XYZ bed mill hits the bullseye at Precision Rifles

Machine Shop staff are seeing the benefits the ProtoTRAK® CNC control can bring to the workshop.

Since its establishment in 1946, Fletcher Moorland, the Stoke on Trent based 24 hour a day repair and refurbishment company, has continued to thrive under the leadership of three generations; Sam Fletcher who founded the company followed by Malcolm Fletcher and now Matt Fletcher.

Starting as a company that rewound motors for local businesses, Fletcher Moorland expanded its services under Malcom’s guidance to include pump, gearbox and fan repairs. As technology advanced, the company became one of the first in the UK to offer independent industrial electronic repair services. Under Matt’s leadership, Fletcher Moorland has continued to invest and expand its services for its growing customer base.

The motor repair shop at Fletcher Moorland where the rotors are removed before sending to the machine shop for refurbishment.

This is especially evident in their machine shop, where they recently purchased an XYZ RLX 780 flat bed CNC lathe fitted with the ProtoTRAK^® RLX control. When asked about the acquisition, Matt Fletcher explained “Traditionally, we have worked on motors that are sub 1 MW (megawatt) but, with the advances in wind turbines we are now seeing repairs required on equipment that are 2 – 2.5 MW. These machines, which weigh around 10 tons, have larger rotors and end shields and we didn’t have equipment to process these larger parts”.

Faced with this challenge, Matt tasked the Electrical Mechanical Workshop Manager, Matt Sparkes, with finding a solution that would allow them to continue to provide a first-class service to their customers. “The main reason for seeking a larger lathe was to meet our customer demands, without having to subcontract work out” +comments Matt Sparkes Electrical-Mechanical workshop Manager.

The process of acquiring a larger lathe involved researching the market for suitable equipment. This culminated in two visits to XYZ’s Midlands Technical Centre located in Nuneaton, with both the shopfloor machinists and, Matt Fletcher the Managing Director before committing to the largest capital investment in the machine shop to date.

Matt Sparkes continues. “The demonstrations from John Aspinall, XYZ’s Area Sales Manager, gave us the confidence that the RLX 780 was the right fit for us in terms of machine size and capacity. After seeing the ProtoTRAK^® RLX control, being used both manually and in CNC modes we knew it was the best solution for our workshop”.

With shafts and rotors increasing in size, Fletcher Moorland is already benefiting from the purchase of the XYZ RLX 780 with its 3-metre distance between centres.  By removing the gap of the bed, they can now produce end shields up to 1090mm in diameter. Additionally, the air ride assist feature makes moving the substantial tailstock easier, while the ability to hitch it to the saddle to move it backwards and forwards to the workpiece, simplifies the machinists’ workload.

Matt Sparkes also notes “The 160mm spindle bore has been advantageous, especially when we did a batch of conveyor rollers. The additional fixed steady we purchased has already proved its worth”.

A large rotor loaded into the XYZ RLX 780 at Fletcher Moorland ready for machining.

In a closing remark Matt Sparkes says “We really feel that the ProtoTRAK control is the way forward for us. Its ease of use and flexibility aligns with our processes, and going forward, we see it enabling us to produce one offs quickly and efficiently using the conversational format that the control provides”.

Alongside investment in the electronics repair and refurbishment sector, which supports all forms of industrial automation, the company has also established a dedicated workshop for servo motor repairs and continues to develop its reliability services division, which provides feedback to the user on plant conditions. Matt Fletcher emphasises that the machine shop remains a high priority for the management team. It will not only help move the company advance in the repair of rotating equipment but also provide new opportunities such as machining parts for the food and drink industry, where a quick turnaround on wear parts is essential.

Thetford-based RKE Engineering and its sister company ROTOSHIM are benefitting from the arrival of a new ProTURN RLX 1630 lathe, supplied by XYZ Machine Tools. The machine joins four other XYZ models on site, including an RMX 2-OP portable machining centre. Technical Partner and Founder Craig Harvey is a career-long fan of XYZ’s ProtoTRAK®-controlled machines thanks to their ease-of-use and reliability. A core activity of the machines at RKE Engineering is the production of parts for pre-war vintage cars, including iconic classics such as Ford Model A and Model B automobiles.

