The majority of Acro's higher volume work has been in stainless, brass and mild steel, which is loaded into the machine via a bar feeder. Once programmed these unmanned-machines are often run for months on a single project. Acro can provide this kind of high volume production for parts up to 45mm.

"It's fair to say that it takes us longer to program and set up a multi-spindle," says Mr Pain. "In fact it can take a lot of experience and expertise to get right, but for higher volume projects, this is easily the most competitive of our machines. The fact that it can run unmanned and is so reliable, means that we can compete with the likes of China for these kinds of projects, as the labour cost is such a minimal component of the price."

“The multi-spindle technology is an important complement to our CNC machines. It really is the ultimate machining technology for high volume work, it enables us to take projects from prototype right through to mass production. It also means that we can offer consistent quality and reliable delivery at world market pricing.”