The installation of a multi-tasking machine tool at a scientific instrument maker has brought 'one hit' machining capability that extends to producing milled components from bar.

Combining milling and turning keeps costs down The installation of a Mazak Integrex 200 IIIS multi-tasking machine tool at its Tunbridge Wells, Kent factory has provided scientific instrument maker Bellingham and Stanley with a 'one hit' machining capability that extends to producing milled components from bar. 'The performance of the Integrex since its installation in March 2005 has confirmed that this is the way forward,' says Mike Banks, production director. 'Precision machined components, including milled components previously allocated to other machines, are produced from bar in a single set-up, with the Integrex capable of running unmanned in a lights-out environment.

This is streamlining the 'design to manufacture' process, while the savings resulting from rationalising our materials requirement is another contribution to keeping our costs down.' Bellingham and Stanley is a world-leading manufacturer of refractometers and polarimeters.

However, while new designs continue to emerge for export to all parts of the world, this long-established company faces a serious challenge from low labour cost economies.

This means that maintaining low overheads is crucial, and with this in mind Banks has introduced far-reaching changes to the way in which the ISO 9001:2000 accredited company makes its world-class products.

'While the traditional 'big batch' approach ensured the minimum of machine set-ups and changeovers, it all too often resulted in parts 'a' and 'b' arriving in the assembly area while part 'c', the item needed to join them together, was nowhere to be found,' he says.

'It was still in the materials store where rack upon rack of expensive raw material - stainless steels, aluminium, brass and plastics - was awaiting its turn to be machined.

This was matched at the other end of the production process by an equivalent inventory of high value finished components awaiting final assembly.

In effect, this was 'dead' money that could be put to better use.' The imbalance between production and delivery to the customer, and its impact on cash flow, prompted a more flexible response to market demand.

This entailed moving away from 'pushing' work through in large batches and the introduction of a 'pull' system targeted at providing customers with on-time delivery of cost-competitive products assembled on a kit-of-parts basis.' 'It is not possible to change everything in one go,' says Banks, ' But we began by upgrading our CNC machining capability, initially with a small turning centre equipped with sub-spindle, C axis, tool probing and driven tooling.

We equipped our VMC machines, where appropriate, with quick changeover vices, workpiece and tool probing, and pallet changing systems.

We updated our CAD/CAM capability, which is now fully interactive, with DNC downloading of programs on demand from the operator.

More recently, we introduced lean manufacturing techniques to ensure that we machine only what we need, assemble only what has been ordered and deliver a completed instrument as quickly as we can.' The new Mazak CNC machine delivers a fully machined workpiece in one 'hit', which cuts lead times and boosts productivity.

'Of course, it is a major investment for a business employing 50 people,' says Banks, 'But without this level of technology we will be unable to maintain our market-leading position.' The main feature of the bar-fed Integrex 200 IIIS is its combination of 22kW, 5000 rev/min main spindle, 18.5kW, 5000 rev/min second spindle, and upper turret.

This caters for turning, milling, contouring with the C axis, off-centre machining with the Y axis, and milling of angled surfaces with the B axis.

The 15kW, 12,000 rev/min rotary tool spindle moves through 225 deg (B axis) in positioning increments of 0.0001 deg, while the 200mm chucks have indexing increments (C axis) of 0.0001 deg (main spindle) and 0.001 deg (second spindle).

Maximum machining diameter is 660mm and maximum machining length is 1016mm.

'Linking this high specification machine with an 80 tool carousel, quick change collet chuck, and standardised tooling and materials means we can change from job to job in minutes rather than hours,' says Banks.

'This capability is reducing costs in manufacture and providing a far more flexible platform for producing the many precision engineered components used in our instruments.'

Exceptional performance and flexibility have already earned a production vertical turning centre with linear motor powered axis drives a high reputation in the automotive industry.

Exceptional performance and flexibility have already earned the CTV linear Series a high reputation in the automotive industry and similar high productivity sectors. With specific tooling these high-speed vertical turning machines from DMG can also perform auxiliary operations such as milling, drilling and tapping. This versatility has already enabled manufacturers to reduce unit cost significantly making them much more competitive.

With the addition of the new CTV400 linear to the range DMG has opened up this potential to larger diameters.

With a chuck capacity of up to 400mm this top-of-the-range machine has dual-track loading and unloading that can reduce handling time by up to 40%.

The high performance of the machine is complemented by a wear-free linear drive on the 1,620 X-axis that accelerates at 1G for rapid traverses up to 100m/min.

In common with its forerunners, the new CTV400 has an integrated spindle drive whose advantages are significantly greater output, high machining forces and no power loss when the spindle is idle.