RKE Engineering was established in 2018 as a precision subcontract machine shop, taking on a wide variety of projects. As a machinist at his previous company, Craig Harvey became very familiar with XYZ machines and their ProtoTRAK® controls. This experience led him to choose XYZ as the preferred machine for RKE.

“From the outset we were always going to invest in XYZ machines,” he says. “The machines work well and are so easy to use. We have five XYZ models now, all bought from new with the exception of a pre-owned Edge 2000 turret mill. Even though that machine is nearly 25 years old, it gives me virtually no problems whatsoever, which speaks volumes.”

The core business at the six-employee company is largely R&D work, alongside maintenance and repair jobs. Production machining is typically the territory of ROTOSHIM, which produces vintage car parts, including shock adsorbers, oil pumps, water pumps, pulleys, and flywheels.

A shim valve body produced by ROTOSHIM on XYZ machines.

“We invested in the new ProTURN RLX 1630 because we needed another lathe to undertake our shock absorber work,” explains Craig. “We originally started making dampers for vintage cars to fill dead time in the workshop, but it soon turned into a beast of its own. We supply parts to customers around the world now. I knew the RLX 1630 would fit the bill perfectly, offering plenty enough performance to undertake both our production and R&D turning work.”

The XYZ ProTURN RLX 1630 offers 400mm swing over bed, 760mm between centres, a 54mm bore and a 2,500 rpm spindle benefiting from constant surface speed capability. Complementing the machine is the ProtoTRAK® RLX control, with users able to enjoy rapid production of programs thanks to its conversational programming software on the 15.6-inch touchscreen. The machine is helping RKE Engineering and ROTOSHIM increase capacity, efficiency, and output due to its ability to operate either manually or under full CNC control.

“I love the ease-of-use that ProtoTRAK® controls provide,” says Craig. “New operators get up to speed very quickly. I can also step in if required. It doesn’t happen often but with ProtoTRAK® it’s like riding a bike – you never forget. I’m not sure I could say the same if we used any other type of control.”

Business at RKE Engineering and ROTOSHIM is currently strong, with vintage car work performing particularly well. The company manufactures parts that are no longer commercially available for classic vehicles, including three variants of the Ford Model A: 1927-31; 1932; and 1933-34.

For example, the design of the ROTOSHIM lever-arm shock absorber uses the essential elements of telescopic dampers: steel shim stacks control fluid flow, while pressurised oil prevents cavitation. These elements combine to allow damper tuning and provide the optimal ride based on vehicle weight and spring stiffness. The company supplies the dampers pre-set without any need of adjustment – just bolt on and drive.

Craig Harvey next to a Ford Model A fitted with ROTOSHIM shock absorbers.

“One of our operators machines the aluminium damper body from a drop forging on the XYZ 2-OP,” explains Craig. “We complete these high-precision components, four at a time, in two operations using just eight tools. During machining, our operator can walk away and get on with something else. This approach makes it a very cost-effective part for us.”

A full in-house design and consultancy service allows all vintage car components to be overhauled to improve characteristics such as strength and performance. This combination of traditional engineering excellence with modern, forward-thinking solutions is a real market differentiator. Importantly, all ROTOSHIM products undergo a stringent QA process, including testing to failure under extreme conditions.

“Our passion lies in enhancing the driving experience by pushing the boundaries of classic car part technology to meet modern standards for vintage car enthusiasts.”

A recent case-in-point involved a racing shock absorber for an Austin 7. With the help of its new shocks, the Austin 7 was able to ride the apex of bends much better and break the lap record in its class by 12 seconds. The car went on to win several first places in a series of significant races.

“Due to achievements like this I can honestly say we never lose a customer,” concludes Craig. “The XYZ machines are a big part of that success. Having these machines in-house means we can offer a wider range of services and attract the best staff, which in turn promotes growth.”

For many subcontract machine shops, it’s a challenge to know which machines to purchase to handle the work that comes through the door. Sometimes, the type of work dictates the products needed, but on other occasions, it’s the development of the company to become more efficient and take on previously impossible work that drives purchases.

