'Streamline Machining' is a major factor influencing faster cycle times, by reducing the non-cutting elements, giving improved flexibility and introducing features to assist unmanned running.
'Streamline Machining' will be the focus depicted at NC Engineering of Watford's MACH 2006 display of the latest technology from Citizen for producing components up to 32mm diameter on CNC sliding head turn/mill centres or 42mm through the Citizen Boley fixed-head machine range. By the start of the exhibition there will be more than 1,000 Citizen machine installations in the UK demonstrating the significant market-leading position in producing largely single-cycle operations involving combinations of turning and milling tasks. One of the major reasons for Citizen's world-leading success in this sector is the continuous development strategy that saw almost the entire range of its machines either updated with significantly improved specifications or the introduction of totally new models during 2005.

Here 'Streamline Machining' has proven to be a major factor influencing faster cycle times, by reducing in particular the non-cutting elements, giving improved flexibility and further features introduced to assist unmanned running.

In short, Streamline Machining is delivering the opportunity to obtain a massive 30% reduction in cycle times on the new machines against the same programs already well-proven on a previous generation machine.

The NC Engineering stand will have six of its high technology machines on demonstration plus Citizen's latest Cool Blaster III 2,000 lb/in2 high pressure coolant system, a new CNC editor and a demonstration of palletised unloading.

Five of the six machines will be shown for the first time at a UK exhibition.

The recently introduced and very competitively priced Citizen K-Series sliding head lathe available in 12mm and 16mm bar sizes; the best-selling L20-VIII now even faster than ever with customers benefiting from up to 40% quicker cycles; the top of the range M32-V with the added bonus of three-tool simultaneous cutting and the flexibility of two Y-axis cross-feeds to the turret and toolslide, will all be producing features on components in single 'one-hit' cycles.

Linear slide technology will be demonstrated on the Citizen R07 with high speed cycling and 16,000 rev/min, ceramic spindle bearings producing parts up to 7mm diameter to extremely close tolerances while on the fixed head 42mm, Boley BE42-Y with twin driven-tool turrets, and Y-axis will be showing three tool simultaneous cutting.

Major elements of the Streamline Machining package include a vastly improved control system software able to help shorten non-productive times, and handle up to five-axis simultaneous machining and a 30% increases in motor power for the servo drives.

Rapid traverse rates are up to 32m/min with simultaneous movements created through shockless acceleration and deceleration curves and acceleration improvements of up to a factor of 1.6 for each axis with overlapped axis movements further reduce lost time.

Believed to be world's first 10mm capacity single-spindle CNC sliding head lathe without guidebush, this machine has five linear axes and provides an excellent price-to-performance ratio
MACH 2006 will be the first opportunity for Tornos to present two exceptional new machines to the UK. On stand 5076 the Swiss sliding head turning centre specialist will present the new Tornos Deco 8sp and the Deco 20s - the first machines of the new S-line range. Tornos will also exhibit the Deco 26a 10-axis turning centre.

The first machine launched in the new S-Line range is the Deco 8sp.

The 8sp is world's first 10mm capacity single-spindle CNC sliding head lathe without guidebush.

With five linear axes, the Deco 8sp provides an excellent price-to-performance ratio whilst the kinematics have been adapted to execute reasonably complex parts.

It is a technological solution that allows Tornos to offer an automatic lathe that guarantees a degree of precision of +/-1 micron (0.001mm) never seen before.

The Tornos 8sp addresses new markets such as the electronics and especially the hard mini-disk sector for mobile IT applications.

The second machine launch of the new S-Line range, the Deco 20s is designed to execute relatively complex parts up to 25.4mm diameter.

The programming and kinematics of the Deco 20s are geared towards simplicity, which is coupled with strong mechanical elements to guarantee high precision.

With six linear axes, the 20s has been designed for producing reasonably complex parts with an excellent price-to-potential ratio.

Numerous market studies were conducted and the Deco 20s is the resulting machine that is well suited for the automotive, medical, electronics and connector and general manufacturing sectors.

The considerable strength and power provide the lathe with a very large machining capacity.

Another important aspect is its versatility - the machine has 22 tool positions and a high level of interchangeability to give the DECO 20s exceptional flexibility.

