Visitors to the NC Engineering stand at MACH 2006 for CNC sliding head mill/turn technology can also take part in a free draw for two VIP tickets to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Visitors to the NC Engineering stand at MACH 2006 will not only be able to see demonstrations that improve productivity when using the latest developments in CNC sliding head mill/turn technology but also take part in a free draw for two VIP tickets to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the most prestigious tennis event in the world staged in June at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. While five new machines and the latest Streamline machining technology are being demonstrated on the stand, there are additional features being shown to help users of citizen machines improve their productivity as well as reducing production costs per part. For instance, NC Engineering will preview a new quick change tool system developed exclusively for Citizen machines by Sandvik Coromant with Citizen in Japan.

There will be a new generation Coolblaster 2000 lb/in2 high pressure coolant system, a finished component collector that will segregate parts for inspection and a totally new CNC wizard that is 70 per cent quicker to use than a normal cam programming system.

The 'New at MACH' Citizen machines include a 12 mm and 16mm capacity low cost K-Series with 19 tools of which eight are driven, the latest L20-VIII with 21 tools and nine driven and through Streamline Technology provide savings up to 50 per cent on non-cutting times.

From Citizen Boley the latest fixed head BE42Y with twin turrets, Y-axis crossfeed, 25 tools of which 15 are driven and three tool simultaneous cutting will be demonstrated as well as the high precision linear drive Citizen RO7 having 10 tools and three driven tools.

The Sandvik quick change tooling system designated QS for Quick Start is dedicated to Citizen machines.

Visitors will be able to appreciate a change of tool that can be made in just 20s.

The new compact CoolBlaster III - a very popular option for swarf control and improved cutting performance - now has a low energy, continuous and quieter pump operation.

It has a 10 feed point option to the standard five outlet and is so compact it will fit under the bar feed of the machine saving valuable floor space.

The top of the range and best selling machine in the UK, the Citizen M32-V with two Y-axis slides and programmable auto unload, will also be demonstrating a novel rotary parts collector that can be set to isolate a required ratio of parts for patrol inspection and from Citizen's software team, a newly developed citizen cnc wizard programming aid will be launched.

This Wizard will be demonstrated to further simplify programming routines by some 70% using a series of macros with prompts to fill in the missing information.

The software is available from NC Engineering at a fraction of the price of a conventional CAM system.

Subcontractor Stag currently utilises only half of its single- and multi-spindle auto capacity, as orders for large batches needed to justify their use are becoming increasingly scarce.

Subcontractor, Stourbridge Turning and Grinding (Stag), currently utilises only half of its single- and multi-spindle auto capacity, as orders for large batches needed to justify their use are becoming increasingly scarce, and those that remain tend to go overseas. Since 2001, CNC mill-turning machines, in particular multi-axis sliding-headstock lathes from Star Micronics GB, have been fulfilling contracts for smaller volumes much more cost-effectively. 'They can be set up quickly and are able to produce parts in one visit to the machine, eliminating manual second operations,' explained Stag director, Giles Pargeter.

'As a result, in four years we have reduced our shop floor staff from 23 to 14, which has resulted in significant savings and made us much more competitive.' Between August 2002 and December 2005, Stag invested in four sliding-head bar automatics of 32 mm capacity, one 20 mm machine and a 16 mm model, all from Star.

'After the first lathe was installed, I could not believe how much more profitable manufacture of components became compared with machining them on our cam auto's,' Mr Pargeter enthused.

'It opened up new possibilities for producing higher added-value components that we could not have entertained before.

Nearly all parts undergo prismatic machining operations using live tooling and are machined on the reverse end using the sub spindle.

'Whereas we were selling parts for a few pence at low margins, especially if they needed second operations, suddenly we were turning out complex components in one hit costing several pounds each and making good margins.' Unless a new component is obviously a sliding-head job, Mr Pargeter generally sets it up on a fixed-head lathe if the order is for a small quantity.

However, he estimates that a five-minute fixed-head cycle can typically be carried out on a sliding-head lathe in three minutes, owing to its faster axis travels and shorter tool movements.

He therefore sets up repeat jobs and longer runs on one of his Stars, provided that the component is under 32 mm diameter, as it almost always fulfills the contract more economically and can achieve tighter tolerances as well.

In this connection, he mentioned a square section drive shaft for an engine fuel pump that he machines on a Star SR-20RII to a total tolerance of 15 microns.

