Following a successful tender submission in 2023,
MACH Machine Tools, a Bristol-based CNC and manual machine tool and machine shop equipment supplier, provided
Milton Keynes College (MK College) with four new MACH VS-1SP manual milling machines.
All equipped with direct-drive, infinitely variable spindles, large worktables and digital read-outs (DROs), the machines are renowned for their accuracy, flexibility, ease-of-use and reliability, and as well as being a popular staple manual milling machine tool solution for many UK and Irish component manufacturers, in recent years, have become the machine of choice for a growing number of UK educational organisations such as further education and higher education colleges and universities.
Since being installed, in the summer of 2024, the MACH VS-1SP milling machines have been used by a MK College students on a number of full- and part-time engineering courses — from entry, intermediate and advanced levels (1, 2 and 3) through to HNC/HND certificates and diplomas — as well as for trainees on local employers’ apprenticeship programmes.
This recent machine tool investment is an integral part of a wider strategic improvement and modernisation programme implemented by MK College to upgrade the machining capacity and capabilities of the engineering workshop, helping to transform it into a world-class engineering training facility, valued by students, apprentices, lecturers and local employers alike, and able to provide MK College students and trainees with relevant, transferable skills and improved employment prospects.
Well resourced engineering workshopThe engineering workshop at MK College’s Innovation and Technology Centre is modern, clean, spacious and well resourced. In addition to a large bench work area, the workshop also features 10 manual lathes and 12 manual milling machines. Back in 2023 the decision was made, following an internal audit, to upgrade the engineering workshop’s milling capacity and capabilities.
Nick Mussell, Engineering Lecturer at MK College said: “We had 10 manual milling machines available in the workshop at that time, but a couple of them were long in the tooth and had seen better days. As a consequence, we made the decision to replace them with two new models and, to enable us to better accommodate larger class sizes and ensure a ‘one student to one machine’ ratio, decided to also acquire two additional machines as well.”
From a reliability perspective, MK College made the decision to opt for four new manual milling machines rather than going down the used/pre-owned route. Mr Mussell continued: “We have previously invested in used machines, but this time around decided to acquire new machines.”
As part of the investment process a detailed tender, inviting potential suppliers to submit detailed proposals for the supply of four new, identical manual milling machines was prepared and advertised. As with all MK College tenders, a robust procurement procedure and evaluation process was followed after the tender submissions’ closing date, with every tender received being reviewed against strict published evaluation criteria, to determine the most economically advantageous and best-value submission.
MACH Machine Tools’ tender response was successful for a number of reasons: the technical specification of the four manual machine tools proposed; their price and availability; plus the level of service and support, including delivery, installation, and training provided.
Mr Mussell added: “I had previously met representatives from MACH Machine Tools on their stand at
in Birmingham and, as a consequence, already had some knowledge of the machines available in their product range. I was particularly interested in the VS-1SP model and was pleased that this was the machine that was recommended in the tender proposal.”
MACH VS-1SP machines are rigidly designed and built manual turret-type milling machines that are equipped with direct-drive 420-5,000rev/min infinitely variable spindle, large 1,245 x 229mm worktable (340kg maximum table load), and a two-axis Newall digital read-out (DRO).
Direct-drive technology
Mr Mussell explained: “The direct-drive technology on the VS-1SP machines was a particularly strong selling point. As well as ensuring improved accuracies and surface finishes, direct drive systems using an inverter motor eliminate backlash typically associated with traditional gear and belt-driven systems and, because there are fewer moving parts compared to belt-driven systems, direct-drive machines are less prone to wear and tear, and costly maintenance.”
Similar performance and operational advantages are also evident from the VS-1SP’s infinitely variable speed spindles which, as opposed to machines with a fixed number of speeds that are adjusted via a discrete gearbox or pulley system, provide a continuous range of speeds that allows the operator to precisely match spindle speeds to machining parameters, the materials being machined and the cutting tools available.
Mr Mussell said: “An increasing number of component manufacturers and precision tool makers use manual machine tools with direct drives and infinitely variable speed spindles which, from a training perspective, makes it incumbent on us to provide our students with access to this type of technology, as well as gaining experience on older, indirect drive and fixed speed manual machine tools.”
Since being installed in the summer of 2024, MACH VS-1SP machines, incorporating MK College’s preferred ER32 collet system, have been used by a large number of students to machine small precision parts made from aluminium and mild steel blocks and billets. To help the MACH VS-1SP machines integrate and operate more effectively in MK College’s engineering workshop environment, a number of minor modifications to the machines’ structure have been made by college staff – post-installation.
These have included: the removal of the machines’ large splash trays as the emphasis at MK College is on ‘dry cutting’ as opposed to machining operations using coolant; the manufacture and incorporation of plate covers that have been fixed in place, over the machines’ existing worktables facilitating easier and faster cleaning and maintenance; and making the brackets of the machines’ interlock guards sturdier.
The arrival of the four new MACH VS-1SP manual milling machines have allowed MK College students to increase their engineering competencies and acquire relevant and practical engineering skills from operating modern manual milling machines that are used extensively by manufacturers, large and small, all across the UK and have, as a result of this, improved their employment prospects.