View various clippings of articles written by Pulse for different magazines
When Reliance Precision Ireland Ltd visited MACH 2008 to acquire a new turning centre, the company knew exactly what it was looking for when it decided upon the ABX64-TH3 from Miyano UK. The stringent demands of a rigid CNC turning centre that could accommodate parts up to 64mm diameter with remarkable production times, reliability and ability to produce complex and accurate parts was a necessity – fulfilled by Miyano.
Prior to agreeing upon the purchase of the three turret, twin spindle machine, Reliance had considered a number of turning centres, however the productivity and capability of the ABX outperformed competitor machines in trials arranged by Mr. Peter Dwyer of Premier Machine Tools in Kildare. Premier Machine Tools are Miyano’s Irish agent.
The Bandon, County Cork based manufacturer of gears, racks and flexible couplings bought the Miyano ABX64-TH3 for a family of over 20 flexible couplings that it produces on a regular basis. Reliance Precision’s Manufacturing Engineer, Mr Tadg Collins comments: “We do a lot of work in extremely competitive sectors and the three turrets of the Miyano allow us to have three tools working simultaneously on the workpiece. This drastically reduces our production times. Since taking delivery of the machine in June we have reduced production times by up to 50% on some products.”
An example of the productivity benefits are noted on one particular component that was produced on three machines in 26 minutes 30 seconds. The ability of the Miyano to produce complex parts in a single set-up has reduced the time to 8 minutes 30 seconds. With batches on this part of up to 120 being produced every other month, the saving is substantial. “We currently run well over 20 jobs on the ABX64-TH3 and across all jobs it increases productivity by anything from 20% to 60%. We also use the Miyano to produce high precision instrument gear blanks in both aluminium and stainless. These components require .008 micron bore tolerances and the machine has no difficulty maintaining these tolerances. As an average it has already reduced our costs by 10% with significant productivity gains. One particular gear was produced in 11 minutes using two machines, it is now machined in 5minutes 30 seconds on the Miyano,” continues Mr Collins.
This ability to manufacture extremely complex components is enhanced by the lower turret and two upper turrets on the left and right side that feature a Y-axis control with up to 12 revolving tool stations available on all turrets.
The 30 employee company that manufactures its parts from primarily aluminium and stainless steel initially spent three weeks proving out parts. Now this period is over, the company has little doubt that further performance improvements will arrive rapidly. As Mr Collins continues: “When specifying a turning centre we wanted an uptime of at least 95%; the Miyano is already giving us an uptime of 98.6%. Running an eight hour shift each day the ABX64-TH3 is set up at the start of the day and comfortably runs all day long. What has impressed us is the warm up period when we start the machine in the morning. Most machines take between one and two hours to warm up and stabilise, the rigidity of the Miyano means it is stable and warm within 30 minutes.”
Machining complex parts in one set-up has drastically improved productivity times on many parts that were previously produced on two or three machines. This has also improved repeatability, accuracy and product quality. However, what has impressed Reliance is the concentricity between the spindles of the Miyano, as Mr Collins says: “When the ABX64-TH3 passes workpieces from the main to the sub spindle we expected the machine to achieve a maximum of 10 micron concentricity and repeatability. It actually achieves concentricity and repeatability of less than 6 microns and that has surpassed our expectations by a long way. Meeting this consistency level on batches of 120 plus is excellent and it has improved our quality considerably.”
“Our operators were also pleasantly surprised by the ease of programming. The machine utilises a Fanuc 31i control and despite the daunting prospect of a twin spindle machine with three tooling turrets, our operators became fully competent on the ABX in little over a week regardless of the complex nature of our work.”
“We knew that historically Miyano machines are reliable and robust high quality products, but the machine has already exceeded our expectations. It has slashed production times, improved product quality, surface finishes and consistency with regards to accuracy and repeatability. The machine was bought to improve our competitiveness in the price pressure markets we work in – in the three months since delivery it has proven its value to our business,” concludes Mr Collins.