Despite the large batch sizes, the customer does not want to put this work overseas, as experience is needed when turning to leave an allowance for growth during subsequent heat treatment and finish grinding.

The manufacturer does not want to risk incorrect shafts from China or India delaying deliveries of its fuel pumps, whereas the supply is much more controllable if it is UK-based.

Many subcontract company owners and directors fear that by the time they retire, foreign competitors will have secured the work that remains in the UK, even the manufacture of highly complex and safety critical components, as the skill level and experience of overseas machinists improve further.

Mr Pargeter takes a more optimistic view of the future of UK subcontracting, however, noting that as components become ever more complex, often requiring design input by the company tasked with machining them, this favours domestic suppliers.

He also predicts that machine tools will become progressively faster and more capable, lessening the advantage of manufacturers in low wage economies.

In ten years' time, the level of wages in those countries will have increased as their citizens demand a higher standard of living.

The combined effect will be to markedly reduce the differential between prices quoted by UK and overseas subcontractors.

Stag is clearly planning its future based on this premise.

It invested £2 million during 2004 on new plant and larger premises more suitable to the smooth flow of production through to delivery of high precision components.

Three of the new Star sliders were delivered directly to the new factory, which runs around the clock, lights-out from 5.00 pm through to 8.00 am, six days a week.

Around 45 per cent of business is in the supply of hydraulic valve components for off-road vehicles, with the remainder spread across a wide range of industries including automotive, agriculture and construction.

Mr Pargeter plans to continue investing and growing the business.

He says that he finds it difficult to break into new customers these days, as most OEMs and first-tier manufacturers are reducing their supplier base and asking the best subcontractors to increase the work that they do.

So he is actively targeting his existing customers to build turnover, and with some success, having increased tenfold the monthly turnover with one manufacturer.

A producer of standard machine components and mechanical machine indicators offers a way to reduce set-up time and improve productivity on multi-spindle automatics.

Elesa - for many years now an innovative leader in standard machine components and mechanical machine indicators - has brought their understanding of customer needs to Mach 2006. This takes the form of a way to reduce set-up time and significantly improve productivity on multi-spindle machines requiring frequent resetting. Their new Electronic positioning system includes its own programmable controller or can function with the machine's own PLC.

This allows the operator to see at a glance which shafts are in correct position and to then select new rotational ratios for shaft travel, etc Along with this exciting time/cost saving development for production and retro-fit applications, there are new ranges of hinges, latch clamps and grab handles.

These both complement existing ranges and extend performance/usability for anyone looking to source quality standard components as product solutions for new build or upgrade projects.

'Streamline Machining' depicts the benefits achieved from the new control system, software and mechanical developments resulting in up to 40 per cent faster machining cycles.

'Streamline Machining' is a new term adopted by Citizen for its latest generation of CNC sliding head turn/mill centres that depicts the benefits achieved from the new control system, software and mechanical developments resulting in up to 40 per cent faster machining cycles than could be achieved using the same program and tooling on the previous generation machines. At MACH 2006 on NC Engineering Stand 5262, the latest L20-VIII and K12 and K16 citizen machines will be demonstrating the benefits of these new levels of flexibility and the ability to cut with two tools simultaneously at the main and subspindle involving single 'one-hit' cycles. Central to streamline machining is the Citizen software development for the new control systems.

The low-cost Citizen K12 and K16 machines have a special version of the latest Fanuc 31i Series control and the L20-VIII an advanced Mitsubishi 700 control.

Both the K and L ranges can perform with the involvement of up to five-axes with full synchronisation of the main and subspindles, direct spindle indexing that is able to pre-select the reference point of the C-axes even while the spindle decelerates.

This saves valuable time against the previous generation control operating routines that required the spindle to be stationary before the protocol sequence could seek the reference point.

What has to be considered is that many of the Citizen cycles used at customers involve considerable C-axis spindle positioning for cross drilling and milling.

Both machine types have had rapid traverse rates increased by 60 per cent to 32 m/min with the added advantage that acceleration and deceleration rates are improved by a factor of 1.6 on each axis.

By utilising the new shockless acceleration/deceleration curves, each machine is now able to give greater machining consistency with extended tool life and improved levels of surface finish.

Also, as a tool enters a cut, it is now able to overlap with the exiting tool that once again saves non-productive time and reduces any likelihood of vibration or pick-up on a machined surface as the new tool engages with the workpiece.

A further significant factor is idle time reduction on the new machines, especially when thread cutting and tool changing.

