Machinery World - September 2016

NEWS NEWS NEWS
PRODUCTIVITY IS MORE ‘FLUID’ FOR
UNICUT WITH HOUGHTON OILS
ºWith over 25 machines on the shop floor
producing beyond 15 million parts a year,
Unicut Precision is a subcontract manufacturer
with a difference. With a variety of high-end
fixed and sliding head turning centres, Unicut
prides itself on investment state-of-the-art
technology.
This investment drive has recently seen the
Welwyn Garden City machine shop invest over
£760,000 in six Citizen sliding head machines
and a fixed head Miyano BNA 42SY turning
centre. Running its machine shop 24 hours a
day, Unicut considers itself a 'contract
manufacturer' that works in tandem with
OEM's and Tier 1 companies to deliver costdown
production philosophies to long term
projects. It is this partnership with globally
renowned companies that led Unicut to
implement cutting fluids from Houghton
International.
Commenting upon the new relationship,
Houghton's Business Development Manager,
Mr Kevin Lambdon says: "We are a key supplier
As the summer already draws to a close, surface
finishing and deburring experts Ellesco will be
looking to put a shine into the first month of
Autumn with the announcement of its Open
House Event from the 20th to 22nd of
September. If you have components that require
deburring or surface finishing, Ellesco is
inviting you to bring along your problem parts
to trial on the Grindingmaster Timesaver
machines.
The event at the Ellesco facility in
Christchurch will be a great opportunity to see
four of the latest machines from Timesavers
whilst an abrasives expert from Hermes Coated
Abrasives will be on hand to discuss the
technical elements and benefits of its range of
abrasive belts, brushes and consumables. For
customers making a concerted effort to visit the
scenic New Forest area on the South Coast and
also get an education in first class surface
finishing, Ellesco will be hosting entertainment
evenings for customers.
The four Timesavers machines at the event
will include the Timesavers 10 Series
1300MGVT, the 12 Series 600WB, the 22 Series
900W and the extremely popular 42 Series WRB
machine. Alongside the new products, Ellesco
will have a complete range of cost-effective
used and refurbished surface finishing
machines available for immediate delivery.
‘OPEN ALL HOURS’
to many global OEMs and at an Eaton
Hydraulics Global Supplier convention, one of
our key account managers met Unicut's MD, Mr
Jason Nicholson. The relationship evolved and
now we supply Unicut with a series of cutting
oils and fluids."
Initially, Houghton was invited to Unicut to
conduct a site survey to evaluate the machine
tools, processes and the materials being
machined. With this information the company
applied the best-fit fluid for the fixed and
sliding head turning centres.
With the partnership between Houghton
and Unicut approaching its first birthday, the
Production Supervisor at Unicut Precision, Mr
Gary Garner says: "The Houghton products are
excellent. We get next day delivery, the quality
of the oil is outstanding and it's extremely cost
effective. With regards to performance the oil is
noticeably improving our tool life with
improvements beyond 25% already being
recorded.
Commenting upon the production
scheduling and how the new machines run at
Unicut, company MD, Mr Jason Nicholson
concludes: "Our sliding heads typically run
batches from 50 to 50,000 parts around the
clock, and three of the new machines have
already been committed to OEM customers and
their long term production needs. Running on
this basis, machine utilisation rates are core to
our success. The Houghton oils are improving
our uptime and reducing our tooling
consumption and the consequent tool
changeovers. This is a huge benefit to a business
like Unicut."
Tel: 0161 8745000
Email: matthew.bartle@houghtonintl.com
The focal point of most Open House events
and exhibitions is the ever popular Timesavers
42 Series. At the September event, Ellesco will
be putting the 1350WRB variant through its
paces on customer parts. With a wide abrasive
belt for the pre-grinding removal of heavy burrs
from parts and a follow-up multi-directional
brush that uniformly deburrs and finishes
edges of laser cut, punched and machined parts
in a single pass; its no surprise the 42 Series
WRB is one of Ellesco's best selling machines.
Tel: 01202 499400
Email: g.newton@ellesco.co.uk
Web: www.ellesco.co.uk
QIMTEK
INDUSTRY ROUND UP
TREASURY TO SAFEGUARD
EU RESEARCH FUNDING
The UK’s Business and Energy Minister has
said that the government’s commitment to
science research ‘remains steadfast’, with the
Treasury confirming that funding for
approved Horizon 2020 projects will be
underwritten.
As a result, British businesses and
universities will now have certainty over
future funding, even beyond the UK’s
departure from the EU. The Horizon 2020
programme has provided funding to a
number of innovative British research ideas
to help bring them to the market more
swiftly, totalling around €2 billion.
To find out more about the government’s
promise, head here:
http://ow.ly/URTF303jqxs
COULD A BRIGHT FUTURE
BE AHEAD FOR UK
MANUFACTURING
POST-BREXIT?
Almost 2 months on from the UK’s decision
to leave the EU, one of the biggest questions
facing the country is whether our industry
has the strength to thrive in a post-Brexit
economy. How could this opportunity be
used to create a more profitable era for
manufacturing?
One positive in recent months is that
British-made products have seen resurgence
in appeal, and with the fall in sterling,
companies selling abroad could face a
welcome boost. As well as this, the Prime
Minister has assured the country of her
commitment to manufacturing and industry,
with research funding guaranteed and the
possibility of securing new investment deals
with other countries also.
To find out more on how UK
manufacturing could thrive, head here:
http://ow.ly/9jyj303jqBB
3D PRINTING REVENUE
SET TO DOUBLE
According to IDC, a global provider of
market research, global 3D printing revenue
will surge from $15.9bn this year to $35.4bn
in 2020.
The growing list of 3D printing
capabilities is set to “enable the next wave of
customer innovation in discrete
manufacturing, product design, and life
sciences,” according to Christopher Chute,
vice president of customer insights and
analysis at IDC. Automotive design is
expected to make up the biggest share of
revenue, followed by healthcare and
professional services.
You can read more on the latest comments
by heading here:
http://ow.ly/4AkD303jqCE
14 Machinery World, September 2016