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News Release from: Engineering Technology Group, The
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 November 2006
Auto parts supplier orders GBP 3m
machine tools
As part of a multi-million pound capital investment programme at CNC Speedwell, UK, Engineering Technology Group has received orders for eleven high productivity machine tools.
The Engineering Technology Group has received orders for eleven high productivity machine tools and associated hydraulic work-piece fixturing valued at GBP 3 million as part of a multi-million pound capital investment programme at CNC Speedwell Based in Brownhills, West Midlands, UK, CNC Speedwell is a supplier of machined castings to the truck and automotive industry that is not merely holding its own against global competition; it is expanding at 30% a year
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 16 Aug 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Customers include leading OEMs such as Toyota, BMW, Land Rover, Scania, Volvo and DAF, and the company exports around 80% of its production to countries that include Japan, The USA, France, Germany, Poland and The Czech Republic.
The current investment programme also includes a new 10,000m2 factory and will increase production by a further 30% over the next few months.
The equipment ordered from The Engineering Technology Group will be supplied from three Group members - Chiron Werke UK, Hyfore and Turning Technologies.
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Chiron is supplying five DZ 18 twin-spindle machining centres, four DZ15 twin-spindle machining centres and a Mill 800 five-axis machining centre that will be integrated in a robot cell.
By the end of this year, CNC Speedwell will have 33 Chiron twin-spindle machines - around 65% of its machining capacity - and uses them to get the extra productivity that allows the company to stay competitive in a global market.
The two spindles operate simultaneously to produce twice the number of machined parts per cycle.
Because non-machining time per component is effectively halved, a twin-spindle machine can give 75% more capacity than an equivalent single-spindle machine.
The DZ 18 machines are a completely new design with the twin spindles at 400mm centres rather than at 250mm as on the DZ 15 machines.
Each machine has an integrated two-station workpiece-changing swivel table, with each station incorporating a fourth CNC rotary axis with a 900mm bridge to hold the tool plate.
Each spindle has a 400mm by 400mm by 400mm machining area and carries a quick-change 24-position automatic tool changer.
Tool-to-tool time is 1s and chip-to-chip time around 2.7s.
Chiron's sister company Hyfore, which specialises in manual and automatic workpiece holding and handling systems, supplies the quick-change fixturing that CNC Speedwell uses on its machining centres.
The fixtures use hydraulic clamping for accuracy, to allow for high machining forces and to cut loading and unloading times.
For the Chiron machines a quick-change tool plate with common hydraulic connections has been developed in conjunction with CNC Speedwell that allows it to interchange jobs between any of the machines.
The purchase of the Nakamura-Tome WT 300 lathe marks a move in a new direction for CNC Speedwell, which has previously focused on prismatic machining.
This will be used to develop a new business stream in filtration components and, in common with the philosophy CNC Speedwell applies to its machining centres, allows the company to finish machine complete components in one setup.
Mark Lewis, managing director of CNC Speedwell said, "I am very proud of what we have achieved here and firmly believe success can only come from the combination of a superb workforce and investment in highly productive technology." Paul Rhodes, chairman of The Engineering Technology Group added, "This is a superb example of how British manufacturing can take on global markets and win.
We can only hope to be competitive against low-cost economies by making technology work in our favour.".
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