Here, the ability of the control to read ahead, enables the pre-emption of simultaneous axis movements.

The Citizen L20-VIII with a 20 mm capacity by 200 mm machining length can carry up to 21 tools with nine driven.

In recent trials a 240 second machining cycle was reduced to 164 secs - a 29 per cent saving.

At a UK customer, Unicut Precision of Welwyn Garden City, an L20-VIII was able to reduce cycle times against a previous L20 installed in the works, by almost a third.

The K12/K16 with 12 mm (1/2 inch) and 16 mm capacity will carry 19 tools with eight driven and compared to the B12 Citizen machine replaced at Tenable Screw of Merton, a K16-VII was able to reduce the cycle time on one part from 55 secs to 36 secs, a 35 per cent saving on each part produced.

Latest CNC sliding head turning centres - including one that guarantees a degree of precision of +/-1 micron - brought a 24% increase in MACH visitors to a Swiss machine tool builder's stand.

MACH 2006 was the first opportunity for Tornos to present two exceptional new machines to the UK. The Swiss sliding head turning centre specialist presented the new Tornos Deco 8sp and the Deco 20s - the first machines of the new S-line range. The new innovations from the sliding head lathe manufacturer brought a 24% increase in visitor numbers to the stand compared to MACH 2004.

More impressive was the fact that 67% of visitors to the Tornos stand were potential new customers.

This extremely high number of new contacts is testament to the market research and product development that has been conducted by Tornos.

This research has enabled the company to develop exciting new products that have grasped the attention manufacturers from new market sectors.

The first machine launched in the new S-Line range, the Deco 8sp is world's first 10mm capacity single-spindle CNC sliding head lathe without guidebush.

With five linear axes, the Deco 8sp provides an excellent price-to-performance ratio whilst the kinematics have been adapted to execute reasonably complex parts.

It is a technological solution that allows Tornos to offer an automatic lathe that guarantees a degree of precision of +/-1 micron (0.001mm) never seen before.

The Tornos 8sp addresses new markets such as the electronics and especially the hard mini-disk sector for mobile IT applications The second machine launch at MACH 2006 was the Deco 20s, which is designed to execute relatively complex parts up to 25.4mm diameter.

The programming and kinematics of the Deco 20s are geared towards simplicity, which is coupled with strong mechanical elements to guarantee high precision.

With six linear axes, the 20s has been designed for producing reasonably complex parts with an excellent price-to-potential ratio.

The considerable strength and power provide the lathe with a very large machining capacity.

Another important aspect is its versatility - the machine has 22 tool positions and a high level of interchangeability to give the Deco 20s exceptional flexibility.

Numerous market studies were conducted and the Deco 20s is the resulting machine that is well suited for the automotive, medical, electronics and connector and general manufacturing sectors.

This was demonstrated with the visitor figures at the MACH 2006 show - 20% of visitors to the Tornos stand worked in the automotive sector whilst 22% were involved in the aerospace industry and another 11% in the connector and electronic markets.

The third machine that appeared on the stand was the Deco 26a 10 axis turning centre.

This proven technology was also very well received at the exhibition and the combination of the three machines manufacturing components on the stand for various industry sectors enabled Tornos to demonstrate its expertise and capabilities.

Stainless steel plug shells for connectors are being machined 30% on a twin-spindle CNC sliding-head lathe followed by a single shaping operation - eventually to be incorporated in the cycle.

Stainless steel plug shells for aerospace connectors are traditionally produced by Doughty Precision Engineering (DPE) in three operations, one on a fixed-head lathe and two on a gear shaper. Now the same component is machined 30% faster on a twin-spindle Star SV-32 sliding-head lathe followed by a single shaping operation. The time saving will not end there.

In the same way that DPE and Star initially developed a special hobbing attachment that transferred machining of the shell's ratchet teeth to the SV-32, the Nottingham, UK-based subcontractor and the machine supplier are now working together on another attachment that will allow the slider to complete the remainder of the shaping, i e, machining of the alignment teeth.

In other words, a part that used to require transfer from one of three fixed-head, 3-axis bar lathes to one of five gear shapers for two additional operations, will in future come off the Star complete.

This will allow one operator to be deployed on different work, reducing still further the already substantially lowered cost of producing plug shells.