These two new machines are undoubtedly set to make a huge impact at MACH 2006.

Specialist machining subcontractor's sliding head turning centre is used for making critical parts used medical gas, anaesthesia and optical equipment to tolerances under 0.005mm.
When family run Advanced Coil Slitters (ACSL), a specialist contract manufacturing supplier to the medical, aerospace, hydraulics and instrumentation industries needed a functional and productive turning centre - it turned to Tornos Technologies. ISO: 9001/2000 registered ACSL provides a rapid response 'emergency service' to customers needs. To fulfil this demand, Stevenage based ACSL operates a high specification production facility on a 24h basis with 30 employees covering a three shift pattern.

An integral part of the high specification CNC equipment at ACSL is a Tornos Deco 26a sliding head turning centre.

Used for the manufacture of critical parts incorporated into medical gas, anaesthesia and optical equipment with tolerances less than 0.005mm, the 32mm diameter capacity Deco 26a has been a valuable asset to the company.

ACSL production director Steve Ward said: 'In the time we have had the Deco 26a; it has been an excellent machine.

It runs 24/7 on a diverse range of materials from Hastelloy, stainless steel, brass, aluminium and plastics.

The 12-axis machine is capable of very complex work and this capability has reduced some jobs from five operations to one.

One component, an oxygen regulator underwent drilling, milling and turning with five set-ups - when moved to the Tornos the 12 minute production time was reduced to 3 minutes with only one set-up.

There are many more examples similar to this.' Ward said the average cycle time has been cut by 40-50% since the introduction of the Deco 26a and believes that the high number of machine axis has increased the company's flexibility.

'Whilst 12 axes may seem a daunting prospect, the machine is very flexible, highly productive and extremely easy to set-up.

We can now do jobs that were previously outside our scope.

It has changed the way we quote jobs and it has increased our capabilities and confidence to go after more complex work.

Some of the jobs that come off the Deco 26a are so complex you would not believe they came off a lathe,' commented Ward.

Discussing the simplistic set-up of the Deco 26a, Ward said the Tornos control system, the TB-Deco may be different to all other control systems but once understood is very simple to understand.

'The TB Deco enables us to run simulations before starting machining cycles; this has given us a high level of confidence and guarantees we avoid tool collisions.

Tornos regularly provides us with TB Deco updates and enhancements; this improves productivity and makes life easier when programming the machine.

We run some extraordinary program variations and the Deco 26a does some amazing things using the combination of axis,' continued Ward.

When choosing a turning centre, ACSL needed a flexible machine that was easy to set-up, productive and had an easily accessible work envelope.

When the company chose the Deco 26a, it found a solution capable of producing batch runs of anything up to 10,000 on an extremely diverse range of products.

Commenting on this, Ward said: 'There are a lot of product variations going through the machine and during changeovers the spacious work envelope provides plenty of room to change tools.

'It rarely runs for less than 24h and often runs for up to four days with just reloading of the barfeeder.

Once the tooling and program combination has been established the machine proves extremely productive and cost effective.

It has seen us change the way we operate and gets us thinking with a different mindset.

The Deco 26a has reduced our costs, improved productivity and capability and has enabled us to relocate staff to alternate tasks and machines.' Ward concluded: 'Tornos provide us with good service and are a very approachable company.

This was epitomised by the well run training course that saw our operators learn their way around the machine very quickly.'

Sliding head automatic lathe drastically simplifies allocation of the various machining operations to hip screws machined from bar and for back operations (counter-spindle).
Every year in Europe, roughly 700,000 people suffer a hip fracture, which is frequently linked to osteoporosis. The medical facilities currently available mean that rapid surgical intervention can be conducted to reduce the fracture by applying plates and retaining screws, thereby allowing patients to quickly regain their mobility. The hip screws used for surgery are highly complex parts that require numerous machining operations involving swarf evacuation.

The highly resistant materials used in these implants including stainless steels and titanium often entail several rough-working, finishing and deburring operations.

Without doubt, the best solution in terms of productivity and feasibility is to proceed with the complete machining of the parts in a single chucking operation using one machining unit.

Thanks to the A-line products from Tornos (the Tornos Deco 20a in this case) it is now possible to machine specific parts in minutes.

