MTD Audiobook

In the July issue of the MTD magazine, we reported on the Ceratizit Group, the arrival of its ‘Team Cutting Tools’ brand and how group amalgamation, investment and a collaborative marketing strategy are driving the company’s ambitions to become the world’s third-largest cutting tool manufacturer. In this issue, we conclude the round-up of our trip and introduce some of the new technologies that will be promoted at this month’s EMO exhibition in Hanover.
Following visits to Ceratizit Group manufacturing sites in Stuttgart and Balzheim that were previously KOMET, Klenk & Gunther Wirth facilities, the touring group ventured to Kempten – the logistic centre that is the beating heart of the pan-European next day delivery service. The final stop on the tour was the Reutte factory. The Austrian facility can trace its roots back to 1921 as the birthplace of Metallwerk Plansee. With the production site approaching its centenary, it was quite apt that the site was where journalists would finish their trip with an introduction to new technologies that will certainly take centre stage at EMO this month.
The Ceratizit Reutte site is home to the company’s tungsten carbide insert and rod production and it is the starting point for all things tungsten carbide – manufacturing tens of thousands of indexable inserts a day. At any one time, the site holds up to 1200 tonnes of stock material on-site with over 4000 press tools available to press out the inserts.
The vast scale of the site nestled in the picturesque Austrian Alps can only be truly appreciated when quoting facts such as energy consumption comparable to Innsbruck, a nearby town with over 130,000 residents that would be familiar among ‘Ski Sunday’ viewers. Carbide processing is energy-intensive and the environmentally-conscious company is only one of the very few carbide manufacturers that uses water in its carbide mixing plant as opposed to the industry standard acetone. This may increase the cost and processing time in the mixing department, but environmental consciousness takes on an entirely new perspective when your workplace is nestled at the foot of the Alps in such beautiful surroundings.
The carbide drying process is conducted 24/7 in four silos, each with a throughput capacity of 250kg per hour. In line with the company's aggressive growth strategy, a new building has been erected with a newly installed silo offering additional capacity when required. Factoring in the long-term growth strategy, the additional carbide drying facility has the infrastructure in place for an additional two silos to be added. The tungsten carbide silos are where a host of base materials are added to the powder to offer differing characteristics to the inserts. Such is the industrial-scale precision, the additive materials are stored in smaller containers that are measured, mixed and delivered to the silos with an astounding precision of just 10 grams.
From the silos, through the mixing and drying process, the inserts are then pressed and sintered at temperatures up to 1450 degrees C for up to eight hours. An additional, eight hours of cooling is required prior to entering the coating plant. The Ceratizit plant offers up to 18 different coatings that incorporate both CVD and PVD coatings. With multi-layer technology available from Ceratizit, the options are extremely vast. Equally vast are the halls full of coating and treatment chambers, the banks of grinding and polishing machines and the rows of robotic inspection technology. Among the impressive production facility, the Ceratizit Group has still found space to expand.
FreeTurn Dynamic Turning System
The congregation of journalists on the press trip were also treated to technical presentations and demonstrations of the new High Dynamic Turning line among other innovations. The High Dynamic Turning system was initially introduced at the AMB exhibition in 2018 where it won the most innovative product award in the ‘Tools’ category. In essence, users only require one dynamic tool for all external turning operations. Utilising the milling spindle, the 360° rotation clearance angle allows the FreeTurn tool to be positioned at any angle to a workpiece, which has a positive effect on chip breakage and component quality, optimising production processes.
When the idea first came up, the High Dynamic Turning concept was initially restricted by an era where machine tools had limited capability, but as importantly the CNC control systems and CAM software vendors also had technology constraints that have now dissolved.
So, Ceratizit has revived the concept by working with machine tool and control system manufacturers and also the CAM vendors. This pursuit of finally bringing the concept to life by working with industry partners was recognised at the AMB 2018 exhibition when the Ceratizit Group were recognised for their development with a prestigious award. For 12 months, the Ceratizit Group has been strenuously evolving the process, working behind the scenes with machine tool, CNC and CAM vendors; and at the EMO exhibition this month; the company will be introducing the first fruits of its labour.
So, what is Ceratizit's FreeTurn High Dynamic Turning system and what do you need to benefit from the technology? To benefit from the Ceratizit Group's FreeTurn system, manufacturers require a turning centre with X, Y, Z, B and C-axis with a HSK or Capto milling spindle and cutting edge compensation in the Y-level. At the time of print, the system can be used with the Mazak Mazatrol, Siemens 840D and FANUC CNC control units. This criterion currently lends the process to many Hermle, DMG MORI, Grob, EMAG, Emco and Index multi-purpose machines. However, new announcements will be made at EMO 2019 as the cutting tool manufacturer continues to work closely with CNC control and CAM vendors.
Ceratizit claims that its FreeTurn technology will reduce tool changes by up to 100%, reduce tool positions in the turning centre by up to 90% and reduce non-cutting toolpaths by up to 90%. Furthermore, the system is claimed to increase feed rates by 40% and reduce the number of inserts required. This is possible by machining almost any OD contour with a single tool that utilises adjustable feed rates in-process from a variety of approach angles that can be changed during the cycle. The development is available with a selection of toolholder and insert geometries and designations that incorporate both a rough and finish machining geometry in a single insert for each different material type.
At the Ceratizit press event, the new FreeTurn system was demonstrated on an Emco turn-mill centre with a series of live demonstrations whilst finished components for bicycles were presented at the event. The Ceratizit Group has a long and established relationship with cycling. The Ceratizit cycling team, WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling, ride bikes manufactured by Orbea and the bike of current ladies world champion, Kirsten Wild, consists of precision parts manufactured with Ceratizit tools. Parts for the Orbea bike such as chain rings, cassettes, cranks and hubs are machined by EDR CNC, exclusively for ROTOR, a globally renowned manufacturer of high-end cycling components.
Demonstrating the benefits while machining an aluminium bicycle wheel hub with the FreeTurn system, the Emco turning centre in the Ceratizit demonstration area tore across the profile of the hub at pace. With a HSK-T63 tool and a Ceratizit F15 28P insert, the hub was rough machined at a surface speed of 1500revs/min with a 2mm depth of cut and a feed rate of 0.4mmper/rev. This was followed up by a finishing pass of 1mm DoC with a feed rate of 0.25mm per/rev. Compared to existing methods, the FreeTurn slashed cycle time by 27% from 2mins 10 seconds to 1 minute 35 seconds. The Ceratizit Group will be promoting the High Dynamic Turning system at EMO and in the run-up to MACH 2020 where MTD magazine will be reporting on this ‘dynamic’ new technology.