For Ian Gibson, Managing Director of Vision Precision Engineering, the latter scenario led to investments in XYZ products on their shop floor. Starting the business with his uncle, Dennis, after they were made redundant, they managed to bring the machines they used to their new business and set about finding work, a significant challenge.

Using existing contacts, they found an unlikely source of work making parts for coffee machines in Costa Coffee stores. “We were approached to make developments and improvements to the machines in the stores so that the Barista’s could not make mistakes in loading the cleaning products used in the machines,” says Mr. Gibson. This influx of work prompted the business to seek improvements in their manufacturing processes, leading them to XYZ for a solution to make parts faster than on their traditional milling machine. Mr Gibson continues, “Steve Cox, the XYZ Area Salesman regularly called in and, when the company needed to make an investment in new equipment, he helped us to select the right machine which was an XYZ 710 vertical machining centre complete with a 4th axis.”

This investment created a new dilemma for Mr. Gibson. Now, making parts faster created a bottleneck in the secondary operations needed on the parts. This led to further investment in a smaller machining centre from XYZ to handle the increase in demand.

The XYZ TC 320 LTY, dubbed ‘The Beast’ by Vision Precision Engineering.

“Even with the 2 machines and 4th axis fitted to the mill we were still falling behind in supplying parts to our customers so again we contacted XYZ to see how we could improve our manufacturing further,” comments Mr. Gibson. The answer this time was to invest in an XYZ TC 320 LTY driven tool lathe. “The ability to produce milled and drilled features on our turned parts was taking up capacity on the original mill, so it made sense to purchase a machine that could produce our parts in one hit which is why we decided to invest in the TC 320 LTY product.”

With the hardened box way built machine with its Y and C axis, along with driven tool capability in place, Vision Precision set about getting the most out of its latest purchase. “Now we have this machine available to us, we have been able to quote for work that previously we could not tackle,” observes Mr Gibson. This is partly due to the maximum turned diameter of 320mm and the maximum turning length of 550mm. With a bar capacity of 78mm, it also means that Vision can produce more parts from bar rather than billets, and with a barfeed purchased for the machine, lights-out machining has now become a regular occurrence.

The XYZ TC 320 LTY, set up with the 70mm drill.

“The machine just seems to tackle everything we throw at it.” Mr. Gibson states. “Big or small, it does it all, and the material removal rates are phenomenal. From 20mm depths of cut when turning, to drilling a 70mm diameter hole with a modular drill in super duplex material, is proper justification for us giving the machine its nickname of ‘The Beast’. When you consider we were only running at 200 rpm when performing the drilling and it was only using 25% of the available spindle power it’s a well-built machine with great power and it holds the tolerances we demand of it all day, every day”. 

Mr. Gibson also notes, “it’s not only the machine that’s important to me but the whole package I get from the company I buy my equipment from. From the sales process through to the installation, training and the ongoing support from XYZ’s customer support team, the whole experience has been second to none and that’s why I purchased a CT65 HD to support the work of ‘The Beast’ and, also produce some of the smaller parts we manufacture.”

Vision Precision Engineering is renowned as the home of ‘The Beast’.

Like in every fairy-tale story, ‘The Beast’ is able to open doors just by its presence. By posting on social media about the work it undertakes, Vision Precision Engineering has generated interest from companies looking to outsource their machining jobs. Business is growing, which has led to a recent move to new premises. From modifications to coffee machines, Vision is now attracting work from various sectors, including green energy, medical and defence. 

XYZ Area Sales Manager John Aspinall (left) presents Jason Worrall, Works Director at Image Wheels, with his winning cheque.

Tipton-based Image Wheels has emerged victorious in a prestigious competition hosted by XYZ Machine Tools at the recent MACH 2024 exhibition. The company received a generous £10,000 (plus VAT) discount on the purchase price of any new CNC machine in the XYZ range. This forward-thinking manufacturing business opted for a brand new Proturn RLX 555 gap-bed lathe with ProtoTRAK® control, aiming to boost capacity and counteract the current skills shortage. 

