Technoturn Ltd
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challenging change
During the past 12 months turned parts specialist, Technoturn, has made some dramatic changes to its facilities, including relocating all of its lathes to one extensively refurbished machine shop, and adding additional capacity and functionality to its processes. Solutions reports. Based in St Leonard’s on Sea, Technoturn provides high quality precision turned components to a broad but demanding customer base, including utility and power supply companies, motorsport, aerospace, defence, telecomms and other high-end engineering companies. Half way through 2004 Technoturn invested in its first fix head lathe, a 6-axis Miyano BNJ-42 CNC turning centre, which was a departure from the company’s expertise with a range of Swiss type sliding head lathes. A brave move, it was purchased to provide a capacity without any specific workload. However, the existing customer base had a need for larger turned parts supplied to the same quality levels and committed delivery times that they had come to expect from the company. Managing director, David McIlwain, explains: “We knew that the Miyano range had a good reputation in our sector, from discussions with other BTMA members and from talking to various engineers. You hardly ever see one up for sale, so the companies that invest in them, like them and keep them. I would say they are at the top-end of the machine tool range but, as with many things in life, you get what you pay for. The functionality of the lathe is so high that we have yet to put any work on it that requires a second operation.” The available operating time on the spindle soon filled and six months after installation it was running at full capacity. With an obvious need within the customer base for precision 42 mm diameter parts a second Miyano was ordered, this time it was the even more capable 7-axis BNJ-42SY. The additional functionality is important because wherever possible parts are completed in one hit. Installed at the end of 2004, like the 6-axis machine the new lathe also features the ‘butterfly’ back working tooling turret, which allows the horizontally opposed spindles to meet for parts transfer and part off. This design reduces cycle times on symmetrical parts by around 50 per cent and even conventional components can have cycle times 35 per cent shorter. “These are very capable turning machines, with massive throughput. We thought that we would have a problem filling the capacity up, but the success of this foray into larger turned parts has been so great that we have contemplated going even larger,” states Mr. McIlwain. Speaking about the lathes, John Stretton, managing director of Miyano, says: “The Miyano range of lathes has been developed to be complimentary to the Swiss type sliding head lathes, with operators familiar with one being able to quickly adapt to the other.” A fact backed up by Technoturn's experience, as Mr. McIlwain confirms: “After the first Miyano was installed, our two main engineers were setting the machine after just three days training, so the learning curve is not as steep as we thought it would be. And, when the second lathe hit the ground it was in production almost immediately.” The new lathe is currently running an aerospace connector turned from a high grade aluminum alloy, although the Miyano lathes at Technoturn are used to turn a whole spectrum of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. They are set up for each job to be run, so the ease of setting is important to the overall efficiency of the business. Swarf clearance is very good and the strength and rigidity of the machine is such that the company can put the maximum bar size through it, even 316 stainless steel, and turn it with a seriously deep cut. “Nothing stands still in our business, and further investment is inevitable,” concludes Mr. McIlwain. “Currently we are investigating turning equipment specifically for some of the short component, high volume work we do.”
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Last modified: May 28, 2008 |
