EuroWire November 2023

Corporate News

Investment in CNC machining James White joined NSK Precision Engineering in 2015, and took the company over in 2019. His background in CNC machining made his top priority investing in a CNC machining centre, so his first purchase was an XYZ 750 LR. This machine has 750 x 440 x 500mm travel, Siemens 828D control with optional ShopMill, and incorporates linear rail technology that increases acceleration and deceleration rates, resulting in increased accuracy and faster machining. 10,000ft 2 site, while growing turnover by 700 per cent and increasing the workforce from two to seven. The early days of the takeover coincided with the Covid crisis, but NSK was able to keep operating through lockdown by making parts for the emergency Nightingale Hospitals, which provided a boost to the company, opening opportunities in more industry sectors.

On the XYZ 1000 LR, the company makes parts ranging from a few grams to 100kg. Much of the CNC programming is done offline using Autodesk Fusion 360 CAM, but the ShopMill conversational software on the Siemens 828D controls is also used daily. Mr White said, “We are aiming for maximum uptime on the machines, so we use tombstone fixtures so that we can machine multiple faces and multiple parts in one operation. Other techniques include using very thin tabs to hold awkwardly shaped parts. These can be snapped off, leaving just one face to clean up to get a finished job. The machine has plenty of power, so we can take big cuts; the optional 12,000-rpm spindle speed is good for aluminium jobs and for small tools, while the extended 24-station tool carousel makes a complete tool pack available, saving further time lost to tool setting. Probing enables us to do in process dimension checks where we can. Overall, it is a very versatile machine.” XYZ Machine Tools www.xyzmachinetools.com NSK Precision Engineering Ltd www.nskprecision.co.uk

Mr White explained, “Previously we were subcontracting a lot of work to local com panies. Investing in CNC has enabled us to take this work back in-house, which gives us more control over quality and delivery while at the same time improving our prof it margins. At the old factory, we were lim ited for space, restricting which XYZ CNC machine we could choose. With the new factory and the increase in workload we were able to make a further investment in an XYZ 1000 LR with 4 th -axis rotary table, Siemens 828D control with the ShopMill option, expanded 24-station tool carousel and a swarf conveyor. The machine was delivered within two months, which was important to us because of rapidly grow ing demand, despite the difficulties of chip availability at the time.”

Mr White commented, “XYZ Machine Tools listened to where we wanted to take the business, asking the right questions, showing that it understood how our company works. It also came up with an attractive solution to get our CNC machining capacity started. We already had a 1994 XYZ turret mill with ProtoTrak® control, which is used daily and which came with the company, so this gave us extra confidence in our decision.” Taking over NSK Precision Engineering was a steep learning curve for Mr White, as he had to manage both the workforce and the day-to-day administration of the company. He relocated the company from its previous 1,500ft 2 factory to a new

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