When Reliance Precision Ireland Ltd visited MACH 2008 to acquire a new turning centre, the company knew exactly what it was looking for when it decided upon the ABX64-TH3 from Miyano UK. The stringent demands of a rigid CNC turning centre that could accommodate parts up to 64mm diameter with remarkable production times, reliability and ability to produce complex and accurate parts was a necessity – fulfilled by Miyano.
Prior to agreeing upon the purchase of the three turret, twin spindle machine, Reliance had considered a number of turning centres, however the productivity and capability of the ABX outperformed competitor machines in trials arranged by Mr. Peter Dwyer of Premier Machine Tools in Kildare. Premier Machine Tools are Miyano’s Irish agent.
The Bandon, County Cork based manufacturer of gears, racks and flexible couplings bought the Miyano ABX64-TH3 for a family of over 20 flexible couplings that it produces on a regular basis. Reliance Precision’s Manufacturing Engineer, Mr Tadg Collins comments: “We do a lot of work in extremely competitive sectors and the three turrets of the Miyano allow us to have three tools working simultaneously on the workpiece. This drastically reduces our production times. Since taking delivery of the machine in June we have reduced production times by up to 50% on some products.”
An example of the productivity benefits are noted on one particular component that was produced on three machines in 26 minutes 30 seconds. The ability of the Miyano to produce complex parts in a single set-up has reduced the time to 8 minutes 30 seconds. With batches on this part of up to 120 being produced every other month, the saving is substantial. “We currently run well over 20 jobs on the ABX64-TH3 and across all jobs it increases productivity by anything from 20% to 60%. We also use the Miyano to produce high precision instrument gear blanks in both aluminium and stainless. These components require .008 micron bore tolerances and the machine has no difficulty maintaining these tolerances. As an average it has already reduced our costs by 10% with significant productivity gains. One particular gear was produced in 11 minutes using two machines, it is now machined in 5minutes 30 seconds on the Miyano,” continues Mr Collins.
This ability to manufacture extremely complex components is enhanced by the lower turret and two upper turrets on the left and right side that feature a Y-axis control with up to 12 revolving tool stations available on all turrets.
The 30 employee company that manufactures its parts from primarily aluminium and stainless steel initially spent three weeks proving out parts. Now this period is over, the company has little doubt that further performance improvements will arrive rapidly. As Mr Collins continues: “When specifying a turning centre we wanted an uptime of at least 95%; the Miyano is already giving us an uptime of 98.6%. Running an eight hour shift each day the ABX64-TH3 is set up at the start of the day and comfortably runs all day long. What has impressed us is the warm up period when we start the machine in the morning. Most machines take between one and two hours to warm up and stabilise, the rigidity of the Miyano means it is stable and warm within 30 minutes.”
Machining complex parts in one set-up has drastically improved productivity times on many parts that were previously produced on two or three machines. This has also improved repeatability, accuracy and product quality. However, what has impressed Reliance is the concentricity between the spindles of the Miyano, as Mr Collins says: “When the ABX64-TH3 passes workpieces from the main to the sub spindle we expected the machine to achieve a maximum of 10 micron concentricity and repeatability. It actually achieves concentricity and repeatability of less than 6 microns and that has surpassed our expectations by a long way. Meeting this consistency level on batches of 120 plus is excellent and it has improved our quality considerably.”
“Our operators were also pleasantly surprised by the ease of programming. The machine utilises a Fanuc 31i control and despite the daunting prospect of a twin spindle machine with three tooling turrets, our operators became fully competent on the ABX in little over a week regardless of the complex nature of our work.”
“We knew that historically Miyano machines are reliable and robust high quality products, but the machine has already exceeded our expectations. It has slashed production times, improved product quality, surface finishes and consistency with regards to accuracy and repeatability. The machine was bought to improve our competitiveness in the price pressure markets we work in – in the three months since delivery it has proven its value to our business,” concludes Mr Collins.
