A new robotic cell will extend the ability of Kirkstall Precision to provide machined components to the medical sector.
The cell comprises two Brother Speedio M200Xd1-5AX 5-axis machining centres served by a Tezmaksan robotic workpiece load, unload and storage system. The ell was installed in two phases by Whitehouse Machine Tools.
For the past seven years, the subcontractor has focused almost exclusively on producing components for the medical industry, while also producing surgical instruments and implants for the veterinarian sector. The company is seeing a 15 to 20 year-on-year growth rate due to high demand for its services.
The first Speedio with a 16,000 rpm BBT30 BIG Plus spindle was installed in stand-alone mode in mid-2025.
Adam Thornton, Kirkstall’s managing director said, “Accuracy in the medical sector is a given. Everything has to be completely correct, so we inspect and report all dimensional tolerances. Opting for a top quality machine tool like the Brother Speedio was a fairly obvious decision for us.
“We’ve used 40-taper 5-axis technology for some time, but the Brother Speedio is faster and takes up less space. It is ideal for the smaller, high-accuracy parts we produce and deliver typically a 20% cycle time reduction compared with our larger production centres.”
Approved to the ISO 13485 medical devices standard, Kirkstall produces mainly low-volume orthopaedic components from challenging materials, including stainless steel, hardened stainless, titanium and other tough alloys. The 30-taper Brother Speedio M200Xd1-5AX is ideal for processing these materials. Additionally, it is able to combine on a single platform 5-axis prismatic machining with turning using the rotary torque table, which was a further key attraction of the production platform.
Compared to traditional 40-taper machining centres, it draws up to 80% less power, which translates into electricity savings worth several thousands of pounds a year.
The first Brother Speedio proved so successful in terms of production output and accuracy, despite the tough materials being machined, that in April 2026 the subcontractor decided to install a second M200Xd1-5AX and automate both of them with a single workpiece handling robot. The Tezmaksan CubeBOX Blues DR is a compact automation system with a 6-axis industrial robot and an integrated storage unit consisting of a five-level drawer stacker.
The configuration in Leeds is engineered to handle round billets from 5 mm to 550 mm in diameter, having a maximum height of 135 mm and weighing up to 12 kg. The system facilitates 24-hour production including lights-out, with minimal operator attendance during daylight hours, boosting production output by up to 50%. Able to be installed in one day due to its standardised design, it offers a cost-effective alternative to bespoke automation and typically costs 20% less than machine-specific robot integrations.