Machining

Another finalist of the Subcon launchpad awards is ES Precision, a provider of laser processing services for marking, engraving and surface/thin material processing. This is the first year the launchpad awards will take place at the Subcon show and six engineering and manufacturing startups have made the final to try and impress and win a lump sum of money plus a stand at Subcon 2020.

Machine down-time is a major issue for businesses across the UK. If not prepared for, interruptions to appliances can have a significant detrimental impact on the productivity and profit margin of a company. According to a study commissioned by Oneserve, a field service management firm, and carried out in collaboration with UK manufacturers; machine downtime costs the UK approximately £18bn a year.

The HDL CarvLock Towers from Kurt HDL decrease cycle time by maximising the machine work envelope with eight stations to 12 stations within each tower. This provides a high-density workholding platform for ganging dozens of parts depending on size. Eight station tower configurations can be selected from Kurt’s standard four inch and six inch base models.

Cheshire Seals and Components Limited (Cheshire Seals), based in Warrington have recently extended their workshop capacity with a new Harrison Alpha 1550XS manual/CNC lathe from Colchester Machine Tool Solutions, allowing them to offer customers larger machining capability.

Many machines are completely reliant upon chains for their operation, so it makes sense to use the best chain possible and to get specialist advice when specifying a new or replacement chain. Here, Derek Mack, UK Sales Director for Tsubaki explains how a custom solution will often provide the best fit and deliver total cost of ownership savings.

In selective laser melting (SLM) a stable inert gas atmosphere must be ensured within the built chamber of the machine. A specified temperature range is also essential. Only under these conditions can high quality components be produced. It is further necessary to remove metal splash and smoke developing during the melting process.

  Poor weather during winter months can have a negative impact on the ability to safely operate machinery and work outside. Precautions and safety measures should be clearly set out and undertaken to protect both the workers and machinery on site during inclement weather.

To achieve closer positioning of multiple vises with no need for space consuming toe clamps, the DX6 CrossOver Vise features strategically located holes for through the body mounting. The vise also uses sine keys which can be inserted quickly into pre-drilled dowel holes in the vise base for positioning onto t-slots, machine tables, grid plates, sub-plates, fixture plates and tombstones.

The sixth generation of ultra-high-precision turning centres from Spinner, Germany, which started manufacturing them in the 1950s, was presented on the manufacturer's stand at AMB 2018. Available in the UK and Ireland through Whitehouse Machine Tools, the new Microturn lathe is built in two sizes and is capable of producing components to well within five microns dimensional tolerance in series production.

A new, tangential milling system was launched by Horn at the AMB exhibition in Stuttgart, with a side mill to deploy six effective cutting inserts. The patented system offers positive cutting and axial rake angles for a particularly soft cut. The precision-ground, indexable inserts ensure a high level of accuracy and surface quality.