Maximum torque is 730Nm and swing diameter, 500mm.

High precision and resolution are assured by the machine's direct measuring systems that also dispense with the need for time-consuming reference positioning.

The fast indexing servo turret - 0.21s for 30 and with 11.3kW on driven tools - greatly reduces idle times.

This is especially true for eccentric drilling and milling operations for which the turret can be equipped with optional Y-axis featuring a +/-100mm stroke.

To ensure good accessibility and maximum security during three-shift operation, the machine base is divided in two.

The compact and rigid base is of cast-meehanite and supported by a cast mineral foundation.

Unusual in a machine of this class, the design provides superior damping capability and a very high machine weight of 13,000kg.

This stability, in combination with the vertical spindle arrangement that supports optimum swarf clearance, creates the ideal conditions for dry and hard machining.

The inclusion of an optional multi-function T-slot plate in the work area greatly enhances the capability of this new heavyweight.

It allows additional tools to be installed in fixed or driven configuration for milling, grinding and boring as well as multi-spindle drill heads or linear tool mounts.

The modular design of this machine allows it to be easily adapted for specific customer needs.

A range of automation options is available to achieve the desired performance.

The machine is controlled by the Windows-based Siemens 840D controller that is of course compatible with the full DMG range of Powertools software support packages including DMG Netservice.

At a leading British lock manufacturer, production of plugs, pins, keys and thumb-turns has been transferred from five single-spindle cam automatics to three Traub TNL 12 sliding-head lathes.

At a leading British lock manufacturer, production of plugs, pins, keys and thumb-turns has been transferred from five single-spindle cam automatics to three Traub TNL 12 sliding-head lathes. The ability of the lathes to turn-mill components in one hit has also resulted in the removal of 30 milling, drilling and tapping machines formerly used to perform secondary operations on parts turned on the cam auto's. Space has been freed on the shop floor and five fewer operators are needed on each of two shifts, resulting in a significant labour cost reduction.

A before-and-after comparison of brass plug production gives an indication of the savings being made.

The previous process was to turn a blank from 14mm diameter brass bar on a cam auto; drill six pinholes on a rotary transfer machine; mill a boss on the reverse using a special-purpose machine; drill two holes at the same end on a single-spindle drill; and then tap holes on an adjacent, identical machine.

Between each of the five stages, the components were transferred manually to a degreasing station.

This was necessary as there was always a lot of work-in-progress and parts would frequently be held in bins for three or four days, with the potential to leak cutting oil onto the shop floor.

Economical batch size before setting up all the machines to produce a new component was typically 10,000-off.

On any of the Traub TNL 12 lathes, all of which are equipped with a sub spindle, the plugs are machined completely in one visit to the machine in a 28s cycle.

This is achieved as a result of a generous allocation of tooling, both driven and static, in two turrets and in two gang tool posts for front and reverse end-working respectively.

Batch size is down to around 1,000-off, reducing significantly the money tied up in inventory, bearing in mind that each plug costs UK 28 pence to manufacture.

Another benefit is better component accuracy by eliminating tolerance build-up caused by repeated re-clampings.

Tolerances of +/-0.01mm on diameters and +/-0.02mm for other features are easily held.

The manufacturer advised that Traub sliders were selected for the project as comparative trials on four machines from different suppliers showed the TNL 12 to be capable of cycle times that were on average 10% faster than the next best lathe.

A 37kW turning centre with an 11kW milling spindle provides the ideal solution for companies machining long, large diameter components particularly found in the aerospace and oil industries.

Yamazaki Mazak's CyberTech Turn 4500MT turning centre provides the ideal solution for companies machining long, large diameter components particularly found in the aerospace and oil industries. The CT4500MT combines the power of a 37kW, 2400 rev/min spindle, which has a massive 326kgf/m (2360 ft.lb) of torque, with maximum machining diameter and length of 860mm and 3048mm respectively. This powerful turning centre is also equipped, as standard, with an impressive 11kW milling spindle that is equal to many machining centres.

The large upper turret of the CT4500MT has capacity for twelve, 32mm square shank tools and can also accommodate boring bars with shanks up to 50mm diameter.

A further plus point is the fact that rotary tools can be located in any of the turret positions and productivity is boosted by the use of random, shortest path, non-lift indexing, which is achieved in a time of 0.4 seconds.

Additionally, two boring bars with 80mm diameter shanks and up to 1000mm in length can be located in the boring bar stocker.

This feature facilitates the machining of deep bores without the need for time-consuming manual intervention.

The lower turret provides an additional eight positions for OD tools and can be used simultaneously with the upper turret to reduce cycle times through balanced cutting or by combining OD and ID operations.

