Product category:
CNC turning centres, mill/turning, multi-tasking centres, horizontal and VTLs.
News Release from: Yamazaki Mazak UK | Subject: Mazak Quick Turn Nexus 200-II MS
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 November 2007
CNC mill-turn centre meets aviation
needs
Aerospace subcontractor, Portsmouth Aviation was asked to produce components for next-generation defence programmes and an automated CNC multi-tasking mill-turn centre was acquired to do this.
Aerospace subcontractor, Portsmouth Aviation was asked by a major prime contractor to produce components for next-generation defence programmes as well as supplying re-usable and transportable containers that hold the completed kits The intention is to provide the Royal Air Force with a precision all-weather operational capability
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 22 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Machine shop manager at Portsmouth Aviation, Martin Hepburn, said: "the premise is that if it can be done on site, it will be done on site".
Much of the machining work involves mainly stainless and other steels in small batches, but the most recent purchase, a Mazak Quick Turn Nexus 200-II MS turning centre installed several months ago, is dedicated to a high volume contract that will run for three years.
The performance and reliability of the existing Mazak machines, including a twin-spindle, twin-turret Multiplex multi-function machine, was a determining factor in this latest acquisition as was the ease-of-use and reliability of the Mazatrol conversational CNC.
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Hepburn is former machinist and NC programmer and is still actively involved on the shopfloor.
He said that the frequent changeovers involved in most jobs at Portsmouth Aviation don't present any problems whatsoever.
He said: "Most of our programming is done at the machine, and the Mazatrol system has shown itself to be very quick and easy to program".
* Multi-tasking - Yamazaki Mazak tol manufacturingtalk.com that the Mazak Quick Turn Nexus 200-II MS is equipped with a 26kW/5000 rev/min main spindle and 7.5kW/6000 rev/min second spindle.
12 positions on the VDI-type drum turret hold rotary tools in any station and is powered by a 5.5kW spindle motor capable of 4500 rev/min.
Although those specifications are standard, Portsmouth Aviation asked for an integrated gantry load/unload robot.
The GL-100F 16-pallet gantry robot enables unmanned operation to take place over extended periods of time.
The gantry robot has positioning speeds of 140m/min (horizontal) and 70m/min (vertical) so load/unload times are minimised.
Hepburn said: "Cycle times are important, but there are other factors to take into account in what is a very competitive sub-contract environment.
In this high volume application we opted for a multi-axis, multi-tasking machine capable of running unmanned for long periods of time and reducing significantly the labour requirement.
We have also made insert life the criteria that determines the frequency of load/unload and, therefore, the extent of each period of unmanned running".
* Reliability - Hepburn said: "We know we can machine 60 components without risk of falling out of tolerance or suffering an insert failure.
So, after the specified number of workpieces has been machined, we stop the machine, remove the finished components, load the next set of workpieces, change all the tool inserts, enter the tool off-sets, and off we go again." He added that while there may still be some cutting life left in the inserts, and changeover times are longer, the cost of total insert replacement at each changeover is negligible.
It is neglible in relation to the lifetime of this particular component, when weighed against the productivity benefits of running the machine unattended and eliminating the risk of damaging high value-added components.
* About Portsmouth Aviation - Portsmouth Aviation Limited is a 150-employee business with a long and distinguished history.
Founded in 1929, this privately-owned company has at various times provided an air ferry service between Portsmouth Airport and the Isle of Wight; specialised in the repair, refurbishment and flight testing of war-damaged aircraft; and designed and built the twin-boomed Portsmouth Aerocar that flew at the Farnborough air show in 1948.
These days, however, Portsmouth Aviation is a mechanical and aeronautical engineering company with strong links to the Ministry of Defence, providing project management, design and development, and manufacturing services to the MoD and other 'blue chip' customers for equipment used on land, sea and air.
Accreditation to BS EN ISO 9001, Civil Aviation Authority approval and numerous customer approvals, among them Thales Air Defence, BAE Systems and GKN Westland Helicopters, underlines Portsmouth Aviation's extensive experience of sub-contracting to government and prime contractors, in the UK and abroad. Request a free brochure from Yamazaki Mazak UK ...
Its seven acre site in Portsmouth encompasses every aspect of the manufacturing process and is home to one of the largest metal treatment and finishing facilities on the south coast, as well as to a machining, fabrication and assembly facility housing several CNC machine tools.
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