Ward Hi-Tech wins CNC turning-centre orders

In spite of the current difficult market conditions, Ward Hi-Tech reported an increase in orders towards the end of June.

Mike Burke, UK sales manager for Ward Hi-Tech, said: 'In the past two weeks our sales team brought in more than GBP1m worth of business.

'We were helped by the sale of a large HNK vertical lathe, with driven tooling, to a major oil and gas sub-contractor, but we also clinched a number of orders for mid-to-large capacity Hwacheon CNC turning centres and a Kiheung Universal Milling Centre with a 3m X-axis travel.' At the end of March, Ward Hi-Tech introduced its 'Confidence Package', a purchasing scheme available on all Hwacheon and Dah Lih machine-tool products that allows the buyer to quickly install a machine but gives the option to send the machine back after a minimum of 12 months if business circumstances change.

Several new customers have already taken advantage of the scheme, which allows the customer to remain in control of its finances even if business turns down in future.

Once a machine has been returned, the monthly finance payments are cancelled and the customer has no further financial commitment.

Dah Lih Vertical Machining Centres are available with X-axis travels from 510-2600mm, including high speed and heavy-duty variations with a variety of options.

Hwacheon CNC Turning Centres range from 6in chuck to 32in chuck, single or twin-spindle, single or twin-turret and include multi-axis variations.

Citizen to exhibit Miyano turning centres

Joining Citizen Machinery's latest Citizen CNC sliding-head lathe presentations at EMO 2009 in Milan will be five turning centres from Miyano.

The company said that visitors to its stand will be able to appreciate one-hit mill-turn technology from both brands of fixed and sliding-head machines that range from micro-machining processing at 4mm up to normal turn-mill cycles on material up to 64mm bar size.

Machine variants will also be shown that can be used for chucking applications including automated handling.

The common theme from both Citizen and Miyano will be the achievement of productivity gains by combining operations.

This follows the acquisition of 65 per cent of Miyano Machinery shares by Citizen Machinery Company, a division of Citizen Holdings.

Citizen will be exhibiting Streamline control technology in the Citizen K16 and L20 machines; the 80-tool Citizen M32-V will be showing three tool simultaneous cutting; and two versions of the A-Series in 20mm and 32mm capacities will also be demonstrated.

Citizen will showcase its Adaptive Guide Bush arrangement for 20mm and 32mm capacity machines that will automatically compensate for size variation in barstock and allow cheaper bright bar to be used in place of the normal ground material.

Hwacheon to display T2-YSMC at EMO 2009

Hwacheon, of South Korea, will showcase new machine tools at this year's EMO exhibition.

The company will exhibit its eight-axis T2-YSMC turning centre, complete with full-length magazine bar loader and lights-out automatic running package.

The T2-YSMC features twin 8in-diameter hydraulic chucks, upper and lower twin-turret arrangements with Y-axis and driven-tool facility.

The machine is equipped with automatic tool setting/breakage detect probing, automatic parts catcher and full parts un-loader conveyor.

The machine has 20kW direct-drive main-drive motors to both spindles and super-fast indexing and servo turrets with 7.5kW driven-tool drive motor.

This particular model forms part of the multi-axis six-model T2 series range, which will soon be joined by a large-capacity T3 and T4 series portfolio.

A further new model, the Hi-Tech 70/26 heavy-duty oil-country slant bed lathe will also be on show for the first time in Europe during the EMO exhibition.

This machine is based on the Hi-Tech 700 heavy-duty slant bed lathe but features a large through-bore headstock and chucking arrangement suitable for oil-country work.

It has a 300mm spindle bore, 24in three-jaw hydraulic chuck, 2m between-centre bed arrangement with heavy-duty tailstock and is equipped with powerful 12-station high clamping force turret.

The Hi-Tech 70/26 features a Fanuc 18iTB CNC system complete with on-board manual-guide CAP system with colour graphics.

At EMO, the Hi-Tech 70/26 will produce a typical large-diameter aerospace component.

The VT1150MC Vertical Lathe is equipped with C-axis-to-main-spindle and powerful driven-tool turret arrangement.

The machine is equipped with a 40in hydraulic three-jaw chuck with a compensating jaw feature and a turning length of 950mm and main drive of 60HP.

One of Hwacheon's most popular sub spindle/driven tool turning centres, the Cutex 240BSMC will be exhibited at EMO complete with short magazine bar loader, automatic parts conveyor and 'lights out' turning package.

The Cutex 240BSMC is equipped with an 8in diameter three-jaw chuck, has a turning length of 565mm and features a fast indexing servo turret with BMT-style heavy-duty driven-tool holders.

The CNC system is the Fanuc 18iTB and features Hwacheon's novel machine diagnostic software.

