Amtek Precision Engineers has invested in material handling solutions capable of safely moving the mould tool components parts each weighing up eight tonnes around its workshop and assembly area.
This has continued the company’s venture to make its facility in Devon ‘go large’. Its plant includes a high accuracy Mikron HSM 400 machining centre with robotic pallet loader and a Mikron 65,000 Graphite Master machining centre.
Mike Lawes, production manager, said: “It means we can extend the number of cavities within the tool for our customers.”
“Typically, for the injection moulded caps and closures that we are renowned for a five-tonne tool would have 96 impressions. Thanks to our material handling and well-planning workflow through our entire facility, from receipt of the raw material right through to inspection and dispatch, we can offer larger tools with up to 128 impressions.”
The 33% increase can make a significant difference to the mould customer. Cycle time for the tool might be around 6 seconds, which equates to around 1m cycles per year. The additional tool capacity could result in an extra 33m parts being produced.
Mr Lawes concluded: “We have tools in the market that have completed more than 30m cycles, you don’t achieve that level of reliability by accident, you have to add quality at every step of the mould tools creation.”