A British-built Unison Breeze all-electric tube bending machine will soon be assisting Derbyshire-based Milltek Sport Ltd, one of the leading manufacturers of performance exhaust systems, in exhaust prototyping and development work at Germany’s world-famous Nürburgring racetrack.

Milltek, which was established in 1983, invested in its first Unison Breeze machine, a 76mm (maximum tube diameter) capability single-stack model, almost ten years ago in order to achieve the superior accuracy, repeatability, control and reliability that Unison’s all-electric CNC machines are renowned for. A second Unison Breeze machine, an 80mm multi-stack tube bender, then followed in 2017.

This latest machine to be purchased by Milltek – an 80mm single-stack model – will be located at Milltek Sport GmbH, the company’s recently opened 1.5 million euro development and testing centre in Nürburg. It will be used for exhaust system R&D, small production runs for some of the world’s leading high-performance cars, and custom tube manipulation work for several race teams.

With its roots embedded in the demands of the aerospace sector, the 80mm Breeze offers rapid set-up, fast tool changes, exceptional power, rigid mechanical design, and all-electric control for ‘right first time’ repeatability.

These are all attributes that Scarborough-based Unison Ltd believes make the 80mm Breeze the ultimate tube-manipulation machine for businesses specialising in small batch production runs.

As Milltek only uses highly robust T304L stainless steel for its exhaust products, the all-electric Breeze’s ability to successfully complete tight bends in thin wall tube down to 1D radius, as required for many of today’s high performance exhaust systems, was also a key factor in the decision to invest.

Steve Pound, Milltek Sport’s managing director, said: “Investing in this 80mm Unison Breeze will allow us to further expand the capabilities we have on-site in Germany, as well as better cater to the growing demand for 80mm diameter performance exhaust products.

“Whereas, up to now, we have sent CAD designs from our German facility to our headquarters in Derbyshire for prototyping, we will soon be able to design, prototype, trial and then complete batch and small production runs on site at the Nürburgring.

“This will not only help us to be even more responsive, but also will help free-up capacity at our UK base for our domestic and worldwide customer base. Going forward, prototyping on-site in Germany will further underpin our status as manufacturers of one of the widest ranges of EC-approved performance exhaust systems on the market.

He added: “We looked at a number of competitor machines before placing the order with Unison. However, it was a fairly straightforward decision. Our existing Unison machines have more than proved themselves since they were installed, in terms of reliability, accuracy, repeatability and capability.

“Added to that, Unison’s Unibend tube manipulation software is both exceptionally user-friendly and also well-understood by our team in the UK. That alone will prove a real advantage when helping ensure our people in Germany are able to quickly achieve the very most from their new machine.

“The level of support we have received from Unison over the years has been outstanding. It’s also reassuring to know that Unison has a Europe-wide service and support infrastructure in place, should we need to call on them for support, guidance or advice.”

Steve Haddrell, Unison key account manager, said: “We are delighted that Milltek has decided to purchase a third Unison Breeze tube bending machine.

“With exceptional power, rapid tooling changes and all-electric control for accurate, effortless repeatability, we are convinced that Milltek’s latest tube bender will quickly assist both their R&D work and manufacturing strategies.”