When investing in a CNC machine from a supplier such as DMG MORI, a worldwide leader of machine tools for turning and milling, you’re expecting it to produce high precision, high-value components. To enable it to do this requires high-quality solutions for tool management. “It's very important that if you've invested a large amount into a 5-axis machine, you need to get the tool to perform the best way possible,” says Philip Morris, the Haimer Group’s Regional Sales Manager.

In a cooperative partnership struck up in 2017 between DMG MORI and the tool holding manufacturer, Haimer, the latter acquired DMG MORI’s Microset pre-setting technology, which now operates under the name Haimer Microset. This acquisition complements Haimer’s existing portfolio of high-precision shrinking and balancing technology, enabling it to offer a full tool management solution from shrink fitting and balancing to presetting.

The first is the Power Clamp shrink-fit technology, which comes in a range of machines from a basic model with one shrink-fit station and no cooling to the high-end Premium Plus machine that is equipped with rotary table, integrated contact cooling and system cart. Key to these machines is the patented coil technology in conjunction with the intelligent power electronics.

“On this particular machine, we have a 13kW coil that will heat up the holder to around 350 degrees C in about four seconds. We can then change the tool over, pop it onto the cooling station and cool the holder down in about 30 seconds from 350 degrees C to 30 degrees C, so they're a safe handling temperature,” explains Morris.

However, with all this continued heating and contraction, will it reduce the life of the tool holder? Not at all, according to Morris, who claims that if a Haimer tool holder is used in conjunction with a Haimer machine, many thousands of cycles are possible. Overheating is not possible and the condition of the holder will repeat for many years.

“Quality steel with a yield point of around 550oC is used for the holder whilst the NG coil can reach a temperature of 330 to 350oC, which means we are not taking the material passed its point of elasticity,” he confirms.

The next stage in the tool management solution is the balancing of tool holders and Haimer offers a series of Tool Dynamic balancing machines. High-precision balancing provides for fewer vibrations, reducing wear of the spindle and tool, ultimately leading to a longer-lasting machine tool, and also offers a better surface finish.

“There are three ways to balance the tool. We can either add mass with carefully weighted screws that we add once we go through the cycle of balancing, the machine will then tell us where to put the correct weighted screw in order to bring about a correct balance. Another method that we can use on longer overhangs on tools is using balancing rings. These can withstand rpm of around about 50,000 revolutions per minute and, again, the machine will tell us where to do that. Lastly, we can also take mass away by drilling or milling within the holder,” says Morris.

Once the tool has been shrunk in and balanced, the last stage in the process is tool presetting, carried out by a range of Haimer Microset Tool Pre-setters depending on the customer’s needs, which correctly positions and gathers accurate measurements for the tool in order to put it into the CNC machine as quickly and as accurately as possible. As well as streamlining the user’s tool setting processes, Haimer Microset tool presetting equipment also stands out for its absolute ease of use, uncomplicated software (anybody can use it with very limited training) and stable base construction, which is made of cast iron, not aluminium.

“All of our bodies are made from cast iron, which means that you’ve got a better coefficient of linear expansion as opposed to using two different types of materials. This keeps it in a better condition with changing temperatures in the atmosphere, so we can always maintain and guarantee the highest accuracy levels possible,” says Morris.

Following the use of this collective tool management solution from Haimer, manufacturers will stand to benefit from quality tooling and superb component results. “Using these three items in conjunction with a quality machine like DMG MORI, you can maintain its accuracy of the tool going in, speed of the data going into the machine and also you’re going to protect the spindle and your expensive investment,” concludes Morris.

Purchasing its first 5-axis machining centre in 2016, a Hurco VMX42SRTi, Almond Engineering has now installed a second machine. The company prefers this style of 5-axis machine due to its versatility for tackling a wide variety of work. In 2018, the company also acquired a Hurco VMX30i with a 4th axis rotary table plus a larger 3-axis VMX60i.

The Overall spend at the Livingston site in 2018 exceeded £400,000 and more will be invested throughout 2019. Driving this investment was 25% growth in 2016/17, a further increase in turnover the following year and a predicted 19% rise in the current financial year. It is a pace that Managing director Chris Smith describes as ‘almost too fast’ in view of the perennial difficulty in hiring skilled staff.

Much of the growth has come from the medical sector in Scotland, such as the assembly of lines for producing contact lenses and the machining of parts for operating theatre equipment. Semiconductor firms across the central belt of Scotland are the other main sector serviced, while contracts are also received from the ever resilient aerospace and defence industries. Almond Engineering now operates eight Hurco machines.

As to the subcontractor's continued purchase of the Hurco brand, Mr Smith commented: "Ours is a prototype and small batch production environment, so efficient shop floor programming is important to us. We rely on it 90% of the time. Back in 2004, we had a number of manual mills and one vertical machining centre, but spent more time programming them than actually cutting metal.

"To take over from them, in 2004 we bought our first VMX42 with a one-metre X-axis. The Hurco control was clearly ahead at the time in terms of the speed and capability of its conversational programming. Additionally, the machines are cost effective to buy as well as being robust, reliable and accurate. We regularly hold ± 0.01mm when cutting virtually any material."