Founded in 1987, Image Wheels is now a leading UK manufacturer of alloy wheels to customers worldwide. The family-owned business produces both classic and modern high-grade alloy wheels to order, supplying over 50 styles in sizes ranging from 10-20” in diameter, with customisable widths and offsets. Applications include race cars, dragsters, classic cars, kit cars, trikes and offroad vehicles of diverse types. Keeping pace with the company’s busy order book requires ongoing investment in the latest manufacturing technologies. However, there is a notable industry challenge to navigate.  

“Finding CNC programmers, setters and operators who can hit the ground running is very difficult,” reveals Jason Worrall, Works Director at Image Wheels. “Instead, we are gradually upskilling our existing manual machine operators. We can make this task easier by tapping into the ease-of-use that comes with the ProtoTRAK® control.” 

Jason’s visit to MACH 2024 marked his first time at the exhibition, where he visited several stands to assess potential CNC turning machines.  

“I didn’t know about the competition to win a £10,000 discount on any XYZ machine until I got to their stand,” he says. “I filled out an entry form there and then. XYZ’s Area Sales Manager John Aspinall, who was familiar to us, phoned me a few days after the show and I could tell by the excitement in his voice that I had won. It was a great feeling.” 

The discount was applied to the popular Proturn RLX 555 gap-bed lathe, chosen for its sizable turning capacity, impressive versatility and user-friendly ProtoTRAK® control. The machine is already in situ at the company’s Tipton manufacturing facility. 

“We only really have one machine for producing large 20” diameter wheels, so with the RLX 555 we’ve effectively doubled our capacity for this type of work,” explains Jason. “Although it’s our first XYZ machine, we employed a new operator at the back end of 2023 who has a lot of experience with ProtoTRAK®, which means we can get the RLX 555 cutting metal and earning money straight away. At the same time, we’ll train one of our existing manual machine operators on the ProtoTRAK®. This strategy will help us negate the current lack of experienced CNC operators.” 

Proturn lathes with the RLX 15.6” touchscreen ProtoTRAK® control are ideal for one-off and low-volume production. As the simplest control on the market, machine shops can be making parts profitably in no time. Even an operator with no previous CNC experience will be producing complex parts within hours. 

The new XYZ Proturn RLX 555 will machine alloy wheels from castings, performing a range of turning, boring and profiling operations. Image Wheels produces its products from high-grade cast aluminium, typically in batches of two or four, and sometimes up to 20-off for a race team. The company, accredited to ISO 9001:2015, has manufactured components for record-breaking and championship-winning cars all over the world. 

Proturn RLX 555 machines offer a swing-over-bed of 560mm, a spindle bore of 104mm and come with a 315mm three-jaw chuck as standard. Image Wheels opted for the 1m bed version, though the Proturn RLX 555 is also available in a 1.75m model. The machine supplied to Image Wheels includes numerous advanced options, including the DXF File Converter. 

“Rather than using dimensioned drawings with complex profiles, we can simply output a DXF file, upload it into the machine, select the contour and away we go,” says Jason. “It will accelerate our process and ensure less opportunity for error.” 

Quality is paramount at this progressive manufacturing business. Image Wheels manufactures its products in accordance with British Standards, including BSAU 50 Part 2 Section 5C, BS ISO 4000-2 and BS ISO 16833. The company is a member of the British Standards Institute, and all wheel designs undergo tests by an independent company using FEA (finite element analysis). 

“Our main differentiator is our products, particularly their quality,” concludes Jason. “There are very few alloy wheel manufacturers worldwide who can compete in the same way. Sure enough, all of us in this industry have business challenges to overcome, with skills proving one of the most prominent. However, with a bit of fortune that arrived by winning the XYZ competition at MACH, we’ve found the perfect way forward.” 

Gary Steele operates the XYZ RMX 4000.

XYZ Machine Tools is helping Handicare to maintain the accuracy, rigidity and quality of its stairlifts by machining the mating surfaces of its tubular components using an XYZ RMX 3500 for straight sections and an XYZ RMX 4000 for curved sections to achieve a perfect fit.

Handicare is a leader in its industry covering accessibility, patient handling and vehicle accessibility and can trace its roots back to 1886. Its objectives are to offer solutions and support to increase the independence of physically challenged or elderly people, and to enable them to live an active life on their terms as well as to facilitate work for their care providers and family.