The Tornos Deco sliding head lathe is fully adapted to this family of parts.

It drastically simplifies allocation of the various machining operations from the bar (main spindle) and for back operations (counter-spindle).

The kinematics of the Tornos Deco (12 numerically controlled axes all with simultaneous interpolation) allow up to 4 tools to be used simultaneously and execution of back-operations is 100% in hidden time.

The lathe and various devices developed to date offer numerous facilities for different types of machining operations, giving finished parts in a single set-up.

The procedure to manufacture hip screws involves turning, centering/drilling/reaming, high pressure drilling to 120 bar, tapping, hexagon broaching/swaging, external hexagon milling, external thread whirling in back-operation mode, deburring, part support and over 20 tools to conduct the numerous operations.

The Tornos Deco 20a sliding head lathe lends itself particularly well to hip screws, due to its dimensional geometry, chucking facility, re-chucking for back-operation and facility to change between main operations and back operations.

* Process improvements - Tornos continually improves its machines for the medical sector and the main technical reason for further improvement to the overall machining process of these difficult materials is to provide the operator with improved versatility and flexibility during setting up work or when retooling.

This can be achieved from pre-adjustable tool systems - available both for the fixed tools and rotating tools.

The setting up or retooling times are significantly reduced, which further reinforces the well-known productivity of the Tornos Deco lathes.

Benefits have also been obtained from the introduction of 'coolant through' tool holders to bring about improved swarf management.

Another addition is the simultaneous machining facility with respect to roughing and finishing (balanced turning), which leads to good swarf management, increased tool life and improved surface quality.

The main sequences for machining a hip screw on the Deco a lathe involve hexagon swaging, external hexagon milling with two tools simultaneously and end piece support, back operation thread whirling in hidden time and back-operation high pressure drilling at 120 bar using a guide bush.

By adopting off-line programming software for CNC automatics, a small precision turned parts maker has cut programming times for new jobs from around 1.5h to 10-15 minutes each.
Ronco Engineering, facing a surge in business for its small precision turned parts has just added a Citizen C16 CNC sliding head automatic lathe from NC Engineering of Watford, UK, to its existing fleet of two Citizen L20 and one L32 machines. By adopting Citizen's specially developed off-line programming software, Alkartpro, Ronco has gained a massive leap in productivity cutting programming times for new jobs from around 1.5h to between 10 and 15 min each. Production director Paul Cottrell explains how in recent months the company has seen a significant increase in volumes against existing orders: 'We have three existing citizen machines and their accuracy and repeatability has proven to be second to none.

For this reason we did not look anywhere else when placing the order for the C16.' Based at Stanley in County Durham, UK, 23-employee Ronco Engineering supplies precision components to industries including off-road, electronics and oil and gas.

Its biggest customer is the Articulated Trucks Division at Caterpillar, where Ronco was the first company approved to Caterpillar's Certified Supplier status.

Since its installation in May 2005, the Citizen C16, along with the other Citizen sliding head autos, was immediately engaged on one particular family of components that form a solenoid assembly as part of safety critical braking systems.

Ronco produce 40 different stainless steel parts in the contract in batches ranging from 500 up to 20,000 and when introducing the components to the Citizen machines, NC Engineering's Alkartpro offline programming software, based on its operator friendly Windows based machine tool control, made an immediate significant difference.

Maintained Cottrell: 'Alkartpro has been a revelation, by increasing our programming output and accuracy.

What used to take 1.5 hours can now be done in just 10-15 minutes and on this family of 40 solenoid components alone, it equates to a saving in excess of 50 man-hours.' Alkartpro can be applied to the best selling Windows-based machining sequences on the C, L and M ranges of Citizen machines.

Based on five material groups, with relevant speeds and feeds generated from its customisable tool library, programming is based on a 'picking list' of machining cycles such as turning, grooving, drilling and milling.

Important for Citizen users is that incorporated within the cycle generation are operational functions and cycle elements such as sub-spindles, workpiece-unloading, C-axes and even long-part machining.

'In use, it becomes a simple matter of adding finish sizes to a schematic diagram that is automatically created for the part as the required operations are input,' informed Cottrell.