Furthermore, integral to the CT4500MT is the servo-driven tailstock, which simplifies setup and thrust settings.

The position of the tailstock is recognised by the Mazatrol 640MT Pro CNC, and both its position and thrust settings are controlled by M-code functions.

Confirming the CT4500MT's suitability for the offshore industry is a choice of spindle bore diameter.

As standard, the machine has a 132mm bore and options are available for 185mm, 275mm and 320mm if required, with either a 305mm or 381mm bore through the chuck.

Yamazaki Mazak has also developed advanced threading software that includes canned cycles for the machining of metal seal threads and re-threading functions.

Finally, for a machine of this size agility has not been compromised and rapid traverse rates in the X and Z axes are 24m/min and 30m/min respectively.

The contouring capability, so often required on aircraft and oil industry components, is enhanced by the C-axis, which has a minimum programming increment of 0.001 deg.

CNC turning centres with a swing over bed of up to 720mm and turning length of 1000mm between centres have a drive power up to 46kW and a speed range up to 4,000 rev/min.

Leader CNC of Nuneaton, UK, is proud to announce that it has been selected as the UK Distributor for German manufacturer Monforts, whose range of high specification CNC lathes complements the DMC turning centres and Toshiba and Kitamura machining centres already distributed by Leader CNC. Leader CNC sales director Mike Serzeniewski commented: 'This new agency now puts Leader CNC in an ideal position to offer the marketplace a complete range of machining and turning centres'. 'As expected of a German manufacturer, the Monforts range has an exemplary build quality with productivity and capabilities to compete with just about any turning centre on the market'.

'This range will be supported by our exceptional sales and service ability that has been proven with Leader CNC serving as Main European Dealer for Toshiba Machine and our award for 'Commitment, Innovation and Excellence' from Kitamura Machinery.' * The Monforts range - with over 100 years experience in design, manufacture and assembly of high quality machine tools, the Monforts range will no doubt achieve considerable success of in the UK.

Now available from Leader CNC is the Monforts RNC, DNC, MNC and the KNC range of turning centres.

The RNC line is the main product line available from Leader CNC and it has the SingleTurn, DuoTurn and MultiTurn options.

The RNC 400, RNC 500, RNC 600 and RNC 700 are available with 420, 600, 640 and 720mm swing over bed diameters respectively and a turning length of 600mm (RMC 400) and 1000mm.

Available with Siemens or Fanuc controls the RNC range has a drive power up to 46kW and a speed range up to 4,000rpm dependant upon the option selected.

All MultiTurn machines come with 12 driven tools and a drive power of 12.6kW and 13.6kW dependent upon control selection.

The RNC 400 and RNC 500 DuoTurn series are available with an A6 spindle nose, 64mm spindle bore 52mm bar capacity in the draw tube and a maximum drive power of 22/25kW.

For complete machining of intricate components the DNC 500 DuoTurn twin spindle turning centre will be available with a Z1/Z2 and X1/X2 traverse of 600/600mm and 260/260mm respectively plus an 85mm bar capacity on both spindles.

With two turrets and two spindles this machine is a successful integration of two high performance machines in a single machine concept that enables turning, drilling and milling for complete machining of complex parts.

For machining of larger components up to 90 and 85mm (125mm option available), the MNC 500 and MNC 1000 range of SingleTurn and MultiTurn turning centres are heavy duty machine tools with 12-fold turrets and driven tools delivers a true sense of complete machining.

The driven tools permit the machining of eccentric bores, threads and milled faces.

The MNC can be developed to suit the exacting requirements of the end user with a tailstock or subspindle, steady rest or lower slide, Fanuc or Siemens control and a Y-axis as just a few of the options on offer.

For machining even larger parts up to 1500mm length, the UniCen turning centre from Monforts is available in two variations - the UniCen 500 and UniCen 1000.

The UniCen is a turning and milling centre with up to five interpolating axes including an integrated B-axis permits the machining of free form faces.

This high productivity machine incorporates an NC controlled chain magazine that has 34 tool positions with the option of 60 or 90 tools, which are available in HSK63 or Capto C6 fittings.

As a measure of quality, all Monforts CNC machines incorporate a maintenance and wear free longitudinal guiding system.

This hydrostatic main guide is free of any frictional contact independent of the rate of traverse.

This hydrostatic slideway comes complete with a 10 year guarantee.

Beside the high specification CNC range of turning centres Leader CNC will also be providing the Monforts KNC 500S, KNC 600, KNC 800 and 800S and the KNC 1000 range of conventional turning centres.

With 580, 630, 830 and 1100 swing diameter over bed, this series of turning centre utilises the MTC K series control system with a control philosophy that is suited to the practical experience of the operator.