Product category:
CNC automatic lathes
News Release from: DMG (UK) | Subject: Sprint 32 linear CNC sliding head automatic
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 17 August 2004
Adaptor maker finds ideal CNC sliding
head auto
Manufacturing hydraulic adaptors, a factory sought a CNC sliding head auto to machine parts in one set-up and found a 32mm machine that could machine 32mm across-the-flats hexagon parts.
Based directly under the Heathrow flight path, business at Jade Adaptors is taking off thanks in no small way to its policy of continuous investment, the latest stage of which has seen the Hounslow-based companies purchase four, high specification, high performance Sprint 32 linear automatic production lathes from DMG (UK) - the first to be installed in the UK Manufacturing hydraulic adaptors for a living may sound straightforward enough, but when there are 5000 different varieties and some are required in quantities of more than one million per annum, it becomes clear that efficiency and productivity need to be high on the agenda if success is to be achieved
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 21 Jun 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Jade Adaptors has been producing high-pressure hydraulic adaptors for over 30 years and has a healthy order book, 90 per cent of which is filled with overseas contracts.
However, the company is not one to rest on its laurels as joint company directors Salvatore Costanza and David Reynolds point out - Jade has spent GBP 1.2 million on new machines in the last five years.
"We are always looking at new machines - we need to keep up with the new technology they offer," says Costanza.
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The company realised that while its existing compliment of multi-spindle machines were not short of speed in terms of cycle times, they had one significant drawback - that the majority of parts manufactured by Jade Adaptors could not be finished complete in one set-up.
To combat this, Jade set about sourcing an alternative solution.
"We investigated the market and considered sliding head machines by a variety of Japanese and Swiss manufacturers," explains Reynolds, "but the Sprint 32 linear had a major advantage." Due to the fact that 98 per cent of adaptors manufactured by Jade contain a hexagon feature, the 32mm version (a popular size) measures 32mm across the flats - meaning that it doesn't fit into standard 32mm bar capacity machines.
"However, the Sprint 32 linear accepts 32mm hexagon parts, which is exactly what we required.
The parts are now manufactured in one-hit," declares a pleased Reynolds.
The adaptors also require the use of six of the eight axes offered by the Sprint 32 linear.
The company now has 18 CNC machines on site and the four Sprint machines represent the first from DMG, but the company has no regrets about sourcing a new machine tool partner.
"The support has been brilliant," says Costanza.
"We run an 11-hour daily shift here and since installation the machines have performed very well - if we ever have a query regarding operation or a specific application, then DMG is more than ready to assist." Although according to Reynolds the machine is very simple to use: "The control uses a simple master program and all we have to do is slot our program in the middle." The rear end machining capability of the Sprint 32 linear machines has transformed the manufacturing operation at Jade.
"With our multi-spindle machines, a batch of parts (typically 5000), would finish the first operation and then sit on the floor waiting for machine availability," says Reynolds.
"The fact that we can now produce parts in a single-hit has not only presented us with labour cost savings and a reduced stock inventory, it has also cut lead times dramatically.
For instance, if an urgent order for 500 adaptors arrived, we would previously have to wait for the batch of 5000 to finish the first operation, only collecting the 500 we require once the second operation is in progress.
That obstacle has now been removed." So what of the linear drives? Costanza admits that he had not seen a linear drive machine before, but he had read about them.
"There is no doubting that they are fast," adds Reynolds, "some of our cycle times have been cut by 50 per cent." And it is easy to see why - the Sprint 32 linear's integrated spindle motors deliver 7.5kW at a maximum speed of 8000 rev/min, which is further assisted by minimised non-productive time - via 40m/min rapid traverse times and 1G acceleration rates.
"The non-productive time on these machines is virtually nil," confirms Reynolds.
With eight axes (including C and Y-axes on the main and counter spindles), up to 24 tools, rear face machining capability, tool management and the development of linear technology, the bar-fed Sprint 32 linear represents a significant engineering feat, ensuring that even high-complexity parts can be produced with repeatable precision and reliability in the shortest possible lead-time.
Quality is another area of significant gain that Jade Adaptors has witnessed.
"We have seen a 100 per cent improvement in quality," says Costanza.
"We don't have any rejects anymore as we have far better control over component quality - our surface finish is now much better too." In conclusion Jade Adaptors is more than pleased with its investment.
"It has improved our operations in terms of productivity, repeatability and component quality," sums up Reynolds "and for the short components that we make it is proving to be a very efficient method of machining.".
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