An investment of almost £1 million in advanced CNC machine tools has been confirmed by TPG Engineering (TPG) (
www.tpgroup.uk.com), the Dukinfield-based specialist manufacturer of heat exchangers and condensers. This investment by the TP Group subsidiary reinforces the Group’s status as a major Tier Two supplier to prime contractors in the industrial, energy, process and defence sectors. In particular, it will allow TPG to work in a new area: physically large, highly accurate workpieces — predominantly in titanium — for nuclear-engineering clients throughout the world.
The two new machines — a Soraluce TA-A35 travelling table mill-bore centre and a Hankook VTC 200 E vertical turning lathe (VTL) — are being supplied by the two manufacturers’ exclusive UK and Ireland agent — Sheffield-based T W Ward CNC Machinery Ltd (
www.wardcnc.com). The delivery of the machines to TPG’s Greater Manchester site is imminent, and they will first be used on a new two-year £1.5 million contract with GE Oil & Gas.
The Soraluce has a work envelope of 3,500 x 1,250 x 1,200mm and accommodates components weighing up to 7,800kg, while the Hankook has a 2,500mm-diameter table and can accommodate parts up to 2,000mm high and weighing 12,000kg. Both machines are key to TPG’s move to capitalise on its manufacturing skills by allowing much larger and more-complex workpieces to be machined to consistently high specifications (the company’s manufacturing service also includes world-class fabrication and welding).
TPG’s commercial enterprise director, Phil Curtis, says the move to increase the company’s machining capabilities will not only secure new customers in nuclear engineering but also “allow us to boost jobs at our Dukinfield base beyond our current 70 employees, as well as generate increased exports and boost our supply chain partnerships.”
Mr Curtis says that the decision to invest in these two machines was greatly helped by TPG’s work with the Nuclear AMRC, which provided advice on the types of machine most suited in terms of capacity, spindle speeds and torque ratings for the target components, which are primarily titanium.
“We presented the Nuclear AMRC with specifications for a series of parts which, by their nature, require consistently reliable and high-accuracy machining routines centred on vertical turning, along with milling and boring. For maximum flexibility and agility, and to avoid potential production bottlenecks, two separate machines were suggested
— a VTL and a mill-bore centre. We did our homework and soon found that Ward CNC could offer not only suitable machines but also the back-up service, support and applications engineering we sought.”
The Soraluce mill-bore centre has a 40-station automatic tool changer (ATC), an automatic indexing head, a 22kW 4,000rev/min spindle and a 60-bar coolant system. The Hankook VTL has a 24-station ATC (12 tools each for turning and milling) plus a right-angle ISO 50 mill/drill head, a 70-bar coolant system, a hydraulic three-jaw chuck and a manual
2m-diameter four-jaw combination chuck.
Tony Clowrey, TPG’s site director, says: “The enhanced machining capabilities that our new Hankook and Soraluce machines provide are at the heart of the Group’s strategy to future-proof our overall manufacturing service and complement our established specialist engineering capabilities and technical and managed services.”