machining
Qualtronic was doing ok with 3 and 4 axis machining - but it needed to go a step or two
further to cope with increasingly complex components
Tilting the playing field
SCOTTISH subcontractor Qualtronic, has
historically derived 80% of its turnover from
aerospace contracts, primarily the production of
microwave transmission components, connector
bodies, cable terminations and other
instrumentation. Operations have involved 3and
4-axis prismatic machining on Matsuura
machining centres and multi-axis mill-turning
on a variety of lathes.
In February 2004, the firm’s stand at
Southern Manufacturing attracted the attention
of a global supplier of mechanical and control
products to many industries including the civil
aircraft sector. Impressed with the sample
components on display and with the knowledge
of the engineers staffing the stand, the company
placed a large order for stainless steel parts to go
into a new passenger aircraft. One of the
components needed 5-axis machining to
produce it economically.
A year previously, the Qualtronic had bought
a Nikken 2-axis rotary / tilting table for its
Matsuura MC-510VG vertical 3-axis machining
centre to enable it to carry out close-tolerance, 5axis
machining of various parts, so it could use
this facility for the new aerospace application.
Managing director, Adrian Harper, who cofounded
the company in 1984 comments:
‘Matsuura applications engineers helped us to
reduce the cycle time and tooling costs when
machining these components by identifying
improvements to the cutting cycles. ‘For
example, what was being carried out in
simultaneous 4-axis mode is now machined by
interpolating the other rotary axis on the
Nikken table as well. This makes it possible to
tilt the component to allow access for a different
cutter to perform more aggressive roughing, so
the delicate mill is now required for only the
finishing pass.’
Production of the components will increase
significantly in 2008 and it was recognised some
time ago that there would not be enough
capacity on the firm’s one 5-axis facility. So in
December 2007, a full 5-axis Matsuura MAM72-
25V twin-pallet VMC was installed to take over
some of the machining. Significant advantages
result from using this rather than the MC-
510VG with add-on compound table, despite the
remarkable accuracies obtained with the latter.
The new machine has enabled improved surface
finish on certain features of the components and
reduced overall cycle time by 40%. This has been
possible throughthe greater rigidity of the more
A full 5-axis Matsuura MAM72-25V twinpallet
VMC of the type installed in
December 2007 at Qualtronic, Glenrothes.
modern machine, which allows full use to be
made of the higher power, 15,000revs/min
spindle and the faster feed rates, both in cut and
during rapid traverse.
Matsuura applications engineers made a
further improvement in the way that the five
CNC axes are interpolated to allow a greater area
of one of the cutters to contact the component,
doubling the life of the consumable. Also, the
same cutter is now used to mill features that
previously required a separate cutter, so one tool
change has been eliminated from the cycle. A
machine-mounted probe checks critical features
before it leaves the fixture and every second
component undergoes a functional check.
Now that the full 5-axis VMC is installed,
other components will be manufactured under
contracts that the subcontractor would have had
to turn away before. One is the production of a
surgical instrument for performing
tracheostomies. The 316 stainless steel assembly
contains around 30 parts, including a complex
camera head and another component that can
only be produced in one hit by 5-axis
interpolative machining. Other jobs lined up for
the new machine are destined for the offshore
sector, which need relatively small parts
machined from difficult materials.
70 MWP march 2008
Harper sets great store by investing in the best
quality plant, as he finds that customers will pay
a premium for the high precision components
that can be machined. ‘Many subcontractors
walk away from such close tolerance work and
that is when we step in,’ he says. ‘But if you win
that type of contract, you don’t want to be
worrying about the repeatability of your
machine tools - chasing microns is difficult
enough - so we always buy the best equipment
available.’
Qualtronic now uses six Matsuura machining
centres to the exclusion of all other makes. The
oldest, an MC500 VMC, was installed in 1985
and is still in full production, despite having
been in continuous use, 18 hours a day. The
machine has stopped for unscheduled
maintenance only five times in 22 years. ‘We
would be very unlikely to go elsewhere for
prismatic metalcutting machines,’ continues
Harper. ‘Matsuura machining centres are in the
top category for quality and accuracy, but just as
important is the quality of back-up we receive.
The supplier is streets ahead of all other machine
tool vendors we have dealt with over the last 20
years in terms of the service provided, be it
routine maintenance, emergency call-out,
training, applications or spares. Even a
replacement spindle for any of our machining
centres is available ex-stock from Matsuura’s
Leicestershire headquarters and can be with us
the same day.’
The trend over the coming years at the
Glenrothes subcontractor will be to replace 3axis
with 5-axis machining centres. The
rationale is that a greater variety of higheradded-value
work can be undertaken in fewer
set-ups, which also improves component
accuracy by reducing tolerance build-up. In
addition, it means that fewer spindles are needed
overall, minimising manual intervention and
lowering labour costs. Qualtronic moved locally
to its current premises in May 2007, in so doing
increasing factory space by a third to 20,000 sq ft.
It has an enviable record for customer service,
with 99.8% of its 25 monthly deliveries correct
and on time. It has the engineering expertise to
help customers develop their designs to simplify
manufacture, is strong in traditional shop floor
skills and has a particularly stable workforce,
three staff having been with the company for
more than 20 years.
www.matsuura.co.uk
www.qualtronic.co.uk
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