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10/09/2010
Machinery and Equipment Sales up by 17.7%
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that total manufacturing output..
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09/09/2010
Linear Motor Technology on Large Machining Centres
the machine tool has a huge working envelope of 2,500 to 10,000 mm in the X-axis by up to 2,200 mm i
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07/09/2010
New Water Jet Cutting Machine Tool Provides One Micron Accuracy to its Users
An innovative CNC-based water jet cutting machine tool capable of cutting materials to within ±1
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05/09/2010
Cutting Tool Manufacturer Opens its Doors in Birmingham
Globally renowned cutting tool manufacturer, the Tungaloy Corporation is delighted to announce
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Multi Spindle Technology Puts Acro in Pole Position
Story added 01 June 2008.
Precision engineering company Acro are celebrating the 8 millionth component to be made on one of their multi-spindle machines.
The machine is a Wickman multi-spindle automatic lathe that they have owned for the past seven years. Acro uses this technology for their high volume orders, due to its very fast cycle time and consistent quality of production.
"These machines are really 6 machines in one,” said Fred Pain, General Manager. “Being able to undertake a number of machining processes at the same time gives them a very fast cycle time and a low cost of production. For one customer we have been machining 800,000 stainless steel components each year. Multi-spindle technology is very much key to our high volume production strategy.”
The majority of Acro's higher volume work has been in stainless, brass and mild steel, which is loaded into the machine via a bar feeder. Once programmed these unmanned-machines are then able to start churning out components and are often run for many months undertaking a single project.
Acro can provide this kind of high volume production for parts up to 45mm. "It's fair to say that it takes us longer to program and set up a multi-spindle," said Fred.
"In fact it can take a lot of experience and expertise to get right, but for higher volume projects, this is easily the most competitive of our machines. The fact that it can run unmanned and is so reliable, means that we can compete with the likes of China for these kinds of projects, as the labour cost is such a minimal component of the price."
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