'When first deciding to invest in sliding head technology we selected Citizen because it offered the best price per part produced to specification ratio,' said Cottrell.

'This has turned out for us to be a very wise move.

The ease of use and consistency of the machines in production has proven to be so important.

Also, whenever we need backup from NC Engineering it could not be a better support service.

It all means we now run the Citizens round-the-clock, six days a week, without any concerns whatsoever.

It is certainly helping maintain our credibility with important customers.' NC Engineering has its own software/system specialist Tom Purnell who, armed with a physics degree and MSc in Information Technology, works with NC's sales and applications team, customers in the UK, as well as Citizen specialists in Japan and the European headquarters in Germany.

As Geoff Bryant managing director of NC Engineering explained: 'UK customers have invested a lot in the Citizen product and if we can help to gain more return on the investment, it is to everyone's benefit.

There are plenty of companies that can provide specialist services - but they do not understand the background to problems and the way our customers think.

Other countries such as Japan, the US and even Germany, have totally different needs which is especially so at shopfloor level.' On-going development of the Alkartpro off-line programming system is currently underway between NC Engineering and Japan, where the UK agent is providing a technical consultancy to the Citizen development team.

This, according to Bryant, is an important credential for his company because it is enabling contributions based upon UK customers' experiences and needs, to be worked into the software.

At the heart of Alkartpro is its ability to automatically arrange the finished machining program in order to minimise the cycle time.

Should the programmer want to change to a different set of toolholders, for instance, or output the program for different Citizen models, Alkartpro instantly updates the process to compensate for the request.

With the ability of the 14-axis, 80 tool capacity M-Series Citizen lathes, in particular, to machine with three tools simultaneously, the software will automatically re-arrange the machining process and even determine the best use and optimise elements such as peck cycles when drilling.

And, prior to CNC code output, the system graphically presents the programmed sequences in a simple bar chart format, enabling the user to target the longest elements to see if further cycle improvement can be made.

NC Engineering's CNC program Editor, is a prime example of providing a shopfloor based solution with a simple visual representation using split screen editing that avoids the confusion and normal inconvenient process of having to scroll up and down a single screen list presentation.

According to Purnell, this is a major advantage when up to three tools are engaged on a part at any one time.

The user can read across the columns of program on a single screen and copy text between the multiple programs that are open.

Also, when using synchronised spindles, which require special codes, as these are set side by side, it is easy to check the various elements to confirm the synchronisation.

'In this respect conventional off-line programming layout is not 'operator friendly,' he maintained.

Central to NC Engineering's CNC Editor is the incorporation of a low cost DNC for program transfer with built-in communications templates for Citizen machines.

It can also be used on other types or makes of machine tool if the communication settings are available.

Also included is a queuing code and co-ordinate system setting (G-5O) validation, which significantly relieves the tedium and de-bugging time on the machine.

The editor will also support wireless LAN drag and drop program transfer.

When it comes to on-line customer support, by using a modem or the Internet, any Citizen Windows-based machine that is installed can be operated or controlled remotely through every operational or functional cycle by NC Engineering staff with the exception of 'cycle start'.

With customer agreement, programs can be transferred and process parameters changed, which can often save an on-site visit.

According to Bryant, most of the latest machines now have this capability and through Broadband Internet, is very rapid to execute.

This enables the normal high levels of productivity and machine utilisation to be maintained in the event of problems.

For new users in particular, this is a bonus which quickly builds a high level of confidence by hand-holding allowing programs to be communicated between Watford and the customer for advice and problem solving.

So far NC Engineering has either been totally responsible for or has been a major contributor to a wide range of additional high tech services such as Alkartpro as well as a low-cost CNC Program Editor.

