Toolmaker and injection moulding specialist Investment Castings Systems has bought its first five-axis machining centre.
The company has increased turnover by 51% over the past 3 years with more growth forecast. This growth, along with plans to double its floorspace, has created a need for greater manufacturing efficiency. As part of this efficiency drive, the company has purchased its first five-axis machining centre, a UMC-5X from XYZ Machine Tools.
The move to simultaneous five-axis machining immediately brought the benefit that Investment Casting Systems was looking for, increased efficiency. The very first job that went on to the XYZ UMC-5X was a complex bolster for an injection mould tool that required machining on all six faces. Using existing three-axis machines would have required six set-ups, this was reduced to two on the XYZ UMC-5X. The result was a saving of 60 per cent in manufacturing time, elimination of any potential inconsistencies from multiple set-ups and, by making use of a fixture plate all faces were machined from they same datum point.
Investment Casting Systems’ Technical Director, James Head, said: “This first experience proved we had made the right decision in going to five-axis to gain efficiency in manufacturing.”
He added: “In terms of operating the machine itself, there were no issues as our Tool Makers took to the Siemens control straight away, with minimal training over two days at XYZ’s factory in Burlescombe. In terms of the overall integration of five-axis into our system we recognised that that we just had to start thinking in a different way, approaching jobs with a fresh mindset and accepting the challenges and possibilities that five-axis presented.”