Manual/CNC lathes add flexibility

Ongoing investment in dual manual/CNC lathes allows a specialist subcontractor to produce parts - such as LH and RH threaded hubs - much more easily than on conventional lathes.

Investment in Harrison lathes has led directly to new business from high technology industries for many engineering companies in all parts of the world.

But the services of Worcestershire firm Link Tooling, which recently acquired its third Harrison Alpha machine in eight years, are also increasingly in demand from owners and restorers of classic motor cars, including vintage and pre-war models.

Lewis Finch, managing director of Link Tooling - whose core products include high-precision turned stainless steel components for weighing, packaging and canning machinery used in the food industry - says that computerized Harrison lathes, like its Alpha 400T equipped with the prestigious Fanuc-based touch screen control, are ideally suited to producing left-hand and right-hand threaded wheel hubs and shafts for the cars: "These parts would be extremely difficult to produce with very high accuracy on a conventional centre lathe, but the quality and precision which we can achieve with these Harrison Alpha machines enables me to take on threading jobs with confidence." Based at Longdon Heath, Upton-on-Severn, Link Tooling's trio of advanced lathes is completed by a Harrison Alpha 550 machine with a 20in swing for larger workpieces and an Alpha 330 Plus for smaller, high-precision items and small-batch work.

As well as parts for vintage vehicles, Link Tooling has attracted business from customers with more modern, faster cars.

Pershore-based racing team Pete Chambers Racing, for instance, depends on Link Tooling's precision engineering capability to make wheel hubs for its Formula Ford competition cars.

All Harrison lathes were supplied to the company by Harrison main distributor Datamach of Coventry and are used exclusively for all Link Tooling's turning work, whether for new production parts from regular customers in the food and printing industries or for replacement items and low-volume sub-contracting work.

Finch explains: "Our first machine was a Harrison M300 which we used successfully for many years, and then after we began to attract business from the food packaging industry we needed to increase our capabilities and the quality of our finished work".

"We looked at the Harrison Alpha 550 and were impressed that it was both affordable and improved our quality".

"This machine worked really well for us, and brought in additional work because of the results it was helping us to achieve".

"We decided to invest in the smaller Alpha 330 Plus machine, which produced the same quality but was more technically advanced, which means we can make parts faster than before".

"It's been very fortunate for us that every time we have decided to invest in a new lathe, Harrison has brought out improved models which amply meet our needs".

"Our most recent new lathe is the Alpha 400T and we decided there was no need to look anywhere else but Harrison".

"One of our customers requires funnels to be made for its packaging machines".

"With a conventional lathe, the customer would have to spend time polishing the items to achieve the required high quality finish, but with this Alpha machine there is no final polishing required, so there is a further cost benefit for the customer." With around 1,800ft2 of workshop, storage and office space, Link Tooling has maximized the efficiency of its turning and milling services since it was founded in 1994, and substantially increased its business turnover, by investment in advanced, high performance machine tools including its Harrison Alpha lathes.

These have enabled it to keep operator-hours and staffing levels at a constant level while greatly improving output and quality.

Says managing director Lewis Finch: "It is a big decision for a company of our size to invest in a new lathe or other large machine tool, but we have seen our business grow since 1996 when we acquired the first of our Harrison lathes".

"We have always been impressed with our Harrison lathes, so when the time comes to invest in a new machine, Harrison will always be our first choice.".

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