He pointed also to the user friendliness of Hurco machines, with staff able to move seamlessly between the twin-screen WinMAX controls powering the larger machining centres and the single-screen MAX controls on the smaller VM1 machining centre and TM8 lathe. The subcontractor's hyperMILL offline CAM system from OPEN MIND is used mostly for programming more complex 3+2 axis cycles to reduce set-ups and improve accuracy on the 5-axis machines.

Organic growth has resulted in the number of employees rising from 24 to 37, including three apprentices taken on recently. Much effort is put into training the existing workforce and cooperating with local schools to promote engineering and STEM subjects with an eye to future recruitment of employees.

In June 2019, Almond Engineering completed its first company takeover by acquiring the trade and assets of another Livingston company, Multex, which will see turnover increase by a further 16%. Established in 1991, the firm designs and manufactures test equipment for electronic circuit boards.

A further benefit is the additional CNC and manual machining facilities that are available at the Multex site, giving both businesses increased capacity, flexibility and factory floor space.

Always a 3-axis VMC user, Singer Instruments in Watchet installed its first 5-axis CNC machine at the start of 2019 to streamline production of aluminium components.

The German-built Spinner U5-630 machine with a 40-taper was supplied through sole UK agent Whitehouse Machine Tools, Kenilworth. It is equipped with high pressure coolant through the spindle and a separate clean tank, as well as spindle-mounted workpiece probing and a tool setting probe, the company on the north coast of Somerset have been delighted with the machine. Cycle time savings have been dramatic and there has been a considerable reduction in the number of set-ups needed across a raft of different parts. This is a result of using the two additional rotary CNC axes provided by the swivelling trunnion and rotary table to automatically reposition parts.

In one particular scenario, a table for Singer Instruments' ROTOR automated screening instrument used in the biological sciences sector is produced in three set-ups, whereas previously it required nine separate prismatic machining operations on a 3-axis VMC.

Parts previously requiring six operations are now produced in two. In one such example that was producing an integral part for the same genomic screening instrument, machining cycles totalling 45 minutes have been reduced to eight minutes.

In addition to higher production output, other benefits of fewer set-ups include less handling, lower fixturing costs, and enhanced accuracy through fewer clampings. Furthermore, with average batch size in the range 10- to 20-off, a lot of work in progress is eliminated.

Investment in 5-axis capacity was instigated by Steve Maconnachie, CNC Machinist at Singer Instruments. He previously ran his own subcontract machining business with his brother in the Midlands and had used 5-axis technology for many years. He was familiar with all the leading makes of machine, many of which were reviewed before deciding on the Spinner purchase.

He commented, "Some of our components are tightly toleranced to ± 5 microns, so we maintain the temperature of our production area to within a couple of degrees Celsius. It is true that many of the 5-axis machines we considered could hold this tolerance, as does the Spinner, whose price was also competitive. It was little more than half the cost of one of the other production centres we shortlisted."

He singled out for praise the service provided by Whitehouse, which included helping to remove the 54-pocket tool magazine and Z-axis motor so that the machine would pass through the door to the building. On the shop floor, the U5-630 has a compact footprint of a little over 2.7 x 2.4 metres, which is beneficial as space is limited in the factory.

Every component used in Singer Instruments' products is designed in-house using SolidWorks. Based on the models created, programming is carried out in FeatureCAM on a PC and data is transferred to the Spinner's Heidenhain TNC 620 control via the latter's TNCremo software. All the other machining centres on the shop floor also have Heidenhain controls similarly linked to the CAM system. Currently, all 5-axis cycles involve 3+2-axis cutting strategies, as components have historically been designed for production on 3-axis machining centres.

The Spinner machine is capable of fully interpolative 5-axis machining, so parts being designed for new electronic workstations and laboratory automation equipment, used worldwide for research into genetics, neuroscience, cancer, biofuel engineering and microbiology, will be designed more efficiently with the Spinner machine's enhanced capability in mind.

Founded in 1967 Alucast Ltd is a casting and machining company that operates out of a 50,000sq/ft facility in Wednesbury in the heart of the Black Country. In 2018, the company witnessed rapid growth with an additional £3m of business and to accommodate this, the West Midlands Company bought four new 5-axis Quasar machining centres from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

With 105 staff, Alucast specialises in aluminium castings and its main business is sand, gravity and pressure foundry castings as well as a low pressure facility and a machine shop. With a rapid influx of work, the company invested in four 5-axis machining centres from ETG to provide much needed capacity. Upon reviewing the marketplace, Alucast selected the Quasar MF500C, two MF630C machines and a MF830C high-speed machining centres.

Tony Sartorius says: “We had to install a new machining cell as we picked up a lot of new work and our customers are moving into ‘light-weighting’. What that means is that they need lightweight materials such as aluminium and we have been at the forefront of that work. Last year, we picked up £3m of new work, which meant we got 96 new product introductions. That means we needed the machining capacity to be able to do it. Whilst we had machines here, we needed to expand in that area and that is why we decided to go with Quasar machines from ETG to make sure that we had the capacity when the volumes came on-stream.”

Referring to the processes on the new Quasar machines, Mr Sartorius says: “The machining process is relatively normal with milling and drilling, but we are working with complex casted shapes now. The shapes being made now are replacing complex welded assemblies from heavier materials that were once commonplace. The shapes we make in castings are far more complex than they used to be; and that means we need to use 5-axis machining technology. What that enables us to do, is complete the machining operation at relatively low cost in maybe 2-hits with faster throughput.”

As a company that works with castings that often have thin walled areas, MTD magazine asked if chatter and stability is an issue on the new Quasar machines. Mr Sartorius states confidently: “The Quasar machines handle this very well, but our engineers are working closely with the ETG engineers, so when they design a process for machining, the machine itself ensures the castings are held correctly and the speeds and feeds are optimised to ensure we get the maximum productivity when making parts whilst addressing the issues of chatter and vibration.”

