A clutch of eight fixed-head mill-turn centres is allowing one high-precision machinist not only to maintain its ‘partnership sourcing’ relationships with a host of ‘blue chip’ manufacturers but also to enhance these companies’ manufacturing capabilities.
Installed over a number of years at Redditch-based Machined Components Systems (MCS), the machines are invariably dedicated to the production of specific parts and, in all cases, their ability to produce even the most complex workpieces in a single set-up has allowed cycle times to be cut — sometimes by more than 50%.
With 34 employees and an array of CNC machine tools, MCS’s 25,000ft2 facility houses the eight fixed-head machines — all Miyanos — as well as sliding-head lathes, machining centres and conventional multi-spindle machines. This equipment is used to supply a range of turned/milled/drilled parts and precision-machined components to customers in industry sectors that include automotive, petro-chemical, environment, transport, marine, health-care and white goods.
However, managing director Warren Gray is quick to point out that MCS is not just another engineering company: “Our continuous investment in equipment — along with the fact that our people have a ‘can do’ attitude — sets us apart in our ability to work in close collaboration with customers to provide cost-effective machining solutions.” He also says MCS’s customer commitment is based on long-term supply agreements that often start with product development and design input but also embrace open-book costing. Established in 1986 by Mr Gray’s father (the current chairman), MCS considered quality paramount from the start; the company gained BS 5750 in its first year, and today it is accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2008 — plus ISO 13485:2003 for medical devices. The business began primarily servicing the white-goods and automotive sectors, using a ‘battery’ of conventional single-spindle automatics, second-operation machinery and rotary-transfer machines.
One-hit machining
“Our drive for continuous improvement in every facet of the business naturally saw us introduce one-hit machining,” says Mr Gray, “and the first machines for supporting this strategy were introduced during the late 1980s. However, it was the introduction of the Miyanos that emphasised the benefits gained from this technology — cost-effective machining times and finish-machined quality.”
One of the Miyano machines — supplied by Bushey-based Citizen Machinery UK Ltd (Tel: 01923 691500 – www.citizen-miyano.co.uk) — is an ABX-64TH2; it was bought specifically to machine a casing for an innovative device that helps to detect leaks in water pipes. With two spindles, three turrets and a total of 36 tools available, the Miyano’s ability to complete the part in a single cycle — including milling a complex internal clover-leaf feature at one end — has enabled machining times to be halved compared to the former method of separate set-ups for turning and milling. “We began producing this part on ‘conventional’ CNC machines in small volumes, but as sales improved, we needed a more-efficient method of production,” says Mr Gray.
Following enquiries he made around the industry, it soon became clear to him that a Miyano would ‘fit the bill’. “This has certainly proved the case, so much so that the success of the machine — combined with the service and back-up we received — soon led to the installation of more machines from Citizen Machinery UK.” The complexity of this part was such that conventional measurement — some 40min for each component — was adversely affecting production. The acquisition of a co-ordinate measuring machine saw the inspection time cut to just 8min and illustrates how MCS’s use of modern technology improves productivity.
The purchase of a Miyano LZ-02RY2 with 8in chuck and 100mm turning diameter is another example of how advanced mill-turn machinery has enabled cycle times to be reduced — often more than halved — when making components that MCS had been producing on a fixed-head lathe. Mr Gray says: “The Miyano offered the ideal solution to complex turning, with its 10-station turret — including five driven positions — and a fully integrated robotic load system working in conjunction with a conveyor-belt feed system.”
Since 2008, another Miyano — a BNJ-51SY2 — has been dedicated to machining a Jaguar Land Rover steering column sleeve that incorporates an internal taper. Produced in volumes of 5,000 per week, the 30mm-diameter ¥ 35mm-long part (produced from 40mm-diameter EN19 bar) has a 3mm collar at one end and requires a tight-tolerance taper to be produced (converging from 22 to 16mm in diameter). The BNJ machine has an 11kW main spindle, a 5.5kW secondary spindle and two turrets (the main one with a Y axis can access both spindles).
The methods employed today are generally somewhat removed from the processes employed when Mr Gray joined MCS. “I was ‘introduced’ to engineering while still at school, helping to run the autos and cleaning parts, for example, during the school holidays. I subsequently embarked on a career in banking, but when the role of sales manager at MCS became vacant, I took the opportunity to join the company. I was appointed sales director about nine years ago and managing director last year, when my father took on the role of chairman.”
Mr Gray says the business was originally focused on machining brass components, but in the early ’90s the emphasis started to change towards machining mild-steel parts for the automotive sector. By the end of the ’90s, around 30% of the business was generated by Rover.
“When Rover ‘wobbled’ in 2001, we decided to reduce our dependency on the automotive sector, which now accounts for just 15% of our business. It was a decision that coincided with our move from high-volume work of low complexity towards mid-volume highly complex machining. We saw our future in making parts that others couldn’t — or wouldn’t.”
Steady progression
MCS installed its first machining centre in 2002, initiating the company’s change from being just a ‘turning shop’ into a facility for ‘machined components’. Since then, and with a regular investment of around 15% of turnover in new CNC machines, the company has progressed steadily. This year alone, MCS had added six new CNC machines to its plant list; these include a new Miyano BNA-42S fixed-head turning centre which, like its predecessors, was purchased to satisfy a specific contract — in this case, the production of a high-precision high-tolerance EN16 taper ring for Jaguar XF suspension arms. The ring features external/internal angles of 120 and 79deg respectively, plus a bore that is held to a tolerance of 30µm. Machining this part is a straightforward task for the bar-fed BNA-42S, which undertakes the single-cycle mill-turn tasks by combining front and back machining and using up to 16 tool positions on the eight-station turret. The machine has a 7.5kW spindle and a 5.5kW sub-spindle; both have a maximum speed of 5,000rev/min. Each of the driven-tool positions on the turret is powered by 2.8kW, 5,000rev/min motors; and with the ability of the Fanuc control to overlap different functions, significant savings in cycle time are achieved.
While capital expenditure is one sign of how MCS continues to invest in its own future and that of its customers, Mr Gray also points to the company’s recent re-instatement of apprenticeships as a sign that, in his view, the recession in manufacturing may be over. “Investing in our workforce is another measure of our confidence in the future,” he concludes.