Machining

Austrian forgings manufacturer, Krenhof AG has purchased two Alzmetall mill-turn centres equipped with HEIDENHAIN TNC 640 controls, due to the high demand of producing an increasing number of modular dies. They are the first 5-axis machining centres in the Köflach factory and were purchased along with a new CAM system.

Imagine a mandrel with a hexagonal pyramid shape instead of a round taper, which is also well designed with stringent manufacturing requirements and process reliability in mind. Well Hainbuch has provided the answer and acted in response to demand from the market that has been steadily growing. Users are requesting mandrels that deliver higher performance as well as process reliability and he result is Maxxos.

Producing sheet metal components, pressings and fabrications in quantities from prototypes up to 10,000 per year, PAB Coventry has since early 2016 invested £1.5m in new machine tools, including a Hurco vertical machining centre. The rest consists of another hydraulic press, and a 4kW flat-bed fibre laser cutting machine, a 4kW 5-axis laser cutting machine and a 2m press brake, all from Prima Power.

When you look at the cuboid aluminium components produced for medical diagnostic equipment by subcontractor AES Precision Engineering, you'd think they were milled, drilled and tapped on a machining centre rather than a lathe; indeed they used to be, from sawn billet in two separate operations on a pair of 3-axis vertical-spindle machines in a total cycle time of 12 minutes. Since April this year, they have been machined complete from round bar in one operation in an Italian-built Biglia B565-YS 6-axis turn-mill centre supplied by UK agent Whitehouse Machine Tools.

When Chick Workholding's launched its One-Lok clamping system in the USA seven years ago as an alternative to the conventional machine vice, it introduced more precise workpiece positioning and a time-saving ratchet mechanism to adjust the position of the moveable jaw quickly. New lightweight versions have now been introduced to be marketed alongside it, offering users additional benefits. Availability in the UK is through 1st Machine Tool Accessories.

A new range of coating machines that form part of modular production platform have been specified with control technology solutions from Siemens. The platform has been created by production machinery manufacturer, Emerson & Renwick (E&R) and incorporates vacuum, wet and digital coating capabilities, with the vacuum coating solution identified as a radical and disruptive technology innovation.

  Manufacturer of holemaking and finishing tooling systems, Allied Machine & Engineering has announced its new GEN3SYS XT Pro line of high penetration drilling products. The product line features enhanced holders and inserts with three geometries, and two advanced coatings.

Mil-Tu-Fit Engineering, based in Bristol, has been manufacturing precision components for the electronics, oil and gas, defence, construction and medical industries for over 40 years. As well as machining facilities, the company can also offer laser cutting, surface treatment and welding.

Developer of VERICUT CNC simulation, verification and optimisation software, CGTech, has officially launched its ‘physics-based’ CNC program optimisation module, VERICUT Force, in the UK with a series of nationwide seminars.

The HF 5500, a new, horizontal-spindle machining centre for 5-sided and simultaneous 5-axis machining, will be launched by Heller at EMO 2017 alongside the smaller HF 3500, which was introduced last year. With a 900x950x900mm work envelope and a maximum pallet load of 750kg, the larger machine offers approximately 200mm extra travel in X, Y and Z plus 200kg additional load capacity.