IKCO begins Haima S5 mass production

The production line of the new Haima S5 has been officially inaugurated at Iran Khodro’s Khorasan (IKKCO) site during a ceremony attended by top managers from both IKCO and Haima. The move is in line with the company’s five-year strategy to introduce and produce a new vehicle every year. Recent launches include the 2.0-litre Haima S7, the Haima S7 with a 1.8-litre turbo engine, the new Suzuki Grand Vitara, and now the Haima S5.

The Haima S5 is the fruit of close co-operation between Haima and Italy’s LDA Design, and is an SUV said to offer high acceleration, a robust engine and good performance. Other companies like Bosch and Punch Industry are also involved. The IKKCO site in northeast Iran is dedicated to the production of SUVs.
For further information www.ikco.ir

Doosan machine makes sound investment

Mills CNC, the sole distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied a new Doosan VC630 5AX five-axis machining centre, equipped with a Heidenhain control, to hi-fi design and manufacturing specialist, Linn Products.
The machine has been installed at the company’s factory in Glasgow and is being used to produce a range of precision parts for Linn’s music systems. These components include machined-from-solid aluminium enclosures that comprise a lid and base for the company’s range-topping Klimax systems.

Prior to investing in the VC630 5AX, the machining of these enclosures was subcontracted, and while this situation was satisfactory it had its drawbacks and was always considered to be temporary. The arrangement was superseded by Linn’s desire to become more self-sufficient and vertically integrated, with the decision taken to commence machining the Klimax metalwork in-house.
Explains Fraser Crown, Linn Products’ operations architect: “The more of our manufacturing processes we can bring in-house, the better able we are to manage, control, optimise and ultimately improve them. Linn does not mass produce products; every product we manufacture is built to order. This can potentially cause scheduling and delivery fulfilment issues when relying on subcontractors who, quite naturally, prefer to handle larger and more predictable batch-type work.
“As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, it was a natural progression for us to look at bringing machining processes in-house, such as those employed to manufacture our enclosures,” he adds.
To enable Linn to manufacture all its Klimax metalwork in-house, the company needed to acquire additional machining capability. Linn is certainly no stranger to CNC machining and, some years earlier invested in a three-axis Doosan DNM650 vertical machining centre from Mills to manufacture a range of parts. Since being installed, the machine, according to Crown, “hasn’t missed a beat” and is working near peak production.
With regard to its next investment, three key questions initially confronted Linn: what type of machine tool would best produce the enclosures; which manufacturer would be able to supply the machine, and what support could they provide; and how quickly could Linn develop a reliable and repeatable machining process?

Linn’s ‘milled from solid’ enclosures feature in both the Klimax DS and Klimax DSM streamers, the Klimax amplifier, Klimax Exakt, and the Radikal power supply for the Klimax LP12 turntable. The enclosures are machined (internally and externally) from individual solid aluminium billets. Internally machined features include a number of separate and isolated chambers (divided by walls) where audio/electronic circuitry and power supply units are housed separately. The back of the enclosures contain a variation of machined holes for output and input connectors and ports.
All exterior faces of the enclosure are machined to a mirror-like finish, with the top and bottom being finished using a large diameter fly-cutter (cutting) tool that is able to face mill the entire surface in one pass to produce a uniform finish. “Surface finish imperfections, however small, are not acceptable as they would show up after the enclosures have been anodised,” states Crown.
To meet Linn’s manufacturing imperatives and quality standards, the company researched the market to identify the types of machining centres available.
“We wanted the machine to meet our immediate and future requirements, which is why we looked at large-capacity five-axis vertical and horizontal machining centres,” says Crown. “Although we do not machine parts in high volumes, flexibility, reduced set-up and cycle times, which are key advantages of five-axis machine tool technology, are important to us.
“We ultimately decided on a vertical machine with full five-axis simultaneous machining capability because it enables each side of the billet to be produced continuously without the need to remount the job,” he continues. “As a result, we negate any incremental dimensional inaccuracies and poor finish quality. We believe it will provide us with far more flexibility going forward. Furthermore, for certain machined features, most notably where the front panel display is located on the enclosure lid, we knew that using five-axis simultaneous machining capabilities would enable features to be machined reliably and accurately. In reality, the seamless five-axis movement which creates the ‘Klimax smile’ is dimensionally perfect, has a faultless finish and it is a joy to watch being machined.”

