Mills CNC to take visitors on a ‘voyage of discovery’

Phe new Zayer XIOS G CNC horizontal bed mill will be the largest machine on Mills CNC’s stand

Leamington Spa-based Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland, and a leading supplier of advanced automation system solutions to component manufacturers, is promising to make MACH 2024, a truly inspiring and transformative event (Hall 19, Stand 110). The show is taking place 15-19 April at the NEC, Birmingham.

With a reputation for always ‘pushing the boat out’ at previous MACH shows, the company is doing something similar — if not better— this time around and has confirmed that it will be showcasing a total of 16 machines on its 750m² stand.

The technology line-up at MACH 2024 includes seven DN Solutions’ three- and five-axis vertical and horizontal machining centres, and a large-capacity Zayer horizontal CNC bed mill, seven DN Solutions’ lathes and turning centres and a DN Solutions’ SMX multi-tasking mill-turn machine.

Two of the turning centres being showcased are incorporated in separate automated manufacturing cells, whose inclusion demonstrates the growing popularity of Mills’ automation solutions and their importance to the company’s future growth ambitions. With a focus on innovation and automation, Mills’ show theme at MACH 2024, will not disappoint and it is quite literally ‘out-of-this-world’.

Raising the bar
Tony Dale, Mills CNC’s CEO, said: “Our previous stand at MACH 2022, with its Broadway theme, is still being talked about in industry circles, and raised the bar in terms of creativity and stand design. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we are confident that we have ‘gone one better’ this time around with our MACH 2024 ‘Space Odyssey’-themed stand.”

Pictured right: the DVF 4000 is the latest addition to DN Solutions’ popular DVF-series of simultaneous five-axis machining centres

Five of the machines on Mills’ stand are new models that are making their MACH show debuts. Their presence enables visitors to make ‘first contact’ and have a positive ‘close encounter’ with the new DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools and experience the significant productivity and process efficiency gains they provide.

Pride of place, and occupying the largest space on Mills’ stand, goes to the new Zayer XIOS G CNC horizontal bed mill. This large-capacity machine is equipped with a built-in 1,500 x 1,500mm rotary table, a five-axis, 45deg milling head and the latest Heidenhain control. With its powerful, high-torque 40kW 6,000rev/min spindle, and impressive 0.008mm positional accuracy and 0.005mm repeatable accuracy capabilities, the XIOS G is an ideal solution for large aerospace, rail, energy and oil and gas part processing, and mould and die applications.

New DN Solutions’ machines making their MACH 2024 debuts include the compact, Fanuc-controlled DVF 4000 simultaneous five-axis machining centre, two models from the recently-launched DNT-series of high-performance lathes — the DNT 2100M and DNT 2600 — and a V 9300M vertical turning lathe.

The DVF 4000 is the latest addition to DN Solutions’ popular DVF-series of simultaneous five-axis machining centres and is equipped with a 12,000rev/min spindle, a 400mm dia, built-in rotary tilting table and a 60-position automatic toolchanger (ATC). Roller LM guideways and integrated thermal compensation help make the DVF 4000 a fast, precise, powerful and reliable five-axis solution.

Pictured left: the new V 9300M is a robust and powerful 24in chuck vertical turning lathe

The DNT 8/10in chuck, box guideway lathes were introduced into the market in early 2023 and are well represented at MACH 2024. The Fanuc-controlled DNT 2100M has an 8in chuck/65mm bar dia and is equipped with an 18.5kW 4,500rev/min spindle, a 12-station turret and up to 10,000rev/min driven tooling capabilities. The DNT 2600 is a 10in chuck/81mm bar dia lathe, equipped with a 26kW 3,500rev/min spindle, and 10-position turret.

The V 9300M is a robust and powerful 24in chuck vertical turning lathe with 20m/min rapids on the X and Z axes, a 45kW 1,800rev/min spindle, a 12-station turret, 4,000rev/min driven tooling capability and an additional, front-mounted ATC for extra productivity.

In addition to new machines making their debuts, Mills’ stand also features a number of popular and best-selling models from its well-established machining centre, turning centre and mill-turn machine portfolio which includes the iconic DVF 5000 simultaneous five-axis machining centre. Emphasising its future importance to the company, Mills is showcasing two DVF 5000s on its stand — one standalone model and one integrated with a multi-level automated pallet-change system.

Other milling favourites being exhibited include three DNM vertical machines centres — a DNM 4500 with Siemens control, a DNM 5700 with Fanuc control and a DNM 6700 with Heidenhain control, and a NHP 5000 horizontal machining centre integrated with an ATC.

Mr Dale added: “Increasingly, manufacturers are looking to increase their competitiveness by embracing automation. As a leading automation systems’ supplier, we will be showcasing a number of DN Solutions’ machines integrated with pallet change systems which can significantly improve customers’ productivity by enabling them to take advantage of unattended and ‘lights-out’ operations.”

Process efficiencies
Helping customers improve their productivity and process efficiencies were major factors in determining the turning centres and mill-turn machines Mills has decided to showcase at MACH 2024. A best-selling, multi-tasking 8in chuck Lynx 2100LYB with integrated Y-axis capability has pride of place alongside a recently introduced 10in chuck TT 2100SYYB (twin-turret/twin-spindle turning centre with dual Y-axis functionality), and a 10in chuck SMX 2100SB mill-turn machine equipped with left and right opposing spindles and a B-axis milling spindle.

Mr Dale continued: “MACH 2024 is the ideal venue for us to demonstrate the power, precision, speed and flexibility of our DN Solutions’ multi-tasking turning centres and mill-turn machines. These innovative models, with their Y axis and driven tooling capabilities, enable component manufacturers to machine complex, high-precision parts in ‘one-hit’ and, as a consequence, help them transform their productivity, performance and profitability.”

“In recent years, Mills CNC has gained a reputation for supplying manufacturers with productivity-enhancing automated manufacturing cells. At MACH 2024, the company is reinforcing its automation and turnkey solutions’ pedigree and credentials by showcasing two robot cells (pictured).

The first of these — a SYNERGI Premier cell — comprises a 12in chuck Puma 3100SY sub-spindle, Y-axis turning centre integrated with a Fanuc industrial robot, a bi-directional five-drawer part load/unload station and a 17in touchscreen iHMI. The cell is driven by Mills’ proprietary SYNERGi software. The second cell, incorporating a compact 10in chuck Lynx 2600SY sub-spindle, Y-axis lathe, is integrated with a collaborative robot (cobot), and will be undertaking a range of machine-tending operations.

Mr Dale explained: “Manufacturing cells, using either industrial robots or coobots, help customers achieve continuous production by unlocking the true productivity potential of their machine tools.”

In addition to the 16 machine tools on view, the company will also be promoting its full range of CNC programmer and operator training courses offered by the CNC Training Academy. The Academy, which has recently relocated its entire operation to new, modern premises at the company’s Campus facility in Leamington, will demonstrate how its comprehensive ranges of Fanuc, Siemens and Heidenhain training courses, as well as its advanced and specialist FeatureCAM, BobCAD-CAM, Manual Guide i and Custom Macro course provision, can help manufacturers to: ensure machining best-practice; get more from their machine tools; and combat internal skill shortages by training-up their existing workforce, providing employees with relevant and transferable skills.

Mr Dale concluded: “Visit us at MACH 2024 for a true voyage of discovery. We will be delighted to welcome you aboard.”