Cosmopolitan Engineering has said its trio of Hyundai-Wia turning machines are playing a key role in enabling the company to increase its customer base and business.
Supplied by T W Ward CNC Machinery (Ward CNC), the trio of Hyundai-Wia turning machines - L400LMC lathe with C axis and driven tools, SKT-300 turning centre and a L300C two-axis lathe - together with a Hartford Omnis 1020 vertical machining centre, are enabling the company to carry out a wide range of projects including precision one-offs for marksman's guns, to steam traction engine parts and nuclear project work.
Production manager, Mark Leonard, said: “We have become very familiar with the ranges of machines that Ward CNC held in stock and when we needed CNC capacity, Ward CNC was the logical choice. The Hartford vertical machining centre was our initial installation, followed by the Hyundai-Wia SKT-300 and L300C then, most recently, the L400LMC.
“Importantly, the Hyundai-Wia machines are all powerful, geared headstock machines - with a 22 kW spindle motor on the L300C, 26 kW on the SKT-300 and an impressive 30 kW with the L400LMC. These spindle ratings combine with a quality of construction that promotes rigidness and accuracy (for example, to 3.5 microns on the SKT-300), plus minimal downtime. And that's so important.”
Many of the components produced on these are one-offs or in small batches of up to ten. However, one particular on-going large contract for the volume machining of a family of axles demonstrates how the Ward CNC-supplied machines combine to good effect.
Produced from EN24T billets, the axles range in size from 100mm diameter to 290mm long and 120 mm diameter to 610mm and 937mm long. All three sizes are turned to diameter then, on the shortest version, a grease nipple hole is drilled and a 16mm wide by 20mm deep cross slot is machined by the SKT-300.