As a company that has a number of machine tools on-site from various vendors, MTD magazine asked why the change to Quasar machines from ETG. Mr Sartorius says: “We felt the need to move into 5-axis machining and the 5-axis Quasar machines from ETG gave us the value for money that we wanted with the facilities needed as well as a route to expand.”

Referring to the company growth, Mr Sartorius continues: “We picked up £3m of business and that means we have to have the facilities for that growth. In terms of payback, we are looking for a good return from our machines, but we are in the early stages at the moment. We feel the new machines will give us less downtime than older existing machines that has breakdowns that cause us problems. So, the serviceability and long-term life of the machines is important to us and the reliability has so far been very good.”

Mentioning the journey into 5-axis machining, Mr Sartorius concludes: “There was no doubt a learning process for everybody involved, but generally the feedback from the guys is that the machines are good to use, easy to use and the operators find them straightforward. Additionally, the team at ETG have been very helpful and supportive at every step of the journey.”

To state that BCW Engineering has grown since it was set up in 2002 is somewhat of an understatement. Starting out in a small lock-up in Burnley, Lancashire, BCW Engineering is now known as BCW Manufacturing Group with an impressive manufacturing facility which is spread over 200,000 sq/ft. As a subcontract supplier to the automotive and aerospace industry, the company has over the years invested heavily in new facilities and plant machinery to support the production of its diverse range of component and material types now offering their services within different sectors such as commercial vehicles, mining, power generation and more.

Amongst its raft of machine tools are four MX-850 5-axis CNC machines from Matsuura. As the largest in the MX Series so far, these machines feature a maximum workpiece area of 850mm in width and 450mm in height and can accommodate billets of up to 500kg.

Looking inside one of these MX-850 machines at BCW, you may notice that there is no ordinary fixture clamping the workpiece in place. This particular bespoke fixture, instead of being machined in the tool room or supplied by a workholding specialist, it has been additively manufactured using the HP4200 Multi Jet Fusion 3D printer, also supplied by Matsuura.

With its ability to quickly produce functional prototyping and short-run production parts, HP’s 3D printer offers a decidedly speedy alternative for producing fixtures. “From design release, it takes 24 hours for us to have a fixture with a prototype or production part on the machine ready to cut,” says BCW Engineering Support, Tony Kilfoyle. “Compare this to the traditional route, which could take up to two weeks with having to first design the fixture, order the material and then machine it in the tool room.”

One of the main differences producing fixtures in this way is that on the HP machine the fixtures are produced from plastic as opposed to metal. This is actually an advantage according to Kilfoyle, who says: “Our tests have proven that plastic is sometimes better than mechanical metallic fixtures because it absorbs the forces of the cutter.”

Another advantage is that 3D printing enables BCW to essentially re-engineer the fixture to be the best it possibly can be. This often involves making it look very different from conventional fixtures and, in fact, in many instances, it’s impossible to machine.

“For instance, we can put structural strength into it, which you wouldn’t be able to do with a normal part. We can build webs in and this stops swarf accumulation, which means that we don’t need to place swarf traps on the 5-axis machine. We can also build in capillary holes to support wash or air pressure. It’s really unimaginable what you can do with 3D printed plastic,” describes Kilfoyle.

However, plastic isn’t particularly weighty and the tables on the MX-850 5-axis can accommodate very large components that weigh a great deal. In such circumstances where a really large fixture is required, BCW will produce what it calls a hybrid fixture, which essentially entails building metallics into the fixture in order to strengthen it. “For instance, we’d build a bush in the fixture, pulled from the back, or we’d put counter balls in where we would insert metallic items,” explains Kilfoyle.

Whilst hybrid fixtures offer increased robustness to equal that of metallic fixtures, what about the longevity of plastic fixtures? This isn’t an issue either, according to Kilfoyle, because although BCW hasn’t yet put any fixtures into full-time production, as it’s currently being used for small to medium batches. This is down to how the fixtures, and in particular the threads, are engineered. ”It really all depends on what diameter the threads are. Anything from M8 to M22 is not really a problem, the smaller threads can be a problem and that is when we’ll put inserts in,” he says.

Obviously, the biggest advantage of producing fixtures additively is time savings. Being able to produce a fixture in 24 hours not only saves time in the production of parts, but it also gives BCW an advantage when it comes to quoting for a new order. “We can print a fixture and we can actually dry cycle parts and cut it to get a true cycle time, which means that when we quote we are competitive,” comments Kilfoyle.

Having decided to go down this route of producing fixtures on a 3D printer has been a real eye-opener for BCW, not least of all because it has made the company rethink how it would normally manufacture parts. “It’s really enabled us to change how we go about designing fixtures. We can work with design concepts and then easily and quickly try them out before we go into a full-blown fixture. It’s really very exciting,” concludes Kilfoyle.

