CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
13 February 2012
Implementation Investments
Mori Seiki Delivers 5-Axis Productivity with One Hit 5-axis Machining
Subcontractor Pro-Tek Engineering has had its Mori Seiki NMV3000 5-axis vertical machining centre for twelve months. Already it is fully loaded and the company is thinking of purchasing an extra one.
Pro-Tek, based in Bidford –on- Avon, Warwickshire, serves the defence, aerospace, mining, oil and gas and telecommunications industries and is part of the SC21 initiative and has ISO 9001 certification. Managing Director Kevin Radbourne says, “We already have Mori Seiki lathes and we are impressed with their build quality and good design. More complex work drove us to look at 5-axis machining as the tolerances on these new jobs were so tight that we needed to finish parts in one operation. If we had tried to complete them with multiple setups it would have been virtually impossible to maintain sufficient accuracy.”
The NMV3000’s driven at the centre of gravity technology, rigid box in box construction and octagonal ram were a big attraction to Pro-Tek. Kevin Radbourne adds, “The Mori Seiki is very solid and much sturdier than conventional machines that use rails. It is also full 5-axis and not 3+2 indexing like some VMCs. Furthermore, the 60 tools on the machine make it easier to complete parts in one hit. Up to now the most tools we had available to us was 30. Installation was straight forward, two to three days and we were up and running. Reliability is great too, we haven’t had a single problem.”
Pro-Tek’s customers are impressed with the new machine. Kevin Radbourne says, “Our customers want to come and see the machine in action. It has already created extra work from our existing clients and we are being asked about additional capacity, so we are looking at adding an extra shift and another Mori Seiki. The quality of the machine speaks for itself, accuracy and repeatability are fantastic and we anticipate pay back within two years. Without the NMV3000, we could not have completed some of the new jobs we have won within the timescale, and to the required accuracy and finish.”
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