Also on display at EMO on the Hwacheon booth will be an example of the Sirius UL double-column high-power vertical machining centres, which will be demonstrated machining an automotive die component.

The Sirius UL has an axis travel of X=1050mm, Y=600mm and Z=550mm.

It features a 25kW direct-driven high-power spindle with 20,000 rev/min maximum spindle-speeds and is controlled by a Fanuc 18iMB CNC system.

Dah Lih Machinery, a vertical machining centre manufacturer from Taiwan, will exhibit three models from its 'C' frame machining centre product portfolio.

Shown for the first time in Europe will be the model MCV-860 vertical machining centre, which was launched last year on the home market and is now available in Europe.

The MCV-860 model is a rigid high-performance 'C' frame vertical machining centre with axes travels of X=860mm, Y=550mm and Z=550mm.

The machine is equipped as standard with high-power through-spindle coolant, a tool-setting probe/tool breakage detect system, bed wash and chip auger conveyor system.

It is controlled by the latest Fanuc 0iMD system complete with manual guide and colour graphics.

Also on display will be the heavy-duty MCV-1450 BT50 spindle vertical machining centre, which has axes travels of X=1450mm, Y=750mm and Z=750mm and features a heavy-duty box guideways structure, ideal for powerful machining performance.

The machine is equipped with the same standard equipment as the MCV-860 and complete with 30HP main-drive motor (twin range gearbox), 6,000 rev/min maximum spindle speeds and 32-tool ATC.

Completing the line-up of machines available from Dah Lih will be the MCV-1200 high performance, high-speed spindle vertical machining centre.

This model has axes travels of X=1200mm, Y=600mm and Z=500mm; 15000 rev/min maximum spindle-speed arrangement; 32 tool ATC and high rapid traverse of 30m/min.

Retrofit CNC can double turret miller output

A popular and proven CNC controller, enabling users to at least double their machining output, is now available as a retrofit package for most turret millers.

XYZ Machine Tools has announced that the popular and proven ProtoTRAK Edge CNC controller is now available as a retrofit package.

Whilst DROs are undoubtedly old technology - they have been around for more than thirty years - they are still proving popular because they can easily and inexpensively be retrofitted to existing conventional machines and productivity be significantly enhanced.

The ProtoTRAK Edge controller is as easily retrofitted to most turret mills and conventional knee mill but provides far greater productivity - typically output can be doubled and in some applications trebled, and can parts can be produced which cannot be attempted economically on a manual mill.

It provides 2 axis CNC control and up to 4 axis DRO display.

The ProtoTRAK Edge uses plain English conversational programming, so the operator does not need any CNC experience to use it.

Only part geometry has to be defined; the controller defines the tool path automatically.

Using the teach option, the operator can turn manual moves into programmed events automatically.

The Edge controller accepts CAM data from all the top brands of software.

Set up is easy and simple.

Canned cycles include profiles, arcs, pockets, holes and frames.

19 maths help routines enable the operator to quickly and easily calculate intersections, tangencies, centres etc, and are far easier to use than either a calculator or trig.

A parts library can be built up easily using the floppy drive; programs can be shared with other ProtoTRAK controllers.

The retrofit ProtoTRAK can be installed either by XYZ installation engineers or by a customer themselves.

The kit includes the controller, motors, ballscrews, cables, brackets and table guards.

A half day training - all that is needed - at any one of XYZ's premises is included.

Parts warranty is for twelve months; if XYZ engineers install the retrofit a twelve months labour warranty is also included.

Delivery is three weeks from order.

The retrofit ProtoTRAK Edge is available from GBP 6,950.00.

US firm awards CNC retrofit contract to HNC

UK Pratt and Whitney has awarded a GBP 980,000 rebuild and CNC retrofit contract to HNC in the UK, for refurbishing six large machine tools to be used in China.

Halifax Numerical Controls (HNC) has won, against fierce international competition from companies in the USA, Sweden and Holland, a GBP 980,000 contract from aero engine builder Pratt and Whitney, USA, to rebuild six large machine tools and retrofit them with new CNC systems.

Directors at HNC (Halifax Numerical Controls), Mike Diskin and Tim Price, said it was the largest ever order won by the company so far.

Pratt and Whitney (P and W) was looking for machines for a new venture in China.

It initially looked at buying new but considered good quality rebuilt ones as better value.

P and W bought the assets of the now defunct Volvo aero engine maintenance factory in Stockholm, Sweden.

The deal included a number of quality machine tools, as follows.

* Two Dorries and one Schiess vertical turning lathes.

* A VAES vertical grinder.

* A Union 5-axis horizontal borer.

* A Deckel FP6 machining centre.

