Mill-turn investment for pipes and manifolds
Dr Mori of Mori Seiki greets Shaun Stevenson of SL Engineering
Tube and machining subcontractor SL Engineering is supporting its expansion ambitions and SC21 commitment with a fifth multi-axis mill-turn lathe.
Based in Aslackby, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, SL provides a full in-house solution specialising in the manufacture of rigid tube assemblies and precision machined components for the aerospace, industrial gas turbine, marine, oil and gas, medical, and speciality autosport industries.
SL’s tube assemblies and machined components are used in a broad spectrum of demanding applications including complex fuel pipe and manifold systems, as well as hydraulic, air, water, gas, and oil pipe systems.
Committed to the SC 21 programme, SL Engineering has ambitious and achievable expansion plans over the next 5 years, which it will support with a staged capital investment programme.
Following a comprehensive investment appraisal analysis it decided that it would purchase an additional Mori Seiki NL2000 SY mill-turn lathe to support its four existing Mori Seiki machines.
Shaun Stevenson, director and general manager at SL Engineering says: “We installed our first Mori Seiki machine in 2004. One of the key drivers in our decision to choose Mori Seiki NL machines was their excellent rigidity and build quality, ideal for machining the exotic high temperature nickel based alloys we work with.”
SL Engineering’s latest investment includes driven tooling, Y-axis, sub-spindle and a special 20-station turret to give a high available live tools.
Shaun Stevenson says the Mori Seiki machines are extremely rigid, and have proved themselves to be highly accurate, consistently holding very tight tolerances. This has allowed SL Engineering to make some significant improvements in its productivity, in line with the lean manufacturing methods encouraged by SC21.
Working in partnership with Mori Seiki the company has enhanced its knowledge through consultation with the machine manufacturer’s technicians, enabling it to combine operations and achieve one hit machining. Now, wherever possible, parts are machined in a single setup.
Shaun Stevenson says, “A key objective of our continuous improvement programme is to reduce the number of multiple setups we have to use. The sub-spindle, Y axis and powerful direct drive milling heads on our NL machines have helped make improvements to our throughput and reduced lead times. Jobs with complex prismatic features that used to take five or six setups are now completed in a single operation, straight off the bar.”
Shaun Stevenson concluded, “Our customers demand that we achieve cost downs on our products. After weighing up all the options, it was clear that the NL2000 SY would give us the ability to deliver on these demands and provide us with the best return on our investment. We are planning to work even more closely with Mori Seiki in the future. By collaborating to introduce new technology and techniques, we will be able to continue to meet and exceed our customer’s expectations.”
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