Product category:
CNC automatic lathes
News Release from: StarragHeckert UK | Subject: Maier ML 32B ProLine CNC sliding head lathe
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 16 December 2004
CNC sliding head auto ousts second
operations
Objective of a sub-contract machinist was to eliminate as much 'second operation' as possible, which it has done with a carefully chosen CNC sliding head automatic lathe.
The objective at Northampton-based subcontract precision machinist, Scot Bennett Engineering, is to eliminate any secondary operations on its components which led to the decision that a CNC sliding head lathe was the order of the day for producing a range of bearings in quantities up to 50,000 a year The ensuing market investigation led the project team to weigh up price against performance capability from a number of leading machines, concluding that the Maier ML 32B ProLine CNC sliding head lathe from StarragHeckert of Brackley provided the ideal solution to take the company forward on its intended mission
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 9 Dec 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Founded some 30 years ago by Thomas 'Scot' Bennett, an ambitious engineer originally from Scotland, the company has since built a significant customer base from industry sectors such as automotive, aerospace, nuclear, medical, chemical and food processing.
Bennett is now in semi-retirement which means the day-to-day management of the business is left to his son and company sales director, Robert Bennett, a former nuclear submariner with some 15 years' experience in the Royal Navy.
The bearing components under scrutiny were a selection of high-class inner and outer races destined for aerospace and machine tool type applications, such as wing flaps and spindles.
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Varying in size from 10mm to 30mm diameter, the production contract involved quantities of between 40,000 and 50,000 per annum manufactured from high specification bearing steel.
Prior to buying a new machine, the various sized parts had to be picked up for a second operation and, with the volumes involved, the cost and lead time implications warranted a careful rethink of manufacturing strategy.
"We knew that a sliding head CNC machine would be able to do the job in a single operation if it had the right attachments," explains Robert Bennett.
"We looked at a number of different machines but it soon became apparent that the Maier had a large working area for ease of setting and the functionality and performance characteristics we required but came with a 30 per cent lower price tag." Bennett outlined how they were also very impressed by the approach taken by StarragHeckert UK in matching the machine specification and application engineering to the components which ended up with a very cost-effective overall package.
He continues: "We were very impressed with their approach to the project." The German-built five-axis Maier ML 32B CNC sliding head lathe includes a subspindle and front and back-end machining slides able to carry up to 11 stationary tools as well as cross drilling and milling with three driven tools immediately eliminating the need for a second operation on another machine.
The Maier can also deploy up to three cutting tools simultaneously in conjunction with the 5.5kW, 6,000 rev/min main and sub-spindles and is specifically designed to suit the one-hit, multi-feature machining requirements.
With a capacity up to 32mm diameter and a turning length up to 220mm, the new sliding head machine can easily accommodate the entire bearing range and has kept the Maier in continuous production since installation in May.
Processed in batches of 1,000 or 2,000, some of the dimensions are tied to 0.02 mm tolerance before heat treatment and grinding but most important maintains Robert Bennett: "Is the level of consistency and repeatability that can be achieved." The Scot Bennett Engineering application is typical of the growing investment in CNC sliding head technology in the UK where companies are keen to reap the benefits that extended capability, quick set-up, flexibility and pure speed of production can offer.
The cost-effective five model Maier range comprises two basic machine sizes that use a modular construction to offer capacities ranging from 12mm to 32mm.
The Maier machines are believed to be the only CNC sliding head autos constructed on a highly stable polymer-concrete composite machine bed which means the ML 32B ProLine weighs in at a sturdy 4.1 tonnes.
Here, Robert Bennett comments: "This has to be the basic reason for the machine to be so repeatable on size and consistent with surface finish." With 13 employees and a purpose-built, 6,000ft2 production headquarters, Scot Bennett Engineering prides itself on its quality assurance procedures, achieving ISO9002 as early as 1995.
Last year, the company achieved ISO 9001:2000 as part of its ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in quality of service to its customers.
The company deploys stringent identification and tracking procedures from the purchase of raw materials throughout the manufacturing process which includes off-site processes such as heat treatment, plating, anodising, stove enamelling and grinding.
PC-based SPC measuring equipment is employed to forecast the reliability of machines and tooling which is one of the reasons Robert Bennett is able to confirm from experience, the performance of the machine.
Commenting further on the decision to buy, he maintains how flexibility is key when supplying such a diverse range of industries and this was a factor that helped swing the balance to decide to select the Maier.
He says: "At present the new machine is working from 7am to 6pm on bearing races, but in the near future it will have to cope with a much wider range of parts.
We also have the trump card that we have a machine that can run in 'lights-out' mode when required." Projects currently in progress at Scot Bennett Engineering range involve batch sizes from pre-production samples and small runs of 50 parts, right up to 50,000 at a time.
Materials vary from plastics and aluminium through to stainless steel.
Robert Bennett applauds the 18iT Fanuc control, which he insists: "Our policy is to have Fanuc controls for all our new machines as part of standardisation as they are well understood and liked by our operators.
Although the Maier sale included a week of free training we held back partly because the machine is so simple to use but also everyone is busy." To which he adds: "We strongly advocate training for all of our staff.
Coming out of the Royal Navy into private business I was surprised at the lack of organised training in general industry.
Fortunately the Maier has not proved to be problematic for us and StarragHeckert has provided excellent front line support.
For the occasional query we have had, they have given telephone support and arrived at the works within hours to provide assistance.
"The training session is now scheduled and this will mean that we can work at a very advanced level knowing what we need to know to get the very best out of the machine," he concludes.
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