Said Peter Doughty, 'Early sliders were able to reduce the original fixed-head, mill-turn cycle by only 20s, so we could not justify the investment.' He continued: 'In contrast, the 9-axis SV-32 has cut approximately one minute out of the mill-turning, which includes threading, boring, reaming, slotting and broaching.

This is because we get a lot of machining for free by working on a part in the counter spindle while simultaneously machining the next component at the main spindle.' Doughty said: 'We have also got rid of one handling operation by incorporating on the lathe the cycle to shape the ratchet teeth.

When we transfer alignment key shaping onto the Star later this year, we will eliminate inter-operation handling altogether.' DPE will eventually use the Star, which is fed by an FMB Turbo bar magazine, to produce 10 sizes and varieties of 303, 304 and 316 stainless steel plug shell up to 32mm diameter.

They account for 40% of the total, as shells go up to 50mm diameter.

Batch size is typically 5,000-off.

Doughty intends to maximise his company's use of sliding-head technology, pointing out a number of benefits over fixed-head mill-turn centres.

One often-overlooked advantage is that a slider typically draws less than half the power of an equivalently sized fixed-headstock lathe, so are less costly to run, particularly with energy prices rising so fast.

The other main plus-point is the ability to reduce cycle times, as the ganged turning tools and powered tools are very close to the component, so have a shorter distance to travel.

For the same reason, accuracy is often better too.

As to his selection of Star for his first sliding-headstock lathe, Doughty pointed to the machine's heavy, rigid structure, which lends itself to better accuracy and longevity over many years of 24h operation.

He has also been impressed with Star GB's back-up, in particular its assistance with programming while DPE was learning the technology, and the supplier's willingness to help develop the in-cycle shaping operations.

* About DPE - founded in 1925 by Alan Doughty, Peter Doughty's grandfather, DPE is now part of the Nasmyth Group.

The company originally specialised in manufacturing diesel fuel injector parts for locomotive engines.

Aerospace connector contracts gradually took over and now account for all of the business.

Around 40% of output goes to UK customers, with most of the remainder delivered to the USA.

Concluded Doughty, ' During the mid 1990s, we were finding that repeated 'cost-down' requirements from aerospace customers were eroding margins to the point where jobs were becoming financially unviable.

It became impossible to manufacture aerospace components economically without minimising the number of separate machining operations, so in 1997 we started down the fixed-head, twin-opposed-spindle, mill-turning route.

Purchase of the Star sliding-head mill-turn centre, which has even more CNC axes, has been a logical extension of that policy and is getting us even closer to one-hit manufacture.

By taking advantage of a supplier's 'previously owned' CNC sliding head automatic lathe service, a subcontractor has been able to keep pace with a growing order book for precision turned parts.

CNC sliding head automatics meet demand By taking advantage of a supplier's 'previously owned' CNC sliding head automatic lathe service, a subcontractor has been able to keep pace with a growing order book for precision turned parts By taking advantage of NC Engineering's 'previously owned' citizen cnc sliding head auto operation in the UK, Heeler Engineering of Kislingbury, Northampton, has been able to keep pace with a fast growing order book for precision turned parts and maintain deliveries to its commercial vehicle sector customers. Said managing director Martin Heeler: 'In 2005 we produced 4 million shafts, adjusting nuts, pivot pins, piston rods, spacers, nuts, bolts and washers, an increase of over 500,000 components that we machined the previous year. Almost 40% of the parts are produced on Citizen CNC sliding head autos and by opting for used machines as against new, this has allowed us to continue to install spindle capacity exactly when we need it.' As he explained, it is not all about reducing financial burden, Heeler was able to buy three machines in a package from NC Engineering to meet a large contract and immediately respond with a highly competitive quotation to win the business due to single cycle machining and limited manning methods.

'Our risk is also lower if the contract should disappear, because NC Engineering has a realistic buy-back policy if they know the machines and its history, which gives us a confidence level to go after new work.' Heeler's six Citizens include an L32, an L25, three L20s and a B12 which gives the company a good spread of spindle capacity.

Heeler maintains production security, even against strict Kanban delivery schedules, is not compromised because of the inherent reliability of the Citizen machines.

'We have never been let down and the service support is just a phone call or email away.

Quite often we can be talked through a problem over the 'phone and a service call response is always very quick.' He maintained that with NC Engineering being the Citizen specialist for over 30 years, the pre-owned machines available have a known history, have been serviced regularly and therefore give confidence they will provide a high level of productivity.

