Solihull-based Nasmyth Arden describes itself as a ‘one-stop shop’ providing logistics, design, machining and part finishing for high-profile customers in the aerospace sector.

The company is focused on reducing process times through improved machine efficiency, which sees regular investment in new machinery; it is also benefitting from environmental improvements.


Nasmyth Arden has some 30 three-, four- and five-axis machining centres and specialises in the machining of billet material; with up to 90% of the material needing to be removed in the shortest-possible time, the company had been subjected to the effects of airborne oil mist and other particulates.

As a result, it is retrofitting every machine in its factory with oil mist extractor units from Leatherhead-based Matchmaker CNC (www.matchmakercnc.co.uk).

Nasmyth Arden’s production manager, Alan Lucas, said: “Any new machine we buy will be equipped with Matchmaker’s extractor system, and we are in the process of retrofitting them to our existing machines.

“We started with our five-axis machining centres, as their high-speed operation generates the levels of heat that result in oil mist.

“When a machining cycle finished, the operator had to wait until this mist settled within the machine before opening the doors. Fitting extractor units eliminates this waiting time.

“Matchmaker CNC has been working with us for many years, providing service and breakdown cover on a wide range of machines.

“When the company introduced its range of extractors, we immediately saw the benefits they offered for a cost-effective price — and they could be readily adapted to suit all our machines.”

Key to the effectiveness of the Matchmaker oil-mist extractor is its patented conical filter. This typically requires less maintenance than other systems and — depending on the application — offers a filter life of up to five years.

With regard to effectiveness, these extractors remove up to 99.97% of particulates down to 0.3µm; this is particularly beneficial in applications where dry smoke is created, such as when using neat oil as the cutting fluid.

Maximising machine capabilities

Designed to meet all European standards — and surpassing the Euro F8 and F9 limits — Matchmaker’s oil mist filters feature a pre-filtering system that uses the principle of ‘wind shear’ to separate oil, smoke, haze and toxic aerosols; the separated oil is recycled.

Filter performance is monitored by a pressure gauge, and the system’s carbon filtration module can be replaced quickly and easily as required.

Optimised machine utilisation is very important to Nasmyth Arden, particularly on its high-cost five-axis machines.

However, capacity limitations meant that these advanced machining centres were sometimes being used simply for roughing operations — a situation that resulted in Mr Lucas contacting Matchmaker for a solution.

“We needed a machine with the power and capacity to rough out our billet material; Matchmaker recommended a TongTai TMV 1500A vertical machining centre.

“With its 15,000rev/min HSK-63 spindle and 1,525mm X axis, this VMC could accommodate all of our pre-op work prior to transferring it for finishing on the five-axis machines.”

The time savings that Nasmyth Arden is achieving are significant. Previously, a typical aluminium chassis would take 23hr to fully machine on a five-axis machine; now the process is 3hr roughing on the TongTai three-axis VMC, followed by 13hr on a five-axis machining centre — a saving of 7hr per component.

Mr Lucas said: “The addition of the TongTai machine has given us a metal removal capability that has improved process times across the factory; it has also increased our overall flexibility, as we can manage throughput much better by not tying up the high-value five-axis spindles we have.”

While the benefits of health and safety with regard to oil mist extraction have been recognised for some time, the time savings that Nasmyth Arden is experiencing as a result of fitting these units to its machines is boosting overall productivity.

Moreover, Matchmaker envisages a time when all machines will be fitted with such systems— particularly as the price/performance ratio is no longer a real barrier to gaining these benefits.