XYZ Mini Mill 560 manufactures jet-ski components

XYZ Machine Tools has revealed how the Mini Mill 560 compact vertical machining centre has been utilised by Air Time CNC to manufacture high-quality components for jet skis.

Air Time CNC initially planned to design and develop its own product range and then outsource production.

However, Chris Giles, one of the company's founders, began making composite GRP and carbon-fibre parts, progressing to the machining of aluminium and stainless steel components, after experiencing quality control and late-delivery problems with existing suppliers.

After searching for 'CNC' online, Giles visited XYZ's showroom at Nuneaton, where he looked at the Mini Mill.

At the time, Air Time CNC had a small manual lathe in-house, but most of the components it was outsourcing demanded a prismatic machining capability.

Giles said: 'In terms of its size and machining envelope, the Mini Mill is ideally suited to our type of work, it has an easy-to-use control and it is affordable.

The machine tool came complete with a two-day training course, tooling package and a three-year warranty.

The XYZ Mini Mill 560's 3100kg weight ensures a high level of rigidity, and its Meehanite ribbed cast iron construction enables full use to be made of the 11kW (15HP)/ 8000rev/min (12,000rev/min optional) BT40 spindle.

Having decided to go ahead with the investment, the company then had to learn about every aspect of the machining process, from the materials and material grades needed for its range of products, which includes complete engine builds, through to programming and operating CNC machines.

These days, Air Time CNC's expertise is such that it also provides a subcontract design and machining service based on CADCAM software from IndieCAM.

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