How times change? Ten years ago it was a struggle to speak to people wanting repeatable accuracy better than 10 microns. Nowadays, low figure micron and sub-micron tolerances appear to be the norm for tolerancing workpieces. Another major change is the physical sizes of features that are now required on workpieces. This does not mean that the workpieces are very small but features such as a wall thickness has a tight tolerance, drilled holes have a smaller diameter, threads are getting smaller and materials are either getting softer or much harder. What is industry doing today? As a micro-machining person, Arthur Turner takes a closer look at what is achievable.
Forty years ago, I worked at an aircraft manufacturing company and was tasked with drilling holes at 0.010” inch (0.25 mm) diameter in cobalt chrome - a monumental task given my knowledge and the machines and tool coatings of the era. Today, I have no concerns over providing tools more than ten times smaller to customers. Armed with the right information, holes can be successfully drilled. One customer recently ordered 0.010, 0.015 and 0.020mm (0.0004, 0.0006 and 0.0008 inch) diameter drills, which I know he will have used correctly.
A key factor in micro-machining is having tool concentricity correct. On a machining centre, tool run-out is easily controlled, either by buying a machining centre with nearly zero spindle run-out or using a tool holder where the tool can be independently controlled away from the shank. These holders are readily available from stock from numerous suppliers.
A second key factor is getting feeds and speeds correct. Micro machining requires a different set of rules, especially when drilling. An important fact is not to run the spindle too quickly, as the tool needs a chance to cut - and you don’t want to create too much friction at the web which is in constant contact with the workpiece, unlike an end mill where a tooth will be in continuous ‘short-term’ contact.
When discussing tooling as small as 0.010mm diameter, customers are very surprised that these tools can actually be manufactured. Yet there are numerous manufacturers that can produce drills and end mills at these dimensions that can give machining depths up to 6xD and 10xD. Similar size end mills generally have shorter cutting lengths.
This is testament to the really well produced tool grinding machines that pay remarkable attention to workholding, wheel measurement and positioning. They are well assisted by the oil coolant suppliers and importantly the raw carbide suppliers who are developing systems to provide carbide grains small enough to be bonded together, yet still be machined to micron tolerances. These tool manufacturers can also offer CBN, diamond, PCD and HSS products.
Drilling into the challenges of micro-drilling
When customers drill they are taking some of the uncertainty out of machining because like a piece of chalk, the strength is in its longitudinal axis and not across its width. Therefore using small diameter drills creates fewer issues than small end mills. Parameters are influenced by the material, the forms to be cut, surface finish and the type of tool. This results in the tool needing to be very resilient to wear. Consideration also needs to be given to whether coolant is required and if so, is it water based, oil mist or pure oil? I cannot easily supply an answer, as each job is a different challenge and due consideration has to be applied to each individual question asked. One manufacturer had a long machining cycle but improved the quality of the job by 75%, just by changing from a water based coolant to oil mist (MQL).
When the end mill diameter is small, the geometry options are reduced. In macro tooling, ball nose, corner radius and square end mills are the norm, but as we get to micro, the ability to grind a corner or ball nose forms becomes more difficult.
With polymer machining, carbide end mills generally only have a single flute when going below 0.1mm diameter, the tool cutting edges will vary in length with 2xD, 4xD and 6xD readily available. If you want a CBN tool, they are generally only supplied in 1xD length, reducing form depths - again it must be stressed that tool concentricity is critical.
A common thread in micro-machining
For threads, our watchmaking friends show how small parts really should be made; not only with the turned screws but also with threaded holes in plates. A good example is an S0.30 thread whirling tool with an OD of just 0.21mm. This tool only has one tooth but if more teeth are required why not try a multi-fluted S0.8 thread tool with an outside diameter of just 0.6mm.
Having discussed threading, how about putting threads in sintered tungsten carbide? I can hear people saying ‘not possible’, but it is. And with all machining, if you have spindle concentricity, the correct feed and speed - it’s easily achievable. Threads from M2 to M8 can be machined with depths from 4 to 24mm. Firstly, a hole in tungsten carbide is required - again I can hear people thinking about EDM, but no, let’s just drill a hole. Drills are available from 0.4mm diameter and require 20,000rpm, but once the diameter increases to 0.5mm, the spindle speed drops rapidly to 15,000rpm, so it is in the range of most high-quality machining centres.
Additionally, surfaces of tungsten carbide can be milled and tooling is available from 0.2mm to 6.0mm diameter in either ball nose or corner radius tool design that is capable of surface finishes as good as Ra0.010µm.
Answering the questions around achieving micron precision
Machining small features on a workpiece invariably raises the question of accuracy, is it positioned where the feature is required and within the agreed tolerance? Is the measuring machine accurate enough to measure to the required dimensions? Is the machining centre toleranced to position the feature within the target area? There are many machines being offered that refer to a national standard that may have been set a number of years ago.
Does that standard include an allowance for reversal error? What is the tolerance for circular interpolation in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions? There are lots more questions that can be asked but suffice to say there are manufacturers specifying the accuracy of the machine by what it will produce on your workpiece, which is the information that you really need to know.
With all customers, I ask the question “is the tool running true?” and this phrase can be read a number of times in the previous paragraphs, but its importance cannot be stressed enough. Spindle speeds and feeds can be varied for a tool on different machines, but tool concentricity is what ensures the workpiece is correct.
Each element of small feature or tight tolerance machining will raise questions as to how all the elements fit together. There are now more companies thinking they can achieve their goal, but not achieving it. This is because they haven’t addressed issues mentioned here. Surface finish, size and tolerances are all achievable, we just need to tackle the problems correctly - and not just assume that particular parameters are acceptable.

The Valkyrie is set to go down in history as an automotive icon. As Aston Martin’s first ever hypercar, it has been much talked about in the press but rarely seen other than at a few select car shows. But in July 2019 it made its first outing at a race track during qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Despite being lauded as the world’s fastest street-legal car, Aston Martin was clear that this wasn’t an opportunity to exhibit what the car is made of around the track, but rather to showcase the machine to the public.

Although it wasn’t put through its paces on the day, there is no doubt of the Valkyrie’s performance. As a collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, this two-seater hypercar has impressive specs for a car that is intended for use on the roads. At the heart of its powertrain is a Cosworth-built 6.5 litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine that produces 1000bhp at 10,500rpm, before continuing on to a maximum 11,100rpm.

“The idea is that you can jump in and drive to Tesco to buy a pint of milk and then the next day drive it to Monaco. You don't have to go through a startup procedure, just get in, press a button and you’re off,” describes Bruce Wood, Managing Director Powertrain at Cosworth, a Northampton-based Tier 1 supplier specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines.

It’s been five years since Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer and famed F1 designer, first sketched his idea for the Valkyrie. The vision was to build a hypercar that would deliver the best in technological advancement and high performance. With design development happening behind closed doors, a full-scale model was revealed in 2016 with the announcement that only 150 production cars and 25 track variants would be made. This production run has long since sold out with owners parting with £2.4 million to possess one.