P and W then searched through Europe and the US for a company capable of refurbishing them.

HNC got the job and said that all machines will have new electrics fitted throughout and retrofitted with the latest GE-Fanuc Oi controllers, servos and drives.

HNC managing director, Mike Diskin, said: "it has been something of a tense time for us over the past couple of months, we knew it was going to be tough, but we won through in the end".

He added: "We believe we won the order because of our reputation for service and the quality we build into all re-manufactured machines, combined with our vast in-house CNC knowledge and competitive pricing".

HNC has already begun the work, which has to be completed within a tight schedule and delivered by November 2008.

HNC will fully test, export pack and dispatch the machines to Pratt and Whitney's Chinese joint venture company - Pratt and Whitney Shanghai Aircraft Engine Maintenance Co HNC personnel will install and commission the machine tools.

* About HNC - HNC specialises in the rebuild and refurbishment of quality machine tools with many major customers for example, they include Cummins, Gardener Aerospace, De Smet Group and the Weir Group.

In addition to being main distributors and retrofitters for major control system manufacturers GE-Fanuc, Heidenhain, Siemens and NUM, HNC also has full machine tool design and bespoke software writing capabilities.

CNC retrofit speeds up cylinder head machining

Automotive cylinder head manufacturer's CNC system could hardly cope with the growing size of programs so a new, faster CNC with more capacity was retrofitted to one of the machines.

CNC Heads, located in Stockport, UK, manufactures high performance gas flowed cylinder heads.

The secret of the performance boosts gained by CNC Heads lies in the accuracy to which a head is manufactured.

The process begins with the scanning of an original cylinder head using the latest digital scanning technology.

Complex digital information is then analysed by in-house tuning specialists and converted into computer code that can be used to modify valve throats, chambers and ports via computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools.

The result is that CNC Heads guarantees that each and every feature on the cylinder head is machined to the same dimensions and tolerances, achieving major gains in power output in the process.

At the extreme is a Mitsubishi EVO 400 engine that powers a drag racing car.

The original engine developed 300/320HP: with a new cylinder head and other engine tuning this figure is now in excess of 1200HP.

* Improving performance - CNC Heads typically achieves a 130HP gain from a full engine tune, with 40-50HP being directly attributable to cylinder head modifications.

However, the company's success led to a marked increase in demand for cylinder heads that, in turn, was causing an increase in delivery time, which was becoming unacceptable.

The first option, dismissed due to cost, lack of space and availability of skilled operators, was to increase capacity by investing in additional machine tools.

The second option was to improve the performance of the three existing Bridgeport Interact machining centres that are currently in use.

Alastair Heywood at CNC Heads explained that the machines themselves are perfectly good for the job they are doing, but the real problem lay in the capacity of a machine's CNC system.

The existing CNC was struggling to cope with the size of the programs that CNC Heads is writing.

Also the processing speed (30 milliseconds/block of information) was slowing down the machining process considerably.

So, CNC Head initially decided to retrofit a new control system to one of the machines.

* CNC selection - like any other business CNC Heads investigated the market and had a number of options when it came to the retrofit and choice of control system.

The decision to opt for the Heidenhain TNC 320 control system and to work with Halifax Numerical Controls (HNC), an approved Heidenhain TNC retrofitter, was based on the following.

* The Heidenhain system was a very attractive proposition in terms of cost.

* Heidenhain and HNC are able to maintain basic machine functions - something that other control manufacturers could not do, said CNC Heads.

* Machine performance improved - since retrofitting the first machine CNC Heads has noted a considerable improvement in machine performance and ease of use.

"The new control has many benefits over the old system," said Heywood.

"For instance, the hard drive is large enough to hold complete programs, so we are not having to 'drip feed' them any more.

Program data transfer is much simpler as we can now use a USB memory stick".

Heywood continued: "We also have had, and continue to have, tremendous support from Halifax Numerical Controls.

This has taken their involvement beyond that of just a 'simple' retrofit' job.

They have developed software to improve the automatic toolchange system as well as software that speeds up the referencing of the machine should it 'crash', which saves time and avoids the risk of damage to a cylinder head that may have had a lot of time spent on it at that point.

In fact, with any problems that we do encounter, we are reassured by HNC always having an answer".

* Retrofitting - the retrofit was completed within a week, with disruption kept to a minimum as HNC did the work during a holiday period.

This was crucial to CNC Heads as its machines were running 24h/day at the time just to keep up with current orders.

The first day back after the holiday, HNC went through the operation of the TNC 320 with Heywood and the retrofitted machine was producing parts that very same day.

Within three days any questions/issues had been resolved and the machine is now running to its full potential.

* Outstanding improvement - the improvement in performance has been astounding, said Heidenhain to manufacturingtalk.com.