He said: 'I chuckle when they say the machines are not secondhand but 'experienced', but that really sums up the performance when they are installed.' Heeler, which employs 20 people in the second-generation family-run business, is certainly busy supplying mostly local customers.

It produces 250 different parts for one customer, makes 2,500 of two types of shaft a week and 300,000 piston rods a year.

Machines are changed-over up to three times a week and many of the components produced are typical of the parts that have disappeared overseas over the last five years.

But Heeler is not too concerned with his investment and set up at Kislingbury he is confident he can remain competitive - but not complacent.

'I am not arrogant and any subcontractor is vulnerable to losing a contract.

By capitalising on our experience in the sector and combining operations into single cycles, we have been able to largely offset the difference in labour cost and shipment.

What we can provide is security of supply.

Our customers know the quality we can deliver especially from the citizen machines and we can action an immediate delivery response when needed.

The lifeline to the Far East or even Eastern Europe is proving to be an important factor in buyer's purchase decisions as they are concerned at being held to ransom, and this is now working in our favour.' Even when facing fast rising material costs, Heeler mainly machines mild steel and free-cutting ENIA, and the company has been able to absorb most of the on-cost by improved methods and techniques.

For instance, hexagonal or rectangular, bar is no longer purchased, cheaper oversize round bar is now milled in-cycle to create hexagons and squares and one particular shaft has a thread 190mm long with crossholes and flats.

This is now machined in 'one-hit' and dieboxed on a Citizen L20 rather than single point cutting and a set of chasers tend to last for 3,000 or so parts.

Many of the existing components are now produced in half the cycle times, and hence shorter lead times than previous methods, with cross-holes, threading, knurls, flats, recesses and full deburring all performed in-cycle.

To which Heeler insisted: 'The Citizen L20 is really our ideal machine with its combination of power, speed and flexibility.' The machines are left virtually unattended once set and a first-off approved.

To which foreman Melvyn Payne described his role: 'The machines are very consistent.

We normally rack-up with new bar around 5 pm.

As I live just down the road, I come back around 7 pm and again between 9.30 and 10.00pm to make sure everything is OK and then check the parts produced in the morning and pack them for despatch.

We do all programming offline and download ready for the next batch which minimises change-over time.' Heeler said: 'We are determined to be here in the next five years.

While the manufacturing scene is changing fast, it is not all in the hands of overseas producers, technology has a lot of advantages to offer if it is used properly - that is our strength.'

Aquisition of CNC automatic lathes eliminated the need for second operation work on alternative machines while the subcontractor company was able to produce more complex work.

Starting its operations in the early 1960s producing typewriter parts; Jaybee Engineering Co (Brighton) of Newhaven, UK, has typeset its success with the introduction of Tornos sliding head turning centres. Diversifying from typewriter parts to the electronics, aerospace, furniture and medical sectors, Jaybee has always specified the latest machine tool technologies to stay ahead of the market. As Nigel Benson, managing director of Jaybee Engineering said: 'We bought our first Tornos Deco 2000 about five years ago and it is a versatile machine that suits our specific needs.

Just like any other subcontractor, we do not know what material or job will come through the door next so we need to be flexible and mindful of market trends.' Until 1999, the company was using a cam auto lathe and a sliding head lathe that was serviced by Tornos.

A service that was efficient, very effective and quick to respond - a factor that contributed to the introduction of the Tornos machine.

However, Benson commented that Jaybee was just 'playing at it' with an old sliding head machine, and the company needed to take the plunge into sliding head turning.

Prior to the introduction of the 20mm capacity Tornos Deco machine, Jaybee used its conventional CNC lathes and cam auto lathes but was forced to conduct second operations on drilling and milling machines where complex work was concerned.

The Tornos Deco eliminated the need for cam-autos completely and second operations on alternative machines also became a thing of the past.

The company was given the capability to produce more complex work and it was able to eliminate fixturing and its inherent costs as well as reduce set-up and cycle times.

The company's progression into more demanding industries saw the seven employee company introduce a second Tornos Deco in 2004, a 20mm capacity Deco 20a.

When looking for a second sliding head machine, Jaybee evaluated what was available on the market as Benson said: 'There were a number of machines that could have met some of our needs but the Deco 20a suited all our sliding head turning needs.

It undoubtedly came out on top performance wise.' The Tornos Deco 20a proved the best machine for Jaybee Engineering's purposes.

