Sub-contractor invests in new DNM 6700 VMC

The new DN Solutions’ DNM 6700 high-performance vertical machining centre installed at Barrs Court Engineering

Herefordshire-based Barrs Court Engineering, a leading precision machining and fabrication sub-contract specialist, has invested in a new DN Solutions’ DNM 6700 vertical machining centre (VMC) with Siemens 828D-control supplied by Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland.

The new machining centre was installed at the company’s 11,500ft² facility in Rotherwas in June and is currently being used to machine high-precision complex parts, in low volumes, for customers in a variety of sectors including marine, renewables, nuclear, steam, automotive and yellow goods/construction.

These components, machined from a range of materials that include aluminium, mild steel, stainless steels, cast iron, Inconel, exotics and plastics, are characterised by their tight tied-up tolerances and exacting surface finishes. The DNM 6700 is also being used to finish-machine fabricated parts made by the company prior to their assembly.

Barrs Court Engineering, established in 1983, regularly invests in new, advanced machine tools as part of a rolling, company-wide continuous improvement programme designed to increase the company’s productivity, performance and process efficiencies across all of its machining operations, and is no stranger to technologies supplied by Mills CNC.

In 2001, the sub-contractor invested in its first Doosan lathe — a Puma 300 — and, in addition to purchasing a number of other manufacturers’ machines over the years, has also acquired a sub-spindle, Y-axis turning centre from Mills CNC to strengthen its in-house turning capacity and capabilities. However, the DNM 6700 is the first milling machine the company has acquired from Mills CNC in its 41-year history.

Strategic process
Almost 12 months ago, Barrs Court Engineering began a strategic process of rationalising and streamlining its business by creating three discrete machining areas in its machine shop - each one focused on a specific production model designed to meet different customers’ machining needs and requirements.

Toby Kinnaird, Barrs Court Engineering’s managing director, said: “The new manufacturing strategy is focused on growth, and has imposed a discipline across all our planning and production operations. We analysed our existing business, including what our customers expected and demanded from us, and identified three different production ‘models’ which would direct how we would organise our machine shop and manufacturing operations moving forwards.”

Barrs Court Engineering has at its disposal a number of dedicated machine tools with integrated automation in the form of pallet changers and bar feeders for its low mix – high-volume (LMHV) parts production manufacturing operation which is, to a large extent, predictable in nature and is characterised by ‘scheduled’ repeat business from customers. This ‘production-type’ work with its emphasis on small-to-medium batch production — 20-off to 1,000-off — has a number of critical success factors – mainly the ability to machine quality parts cost-efficiently and to customers’ often stringent delivery schedules.

Manufacturing bespoke, high-quality components in small batches and one-offs — high mix low volume (HMLV) — has always been a particular strength of Barrs Court Engineering, and is seen as a high growth area for the company. Often requiring a ‘turnkey’ approach with machined parts characterised by their high-precision, complexity and long cycle times, the company specifically acquired the new DNM 6700 machining centre to strengthen its performance in this high-value production area.

High-quality machining services
Meanwhile, for those customers requiring immediate access to high-quality machining services, Barrs Court Engineering runs a discrete job shop facility – separate from its LMHV and HMLV operations. The availability of dedicated machines and staff to operate these machines ensures that there is always capacity available to handle ‘rush’ work quickly, effectively and profitably without compromising operational efficiencies.

Barrs Court Engineering has also invested in new production software to increase its productivity, improve efficiencies and deploy its resources more effectively. This move is already paying dividends. Improved planning and performance-monitoring in real time, using ERP software and the ability to generate, collect and visualise meaningful data, has been instrumental in helping the company identify production ‘pinch points’ and bottlenecks which, if not addressed quickly or satisfactorily, could affect future productivity, lead-time fulfilment and profitability.

Toby Kinnaird reflected: “To increase our HMLV machining capacity and capabilities we made the decision, at the beginning of the year, to invest in a new high-performance machining centre to replace two of our older machines that had limited capacity. We were particularly looking for a machine with a larger X-axis to handle bigger parts which, up until then, and from a capacity perspective, had been out of our reach.”

The DNM 6700 has a large working envelope and with its X, Y and Z-axis travels of 1,300 x 670 x 625mm, it can be used to machine large components and/or multiple smaller parts in a single set up.

Barrs Court Engineering compiled a ‘must have’ technical checklist for its future machining centre investment and visited MACH 2024 in April to identify a suitable machine.

Mr Kinnaird continued: “We visited Mills CNC’s stand on the first day of the exhibition, and discussed our requirements with the company’s sales staff. They provided details on the DNM 6700 that was in stock at their Leamington Spa facility and which, as a consequence, would be available for immediate delivery. After a short while negotiating the deal, we placed the order for the machine later that week.”

The DNM 6700 is a large-capacity vertical machining centre (VMC). The model acquired by Barrs Court Engineering is equipped with the 828D Siemens control, with ShopMill software, and features a powerful 18.5kW/12,000rev/min (117.8N-m) directly-coupled spindle, a 1,500 x 670mm worktable with 1,300kg table load capacity, and a 40-tool position automatic tool changer (ATC).

The machine delivered to Barrs Court Engineering includes a 20-bar through-spindle-coolant capability, Renishaw RMP and RTS (radio transmission workpiece and tool setting) probes, a FilterMist oil mist extraction unit, a high-efficiency swarf conveyor and a Nikken CNC 260 fourth-axis rotary table.

Complex parts with intricate features
Mr Kinnaird continued: “Our new DNM 6700 is powerful, fast, accurate and flexible. The Siemens control is intuitive and is easy-to-use, making programming and job set ups quicker and more accurate. The integration of the fourth-axis table enables us to machine complex parts with intricate features in a single set up, avoiding the time and cost involved in re-fixturing operations and the potential for losing accuracy, and the inclusion of Renishaw workpiece and tool probes improves process efficiencies, ensures part quality and facilitates in-process measurement.

“We are delighted with our new investment and are confident that the machine backed by Mills CNC’s best-in-class after-sales services and support, will help us grow our business in the future.”

In addition to buying the machine from Mills CNC, Barrs Court Engineering has also taken advantage of a number of Mills’ pre- and after-sales services. Mills CNC Finance was used to help finance the machine purchase, Mills CNC Training Academy has been used to train staff, remotely and on site, to ensure the company gets the most from their machine purchase, and Barrs Court Engineering has also taken out a Mills CNC Service Agreement on the DNM 6700 to ensure its performance is optimised via regular and planned servicing interventions.

Established in 1983, Barrs Court Engineering is a family-owned business that today employs nine people. The company, originally started out as a machine shop machining agricultural equipment and lubrication components for a handful of customers. Since then it has grown rapidly, twice relocating to new, larger premises, investing in numerous CNC machine tools along the way, and adding fabrication and assembly to the services it provides.

The company has a strong commitment to continuous improvement and regularly invests in its people, in its plant and equipment and in its processes and systems. Barrs Court is an advocate of automation, and as well as investing in multi-tasking CNC machine tools, has also improved its fabrication operation through acquiring collaborative robot (cobot) welding technology in 2023. The company is also actively looking to invest in cobot polishing in the near future. Other investments, such as improving its CAD-CAM capabilities are planned, and the acquisition of more sophisticated machine tools to replace existing, older machines are also under consideration.

Furthermore, the company operates an in-house apprenticeship programme in conjunction with a local further education college and training provider and, through its managing director, has been more than instrumental in setting up NMITE (New Model Institute for Technology and Education), which specialises in integrated engineering training and is located in Hereford.