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Leading subcontractor continues to buy into
modern milling solutions as part of a philosophy to
broaden its market footprint beyond turning.
Versatility drives investment
PRECISION subcontractor Technoturn has invested in a Doosan DNM 500. The vertical machining centre, installed at the
company’s Hastings factory in March, is the third (and largest) Doosan it has purchased in the last 18 months, and is being used
to machine a diverse range of complex, high-precision components for the aerospace, defence, motorsport and medical sectors,
and the electronic connector industry. Parts are machined from a variety of materials such as aluminium, titanium, stainless
steels, exotic alloys and plastics, to high accuracy (0.01mm), and exacting surface finishes. Batch sizes are equally varied, from
prototypes, one-offs and small batch series, right through to medium-to-high volume production.
Technoturn director David McIlwain reflects on the latest investment: ‘When the company was first established in 1995, our
focus was very much on turned parts and turning technology. We invested heavily in sliding-head lathes, and followed this up
by making significant investments in multi-axis, multi-tasking turning centres. Over the last couple of years we made the
strategic decision to develop and broaden our manufacturing capabilities still further, as a route to growing the business and
strengthening our position in the numerous supply chains we are involved in. This has seen us not only continue to invest in
sophisticated lathes and turning centres, but to also increase and improve our in-house milling capabilities as a consequence.
This explains the recent investments in Doosan vertical machines, and what this means is that today we can deliver
comprehensive, cost-competitive and world-class CNC machining solutions to customers.’
As well as growing its CNC machining capabilities Technoturn has also strengthened its claim to be a single-source solutions
provider by increasing the number of secondary finishing services it can offer to customers such as painting, heat treatment
and electro-plating, and in-house quality and inspection, shot-blasting and sub-assembly. Continues McIlwain: ‘Continuous
improvement and strategic development are the keys to our success. Our customers need, and are looking for, supply chain
partners that can deliver guaranteed quality, cost efficiencies and on time delivery. Our investment in new technology coupled
with similar significant investments made in our people and processes are helping us meet these needs.’ The nature and
diversity of Technoturn’s business dictates that any new machine tool purchased has to be both ultra-productive and versatile.
The new DNM 500, supplied by Mills CNC with 4th-axis interface, is a heavy-duty, high-performance VMC capable of high
removal rates and fine finishing operations. www.millscnc.co.uk www.technoturn.com
EPS/EPP mould tool specialist born from redundancy builds its
customer base - starting with previous employers - on the back of
machine tool investment.
Working backwards
FACED with redundancy in the aftermath of a takeover, toolroom
engineers Dean Bowers and Jim O’Brien decided it was time to bite the
bullet and establish their own subcontract pattern and mould tool making
business. However, as their situation was a direct consequence of the
new owner’s policy of outsourcing tooling used to manufacture
polystyrene mouldings, they asked a simple question: ‘If we set up on our
own, would you consider using our services?’. The answer was an
encouraging ‘yes’, and their soon-to-be first customer also agreed to the
sale of several manual machine tools that had become surplus to
requirements.
Having began as a satellite operation, Duotech has since gone on to
build a loyal customer base that looks to the Northampton subcontractor
for the precision mould tools needed to produce expanded polystyrene
(EPS) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) mouldings. Duotech delivers
these mould tools complete with steam inlets, cooling galleries and other
elements necessary to produce the high quality blown polystyrene
mouldings used predominantly in protective product packaging
applications and by the construction and building industries for insulation
and sound absorption purposes.
Along the way the manual machine tools have been superseded by a
CNC/ manual 7.5hp/5000 rev/min SMX 5000 bed mill and a full-CNC 20
hp/5000rev/min Compact Turn 52 turning centre supplied by XYZ. ‘We
decided to install the SMX 5000 because we are being asked to produce
multi-cavity mould tools that can be up to 1500mm wide with relatively
deep cavities and this bed mill allows us to machine 1500mm in the X
axis,’ says Dean Bowers. ‘This means we can put a component up and
machine it in one go, saving both time and money.’
In December 2008, six months after the bed mill had been installed,
Duotech took delivery of the Compact Turn 52 turning centre. This 52mm
diameter bar capacity turning centre has replaced a 43 mm bar capacity
lathe but has a smaller footprint (1700 x 1450mm). ‘Floor space costs
money,’ says Dean Bowers, ‘and although it takes up less room, the
Compact Turn is fully equipped with parts catcher, swarf conveyor, tool
setting arm, hydraulic tailstock and a 12-station VDI tool turret. We are
pleased with the performance of both XYZ machines, not least because
programming, whether it is the ProtoTRAK CNC fitted to the bed mill or
the Siemens 810D fitted to the turning centre, is conversational and
straightforward, using information downloaded either from our CADCAM
system or a DXF file.’
www.xyzmachinetools.com
www.duotechmouldmakers.co.uk
54 MWP may 2009
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