ASG TGM has acquired a sixth Mazak VTC-800 vertical machining centre as part of a £1.75 million investment in its new 11,000ft
2 facility in Preston. The machine has been installed in a newly established machine shop, adjacent to the existing machining facility to enhance the Group’s capability to deliver complex aerospace orders, particularly the machining of large structural components to extremely high tolerances.
The VTC-800 is one of Mazak’s flagship, UK-built machines, offering full five-axis capability for machining a wide variety of large and complex components. It features a vertical travelling column design and is equipped with an exceptionally large working envelope, along with a high-performance 18,000rev/min spindle as standard.
Sarah Stephens, ASG TGM managing director, says the machine is part of a deliberate strategy to support OEM and Tier One aerospace suppliers. He added: “The new facility and machines effectively create a mirrored production cell that complements our existing machine shop, which is already equipped with three Mazak machines. The new cell will increase capacity, flexibility and improve workflow, which is vital to ensuring we continue to provide a fast and efficient service to our OEM and Tier One aerospace customers.”
Compact footprint“The working envelope of the VTC-800 is ideal for the type of aerospace work we are now undertaking, such as butt straps, spreader plates and intercostals, through to structural aircraft parts like large ribs for wing assemblies. The SDR variant has a compact footprint, and we can achieve 360deg rotation with milled parts, which gives us much better access to the component.”
TGM was established in 1998 and is now part of the ASG Group, which specialises in supplying detail parts and tooling to some of the world’s leading OEMs and Tier One suppliers in the aerospace, medical, scientific and nuclear sectors. The company offers three-, four- and five-axis machining of hard and soft metals up to 4.8m in length, with a total of 18 machines at its Preston site.
Alan Mucklow, managing director UK, Ireland and National Distributors at Mazak, said the VTC-800 is an ideal machine for aerospace applications. He said: “The VTC-800 — designed and built in the UK — is one of our most popular machines, with more than 1,000 now in operation around Europe.
“The machining envelope of the VTC-800 is one of the largest in its class, making it ideal for large engine components, while maintaining the flexibility to meet different application needs. Mazak has a long history of supplying machines to the aerospace sector in the UK and globally, and we are delighted to support ASG TGM in the next stage of its growth.”