Handicare’s headquarters are located in Stockholm, Sweden and it sells its products and solutions globally and is active in more than 40 countries. Of the Group’s total revenue in 2020, Europe accounted for 71%, North America for 28 % and the rest of the world 1%.

‘Nabil Mohamed operates the XYZ RMX 3500.

One of its UK manufacturing facilities is at Kingswinford, Birmingham where it designs and manufactures straight and curved stairlifts, producing more than 50 every day. Each stairlift is bespoke, designed to fit its customers’ individual stair configuration. The key element of each stairlift is a pair of tubular runners with gear racks welded to them. These support the seat and, with its pinion drive and rollers, allow it to transport the customer smoothly and safely between floors. Each set is unique and carefully designed to fit the stairwell.

During the design phase of each stairlift, consideration has to be given to handling the tube sections and accessibility for installation and assembly. This means that the set of tubes needs to be made in sections ready for assembly on site. Some shapes for curved stairlifts can be complex, for example moving the seat to a park position around a newel post, so these need particular care during manufacture.

Curved stairlift tubes on the XYZ RMX 4000.

Nabil Mohamed, Production Engineer at Handicare explains, “For straight stairlift sections the tubes and gear rack are robot welded together and they are then cut to length. We leave an excess of 0.5 mm which is then machined off on the XYZ RMX 3500. We do this to make sure that the gear profile on the rack is perfect when we join the tubes. If we didn’t do this and left a slight mismatch on the gear profile, the customer would feel an uncomfortable jolt every time the seat went over a joint.”

The XYZ RMX 3500 is dedicated to straight sections and has a set of fixtures on the bed each designed to lock into the gear profiles to position the tube in the exact position required to mill across the end and generate an accurate gear profile and perfect tube length. The open design of the bed mill makes it possible to work with long tube sections which overhang the bed. The machine’s ProtoTRAK® control has the different programs already prepared so that it is easy to select the one required for the fixtures being used.

For curved profile stairlifts, the process is similar with tube sections being machined on the XYZ RMX 4000. This has a larger bed 1474mm x 355mm and has fixtures loaded to suit the machining the ends of curved sections, again locating the tubes on the gear rack to ensure end machining is accurate.

Set of stairlift tubes finished and ready for shipping.

Further special purpose machinery cleans the burrs inside and outside the tubes, while etched marks on each component give reliable identification. To join tubes, straight sections can be connected with crimped inserts and cross drilled bolt holes, while curved sections are robot welded together with an internal collar. Special purpose machines clamp components together for these operations to ensure on site assembly goes smoothly before physical inspection and surface finishing.

Nabil Mohamed says, “Every component goes through one of the XYZ RMX machines, so they are a crucial part of the process, and their record of reliability is very important to us. Being able to accurately machine the ends of every tube and gear rack is a vital part of the quality, performance and reliability of our products.”

Simon Birt in front of XYZ 800 HD.

Specialising in aerospace and defence, HEC Precision in Southall has EN9100 and ISO 9100 quality approvals as well as approvals from Airbus and BAE Systems. It was an early adopter of 5-axis machinery installing the first of these machines in 1998, enabling it to manufacture complex parts much faster, more cost effectively and to higher accuracy.

Since then, the company has continued to invest in high value machinery but, the thinking on this policy changed with the installation of an XYZ 2OP machine for apprentices to use during their training. Danny Recknell, Technical Director says, “The ten-year-old machine was installed so that should there be a collision during training, the consequences would not be severe. However, we found that this machine was an eye opener and much more capable than we expected so when we had a suitable project, we decided that we did not need to invest in another high-cost machine.”

Fixture and parts loaded into rotary table.

The company saw the XYZ 800 HD at Southern Manufacturing 2022 and concluded that it stood out with its Siemens 828D control, solid cast ribbed structure, 24-station arm-type toolchanger, and vibration absorbing box slideways. Danny Recknell adds, “The XYZ 800 HD is a heavy hitting machine, it has all the bits of a high-end machine, its box slideways, heavy casting and Siemens control make a winning combination for heavy cutting operations and ideal for the parts we had in mind.”

‘Shell’ Parts being loaded in the fixture at HEC Precision.