The latest 7-axis fixed-head Boley BE42-Y CNC lathe with Y-axis cross-feed to one of its two 12-station all-driven turrets enables complex three-axis interpolation.
The latest 7-axis fixed-head Boley BE42-Y CNC lathewith Y-axis cross-feed to one of its two 12-station all-driven turrets enables complex three-axis interpolation, off-centre cross-drilling, milling and slitting with standard tool holders and fast and precise setting of tooling centre height for machining components up to 42mm diameter to high orders of geometric and size tolerance in a single hit cycle. The Citizen Boley BE 42-Y to be exhibited in the latest two-tone silver livery on the NC Engineering Stand 5262 at MACH 2006 has the added capability to perform cycles such as eccentric cross-milling and machining requiring three-axis helical interpolation on components out of a maximum bar size of up to 42mm bar or on chucking applications up to 140mm diameter, and to further its machining capability and reduce cycle times up to three tools can be engaged with the component in the main and subspindle machining positions. Able to transfer parts between its main and sub spindles, which have full C-axis capability for mill/turn sequences, the two identical 12-station turrets with one second indexing and a 1kW, 4,500 rev/min drive to each tool position are able to carry up to 48 tools.

This is achieved because both turrets have additional index positions set between each station which means up to 24 tools can be set on each turret.

When this tool carrying capability is combined with the addition of the +/-40mm Y-axis cross-feed to the top turret, the versatility of the machine increases further due to the freedom of turret axis movements to both main and secondary spindles.

The spindle is a high precision unit able to create enhanced ceramic surface finishes due to the employment of bearing technology with liquid cooling.

The spindle is powered by an 11kW, AC built-in motor giving between 80 and 8,000 rev/min.

The collet is hydraulically operated for bar machining and to create a higher gripping force when using the optional 140mm capacity chuck.

The sub spindle is powered by a 3.7kW 6,000 rev/min drive.

In its chucking lathe guise, the Boley BE42-Y has the facility to carry a collet in the sub spindle and is able to pick-up the component from the main spindle by locating from a previously turned diameter.

It is then transferred at a traverse rate of 24m/min ready to position for second operational machining.

In addition, the sub spindle also incorporates an 110mm X-2 cross-feed axis to enable component features that are dimensioned from the centre line to be accurately machined.

The Boley BE42-Y has a 30deg slant bed and adopts many of the proven features of the existing Boley fixed spindle and citizen cnc sliding head range including a common CNC control system with high speed processing capability, and handwheel control for easy program prove out.

The machine is compact with a floor area of 2350mm by 1560mm.

Options available include chute-type workpiece outfeed or conveyor, a back-spindle thread chasing device, automatic part-off, tooling monitoring and breakage detection and an automatic component loading system for chucking work.

Latest linear motor technology is being used to remove any likelihood of deflection and backlash and to optimise slideway structure of the most recent CNC sliding head turn/mill centre.
The latest linear motor technology is being utilised by Citizen to remove any likelihood of deflection and backlash from the power transmission system and to optimise the structure of the slideway on the latest R07 Type VI CNC sliding head turn/mill centre. With this design, which is exhibited under power on the NC Engineering Stand 5262 at MACH 2006, Citizen has been able to create a very compact machine and capitalise on combining super precision with high speed 'one-hit' machining cycles on components up to 7mm diameter by 40mm long. The RO Series, which features the RO4 and RO7, has proven to be an outstanding success in Switzerland and particularly in the watch making sector due to its compact dimensions that enable an easy substitution to traditional cam auto machines.

Productivity being found to be higher with the added bonus of consistency of production and the flexibility of CNC to enable development of the turn/mill process to further reduce cycle times.

With six-axes, a main and subspindle and up to 13 tools available, of which three are driven, two tools can be brought into action simultaneously, which means the new Citizen R07 is reckoned to be significantly faster than a traditional cam auto when machining small parts in single cycles.

It has the advantage of a very compact footprint of 560mm by 1265mm when installed on the shopfloor, has no hydraulics or pneumatics and is totally electric and electronic in operation.

The 16,000 rev/min, 1.1kW built-in main spindle has precision ceramic bearings for optimised machining of small diameter parts and a 0.5kW secondary spindle with an 8,000 rev/min capability.

It has two independent toolposts able to hold 13 tools, of which three are driven by 0.2kW, 8,000 rev/min spindles.

An important development with the R07, that significantly increases machine utilisation, is the ability to open and close the collet at normal machining revolutions without adding to the cycle time by slowing the spindle.

Accuracy is high with increments of 0.0001mm in each axis and repeatability of one micron is possible.

By combining linear drive technology to both tool posts, high productivity is guaranteed with rapid acceleration to maximum traverse rates of 20m/min.