Cosworth came onboard with the project in 2015 and was given the extraordinary brief of creating the ultimate expression of the internal combustion engine. “This project feels like the culmination of everything Cosworth has learned over 60 years, both in terms of engineering design development and production,” says Wood.

“Last year we celebrated our 60th anniversary and I’m amazed that I’ve been here for 32 years of that. I came as an engineering graduate and have just never found a tunnel out,” he laughs.

Although said in jest, he admits that it’s the engineering that has kept him and many of his colleagues at the company. Indeed, the founders Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth (the Cos and Worth respectively) were themselves engineers who started the company in 1958 to change the boundaries of what could be achieved through engineering by ‘messing about with race engines.’

Initially operating out of a garage in North London, Cosworth moved to its Northampton headquarters in 1964. Originally making a name for itself in motor racing, the company has since diversified into production road car manufacturing as well as other areas, including drones and marine (see box piece).

Over the years it has also grown from offering a purely design and development service to being able to manufacture many of its own parts in-house in what is known as ‘Factory 3’. However, increasingly approached by clients expressing an interest in small-scale manufacture, Cosworth responded by opening its Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) in 2015. With a £22 million investment, this 38,000sq/ft facility has enabled the company to extend its service to offering production of niche volume high value engine components such as cylinder heads and engine blocks.

As a flexible manufacturing facility, the AMC provides machining, assembly and surface coating capabilities. It consists of a series of 11 Matsuura CNC machining centres, including the Matsuura H.Plus-630 4 axis and Matsuura MAM72-100H 5 axis. A Fastems FMS (flexible manufacturing system) schedules and delivers the workload to the machines and the Fastems CTS (central tool store), which holds hundreds of tools, delivers them to the correct machine - as and when they are required. Currently, the facility manufactures engine parts for McLaren, Honda NSX and, of course, the Valkyrie.

With all of its experience honed from six decades of automotive engineering along with the production capability all under one roof, Cosworth was in the best position to deliver on the Valkyrie brief, which Wood realised from the start was going to be a very complex and challenging project. He recalls when Newey came to personally deliver the brief that the specification was going to be very demanding.

For instance, Newey was adamant that the target weight for the engine would be around 200kg, which is not a lot considering the level of technology in the combustion system and the fact that it would be a fully-stressed element of the chassis. “We managed to design an engine that weighs just 206kg, and the weight really drove a lot of the complexity of the analysis. The cam covers, for example, would have been much easier to make if they were 5kg heavier. So driving the weight out yet having the stiffness to take all of the loads was very difficult,” admits Wood.

Another complex aspect to the brief was that the V12 had to not only be a naturally aspirated engine as opposed to turbocharged but also had to comply with Euro 6 emission standards. “The challenge with making a 6.5 litre 1000bhp engine that hits all targets for emissions compliance is that these two things are, if not mutually exclusive, then certainly drive you in different directions because for power you need a lot of air flow and for emissions you need a lot of turbulence to your airflow,” explains Wood.

With brief in hand, Cosworth firstly undertook a six week study in which the engineering team used combustion simulation techniques to establish the nucleus of what was to be the combustion system. This really gave Cosworth the confidence that they would be able to deliver on this brief.

From there they set about creating a quarter scale model of the engine that replicated the combustion system. This three cylinder mule engine was built within five months. “There’s really no substitute for getting into hardware as soon as possible because once you've got an engine you can put it on the dyno for testing. If we had to make a full-scale engine it would have been 12 months before we had anything on the dyno. We didn't want to wait that long before we discovered whether we were right about our combustion simulation,” explains Wood.

On the dyno, the three cylinder mule was subjected to durability testing, the same used for production engines. A typical 200 hour intensive endurance cycle on the dyno equates to 100,000km of road use. Within a couple of weeks of running the three cylinder mule on the dyno, the results correlated with that of the simulation. However, even if it hadn’t correlated, by creating a scale replica there is an opportunity to fix problems in less time and with less cost.

Throughout the engine development process, the Cosworth engineering team were working closely with other technical partners including those involved in the development of the electric element of the hybrid system, namely Integral Powertrain, which supplied the bespoke electric motor, and Rimac, which supplied the lightweight hybrid battery system. “The hybrid motor is integrated with the gearbox and serves several purposes, one of which is to provide a performance boost when you start the car because emissions are pretty much all in those first 30 seconds,” describes Wood.

Of course, a key consideration throughout the development process was creating components that are as light weight as possible. The vast majority of these components are machined in-house either in Factory 3 or within the AMC. One of the newer technologies in the AMC is a plasma ion bore coating process. Used in the cylinder block, it not only helps to reduce weight but also to reduce friction and improve the heat dissipation from the cylinder. During this process, a coating of iron, which is about 200 microns thick, is sprayed onto the surface of the aluminium cylinder bore. Once polished, the result is an incredibly thin yet hard surface finish.

With the crankshaft being the single biggest steel component in the engine, and so making up the biggest proportion of the overall weight, it was a key component in the design. The machining process for each crankshaft takes seven months in total. From a solid steel bar 170mm diameter and 775mm long, it is first roughed out, then heat treated, finish machined, heat treated again, gear ground, final ground and super finished.

“The crank is machined completely from billet and 80% of that is turned into swarf. It goes through various different operations that takes time but importantly helps remove weight from the part. For instance, it would have been much easier if the gears were just bolted on but doing that adds weight, which became apparent very early on in the process and we realised that wasn’t going to be an option,” admits Wood.

The result is a crankshaft that Cosworth claims is 50% lighter than that used in the Aston Martin One-77’s V12. “We’ve made a significant amount of cranks already, we’re up to about 55. We’ve literally got cranks coming out of our ears,” he laughs.

Once all the components are machined, they are ready to be assembled. Cosworth has set aside an area in its facility for the Valkyrie production line. Two engines will be assembled a week and with 150 production cars and 25 track cars that equates to about two years of consistent manufacturing. According to Wood, the first production engine will leave Cosworth in October where it will be delivered to Aston Martin’s facility to be integrated into the first production Valkyrie.

