SOFTWARE
TRANSFORMING OPERATIONS WITH VIGOUR
F
ounded in 2015, Vigour Limited has grown from a single 5-axis machining centre into a specialist
trusted with some of industry’s most demanding components. From the outset, the business has relied on OPEN MIND Technologies’ hyperMILL CAM software to produce the complex, tightly toleranced parts that define its reputation. “Lots of subcontract manufacturers had
3-axis machining, and they were mostly programming at the control. Adoption of 5-axis and CAD/CAM was barely in existence in the subcontract market,” Founder and Managing Director Ashley Hatton recalls. Where most new machine shops start with 3-axis capability and work up, Coventry-based Vigour went straight in at 5-axis. Today, the company operates four full 5-axis machines; three are DMG MORI EVO50 machines with automation - a deliberate choice that builds process consistency across the shopfloor.
Software from the start When it came to choosing a CAM system, Ashley Hatton didn’t need to run an
exhaustive evaluation. “I looked at one or two other CAM vendors at the time, but hyperMILL was the safe choice. I’d used it previously at Formula One teams, and it was very reliable. It’s incredibly safe; the cycles are fast to calculate – it’s reliable and robust.” That reliability has underpinned the
growth of the entire ISO: 9001-accredited business. “My business is built around hyperMILL; it’s been a pillar of success for the company. It really is the backbone of the business, and we now have two seats with a full suite of additional features.” The clearest illustration of hyperMILL’s
impact on Vigour’s throughput is how Ashley Hatton sequences his day. Rather than programming a part from start to finish with the machine sat idle, he breaks the job into roughing and then finishing stages. Roughing is programmed in around 15 minutes, and the machine is then set up with a billet and runs the part. Once up and running, the detailed features and finishing operations are programmed and sent to the machine – maximising spindle utilisation. It starts the moment an RFQ is won. A
36 / WELDING WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 04 - AUGUST 2026
script automatically creates the correct file path on Vigour’s network, and hyperMILL points directly to the STEP file. After adjusting the work plane to match the stock, hyperMILL’s boundary box function fits a box around the whole part with a single click – deriving stock size and vice
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