Product category:
Horizontal machining centres (HMC)
News Release from: Heller Machine Tools | Subject: Horizontal machining centre upgrade
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 28 November 2006
HMC updated and installed in three weeks
To produce gearbox parts quickly, a company's existing horizontal machining centre in another plant was updated, installed and producing in just three weeks.
The 'real' world is not just about sophisticated machining cells and limitless budgets It is about producing quality parts quickly and accurately within specified, and often rigorous, cost and time constraints
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 27 Feb 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Fast HMC to get through automotive volumes
a fast, versatile HMC, developed primarily for higher volumes, typically the automotive industry, features 90m/min fast traverse, acceleration of 12mm/sec2 and and 1.8sec chip-to-chip ATC.
Machining centre machines to close tolerances
A small family-owned business will increase its turnover by 35.2% this year and, on new M-Cs, consistently machines to tolerances which would frighten the majority of engineers.
Alongside most other manufacturing companies, this was the situation faced by American Axles when it decided to open a production facility for manufacturing gear boxes in Poland.
The company could not create the initial facility within budget and on time by installing all-new machine tools and equipment.
It already owned a Heller horizontal machining centre, sited at another facility but surplus to the current requirement, which would be an ideal machine for the new Polish plant.
Further reading
Productivity doubled on twin spindle HMC
A twin-spindle HMC offers double the productivity for less than double the investment, virtually halves the floor space requirement and minimizes operator involvement.
Subcontractor gets machine in just three weeks
A machining centre was customised and built in just three weeks for J L French, a first tier subcontractor to the automotive industry.
It sought the assistance of Redditch-based Heller Machine Tools to bring the machine up to current machine specification.
Geoff Lloyd, managing director of Heller said: "This is an area of manufacturing where Heller comes into its own.
Heller machines are solidly build and well engineered to give the user durability, reliability and longevity.
We provide customers with anything from a complete refurbishment service through to a simple preventative maintenance visit in order to ensure the machines provide the maximum service life." Lloyd added: "The advantage is that we have any parts needed readily to hand, as well as highly trained and experienced engineers fully conversant with the specific machine so we can complete the job quickly and to as-new factory specification if required, as well as providing any new fixturing or tooling packages necessary.
This is often the most cost-efficient solution to a manufacturing requirement.
We can - and have - combined new and older machines within one production cell to give best piece part cost." The performance required of the machine was a given, but time-to-production was also crucial.
Because of the punitive time constraints, American Axles could only allow Heller three weeks to complete the work.
In that time, Heller undertook a full maintenance schedule, ensuring that it would run efficiently, reliably and accurately, completed the prove out, removed the machine from its UK location, shipped it to Poland, installed it and saw production underway.
Lloyd said: "One of Heller's strengths is its ability to respond effectively to a customer's individual situation.
In this case, as in many others, we had very little time to complete the work but as a UK based company we are able to ensure that we have men and parts available for each job, whatever size that job may be. Request a free brochure from Heller Machine Tools ...
I believe that this is a very important part of the service which we as a machine tool manufacturer offer our customers.".
• Heller Machine Tools: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
