Cryogenic machining company 5ME (www.5ME.com) and strategic partner Doosan Machine Tools started IMTS 2018 announcing the sale of a Doosan (www.doosanmachinetools.com) horizontal machining centre equipped with a 5ME cryogenics package.

The Doosan NHP-6300 four-axis HMC was sold by Doosan distributor Machine Tool Specialties and will process titanium 6Al4V components in Milling Precision Tool Corp’s Wichita (Kansas) facility.

Machining with the 5ME cryogenics-equipped HMCs is said to increase productivity by 30% compared to traditional machining with coolant.

5ME president Bill Horwarth said: “This is what IMTS is all about — coming together to develop and deliver the best manufacturing technology.

“Our partnerships make the evolution to cryogenic machining possible — from machine tool, to our patented internal liquid-nitrogen machining technology, to cryogenic tooling.

“We have a total cryogenic solution ready for the shopfloor.

“This is the first 5ME cryogenics-enabled machine tool sold into the ‘aerospace capital’ of Wichita, and we see big opportunities for cryogenic machining in that region.

"This technology really optimises the machining performance of hard-to-machine materials, like titanium.”

Mike Craig, co-owner of Milling Precision Tool Corp, said: “We’re working to differentiate ourselves and better support the supply chain in Wichita. We are excited to be the first business in the area with cryogenic capability.

"Useful for difficult-to-machine materials, cryogenic machining offers an incredible level of cooling, which allows for increased material removal rates.

"Moreover, this cryogenic machining technology is not only offered as a new-machine option but can also be retrofitted to almost any machine tool.”