm swing by 3m centre distance, flat bed CNC turning machine is the first from this manufacturer to be installed in the UK. The background to the purchase is unusual in that managing partner, Dave Wilkie, went ahead without having seen this or indeed any other Gurutzpe lathe, such is his confidence in Geo Kingsbury built up over 25 years.

Most recent additional machine acquisitions from this supplier have been a Kondia bridge-type HM2010 vertical machining centre (also Spanish) in February 2001; and in April 2002 an MHP 80 CNC lathe manufactured by Geo Kingsbury.

Established in 1976, Wilkie Engineering has progressed from a small farm equipment repair shop to become one of the leading engineering and fabrication companies in the area, employing 25 staff.

It started servicing the offshore industry 15 years ago and now specialises in building one-off recovery and intervention tools as well as deployment and topside frames.

A feature of the Gurutzpe Auto-M320 CNC lathe is the ability to choose between manual 'teach' mode and full CNC operation, although the former is not used at the Newburgh factory as the machine is easy to program at the Fagor control system, according to General Manager, Ray Beattie.

The machine was bought primarily to cut the lead time for producing aluminium and stainless steel brushes used to clean oil pipelines.

The majority of the CNC program comprises OD turning along a length of typically 1000 / 1500mm and cycle times are between 15 and 20 minutes - three or four times faster than when using a similar capacity manual lathe on site.

There is a spiral milled stabiliser at each end of the brush and extensive pocketing is needed for subsequently locating these stabilisers on the shaft.

All this machining is completed on the Kondia HM2010, which has been fitted by Geo Kingsbury with a Kitagawa rotary axis to enable the spirals to be milled.

This fourth axis is used for 50 per cent of the jobs put up on the machine.

One of the features Dave Wilkie likes in particular about the Kondia is its 1000mm table width and cross travel (Y), larger than that offered by most machining centres that have a two metre travel in X.

The full table capacity has been used several times, for example when refurbishing oil rig tongs and for drilling and tapping components that have been profiled on a water jet cutting machine.

Another testing job was to turn by circular interpolation 20mm off the 900mm outside diameter of rubber rings that had been supplied oversize.

In his opinion the HM2010, with its 40 taper 17.5kW spindle, is both well built and competitively priced; and the operators are very impressed with its performance, not least the 24m/min rapid traverse rates which are fast for such a large machine.

It is the first machining centre on site to have through-tool coolant and this too has been a revelation to Wilkie Engineering, boosting productivity especially when pocket milling and drilling; so much so that it is doubtful that another machining centre will be installed without this facility.

Control system is the Heidenhain TNC 426 digital CNC with ballscrew drive to the axes via digital servo drives.

Feedback from all linear axes is by Heidenhain linear scales, allowing positioning accuracy of 0.01mm with 0.008mm repeatability and resolution of 0.001mm - well beyond the needs of Wilkie Engineering whose general tolerance is half a thou.

However, as Dave Wilkie points out, tighter tolerance work might come along at any time.

A new concept in fixed head turning for components up to 36mm diameter incorporates 'one-hit' front and backworking of bar components using up to three tools simultaneously.
A new concept in fixed head turning for components up to 36mm diameter incorporates the well-proven Traub production technology of combined 'one-hit' front and backworking of bar components. The new Traub TNK 36 has the ability to simultaneously machine with up to three tools, a technique widely used in CNC sliding head automatic lathes, but is available at a lower purchase cost in this fixed head orientated turning centre. Available in the UK from Traub Heckert UK of Brackley, the up to 10-axis Traub TNK 36 can provide an ideal 'sister' machine to the Traub TNL sliding head range.

It uses the same Traub-TX 8i, 64-bit RISC processor based control and will accommodate common tooling.

However, purchase cost benefits are derived against the sliding head machine because the TNK does not require a guide bush assembly, can produce components from lower cost, cold drawn bar instead of ground stock and requires a shorter bar end.

Developed in a modular format, the TNK 36 can be specified in four distinct versions.

A simple two-axis single spindle machine starts the range with seven tools, of which up to six can be driven.

By adding an opposed headstock spindle and three-axis, including a Y-axis cross feed turret, one-hit machining cycles involving both ends of a component can be introduced.

More complex components can be produced with the addition of a five-station front attachment and, with the full 10-axis version, a further five tool positions mounted alongside the opposed headstock, provide a highly comprehensive level of operational tool layout flexibility.

The 30 (degree) slant bed, top of the range machine, uses identical water-cooled 10.7 kW main and opposed headstock spindles with 0.001 (degree) C-axis positioning.

The top speed is 6,300 revs/min and the drive develops some 32Nm of torque.

The all-driven 12 station turret can be specified with central or individual drive via a 5.5kW AC motor.

It can accommodate double (gang style) tool holders which increases tool capacity, while the + 20mm Y-axis travel and a 0.55 second chip to chip index time significantly improves productivity.

Set on a common X-axis to the spindle, the front tool attachment will hold five tools in the opposed headstock spindle version of the machine.

However, without this headstock, the tool capacity can be increased to seven.

Two totally independent Z-axes power the opposed spindle headstock and front attachment and in order to optimise cutting cycle efficiency they are mounted on a common slideway which allows overlapped machining using over or undertaking techniques.

The front attachment also has a 30 bar coolant feed to all machining positions coupled with a flushing wash for the opposed headstock spindle.

With the five spindle back-working station, four can be driven and are provided with both X and Y-axis movements.

In addition, the last spindle position can be fitted with a triple spindle live tool holder to accommodate cross machining.

Rapid traverse rates for the opposed headstock and front attachment are 30m/min and 15m/min for the turret and back working station.

With the Traub-TX 8i control and WinFlex IPS graphic-object contour based programming, machining sequence and tool synchronisation is simple to initiate.