Linn already had a good relationship with Mills CNC following its investment in the Doosan DNM650 vertical machining centre five years ago. Discussing its latest requirements with Mills’ sales and technical staff, Linn decided to invest in a large-capacity VC630 5AX machine with Heidenhain CNC.
Owning a large-capacity machine means that Linn can produce a wide range of components – big and small. The decision to opt for the Heidenhain control (favoured by many mould tool and die makers) was taken for its ease of use and on-board functionality – especially its ability to help machine complex 3D surfaces and curved contours. The VC 630 5AX has a large working envelope (650 x 765 x 520 mm in XYZ), and a 32 kW/12,000 rpm direct-drive spindle.
Bringing any machining process in-house means there is an inevitable learning curve. Add to that the need to get to grips with the Heidenhain control (Linn’s Doosan DNM650 machine is equipped with a Fanuc control), and the curve becomes naturally steeper. However, the skill and experience of Linn’s operators and programmers, combined with technical and applications support (including training) provided by Mills CNC, has helped the company develop a secure and reliable machining process for its enclosures. Further refinement to fully optimise the process is ongoing and part and parcel of Linn’s continuous improvement ethos.
Concludes Crown: “The new machine is working well and we have found that having five-axis machining capability in-house makes us more productive and flexible. We are also able to respond, from a machining perspective, much more efficiently and effectively with regard to product design upgrades and modifications.”
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

Grinders give tooling firm elite position

A trio of Walter Helitronic Power multi-axis tool grinders, plus a Walter Helicheck tool-measuring machine, are enabling Elite Tooling to consistently supply special purpose tooling for customers in the aerospace, medical and Formula One sectors.
The machines have been installed over the past decade or so, following the company’s establishment in 1995 initially as a distributor for Tivoly tools before the Rotherham-based firm progressively moved into tool production and regrinding, which today account for 80 and 20% of output respectively.

According to production manager Lee Burkill, it is the machines’ Tool Studio software and Eco Loaders, as well as their solid construction that leads to consistently reliable operation, which has stood the company in good stead and in 2017 led to investment in its latest Helitronic Power with Eco Loader (supplied by Walter Ewag UK).
Walter’s Eco Loaders are available in versions able to accommodate 165 tools. The Eco Loader is mounted on the machine’s work table and the loading/unloading gripper is integrated into the grinding head.
“Specialising in mainly carbide bespoke tooling of all types – including profile and multi-step cutters usually machined in quantities of one- to 10-off to micron tolerances – as well as the production of Tivoly’s standard tools [for drilling milling, boring, tapping and threading] in batches of, say, 100, we regularly use the Eco Loaders for unmanned operation, especially for overnight production,” says Burkill. “This ability to maximise production times, coupled with the functionality of Tool Studio for quick and easy programming, and simulation of tool designs, contributes to our ability to produce high-class tools in the turnaround times that our customers demand.”
For further information www.walter-machines.com

High-feed mills suit aerospace materials

To enhance milling performance on ISO S materials, Sandvik Coromant is introducing a new series of end mills. CoroMill Plura HFS (High-Feed Side milling) cutters are intended for use on workpieces made from titanium and nickel-based alloys, bringing benefits to both aerospace engine and frame applications.

Sandvik Coromant’s CoroMill Plura HFS range comprises two end-mill families for titanium alloys, and one for nickel alloys. As chip evacuation and heat are specific challenges when machining titanium, the company has developed a solid version for normal chip evacuation conditions, and another featuring internal coolant and a new cooling booster (patent pending) for swarf and temperature control.
The end mills for titanium are available in GC1745 grade, which is based on a fine-grained (sub-micron) cemented-carbide substrate. A new multi-layer coating that contains silicon is said to provide good wear resistance and low thermal conductivity. The geometry of the cutters is based on a six-flute concept with no centre cut and uneven tooth pitch. Additionally, the core dimension has been optimised for higher stiffness in titanium alloys, while the corner radius, rake angle and relief are all designed specifically for machining ISO S materials.
For nickel alloys, grade GC1710 is deployed, which features a wear-resistant, fine-grained substrate designed to withstand high working loads when machining hard, highly adhesive, work-hardened materials such as aged Inconel 718. Here, a new coating produced with HIPIMS (high power impulse magnetron sputtering) technology offers adhesion-reducing properties to avoid the formation of BUE (built-up edge) and increase tool life.
For further information www.sandvik.coromant.com

Less than a month until SteelFab

The 14th edition of SteelFab is set to take place on 15-18 January at the Expo Centre in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. As the region’s most prominent business event specialising in steel fabrication, SteelFab 2018 will boast a large number of steel industry professionals and decision-makers among its exhibitors and visitors, as well as an interesting seminar programme.

The show presents modern technologies in steel forming, metal-cutting, finishing, milling, and heavy machinery, as well as other related engineering applications. SteelFab attracts worldwide attendance and participation both from national companies and hundreds of foreign firms and leading international brands in the field. XYZ Machine Tools and Chester Machine Tools will be among the 54 UK exhibitors at this year’s event. Around 8000 visitors attended the 2017 show from 83 different countries.
For further information www.steelfabme.com