The processing speed has increased from the original 30 milliseconds to around 6 milliseconds.

Also cycle times when machining cylinder heads have been reduced dramatically.

CNC Heads claims that a batch of 20 cylinder heads can now be produced in the same time as it previously took to machine six.

Accuracy and repeatability are also improved, which enables CNC Heads to further boost the performance of the cylinder heads it manufactures.

Heywood concluded: "Comparing our old control system with the new Heidenhain TNC 320 is like comparing chalk and cheese.

The difference is huge, both in the improvement in productivity that we are seeing and in the ease of use that is making programming the machine [at the control] so much faster.

Having witnessed what the TNC 320 and Halifax Numerical Controls can deliver, we will be looking to upgrade the other two machines as soon as possible.".

CNC retrofit upgrades robust bed miller

The retrofit of a three-axis control system to a bed mill has solved a number of problems for a specialist manufacturer of aluminium gravity diecasting machines.

The retrofit of an Anilam MK 3300 three-axis control system to a Butler Elgamill bed mill has solved a number of problems for Auto Gravity Machines, the specialist manufacturer of aluminium gravity diecasting machines.

Not only has the new CNC rejuvenated the ageing machine tool, but the system has also eliminated the need to sub-contract certain large workpieces and, as a result, generated all-round improvements in productivity levels.

Proprietor, Jim Sills, explains: "We bought the Elgamill about a year ago.

Although it is quite old, it is a very well-built, rigid machine.

It wasn't initially purchased with the retrofit in mind, but the fact that it had DC stepper motors and recirculating ballscrews - which, of course, are the basic requirements for a successful retrofit - meant I immediately recognised the potential for a future upgrade.

"This, I reckoned, would in effect covert on old workhorse into a modern CNC machine at relatively low cost." He continues: "Until we installed the machine, we were restricted in terms of machining capacity.

However, with X, Y and Z axes travels of 1800mm by 900mm by 1000mm, the Elgamill now enables us to machine large workpieces, such as C frames, in a single set-up.

"This capability has eliminated the need to re-position workpieces often two or three times on the table of our existing (smaller capacity) milling machine - or, if we could find a suitable sub-contractor, outsource the work.

"Because we operate two other CNC milling/machining centres, we recognised the advantages of upgrading the Elgamill in terms of both improved control functionality and speed of machining.

"Since the machine was being used with an Anilam DRO (hard-wired into the original control), and we found that very easy to use, we naturally leaned towards an Anilam CNC.

Also, we had received good reports of the system from a number of users (customers and peers) and, compared with alternative control suppliers, the Anilam option was very cost-effective.

These were all major factors in our choice of control." The retrofit was carried out by CSD Controls (UK), an Anilam-approved CNC retrofitter, and simply involved removing the DRO, building a new console and hard-wiring the MK 3300 into the existing panel.

Most of this work was completed by CSD off-site, to minimise machine downtime.

The PC-based Anilam MK 3300 control combines user-friendly conversational programming (Machinist Language) with digital signal processing for high-speed data processing and motion control.

The control features a range of canned cycles, including: * Irregular pockets - a simple routine of prompts produces clearances of shapes; * Geometry - the geometry calculator, for determining points, lines and circles, automatically forms the program foundation; * Bolt hole pattern and drill cycles are created by simple question and answer routines; and * Graphics - program verification with user-friendly graphics and program text and CNC status displayed together.

"The whole project went very well," comments Jim Sills.

"And we immediately found the MK 3300 a user-friendly, easy-to-program system - albeit we have only used the machine on straightforward two-axis milling, drilling and boring tasks." Since its establishment in 1967, Auto Gravity Machines has supplied machines for a variety of applications, but predominantly the automotive industry.

Although each machine is designed and manufactured for a particular task - proprietary parts are bought-in but everything else is machined/fabricated at the site in Aylesbury, Bucks - they can be successfully applied to subsequent workpieces.

Whatever the component, the company deals mainly with the foundry, working its designs around the size and requirements of the die, often utilising clever hydraulics/pneumatics for progressive die orientation.

"Achieving a successful diecast component is akin to pouring a glass of Guinness," adds Jim Sills.

"If the aluminium is 'tipped' in from too high, then a lot of dross and oxides are produced on the surface.

But if the metal is poured gradually, there's less inclusions/porosity/air entrapment and, generally, less metal is used.

The result is a higher quality component.

"The Elgamill is now a key machine in our production process," he concludes.

"Thanks to the Anilam CNC our new-found medium and heavy-duty milling capabilities have improved our overall machining efficiency and our lead times.

In turn, this has also cut our costs - and that's a good thing for both us and our customers.".