The first Valkyrie is meant to be delivered to its first owner and effectively on the road by the end of this year although an exact date is yet to be confirmed by Aston Martin. “It’s no secret that the whole programme is a bit behind schedule but it’s not a surprise because the Valkyrie is an immensely complicated thing that they’re undertaking and will be quite magnificent when it gets on the road. There are very few truly iconic cars in the world and the Valkyrie will be one of them. I’m looking forward to the first shakedown,” smiles Wood.

Cosworth powertrain business: past and future

In September 1958, the name Cosworth was born, fusing together the surnames of company founders Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth. Initially focused on motorsport engine manufacture, the company quickly made a name for itself.

One of its most notable engine development projects was the DFV, which was released in 1967. Originally built for Lotus, it went on to power a record 155 wins, 12 driver champions and 10 constructors’ titles in Formula One over the next 20 years.

Designing engines for both Formula One and rally cars over the next two decades, Cosworth cemented its status as one of motor racing’s most successful engine manufacturers.

From the rigours of motorsport, the company’s powertrain offering has evolved over time. From working with clients in the world of racing, it has extended its reach outside of the motorsport sphere and today is increasingly involved in engine development projects for production road cars. For instance, Cosworth is working with Taiwanese car manufacturer Haitec to develop advanced gasoline engine technologies with high fuel efficiency and emissions control.

“We are no longer reliant on motorsport for our powertrain revenue,” says Bruce Wood, Managing Director Powertrain. “It will always be in our DNA, and something we would want to be involved in, but the role we are playing in the wider automotive space is what is driving the business.”

But it's not just automotive clients, Cosworth has diversified into other areas too including engines designed for surveillance drones and marine applications. As Wood explains, these are increasingly bringing in more revenue to the company.

However, with its pedigree in engine development for automotive applications, it’s no surprise that manufacturers like Aston Martin approach the company. The next project it will be involved in is the development of a naturally-aspirated, all-new V12 3.9-litre engine for Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50 supercar, which is set to go into production in early 2022.

“We are tremendously excited to be part of the T.50 supercar project and to have the opportunity to work alongside Gordon Murray Automotive. It is a real privilege to play such a key role in the T.50 with an all-new V12 3.9-litre engine, designed, developed, manufactured and assembled by our industry-leading powertrain division,” says Wood.

Mainstream UK automotive is in the doldrums, posting historically low numbers for production, exports and investment. Output in the first six months of 2019 fell by 20 per cent and new investment in auto slumped to just £90 million for the first six months – average annual investment in the past seven years has been £2.7bn, according to the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The reasons go beyond Brexit – although preparing for a No Deal Brexit is a major factor – and they include a slowdown in global car production, the UK government’s decision, with France, to make all new cars zero-emission from 2040, the China-US trade/ tariff negotiation and other factors. The effect of these market forces on the automotive segments the UK is best known for – sports cars, motorsport and luxury cars – is not clear, but any road-legal car will come under the diesel ban by 2040. Long term, the look of UK automotive will change radically.

Growth will, however, come from new vehicles with an electric, hybrid electric or hydrogen powertrain, a group known as “low carbon vehicles”. This segment is busy, full of both mature players and start-ups, established and new technologies and university and Catapult research centre funding. In the last 12-18 months alone, the construction of five new, large battery manufacturing and research facilities have been announced or completed.

A good example is Arrival, a new company that makes an all-electric van and develops the software for managing the powertrain, which has contracts to supply vans to the Royal Mail and courier company UPS.

Building a new supply chain
As well as the motors, batteries, inverters, transmissions and battery chargers these vehicles need, there are – and will be more – subcontractor opportunities in fabricating frames and housings, chassis’, steering columns, drives and axles, brakes, and electro-mechanical suspensions, let alone the lights, seats, dashboards and interiors for these vehicles. The charging infrastructure will require manufacturing, planning and servicing. This will involve vehicle manufacturers, charge point manufacturers and suppliers, network operators, energy retailers and distributors, local authorities, fleet operators, fuel retailers and highway authorities.
The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) in Milton Keynes was established to accelerate low carbon vehicle technology, those without internal combustion engines (ICE). It says UK electric automotive has a bright future, leveraging on the strengths of its ICE industry and the many nice vehicle companies. “The UK is well-positioned to be at the forefront of the development and production of low carbon vehicle technology,” said an APC spokesman, who points out that Britain has a strong supply chain to support its IC vehicle industry with around 2,500 suppliers feeding into eight major premium and sports car manufacturers, nine bus and coach manufacturers, engine manufactures and over 60 specialist niche vehicle manufacturers.

In battery development and manufacture, the UK has a sound lead. Nissan has produced the successful LEAF and batteries for the LEAF in Sunderland since 2012, until selling the battery-making subsidiary to GSR Capital in 2017. Jaguar Land Rover is building a new Battery Assembly Centre at Hams Hall in Warwickshire. Set to produce 150,000 batteries a year, it is expected be the UK's most technologically advanced facility of its kind when it becomes operational next year.

Hyperdrive Innovation became the UK’s largest battery manufacturing facility when it took on more space in Newcastle in July. HyperBat, a joint-venture between Unipart and Williams Advanced Engineering and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre are two more examples (see box). UK transmissions specialist Xtrac is leading on the electrification of motorsport, developing innovative transmission technology.

Batteries charge up the chemicals sector

Batteries need chemicals. Lithium-ion has been the default technology for rechargeable batteries, but alternatives are being researched. The University of Birmingham is developing a way to replace the lithium with high capacity sodium-ion. “As we see electrification adopted, the UK is in a strong position to compete with a healthy chemicals supply chain and we already have some of the world’s largest companies providing chemicals to the Asian battery market, for example,” said the APC spokesman. “In Mitsubishi Chemical, the UK has one of the largest electrolyte manufacturers in Europe with the capacity to manufacture over half of the electrolyte material currently need for EU automotive li-ion batteries.” In addition Vale, the largest miner of nickel in the world, has a UK refinery able to supple 40kt of battery-grade nickel and Phillips 66 – the largest supplier of needle coke (used to make anodes) outside of China – is manufacturing in the UK.”