The XYZ 800 HD was supplied with a rotary axis and HEC Precision developed and manufactured a pair of fixtures which enabled seven parts to be made in one cycle. Previously, these were done one at a time and required one person on a machine all day. Now the XYZ 800 HD makes 7 every 22 minutes, simply switching the fixtures in a quick changeover operation.

Simon Birt, Setter Operator says,

“We make batches of around 750 parts with the machine running all the time.”  The ‘Shell’ job currently on the machine starts from a turned tube. These are loaded on the fixture and require flats to be machined on two sides with a 0.5mm radius in the corner. “The sequence is – starting from a turned tube – rough all the tubes on one side, turn the fixture through 180 degrees in the rotary table, rough the other side and finally repeat with a finishing operation to get the 0.5mm corner radius.” As well as the ‘Shell’ job, the machine is used blocking up and making quick fixtures using the on machine ShopMill programming. More complex parts are programmed in the company’s Visi software, which it uses for all its CNC machines.

Machining underway on the XYZ 800 HD at HEC Precision.

Danny Recknell continues, “We bought the XYZ 800 HD for three jobs and we now manufacture all sorts of components on it. It was very easy to justify and our overall experience with XYZ Machine Tools has been excellent. Delivery was 4 weeks, which is unheard of in the industry. We get personal service from XYZ Machine Tools, and the sales experience was super. The accuracy requirements of most of our parts are well within the capabilities of the XYZ 800 HD so we don’t need high end machinery for them, making us rethink our attitude on future machinery purchasing.”

Leigh Andrews in front of XYZ 750 TMC.

According to the RAC, 30 vans are stolen and a further 80 broken into every day in the UK.  Van Guard Accessories based in Exeter aims to help van owners and operators minimise their risk of becoming a victim. Leigh Andrews, Director of operations at Van Guard says, “The average theft is valued at £2,500 excluding damage to the van which can cost around £2000 on top.”

The company has been operating for over 40 years and has been offering its ULTI Lock hooklock, which is the first Gold Standard Sold Secure hooklock for vans, for the past three years.

Previously, the locks offered were manufactured in Germany and Portugal, but the price point became uncompetitive, so Van Guard designed its own better product, fabricating the sheet metal parts itself on its laser cutter and subcontracting the turned and machined parts. Leigh Andrews wanted to bring the subcontracted parts in house and started off with the machining of face plates on an XYZ 750 TMC with ProtoTRAK® RMX control and 20 Station carousel tool changer. Fixturing was designed so that 22 parts could fit on the machine on one pallet. Previously the face plates were countersunk manually but, as the countersinks were different depths it took three operations and 15 minutes per part. To subcontract this operation cost £1.10 per part so in house machining was easy to justify with a cycle time of 30 seconds per plate and a payback on the machine of less than three years.

Fixture holding 22 face plates.

Leigh Andrews says, “The ULTI Lock has been a raging success, and we are making between 4000 and 6000 per month. Typically, each van will have two or three hooklocks, one on the rear door and two on the side door. We are preparing more fixtures so that we can introduce the machining of other parts in house. Currently we are only using 50% of the XYZ 750 TMC’s capacity so we have plenty of machining time available for different parts and increased demand for our products. Furthermore, with the machine’s swarf conveyor, we are able to recover more money from recycling the swarf while at the same time maintaining a clean machine and clean coolant.”

ULTI Lock hooklocks installed on a rear van door.

Van Guard chose the XYZ 750 TMC as Leigh Andrews had had experience of the machines at a previous company and because XYZ Machine Tools is local. “We were easily able to go up to the Burlescombe factory for training on the machine and ProtoTRAK® and XYZ engineers carried out additional training on site, helping us with our components. We are experienced in sheet metal, but new to CNC machining and the graphics and ease of use of ProtoTRAK® made the crossover from manual to CNC machining easier.” Additionally, the machine was delivered ex stock and Van Guard was able to take advantage of the capital allowance tax break on 4th April 2023 just before it ended.

The operator that was previously doing the countersinking can now be more productive elsewhere making a 70% labour saving. The XYZ 750 TMC operates on its own, with the only tasks required being loading and unloading the pallet fixture while the previous one is in cycle and switching the fixtures in the machine at the end of each cycle.

