Kristek Precision (KPL) has secured an ongoing order for large stainless-steel seal rings for the power generation industry.
This comes less than a week after the installation of an XYZ XL1500 'extra-large' CNC lathe.
This latest investment includes a 50hp/1,500mm swing over bed lathe equipped with Siemens 840D Shopturn conversational control.
The ISO 9001-accredited company originally used a 2,000ft2 (186m2) workshop that housed various small manual lathes, turret mills, capstan lathes and pillar drills.
As the business grew year on year, it began to invest in CNC turning machines, machining centres and computer-aided-design (CAD)/computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) software.
KPL provides a 'one-stop' machining service, supplying precision CNC machined components to customers in a range of industries, including power generation, automotive testing and oil and gas.
Any additional requirements, such as plating, painting and heat treatment, are project managed by KPL.
Kelvin Stone, a company director, said: 'We can CNC turn components up to 1,500mm diameter x 1,000mm long and CNC mill up to 2,000mm x 750mm x 700mm in most materials.
'These materials include plastics as well as ferrous and non-ferrous metals, with particular emphasis on difficult-to-machine materials such as stainless steels, titanium, Inconel and Hastelloy,' he added.
KPL already had two large facing lathes, but the machining of 1,350mm OD stainless-steel seal rings has been allocated to the new XL 1500 because the machine is more efficient and provides pinpoint accuracy.
The machining sequence involves skimming the front face and machining several grooves, then machining the bore some 5,000 under size to allow for expansion and parting off through to a depth of up to 30mm.
The key dimensions of the machined ring are checked in situ using a portable co-ordinate measuring arm before parting off takes place.
This is the final stage of the machining sequence, as parting off provides a finish-machined rear face to the component, eliminating the need for a second machining setup.
However, because of the unpredictability of the expansion of the machined component, off-machine inspection is used to confirm the crucial bore/outside measurements of the first off and any program adjustment, if required, is then made on the XL 1500 CNC lathe prior to machining successive components.
The final 100 per cent inspection of the machined component is then carried out on a large co-ordinate measuring machine.
KPL's first XYZ purchase was a pre-owned 1010 VMC vertical machining centre, according to Peter Hellyer, also a company director.
He said: 'We had been hearing good reports of XYZ VMCs and decided to trial one of their machines; it has since proved to be a steady, sturdy and dependable machine.' This assessment led to the installation in early 2008 of a new 20hp/12,000rev/min XYZ 1060 HS high-speed vertical machining centre equipped with a fourth-axis capability, Siemens 840D Shopmill control and NSK linear roller bearings for vibration-free 43m/min rapid traverses in X , Y and Z axis.
The performance and reliability of this 1,020mm (X-axis travel) x 610mm (Y) x 620mm (Z) VMC prompted the retrofitting of a Siemens 810D Shopmill control to the older XYZ vertical machining centre.
The ease of use of the Siemens controls, now fitted as standard to all XYZ full-CNC machines, was one of the key factors in KPL's decision to install the XL 1500 CNC lathe.
Other influencing factors included the lathe's one-piece Meehanite bed and base casting, with its 692mm bed width giving added rigidity under heavy cutting conditions, a 125mm diameter/Morse Taper 6 tailstock and constant surface speed (CSS) software.
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