Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently opened a new Turnkey and Automation Centre at its Campus facility in Leamington Spa.

The ‘state of the art’ centre provides Mills CNC with both a dedicated area to demonstrate its latest industrial and collaborative robot (cobot) automation systems and solutions to customers, and also provides a focal point for the company’s successful turnkey and process improvement business.

Mills CNC, established in 1974, is one of the UK’s leading machine tool suppliers, selling well in excess of 350 new Doosan machine tools to UK and Irish component manufacturers, year-on-year.

In addition to its highly successful machine tool business, Mills is at the forefront of developing and implementing highly customised and ‘best-in-class’ turnkey systems and solutions for customers.

Mills CNC’s technical director Tony Dale said: “More and more manufacturers, as a route to improving their productivity and increasing their efficiency and effectiveness, are taking a much more holistic and comprehensive view of their manufacturing operations.

“Rather than investing in a new machine tool to increase capacity, they are investing in turnkey solutions, many of which include advanced automation systems.”

Industrial robot systems
To help make automation more accessible and attractive to component manufacturers, Mills CNC has developed its own SYNERGi-branded automated manufacturing systems.

The SYNERGi Premier, SYNERGi Classic and SYNERGi Sprint systems are designed to take the complexity out of automation. All systems are flexible and powerful but, unlike many automation solutions on the market, are also simple to understand, program and operate.

All three systems can be integrated with Doosan lathes, machining centres and mill-turn machines – improving their productivity and efficiency. All systems are powered by Mills CNC’s proprietary and sophisticated SYNERGi software.

Mills CNC is also the UK and Irish distributor for Doosan Robotics, a leading global collaborative robots (cobots) manufacturer, which are proven and popular, and are designed to perform a range of tasks from machine tending, inspection and testing through to packaging, assembly and pick and place operations.

The cobots are versatile, reliable, safe and easy to install and use and are available in three variants — the A-, M- and H-series.

Mr Dale concluded: “At a time when many manufacturers have battened down the hatches, waiting to see-out the pandemic - we have been proactive.

“The Turnkey and Automation Centre is now complete and is open for business. We are confident about its success and that it will soon become the ‘go-to’ place for manufacturers looking to maintain their competitive edge.”