As part of the machine tool package, Van Guard chose a three-year service package which covers routine maintenance and accidental damage. Leigh Andrews adds,

“The XYZ 750 TMC is the third most important machine in the workshop, and we can’t ship product without it. The response we get to support queries is almost immediate and overall, the machine is value for money and does a good job. In three years, we have gone from a cold start to shipping over £1.5 million security products through our lock fitting network across the UK and Ireland and the XYZ 750 TMC is a key part of that success.”

Machining finished on face plates in the XYZ 750 TMC.

Garry Gray Programmer Setter Operator holding a part with spiral grooving.

Most of us are familiar with a bicycle chain, but Precision Chains in Dudley makes giant versions! These are used in the quarrying industry, agriculture, the food industry, in escalators in the London Underground, water treatment, palm oil manufacture and many more heavy-duty applications. The smallest chain link is 2 inches and the biggest can weigh as much as 25kg for one link.

Started in 1957, the company is now part of the John King Chains Group based in Leeds. It makes both imperial and metric sized roller chains and works with customers to specify the type of chain, its load capabilities and its attachments for buckets or similar, supplying customers throughout Europe, the USA, Malaysia, Indonesia and Africa. The design of the chain revolves around its pitch, the roller and bush and pin diameters and the width and thickness of the side bar to arrive at its rating in kN. Options include spiral grooves for lubrication and solid or hollow pins. As part of its service, the company also manufactures sprockets to suit the chains it supplies.

XYZ TC 320 LTY at Precision Chains.

Ian Thomas, General Manager of Precision Chains says, “Our challenge was to find a better way of manufacturing the rollers, pins and bushes. Previously we had to turn the parts and then mill them, cross drill, drill down the centre and finally counterbore and deburr them. All these operations were very labour intensive and time consuming with setups on up to three machines, not to mention all the handling involved. Furthermore, moving between these machines has an impact on accuracy. These parts are crucial to chain manufacture and when you see the volumes required in each chain and the advantages of multi-axis and live tooling, it was clear that we could make some significant savings.”

Precision Chains chose an XYZ TC320 LTY with parts catcher, swarf management and Hydrafeed bar feeder. The XYZ TC320 LTY has a Siemens 828D control with ShopTurn for easy programming of the Y axis and live tools. The machine can chuck up to 300mm diameter and has a bar capacity with the bar feeder of up to 78mm diameter. The machine is equipped with Ceratizit tooling with two sets of live tools for cross drilling, milling flats and machining lubrication spirals. The company also doubles up with some tools doing both turning and facing operations. Ian Thomas adds, “We ordered the machine from XYZ Machine Tools in February 2023 and took delivery at the end of March enabling us to benefit from tax breaks for capital equipment. The speed of delivery was an important factor in our decision. Now, we run the XYZ TC320 LTY from 7.30am to 9.30pm making a complete part in one operation with one operator checking the machine from time to time while completing other tasks. We have also been able to dispose of two machines which we no longer need.”

XYZ TC 320 LTY with bar feeder at Precision Chains.

A further advantage has been an increase in the accuracy and repeatability of the parts. Previously setting and machining was done using special jigs and fixtures and the company had problems with accuracy in across flats features, plus for the spiral grooves it had to use a milling machine with dividing head to achieve what can be done automatically in cycle on the XYZ TC320 LTY. Ian Thomas says,

“With our conventional methods we would turn parts during the day and mill them in the twilight shift. Now it is all done in one go. We have halved the milling time and eliminated all the handling and special jigs we used to use and got rid of all the transport and handling.”

Four people have been trained on the XYZ TC320 LTY at XYZ Machine Tools’ Nuneaton office and, working from drawings they took with them, they were quickly confident in using the machine and Siemens control. Ian Thomas adds, “Now they have no problems setting and operating the machine. They got to grips with it really quickly. The XYZ TC320 LTY has done everything we expected and more.”

Upgrading the machinery in the factory to new technology is important for Precision Chains as, like many companies, it has an ageing long serving workforce and it is finding it difficult to recruit new talent. In the last 12 months it has recruited four apprentices and believe that investing in the latest equipment combined with instruction from employees that know the business back to front, will make a career in engineering at the company very attractive.