Three Hanwa sliding head turning centres, supplied by Dugard, have helped Redditch-based subcontractor Machined Component Systems (MCS) deliver precision-engineered machined components to diverse industry sectors, including automotive, petrochemical, environmental, transport technologies, marine, healthcare technologies, and white goods.
In 2022, MCS faced a critical decision regarding its sliding head capability, says Managing Director Warren Gray. "We'd had some very good sliding head machines from another manufacturer over a number of years. Those machines were beginning to age, and we went out to three or four sliding head manufacturers, and we went to each of them with the same suite of parts, asked them to tender and provide a complete turnkey proposal for those parts, and Dugard won."
The company now has three Hanwha machines, the XD20II-V NHY, the XD26II-V NHY and the XD38II-R NHY. The 6-axis turning centres have a diameter capacity from 20 to 38mm with an ability to turn parts up to 545mm long.
The Hanwha sliding head range features a comprehensive lineup ranging from 3 to 42mm diameter capacity, powerful high-end CNC units, comprehensive tooling platens and configurations, and what stands out against competitor machines is the high-rigidity machine structure. This construction philosophy sees Hanwha make the machines 20 to 30% heavier than competitors' machines of similar capacity. This additional mass translates into performance benefits, with customers reporting massive improvements in heavy cutting capabilities, tool life, and reduced cycle times.
Warren said: "The Hanwha machines have come into this business, and they are very, very good machine tools, and we are very happy.
"We serve a vast array of different industry sectors, and the Hanwha's serve all those industry sectors which are automotive, environmental, medical and domestic gas. So, these machine tools could be making any industry components at any time," Warren explains, highlighting the versatility that makes this investment so valuable to MCS's diverse customer base.
A phased implementation approach allowed MCS to validate performance, optimise integration, train personnel, and prove return on investment before committing to additional machines.
machinedcomponent.com
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