Purposes that required a machine capable of machining a wide range of materials with tolerances of less than 0.02mm and a diverse range of batch runs: 'The Deco has excellent swarf clearance and we liked the way the overlapping of the tools gave rear end working simultaneously with front end working.

This balanced turning feature enabled us to rough and finish at the same time.

It also moved us into other areas, manufacturing more complex parts.

The machine also reduced cycle times considerably.

This enabled us to generate better margins as well as provide cost reductions to our customers,' Benson continued.

Unique to Tornos, Benson believes the TB-Deco control system is very flexible and very easy to use.

'The TB-Deco allows me to provide customers with quotes from the office.

I can write the program and the TB-Deco will give me an exact cycle time, this makes quoting for work accurate and simplistic.

This is very advantageous as we can quote to the nearest millisecond.

What it says on screen is what will happen on the shop floor,' said Benson.

Used for making batches from 10 to 20,000+, the Tornos Deco 20a has not only proved efficient on long batch runs but also the small batches.

'We use the Deco for very small batches as well as the long runs.

One job recently placed on the Deco was a batch of 10.

This complex job with tight tolerances and engraving operations was quicker to set on one machine as opposed to two or three machines that would have otherwise been required to conduct secondary operations,' said Benson.

Jaybee Engineering also utilises a Tornos pre-setter for its tooling.

This enables the tools for the next job to be pre-set while the machine is running its current batch.

When a changeover arises it is generally just a case of bolting on the tools and loading the program.

CNC sliding headstock lathe has produced cost savings of up to GBP 9/component and helped win an overseas contract for a manufacturer of laser-based and other instrumental devices.

Following the installation of a 13-axis, Citizen M32-III CNC sliding headstock automatic lathe from NC Engineering of Watford, UK, Photonic Products, a double Queen's Award winning OEM supplier, has been able to recoup GBP 120,000 a year on subcontract costs, create cost reductions of up to GBP 9.00 per component and following installation of the machine, has been able to secure a US$775,000 contract from a blue chip customer in the USA. Based on the Hertfordshire/Essex border, Photonic Products has enjoyed meteoric growth since its formation just a decade ago. From one man working at home, the business has grown into a 44-employee concern, with overseas offices in Germany and California, generating a turnover in excess of GBP 4.2 million.

However, sales forecasts for 2006 are heading for a massive increase of over 40% on last year.

The business initially focused on the distribution of laser diodes for electronics giant Sanyo, but quickly opted to add the manufacture of laser modules to its portfolio.

Photonic Products' laser modules are used for car wheel alignment tracking, industrial pen pointers, banknote recognition, measurement of glass thickness, fibre optic test equipment, dental scanning, airport baggage sorting and even for room size measurement instruments used by estate agents.

In essence, a laser module is a small semiconductor device fronted by an optic with electronics housed to the rear within a mechanical body.

This body, along with other turned parts such as receptacle housings, are manufactured at the company's rural facility near Hatfield Broad Oak.

'Around five years ago we acquired a manual lathe and employed a model engineer for producing prototypes,' said operations director Damon Cookman, who follows on to explain how this move speeded their sampling process and within 12 months had led to a very positive increase in business.

'This started us thinking about how we could further improve and we began to look very seriously at CNC solutions,' he said.

At the time the company was using three trusted subcontractors, however, the typical six to eight week lead-time was becoming an increasing concern.

'Unfortunately it was difficult to start making demands as we felt we were producing small batches,' he said.

That said, in 2003 some GBP 90,000 was contracted out and this climbed by a third the following year.

'This growth made us reconsider where the business was going and what options we had,' he maintained.

Two of Photonic Products' subcontractors used Citizen sliding head technology, so the showroom of NC Engineering at Watford was an obvious port of call to catch up on the technology.

'Although having NC Engineering based in Hertfordshire was attractive, we were also considering machines by other suppliers,' Cookman said.

'But, as soon as we walked in the door, it became obvious this was a professional machine tool operation that was very willing to help.' The Citizen range of machines has been progressively developed to cater for a wide range of turning and milling requirements and even though the majority of Photonic Products' turned parts could be completed on lower specification models, there were two particular components that would benefit from the functionality of a top-of-the-range machine such as the M32-III.

'These two parts contained a number of prismatic features that meant we would need a large tooling capacity,' explained Cookman.

'Once we discovered that the M32-III was really a machining centre able to integrate precision turning with its 10-station turret that with multiple tool holders could accommodate over 40 tools, we knew it was the machine for us.