The maximum machining length is 40mm and with the two slide arrangement, five turning tools can be mounted on the gang tool post with two cross-driven tool positions.

In addition, three end working tools can be applied to each of the main and sub spindles to optimised orders of positioning accuracy through the use of glass scale encoders.

The main spindle has 1 deg indexing and both spindles have rotational synchronisation for part transfer.

There are a number of canned cycles for polygon turning, thread cutting, drilling and rigid tapping and constant surface speed is standard to minimise cycle time and maximise surface finish.

Sliding-headstock mill/turn autoamtic lathe is so fast, it can OD-turn, drill the front end, part off and drill the back end of a component in 5s, a job that took 10s a few years ago.
For mill-turning components up to 10mm diameter, Star has introduced a new, sliding-headstock lathe that is so fast, it can OD-turn, drill the front end, part off and drill the back end of a component in five seconds. Even a few years ago, it would have been almost impossible to achieve such a process in less than 10s. Designated SR-10J, the competitively priced, compact bar auto will make its UK debut at MACH 2006.

It is a highly productive mill-turning centre that rivals the output of a cam auto, but with the added flexibility of CNC to allow rapid changeover to produce a different component.

Said Star Micronics GB's engineering manager, Stephen Totty, 'If you are making sub 10 mm parts, it is preferable to use a small capacity machine, because the moving elements are smaller and faster than on a 16mm capacity lathe or larger'.

'Our new machine is ideal for smaller work, as it has 35m/min rapids with extremely fast acceleration, and front-working tools positioned very close to the bar on three sides in a yoke formation.' The 2-axis sub spindle is capable of working in conjunction with a four-station endworking unit, independently of, and simultaneously with, main spindle operations.

There is a total of 21 tool positions in the working area including three live cross-working tools, four tools for front endworking and a further four for rear endworking.

Commented managing director, Bob Hunt, 'One of our customers observed recently that we are living in a world where things are getting smaller - he was referring in particular to electronic goods such as mobile telephones, but there are other good examples in the medical and automotive sectors.' He said: 'We therefore believe the new SR-10J will be particularly popular and look forward to demonstrating its capabilities at MACH this year.

The machine will be fitted with a new bar magazine from FMB, called MicroMag.' Established sliding-headstock model, Star SR-20RII, will be comprehensively equipped as a cell with FMB Turbo 3-26 bar magazine, 2,000 lb/in2 high-pressure coolant supply, mist extraction and a full suite of swarf extraction equipment.

Demonstrations will include gun drilling, roller burnishing and polar programming for fast, accurate milling.

The ECAS-32T twin-turret, 11-axis, sliding-head auto will also have high-pressure coolant and, as part of the demonstration cycle, will show angle drilling and accurate thread rolling.

The latter is assisted in particular by the machine's rigid build and six tonnes installed weight - nearly twice that of its main rival.

The heavier construction of Star mill-turning centres compared with competitors' lathes will be a major theme throughout the exhibition.

The fourth Star sliding-head lathe on the company's stand will be an SV-32 featuring gear hobbing and extensive driven tool capabilities.

It will be fitted with a JBS guide bush that is able to compensate continuously for variations in the diameter of each bar as it is fed through the guide bush, leading to higher accuracy machining.

This contrasts with other systems on the market which, although adjustable, cannot self-compensate to suit the varying bar diameter, as the bush is fixed once it has been set.

To be exhibited on the Floyd Automatic Tooling stand - 5251 - will be entry-level model, Star SB-16C, fitted with a new, eight-station platen capable of accepting Applitec tool holders and high pressure coolant.

The sixth Star sliding-head machine at the show will be found on stand 5290 - that of WNT UK - which will demonstrate its tooling products performing polar milling, face drilling and tapping on an SR-32J.

High pressure cooling system on a CNC sliding head automatic lathe provides high levels of security of process to cover the wide range of materials such as nickel alloys, brass and titanium.
Over 95% of the small precision machining capacity between 4mm and 32mm diameter at GBP 1 million turnover Riverside Precision Engineering (RPE) is generated by single operation 'one-hit' cycles. Located in Blackburn, in the heart of aerospace subcontracting country, RPE's order book is dominated by medical, marine equipment, hydraulics, furniture and brewing customers. Most of the up to 32mm diameter components supplied to the 50 or so long-standing customers are produced by double shifting three citizen cnc sliding head autos, an L20-Vll bought in 2001 and the latest M32-lll and L32-Vll machines installed in November 2004 and January 2005 by NC Engineering of Watford, UK.

