Fortune favours the brave, so they say, and there is no doubt that GCH Precision Engineering is reaping the rewards of investing in a Hyundai-Wia heavy-duty, large-capacity CNC turning machine.

After realising that OEMs across a number of industries were struggling to locally source (within Scotland) large-capacity machining for complex parts requiring milling as well as turning operations, Graham Hawthorne, CEO of the East Kilbride (Glasgow) based company, knew that GCH could secure this work if he installed the Hyundai-Wia L500LMA slant-bed lathe with C axis and driven tools.
The result is that GCH is now cost-effectively processing a wide variety of work that falls within the turning length and diameter capacities of 2109 and 690 mm, respectively, on the machine supplied by TW Ward CNC Machinery.
Included in the order book are workpieces being machined from most materials – from EN3A steel to EN36 high-tensile steel, aluminium, super duplex, Inconel and plastics for clients in the aerospace, oil and gas, food and drink, and pharmaceutical sectors, for instance, as well as parts for robotic machinery and components for the onshore drilling industry.
“Knowing that such work was increasingly being outsourced either overseas or south of the border, I knew that we had the in-house skills to handle such projects – all I needed was the machining capacity,” says Hawthorne. “At the same time, we needed to replace some ageing machines – a radial arm drill, a manual lathe and an older, smaller capacity CNC lathe – and while the Hyundai-Wia has effectively replaced all these, it has, importantly, also extended our capacity to satisfy this larger work.”
For further information www.wardcnc.com