NCMT

Working as a sole sales and service agent in the UK for the Italian-built Mecof range of travelling-column, horizontal-spindle milling machines and gantry-type, vertical-spindle machining centres, NCMT will be showcasing a range of products on stand H19-640 at MACH 2018. A special product will be the launch of the UMILL 1500, the portal, 5-axis vertical machining centre has mill-turn and high-speed options and joins the larger UMILL 1800 introduced to the UK at the end of 2016.

This year at the MACH exhibition taking place 9-13th April in NEC Birmingham NCMT will be showcasing a range of prismatic machining, turning and grinding centres from Okuma. All Okuma machines are sold and serviced exclusively in the UK and Ireland by NCMT, and can be found on stand H19-640 at MACH 2018.

Over 40 years ago now, Ted Fort OBE, who has recently become an octogenarian, started buying Okuma machining centres and lathes for his company, Fort Vale Engineering, and now it is a global market leader for the manufacture of stainless steel valves and ancillaries used in the tank container industry for transportation of bulk liquids and gases by road, rail and sea.

Demonstrating at EMO 2017 NCMT Fixture Solutions will be highlighting the advantages of the photo-activated adhesive system, Blue Photon.It is intended for the manufacture of workholding systems for use on machine tools and is suitable for securing awkwardly shaped parts for tight-tolerance machining and inspection.

The eighth annual Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table has listed machine tool sales company NCMT in sixth place. The table ranks 200 mid-market private companies (unquoted and not subsidiaries) in Britain with the fastest growing international sales.

As precision mould manufacturer and injection moulding specialist BM Injection was looking to replace an ageing, 3-axis, vertical-spindle machining centre of C-frame design back in the autumn of 2016, the company had three main requirements for the new machine. It needed to be of bridge construction for improved rigidity and have a nominal one-metre X-axis to provide extra capacity. It also had to be able to compensate for fluctuations in temperature on the shop floor.

Currently in the process of installing nine Okuma MU-6300V mill-turn centres in its Birmingham factory, Bromford Industries specialises in the manufacturing of aero engine and landing gear components for the global aerospace supply chain. The Japanese-built, 5-axis, vertical-spindle machines are ideally suited to volume production of nickel alloy aero engine parts to tight tolerances.

Earlier this year, contract machining firm Norjon Precision Engineering upgraded its multi-tasking, turn-milling capacity with the addition of a Japanese-built Okuma Multus U3000 2SW from UK agent, NCMT. Coming equipped with a Y-axis on the column and a motorised B-axis tool carrier as well as a 12-station lower turret, the twin-spindle machine is capable of 3+2-axis machining, although fully interpolative 5-axis machining is an option.

The speed and agility normally associated with a 30-taper, turret-type drill-tap centre has been built into a new, BT40 (optionally HSK-A63) horizontal-spindle machining centre (HMC) manufactured by Makino, Japan. Designated a40, the 4-axis CNC, twin pallet change machine is available in the UK and Ireland through sole sales and service agent, NCMT.

Contract machinist BG Engineering operates three Japanese-built Okuma horizontal machining centres supplied by UK agent, NCMT. All are equipped for carrying out Okuma’s novel turn-cutting process, which is used extensively at the subcontractor’s facility to machine gas and steam regulator valves as well as offshore seals and gas storage equipment components.

A new, 5-axis, horizontal-spindle machining centre, designated T1, has been introduced by Makino for high efficiency machining within a 1,500 mm (X) by 1,300 mm (Y) by 2,000 mm (Z) working envelope. The fully enclosed, temperature controlled, twin-pallet centre is well suited to machining large prismatic or cylindrical workpieces to high accuracy across a wide range of industries. Availability in the UK is through the Japanese manufacturer’s sole agent, NCMT.

Makino's new F8 and F9 vertical-spindle machining centres are capable of fast metal removal rate during milling and drilling of large components, from forging dies, injection moulds and stamping tools to aluminium and titanium aircraft parts. NCMT is sole UK agent for the Japanese machine manufacturer.

Kaiser Precision Tooling, has been introducing digital boring head options to its range since 2010, beginning with the smaller diameter tools. New additions covering the middle and large diameters mean that the company now offers a boring head with digital readout to cover the full product spectrum from 0.4 mm to 3 metres diameter. Availability in the UK is through sole agent, NCMT.

A new range of slim profile hydraulic toolholders has been introduced by the Japanese manufacturer, BIG Daishowa, and is available in the UK through sales agent, NCMT. There is a choice of BBT 30, 40 or 50 BIG Plus face-and-taper-contact back ends (compatible with BT spindle machines), or the HSK-A63 taper. Of slimline design, the toolholders are ideal for machining high precision features in restricted areas on components.

An alternative to the traditional machine vice for component clamping during CNC metalworking is being marketed in the UK by NCMT under a new agency agreement with the US manufacturer, Techni-Grip. The system provides secure clamping for single or multiple parts and can reduce the number of operations required for machining components, especially those of more complex design.

High-precision, modular tooling systems manufactured by Swiss firm, Heinz Kaiser, are available in the UK through NCMT under a new sole agency agreement, effective from 1st October 2012. The boring bars cover a wide diameter range from 0.4 mm to three metres. NCMT director, Dave Burley, said, Existing users of the tooling can continue to deal with their current regional resellers, which from now on will be supported by NCMT.

Staff from NCMT, the UK agent for Makino machine tools, will be present on the Japanese manufacturer's stand throughout the show to promote three distinct areas of production in the aerospace industry. One is milling of aircraft structural parts in titanium alloys using Makino's T2, T2.5 and T4 horizontal machining centres. Another is machining of aluminium aerostructures on the latest Makino 5-axis MAG platform and the new -nx series machining centres, all of which are horizontal-spindle models. Thirdly, production of larger nickel alloy engine components using the VIPER grinding process will be highlighted.

A new range of high-precision, abrasive deburring brushes made from heavy duty aluminium oxide (alumina) fibres has been introduced for use on static platforms such as machining centres, mills, drilling machines and special-purpose machine tools, but are equally suitable for mounting on industrial robots. Versions are also available for hand-held power tools.

When the Japanese tooling manufacturer, BIG Daishowa, first introduced its purpose-designed C-Cutters for high precision plunge-chamfering of holes, it used a standard chamfer angle of 45 degrees. Now the company has introduced two additional fixed-angle cutters for chamfering at 30 and 60 degrees respectively, as well as a universal type on which the angle can be set anywhere between five and 85 degrees.

A new, 3-axis, vertical-spindle machining centre has been introduced by Okuma for tool and mould makers that require repeatable accuracy down to microns. Availability in the UK is through sole agent, NCMT. Having a compact footprint (2.281 x 2.736 m), the 7-tonne MP-46 V supports workpieces on a 760 mm x 460 mm table and has linear travels of X 660 mm, Y 460 mm and Z 360 mm, with 24 m/min rapid traverse in each.