And, as is becoming more common with leading contractors using advanced sliding head technology, RPE's joint managing directors Michael Ditchfield and Scott Whalley are increasingly involved with in-depth consultation with customers on design for production and application issues.

As a result of applying their advanced machining knowledge, RPE customers are able to achieve either higher performance or improved application of components or, enjoy more cost-effective pricing gained by applying the advantages of Citizen's fast developing machining technology and latest available tooling solutions.

RPE, which is now running at the forefront of small part turning by offering advanced production machining, started as a toolmaking business 15 years ago using manual machine tools.

A local furniture maker requested batches of 500 or so parts against a target price that set RPE on the path to progress by using automated capstan lathes.

Orders followed for diving equipment components, resulting in the first two CNC lathes installed and, eventually, a second-hand Citizen L16-lV sliding head auto was purchased as the only way to become more competitive and meet customers challenging cost down targets.

The Citizen L16 is well remembered by both directors who describe it as being very effective on small part machining cycles due to its twin turret configuration.

But according to Ditchfield, it could never come anywhere near the capability of the modern Citizen lathe.

In 2001 the company moved into its current 5,000ft2 premises and a new Citizen L20-Vll was quickly installed to satisfy a large contract that RPE describes as having to 'hit the ground running' to meet the delivery date.

Needless to say, it proved to be a highly successful venture.

Said Ditchfield: 'But at the time we could not even think about being trained on the L20 as we had two months of continuous production to get out the door so it was some time before we finally learnt how to get the best out of the machine.' Describing the business, Whalley maintained that forward planning is very difficult and they have become very accomplished at reacting quickly to customer demand.

That is why, he said, the latest Citizen M32 has 'all the bells and whistles'.

The machine was ordered with gantry off-load, Cool Blaster, the 2,000 lb/in2 programmable high pressure cooling system and NC Engineering's Alarm Alert which automatically calls for attention when unattended if the cycle is stopped for any reason such as batch completed, bar jam or tooling fault.

The NC Alarm Alert tends to be used when running unmanned and is connected to Whalley's mobile phone.

'It is really proved its worth over weekends when running against the clock to deliver critical components,' he maintained.

But it is the Cool Blaster that really provides a bonus and high levels of security of process to cover the wide range of materials such as nickel alloys, brass, titanium, 303 and 316 stainless steel, plastics, acetal and nylon the company often has to machine.

Said Ditchfield: 'Without Cool Blaster we could not effectively machine half the parts we have to produce and on one particular 'banjo' component, which has awkward internal grooves, swarf could be a big problem that would compromise the operation.

Cool Blaster solves all these problems.' batch sizes tend to vary between 100 and 20,000 and Citizen machine changeover times vary between two and six hours.

Because of the advantageous tooling capacity of the M32, RPE tends to leave common tools permanently set on the machine to speed changeovers.

Ditchfield maintained that the high speed cycle check on the latest control system of the Citizen is invaluable when programming at the machine, and takes any frustration out of proving cycles.

RPE also make use of the CNC Editor to edit programs and optimise cycles on a remote PC prior to setting a new job.

As the system totally replicates the control system it provides exactly the same visual appearance and program data which is retrieved and transmitted between machine and the PC by wireless link.

As Ditchfield outlined, they are currently considering adopting the Citizen Alkartpro off-line programming system from NC Engineering which would completely take program generation away from the machines.

The inclusion of the fully programmable gantry off-load on the latest M32 has proven to be more of a boon than originally thought, especially on components up to 180mm long.

Says Whalley: 'With the unload fingers able to grasp the component directly from the subspindle, rather than adding a delay to the cycle for the spindle to eject parts to the normal part collector, the unload cycle can be carried out while the turret and gang tooling slides are simultaneously working on the next component in the main spindle.

By getting hold of the parts, any possible chance of damage is taken away and with the added power of Cool Blaster, this ensures we have clean, swarf free parts ready for final cleaning and dispatch.