Six months after the government-backed £20m Made Smarter North West pilot was launched, details have started to emerge about the first group of pioneering SMEs adopting more hi-tech production methods to drive efficiencies and boost competitiveness. Here Programme Director for the Made Smarter North West Pilot, Donna Edwards, explains what it is, why it matters and what difference it can make.

A short while ago, we revealed details of the first nine companies in the country to benefit from a government funded programme designed to boost UK manufacturing productivity and growth through the adoption of digital technology. The businesses include engineering firms which produce parts for the nuclear and aerospace sectors, and a specialist manufacturer of crane and lifting equipment.

This first tranche of firms to grasp the opportunity offered by the pilot scheme are set to introduce advanced manufacturing methods which include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 3D-printing and robotics.

The government review behind Made Smarter identified that UK manufacturers will increasingly need to compete by adopting Industrial Digital Technologies (IDT).

Improvements in machine efficiency and creating a workforce fit for the modern-day manufacturing sector will positively impact the UK’s lagging productivity - a key drag on the UK’s economic performance. That is why we are encouraging SMEs to invest in smarter working to re-energise the UK’s manufacturing base, a transformation of the supply chain which will benefit larger companies and the wider economy.

Made Smarter aims to help SMEs tackle the barriers to technology adoption. Access to fully funded, impartial, specialist advice will help you to understand what is possible for your business and the benefits and growth it will bring. There are also match-funding grants available to support firms ready to invest in new solutions. Many companies think new digital technologies will be hard to integrate into their existing operations, and some may be fearful that changes may lose them their long-established heritage ‘brand equity.’

Made Smarter recognises these issues and introduces interventions which can make a real difference to their bottom line, while retaining the distinctive character of the business.

Other support includes how to bring staff along on the digitalisation journey, as a great barrier to IDT adoption is the lack of skills. Access to students to help with the identification of potential solutions and technology implementation and to support the upskilling of existing employees, is also available. Made Smarter has set an ambitious goal to reskill and upskill a million workers over the next five years. Whilst, the Made Smarter Pilot Leadership programme delivered by Lancaster University Management School will equip business leaders to drive the change, with confidence.

Businesses across the North West are already seizing the opportunity Made Smarter offers them and over 300 businesses have already begun their journey.

Case study – Graham Engineering Ltd
One such company, Graham Engineering Ltd (GEL), based in Nelson, Lancashire, specialises in the welding and fabrication of complex stainless-steel solutions for the nuclear, aerospace, health and security sectors. The family-owned firm intends to increase its market share in these sectors by becoming more competitive and increasing flexibility in its manufacturing methods, while maintaining the highest quality of product.

By investing in new digital technology to integrate the software to complement its high-tech equipment, GEL will further streamline their existing workflow through the factory, from order to shipping.

In addition, GEL have identified future investment for further digital technology such as machine vision and AI to improve the rigorous, highly-skilled but labour-intensive inspection processes.

Paul Ashworth, IT Manager at Graham Engineering Ltd, said: “As a forward-thinking business we will speed up the process of taking customers’ requirements through from design to manufacture and delivery by upgrading and integrating disparate technologies.

"This will generate a smoother flow of operations in-house, and with both our customers and our supply chain.

"Efficient and systematic working processes with reduced scrappage will lead to increased profitability enabling the company to remain competitive across their various market sectors and provide added leverage into new markets.
"The next generation of engineers expect and demand cutting-edge technologies in their workplace. This investment will help to embed the perception of our organisation as a high-tech, innovative company with a vision for growth through sustained quality and diversification."

Case study - T&R Precision Engineering

T&R Precision Engineering, based in Colne, Lancashire, is keen to embrace new technologies as a means of securing its future.

The business produces parts for the aerospace sector and wants to use digital technology such as IIoT, automation, systems integration, data analytics and cloud, to apply its innovative ideas and intellectual property to current off-the-shelf machinery.

T&R believes the move will massively increase productivity and efficiency, upskill its workforce, and firm up its plans to expand its manufacturing space by 10,000 sq ft.

It predicts the investment will see a 33% revenue growth over the next three years, mostly from export sales to the USA.

A reduction in the number of machines required to manufacture specific components will cut power consumption and hence their carbon footprint, as well as reduce scrappage rates.

Tim Maddison, Managing Director at T&R Precision Engineering, said: “This project will lead to a critical advancement in our machining capability.

“New machining methods and component handling along with the integration of IT software will push the boundaries of our current manufacturing thinking. The up-skilling of our engineering, operations and quality personnel will be essential to take advantage of the technology advancements we need to implement to secure future extended contracts.”

These examples are at the heart of the Made Smarter Pilot programme. Yet even having early adopters endorsing the incredible commercial benefits of the Made Smarter proposition, knowing where to begin the journey can be daunting.

We are therefore mindful not to blind manufacturers with complex science, jargon or unrealistic goals.

Instead, we are working with businesses to utilise their insight and experience to inform what interventions could make a real difference to their bottom line, while still ensuring they retain their distinctive character.

To help with that we offer local manufacturers the option of a ‘digital audit’ which is funded via the £20m Made Smarter pilot programme. This involves one of our advisors visiting a company’s premises to assess what kind of technology could improve one or more their processes, with no commitment to proceed.

Other areas of support we can offer include how to get company staff and partners to buy-into the process of change from an operational perspective, and how to help build the investment argument to convince senior colleagues of the potential returns on offer.

I’m confident that once a business has had a taste of what Made Smarter can do for them they’ll never look back, which is why I’m very excited about what we can achieve together.