What started out as a hobby has turned into a successful business for Chris and Ian. From their two small workshops in a quiet Cornish village, they are supporting a growing customer base with replacement parts for vintage motor-cycles, in many cases improving on the original design.
Their ability to manufacture their own parts was threatened when Ian had a serious scuba diving accident, but thanks to a move from manual machining to CNC, their hobby has grown into a business — CPC Engineering — that is continuing to expand.
The company started in a workshop next to the family bungalow. This used to house a collection of manual machines that supported what started out as a hobby — making parts for classic motorcycles from manufacturers such as BSA, Ariel, Triumph, Norton and Velocette.
All was going well until Ian’s accident, which left him temporarily paralysed; but worse for a hands-on engineer with over 40 years’ experience, he could no longer do the calculations needed to manually machine complex components.
Without a move away from manual machines, the accident would have put an end to his machining days.
Rather than accept defeat, Chris and Ian looked around for an alternative to manual machining, first fitting DROs and other equipment to their machines, but nothing gave the results they were looking for. A visit to Burlescombe-based XYZ Machine Tools (
www.xyzmachinetools.com) and a demonstration of the ProtoTrak control system solved their problems.
Filling in dimensions
Chris, the owner of CPC Engineering, was quite happy on the manual machines, but the ease of use of the ProtoTrak control, its accuracy and straightforward conversational programming meant the move to CNC was obvious.
“For Ian, a big plus was the control’s ability to fill in dimensions that I would normally have had to calculate, which is especially useful when we are manufacturing parts without drawings.”
With most of CPC Engineering’s work at the time involving turning, a ProTurn SLX1630 lathe was ordered.
“The straightforward programming of the ProtoTrak allows us to offer a bespoke manufacturing service, reverse engineering parts for customers without any design charge. Moreover, the resulting increase in business meant we had to build a second workshop to accommodate orders from a growing world-wide customer base.”
One of the most popular lathes in the XYZ range, the ProTurn SLX 1630 offers constant surface speed from its 5.75kW 150-2,500rev/min spindle, a 400mm swing over the bed, rapid-traverse controlled by an apron-mounted joystick, 200mm three-jaw chuck and a quick-change tool-post. Control is provided by the latest ProtoTrak SLX system which, in addition to being easy to program, features the TraKing system.
This allows operators to work through a programusing the handwheels; when they are happy with the program, pressing the cycle start switches the machine to full CNC mode. The control can also verify the program using solid-model graphics, if required.
Chris says: “The arrival of the ProTurn SLX 1630 lathe significantly improved our manufacturing capability and allowed us to further develop our product range. Prior to its arrival, we had around 100 items in our inventory; we have now re-engineered those original designs, hugely improving them, and we are now aiming to have over 500 items on our Web site —
www.cpcengineering.co.uk — and eBay by 2017. This is in addition to the one-off commissions that we may get from the custom bike sector, which is also a growing market for us.
“As enthusiasts ourselves, we are delighted to be able to offer high-quality parts that haven’t been manufactured for a number of years. The ProTurn lathe is certainly helping in that respect. The level of accuracy and finish the machine achieves has given me 100% positive feedback from over 1,500 transactions.”
Adding milling
When they were familiar with the ProtoTrak control, Chris and Ian turned their attention to milling and decided they should buy a vertical machining centre. Once again, ease of use was a priority; machine size was also an issue, as it would have to fit in the second workshop. They bought an XYZ Mini Mill 560. This is fitted with a Siemens 828D ShopMill Control incorporating the latest JobShop Concept, which guides the user through the machining stages using easy to understand prompts.
This straightforward programming guidance was perfect for Ian, with the control doing all of the calculations in the background. For reassurance, the control gives the user the ability to simulate the program in plan view, three planes or full 3-D, switching views as required.
For the type of components being produced at CPC Engineering, the capacity and capability of the XYZ Mini Mill 560 are ‘just right’.
The machine features a substantial 3,100kg cast structure, a 15hp 8,000rev/min spindle, a 560 x 400 x 500mm work envelope, and a maximum feed rate of 20m/min for all axis travels. The table can accommodate components weighing up to 300kg.