Hurco Europe Ltd

As far back as 1998, Smithstown Light Engineering in Shannon, Co Clare, was in the vanguard of high-speed metalcutting, having installed the 12th machining centre ever built by the German firm, Roeders. The 3-axis, vertical-spindle machine has been in continual operation ever since and its 44,000 rpm spindle is still the fastest in the Irish manufacturer's factory.

Two Hurco VMX30t vertical machining centres (VMCs) have been added to the subcontract machine shop of Schivo Group in Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland. Compared with a VMX42 installed in 2004, the latest machines are 50 per cent more productive, due entirely to the increased functionality of Hurco's conversational programming software, WinMax, incorporated into the control systems.

Two Hurco VMX30t vertical machining centres (VMCs) have been added to the subcontract machine shop of Schivo Group in Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland. Compared with a VMX42 installed in 2004, the latest machines are 50 per cent more productive, due entirely to the increased functionality of Hurco's conversational programming software, WinMax, incorporated into the control systems.

Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in research and development activity at medical device manufacturing facilities around Galway, while the same area in the west of Ireland has also seen a surge in the growth of companies in the biosciences field.

2-axis rotary table on 3-axis machining centres proves ideal for manufacturing special cutting tools

Galway-based subcontract machinist, Dawnlough, which specialises in manufacturing components for the medical industry, has bought equipment to the value of £1.5 million since 2005 to expand its design, production and inspection capabilities

A total of eight machine tools, of which three will be on show for the first time in Europe, will be cutting metal on the Hurco stand at EMO 2011. Demonstrating the manufacturer's ever-broadening product range, the exhibits will include three different configurations of 5-axis machining centre as well as larger and multi-axis lathes.

Start-up business powers ahead through the downturn

Founded in 1987 as a mouldmaker and subcontract machinist specialising in wire and spark erosion and manual milling, RST Engineering, Leighton Buzzard, installed a Hurco Hawk 30 CNC mill in 1998 to speed electrode production and other prismatic machining jobs. It was not until 2007 that the company traded in the Hawk for a 3-axis Hurco VM2 vertical machining centre, taking advantage of automatic tool change to fulfill contracts more economically for increasingly complex aerospace, medical and motorsport components.

When people think of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, they instantly remember the Vuvuzela. Now there is a compact version of the football hooter, called Minizela. It has been developed by the South African firm, Veem Engineering, run by equal share partners Sacha Vere and Debbie van der Westhuizen.

On the Hurco stand at MACH 2010, 440 serious enquiries for vertical machining centres and CNC lathes were recorded, which in Managing Director, Dave Waghorn’s opinion is the largest number of good quality leads ever received by the company at a MACH exhibition.