Rob Smith, Quickits managing director (pictured left), it discussing the merits of the XYZ SS 65 with CNC engineer Jordan Smith

Sutton in Ashfield-based precision engineering company Quickits is a market leader in the manufacture and supply of valve mounting kits and fabricated brackets for customers within the valve and actuator industry. Its capabilities cover all aspects of manufacturing from laser profiling, press brakes, fabrication, welding, paint and powder coating. This is all carried out in a modern machine shop that is equipped almost entirely with machines supplied by Devon-based XYZ Machine Tools.

That machining capacity was recently added to when Quickits became the first XYZ customer to take delivery of the latest addition to the range — an XYZ SS 65 sub-spindle turning centre. The machine was introduced following input from customers including Quickits, that were looking for increased productivity and reduced spindle downtime.

Rob Smith, Quickit Group managing director, said: “The decision to purchase the XYZ SS 65 was driven by the need to eliminate some of the double handling of our components, mainly the couplings that we produce. With the new sub-spindle turning centre we can now produce components complete without the need to finish machine them on another machine. With the bar feed we can run the XYZ SS 65 continuously day and night with components fully machined once they drop into the parts catcher. In the short space of time that we have had the machine we are already seeing a significant increase in productivity.”

The ability to maximise spindle run time and eliminate expensive and time-consuming set ups will be a major focus for businesses as they look to maximise productivity in the face of increased competition and also rising energy costs. The XYZ SS 65 is ideally placed to meet these requirements for companies such as Quickits that are looking to make the move to sub-spindle turning thanks to its high specification at a competitive price.

The machine comes as standard with a 16.5kW, 4,000rev/min main spindle with a 200mm chuck and 65mm bar capacity; this is complemented by the 150mm chuck on the 11kW, 5,000rev/min sub-spindle, which has a 52mm bore. Both spindles have a braked C axis that allows full milling cuts for contouring, with each of the 12 positions on the German-built Sauter turret unit featuring live tooling at every station, along with 100mm (+/-50mm) Y-axis travel.

Maximum turned diameter is 380mm and the Z-axis travel is 520mm, providing a significant working envelope. Control is provided by a Siemens 828D ShopTurn 15in touchscreen control, which can be enhanced with the optional Siemens offline programming and CAD reader software if required. All of this is built around a 30deg slant-bed design with linear ways for faster positioning speeds; it is a solid-cast construction meaning that the XYZ SS 65 weighs in at 5,000kg, a solid base from which to maximise performance.

As Mr Smith and his team at Quickits is finding out, utilisation of the sub-spindle streamlines production and eliminates delays by removing the need to transfer work from machine to machine for second operations. As a result, work in progress is reduced and costs eliminated. He said: “We have been using XYZ machines since we started the business 17 years ago and have always found its machines to be the best choice with regards to price and functionality.

“XYZ Machine Tools suits our business and the after-sales service demonstrated by the company is excellent. The addition of the XYZ SS 65 has seen that relationship continue and with the productivity benefits that we have seen we are certainly planning to invest in another one soon to improve our efficiency further.”