We felt we would rather spend a little more on a high specification model than potentially jeopardise future orders due to a lack of flexibility.' Installed in October 2005, the Citizen M32-III was specified with the Cool Blaster programmable 2000 lb/in2 high pressure coolant system to counter concerns over potential 'bird nesting' of high volumes of aluminium swarf, as well as to ensure the removal of any swarf contamination from the machine's sub-spindle collet.

The machine also came fitted with an IEMCA Boss 332r-E barfeed and Citizen's CNC Alarm Alert remote call out system, allowing the initiation of 'lights-out' operations to be maintained without any safety concerns.

Indeed, the company was running unmanned between 16:00 and 07:00 within a month of installation.

Said Cookman: 'We are very proud of this considering the advanced specification of the machine and the fact that we were totally new to CNC but it is also testament to the support offered by NC Engineering.' The company now has within its operation the ability to hold extremely tight tolerances and do so with confidence as Cookman explained: 'On one part we successfully held two micron on a 5mm diameter'.

'Although we've sited the machine in an air conditioned room, I was still concerned.

However, once we had the machine settled, it held tolerance consistently.' One of the most complex turned parts currently produced in batches of 12,000 is a nickel-silver receptacle housing for a telecoms device that is used to fire a laser beam down a fibre optic cable.

The cycle involves multi-diameter turning and threading, drilling holes as fine as 0.5mm diameter, counterboring, slot drilling with a 3.5mm cutter, the milling of external flats, milling tiny spigots and ballnose milling with a 3.5mm cutter.

Simultaneously in the subspindle, holes are drilled and tapped off-centre and the part is drilled and bored.

In both main and subspindle operations the machining cycle makes full use of the M32's ability to cut with three tools simultaneously and the part is completely deburred within the cycle time of just 6 min.

The cost savings are quite dramatic as Cookman outlined: 'Today, using our own M32-III, the cost is just GBP 3.00, a quarter of our subcontract costs even when we are including labour, material, consumables and overheads.

We have calculated that we are around GBP 5,000 a month 'in pocket' with the Citizen installed.' But Photonic Products is not 'sitting on its laurels'.

Currently the company is investigating how to further improve efficiency and one solution proposed by NC Engineering is the retrofitting of a gantry unloading system that operates within the confines of the machine.

This will avoid the occasional situation of the hopper becoming full when running lights-out, will also ensure handling damage is eliminated and brings the unload element into the production cycle.

Another significant advantage that the M32-III has brought to the company is the ability to secure future business, as Cookman proudly explained: 'We've just won the biggest single contract in our history from a blue chip OEM in the US worth US$775,000.

We would never have won this business without the ability to quickly produce initial prototypes and pre-production batches that were representative of production.' Adding recognition to its achievements this year, the company won its second Queen's Award for International Trade with 83% of its products sold overseas.

Although the company has only been at its present 13,000ft2 site for two years, already it is in the process of fitting a mezzanine floor to create a further 7,000ft2.

At the beginning of the year, turnover was projected to climb from GBP 4.2 to GBP 5.2 million - but judging by results from the first half of 2006, GBP 6 million is the more likely achievement.

'In terms of manufacturing we are going from strength to strength,' Cookman concluded.

'We are lucky to be in a niche market - the big league distributors that supply to the CD and DVD market can't compete in our sector because they cannot support these products technically.

Changing toolholders at the gang toolpost on a CNC sliding head turn/mill centre can now be performed in just 20s with the position of the cutting edge of the insert automatically set.

Changing toolholders at the gang toolpost on a citizen cnc sliding head turn/mill centre can now be performed in just 20ss with the position of the cutting edge of the insert automatically set by the toolholder against a dead stop and therefore not requiring any additional adjustment. Following an exclusive development programme between Sandvik Coromant and Citizen in Japan, the new Coroturn QS Quick Start system uses a spring-loaded wedge to locate the shorter than normal toolholder shank against a set dead stop in the gang tool post of the machine. This is a major advantage as it replaces the conventional wedge locking system that requires three screws and a wedge clamp to captivate the toolholder.

The new system also enables the toolholder to be quickly removed and accurately replaced via its single locking screw, enabling the insert to be indexed or changed out of the confines of the machine.

Not only does this make access to the tool easier, it reduces the likelihood of either the insert or locking key being dropped into the machine.

To install the system, the conventional wedge is removed from the gang toolpost and this is replaced with the two elements of the QS system, a fixed dead stop and the toolholder clamp.

