November 14, 2019
Exciting expansion news for 2020
Ultra Precision is finalising orders on a number of machine purchases over the next 6 months as we look to maintain our continuous investment in the latest machining technology. This follows on from an ambitious £1.5 million investment programme during 2019.
We have earmarked new state of the art CNC machines to increase our capabilities and we will be finalising the order on all of these before the end of the year.
First up will be a new CNC mill. The Haas VM-3 will have an increased working area, compared to our existing machines, of 1050mm x 660mm, allowing us to machine larger components. The increased working table of the machine will also allow us to review the way we hold smaller jobs so that we can machine more components in one loading, allowing for more efficient production. The machine will be able to run at 12,000 rpm and will hold 40 tools.
This will be swiftly followed by a new components washing facility. This British made state of the art machine will be able to be programmed to suit a wide variety of components, to incorporate the length of wash time, the amount of agitation, submergence, spray and drying cycles. Tests have so far seen a wide array of parts with exceedingly high cleanliness levels and zero trace of foreign matter and oils. A final site assessment is to be carried out by the supplier within the next few weeks.
We have also had some trials completed on a Doosan 1800 TT SY twin turret, twin spindle lathe. This will be our third of these lathes with both turning and milling capabilities to be housed on site. With the addition of robotic arm loading and unloading, however, this will increase our ability and hours of running for machining billets of material up to 10 inch diameter. Although some of the capacity for this machine is earmarked for a project, we will have time each month to test and use it on a variety of other work. We will be visiting the supplier to see the trials this week and hopefully sign off this exciting investment.
Finally we are closing in on the purchase on a Miyano BNE 51 MSY. This twin turret, twin spindle lathe with turning and milling capabilities will be used for the machining primarily of stainless steel parts, due to its power and torque capacity for machining heavier materials. The machine allows machining of bars up to 51mm diameter and will sit within our sliding head section. This will bring our total number of lathes up to 22 and our total number of CNC machines up to 36.
We are looking forward to a very busy 2020!