Voestalpine High Performance Metals UK Ltd has built a reputation for supplying specialty metals to the most demanding sectors, including oil and gas, aerospace, power generation, automotive and motor-sport.

The UK Sales Division, situated in Oldbury, is focused on continued investment in its warehouse and robust value-added services to ensure that the company is well placed for the future.

It has recently been boosted by the arrival of three XYZ machine tools (www.xyzmachinetools.com), which were acquired to improve its throughput and grow the overall business.

Stuart Brown, value-added services manager, said: “While our core activity is the sale and distribution of high-performance metals as either cut steel, billets or blocks, we have had a limited machining capacity on-site for many years.

“The decision to expand our machining facility was taken just over 12 months ago, enabling us to increase the on-site services that we provide to our customers.

“Our ambition is to achieve a 50-50 split between material supply and the value-added services we offer, and our investment in machining capacity is part of that strategy.

“Doing more for customers in terms of pre-machining material adds significant value to the products we are selling, whether that is simply blocking material to a specific size or more-intricate machining work.”

Super Heavyweight range

The first machine to arrive on-site was an XYZ 2010 vertical machining centre, which is part of XYZ’s Super Heavyweight range of machines.

With a table load capacity of 3,000kg and a table size of 2,200 x 1,000mm, it is suitable for processing large blocks of material for customers in the tool-making and medical sectors.

Mr Brown added: “We can load a variety of parts onto the machine table, and multiple blocks can be accommodated at the same time, which greatly improves efficiency.

“I knew of the value/performance of XYZ machines from previous companies that I’ve worked at, but I was unaware of its larger capacity range of machines.

“Seeing the carcass of the XYZ 2010 VMC at XYZ’s factory in Devon gave me the reassurance that I was buying the right machine for the job.”

The combination of a powerful 8,000rev/min 23kW spindle (42kW is available for 2.5min in every 10min), a solid 20,000kg Meehanite casting with box slideways and six guideways on the Y axis to support the table enables high metal removal rates.

With the initial large-capacity milling taken care of, attention turned to smaller components and the arrival of an XYZ CT 65 (Compact Turn) turning centre.

This is being used for a variety of work, from machining tensile test pieces for Voestalpine’s own use to processing customer material before dispatch.

It has a very small footprint, yet it provides a versatile machining capability, thanks to standard features such as a 200mm-diameter hydraulic chuck, 12-station 30-VDI turret, Renishaw tool-setting arm, swarf conveyor and tailstock.

Machining capacities are a maximum swing of 400mm, a maximum turned diameter of 220mm and a maximum turned length of 260mm with a 65mm spindle bore, making it suitable in sub-contract situations where work can change from day to day.

The next investment added more capacity in the form of an XYZ 1100 HD vertical machining centre.

This part of the newly created heavy-duty range, with the machine at Voestalpine being one of the first in the UK.

“We were again attracted by the table size of this machine, along with its solid construction.

“Prior to having the XYZ machining centres, most of the blocking-out work was done on old mills and special-purpose machines that were slow and inflexible.

“With the XYZ machines, we are finding that we can improve metal removal rates and surface finish, and while we will initially be using the XYZ VMCs for blocking-out work, their capacity and capability open up many more opportunities for us to expand our value-added services.”

Consistency of control

One key benefit of investing in the XYZ range is the consistency of the control system.

Each of the three machines currently installed at Voestalpine features the Siemens 828D control, with either ShopMill or ShopTurn conversational software fitted as standard.

“The machines we had prior to these were either manual or had very basic CNC functionality, so the step up to the Siemens control was an easy move to make, due to the ease of programming.

“Because of the nature of the work we do, everything is programmed at the machine, and all our programmer/setter/operators picked it up very quickly, with only two days of training required at XYZ.

“In fact, while they were away for the training, we had an urgent job come in and I was able to program the XYZ CT 65 without any training.”

The work that Mr Brown has undertaken at the Oldbury Value Added Services department is being watched with interest across the Voestalpine group, as he shares his experience with colleagues in other group companies across Europe.

“We have seen improved lead times, quality and efficiency with the introduction of the CNC capability from XYZ.

“As we look to expand our value-added services further, we know that the XYZ machines are the right machines to take the group on that journey.”