The cutting edge of the insert in the toolholder is positioned and adjusted.

The dead stop is then locked to provide the datum for repositioning the toolholder and the short toolholder is then clamped using the spring wedge ready for machining.

Toolholders available in the range include front and back turning, parting-off, grooving and threading in 10mm, 12mm and 16mm shank sizes for Citizen K, C, L and M-Series machines.

The QS tooling system is available exclusively for citizen machines through Sandvik Coromant of Halesowen and Citizen UK agent, NC Engineering of Watford.

A six-spindle mill/turn bar automatic lathe can have up to 62 CNC axes, including 12 compound slides with X, Y and Z travels of 62, 24 and 85mm, a C-axis and simultaneous back-working.

A six-spindle mill-turning centre, designated MS22C, has been added to the German-built Index line of multi-spindle bar automatics, available in the UK through Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools. The new model, capable of accepting bar up to 22mm diameter, fills a gap in the range that until now comprised machines with maximum bar capacities of 18, 32, 42 and 52mm. According to configuration, the MS22C can have up to 62 CNC axes, including 12 compound slides with X, Y and Z travels of 62, 24 and 85mm and a C-axis.

Simultaneous back-working is achieved using one or two synchronous pick-up spindles that present the parted-off components to six separate tools, four of which can be driven.

For manufacturers of less complex parts that do not require extensive reverse end-working or off-centre cross machining, a lower cost model is available, called MS22C Lean.

Its compound slides omit the Y-axis, there is only one synchro spindle and three fixed tools for back-working, and the single- instead of twin-NC control needs to manage the motions of only 31 axes.

Machining possibilities are nevertheless still extensive, offering a modern alternative to high-end, cam-controlled multi's in terms of speed, but offering greater versatility and much faster changeover times.

In common with the manufacturer's other CNC multi's, the new machine has the ability to optimise feed rates and cutting speeds at each 14kW/10,000 rev/min spindle, avoiding compromised machining conditions and so maximising productivity as well as tool life.

The MS22C is therefore ideal for economical, large and small batch production of components in materials such as high temperature alloys that previously could not easily be machined on a multi-spindle bar auto.

Control is by the Index C200-4D, a derivative of the Siemens 840D which is easy to program on the shop floor and automatically performs collision checking for the pick-up spindle(s).

Comprehensive diagnostics for the machine and control are included, and it is possible to specify tool monitoring and a teleservice connection to an Index engineer for troubleshooting.

The machine may alternatively be programmed remotely on a PC running System 200 software, which accepts CAD input and has a DNC interface.

Another innovation from Index is its range of virtual machines, each of which mirrors on a computer screen the operation of different mill-turning centres including, most recently, the MS22C Lean.

The complete set-up process can be performed on a PC exactly as with a real multi, and it is even possible to carry out a continuous run to optimise the program.

Consequently, a minimum amount of expensive machine time is wasted when changing over to produce a new component, which is ever more important with falling batch sizes.

Any potential collision situations are accurately predicted and corrected before the first-off component is produced, eliminating the chance of damage to the machine.

CNC automatic lathe with linear motor driven axes incorporates every feature to facilitate highly efficient, complete machining of long workpieces.

The new 'Speed' 32-10 linear automatic lathe from DMG incorporates every feature to facilitate highly efficient, complete machining of long workpieces typically for the automotive, hydraulic and pneumatic, electronics and medical engineering sectors. It combines the latest linear drive technology for the highest and safe dynamic response with a maximum precision tolerance of 0.0015mm on the outside diameter. The re-designed work area allows machining with up to three tools in simultaneous operation resulting in maximum productivity and flexibility for both simple and complex parts up to 33mm in diameter.

A number of features contribute to this superior performance in addition to the two linear drives.

These provide acceleration along the axes from 0 to 40m/min in just 0.04s significantly reducing idle times.

Also important to the machine's design are the main and counter spindles whose integrated motors with mechanical collet operate independently at speeds up to 12,000 rev/min.

The 16i TB Fanuc Series controller ensures optimum machine performance.

The new 10.4in colour display, PCMCIA and Windows interfaces enhance the ease of operation and allow efficient communication with higher-level networks.

The Speed linear Series with sliding headstock has the ability to be upgraded based on double-sided machining with five-, seven-, nine- or even ten-axes technology with two spindles and two carriages.

The machine can also be equipped for thread whirling, slanted milling or deep hole drilling.