Sub-contractor grows by investing in Hurco machines

Oxfordshire-based Factory 33 Ltd was established in 2016 in a factory unit in Carterton, as a sub-contract manufacturer of medium to large batches of components to fine tolerances in short lead times. It is maintained to exceptional standards of cleanliness commensurate with the expectations of customers in a wide range of industry sectors including food, scientific, medical, and motorsport.

An extensive variety of materials is processed from aluminium, brass and copper to stainless steel, titanium, Inconel and a range of plastics, principally on machining centres and a CNC lathe supplied by High Wycombe-based Hurco Europe Ltd.

When they started Factory 33, owners Marcin Krzywina and Karina Ringer-Krzywina, both time-served engineers, had more than 10 years’ experience in the design and manufacture of precision-engineered components for numerous sectors including Formula One, cryogenics, aerospace, nuclear and medical. They initially invested in a Hurco VMX30Ti three-axis vertical machining centre (VMC) with a fourth-axis rotary table and a Hurco TM8i lathe, and more recently in additional three- and five-axis VMCs have been bought.

The most recent purchase is a Hurco VMX30UDi five-axis machining centre supplied with linear scales and through-spindle coolant as standard, as well as a 40-station magazine with swing-arm toolchanger. The direct-drive SK40, 15,000rev/min spindle can deliver 15kW of power and travels are 763 x 508 x 520mm. Control is by the proprietary WinMax 5 twin-screen CNC system.

Managing director Mr Krzywina said: “We love the Hurco control and especially its graphics as you can show not only solid models but also the toolpaths. It gives so much confidence when running five-axis programs. You can follow the actual cutting cycle in real time on the screen, so you always know where a tool is in the machining area, even if you cannot see it through the coolant.”

Impressive coolant delivery system
He is also impressed by the coolant delivery system, which he says is one of the best he has ever worked with, particularly as there is no loss in pressure irrespective of the coolant level in the tank. He also singles out for praise the direct-drive spindle on the five-axis machine, which produces surface finishes that he describes as “impeccable”.

Mr Krzywina is also a fan of the 'interrupt-cycle' button, with which he can stop any job mid-cycle and change inserts on a mill or check tools. He is then able to restart the program exactly where it was paused. This can be done at any time while the program is running and works equally well for NC and conversational programs.

The sustained growth of Factory 33 has allowed extra services to be added that are tailored to customers’ needs, underpinned by continued investment in high-quality machine tools from Hurco. Design services are provided with the aid of EdgeCam CAD/CAM software, which also handles CAD models supplied by customers.

An ongoing focus on accuracy and fast turnround times, and the ability to offer various finishes and treatments as well as kits or assemblies plus consignment stocking of parts, are enabling the sub-contractor to continue to win new customers.