FEATURE MACHINERY
Steering engineers invest in Star sliding head lathe
Robot for welding large pieces in small spaces
A
Coventry-based steering system manufacturer, Pailton Engineering, has made its biggest investment in the last three years, with its purchase of the flagship Star GB ST-38 CNC sliding head lathe. This machine provides a solution for mill-turn parts and is packed with functionality, to ensure Pailton Engineering can keep up with the increased demand for bespoke steering systems
T
he ST-38 is Star’s flagship model, adding to the two other Star
machines currently on the factory floor at Pailton Engineering’s facility. Three 10 station turrets allow up to 70 tools to be loaded to the machine at one time, providing greater productivity. Each tool can be easily removed with Star’s clamping mechanism permitting fast set-up and changeover. The new machine is part of a larger investment to transform Pailton Engineering’s factory floor. Two other recent capital investments include a high- spec Mazak machine and SOHMAX drilling and tapping machine. The company has reinvested over £700k into the business every year for the past two years, and the latest Star GB investment is part of a larger business transformation.
ENGINEERING FLEXIBILITY “We’ve always invested in equipment that will give us extra capacity and increased engineering flexibility,” said Cy Wilkinson, managing director of Pailton. “The purchase of the Star ST-38 was the next
18 MAY 2018 | FACTORY EQUIPMENT
natural step for us as it now gives us up to 38mm diameter bar capacity. Capable of multi-axis milling and balanced turning, this is one of the most powerful and capable machines on the floor. “This one machine does the job of
multiple machines on the factory floor, saving time and floor space,” continues Wilkinson. “There are numerous tools and tool holders available, which allows us to work in new ways and increase skills across the workforce. The machine can carry out back angles milling, back angled inner threading and silmutaneous cross drilling, which will have a huge effect on product development.” Together, these new machinery investments bolster Pailton Engineering’s product development to ensure bus and coach, military, and commercial vehicles are equipped with made to measure steering systems, designed for extreme applications.
Pailton Engineering
www.pailton.com T: 02476 680445
Above: The ST-38 sliding head lathe on Pailton Engineering’s factory floor
new addition to Fanuc’s ARC welding robot range is set to make
automated welding more viable for manufacturers with compact floor space, but large workpieces. The ARCMate 100iD/10L can be used to boost the productivity of high-batch production lines, particularly those working with pieces larger than 1,500mm ø. Its repeatability and quality-control capability make it a particularly valuable addition to production lines that must meet high- volume orders in which the quality and function of the weld are critical. To cope with increased production
demands, the ARCMate 100iD/10L also has capacity for 10kg of additional tooling, such as welding torches. Despite its higher workpiece capacity, the robot’s footprint is small, around 343 x 343mm, with a compact, articulated design for easy reach into narrow spaces within machine tools or jigs. It can also be mounted either upside-down or at an angle and routes all cables and welding hosepipes internally in order to maximise its use of space. Further ROI can be achieved
through harnessing the robot’s integrated software. The R-30iB Plus controller, for example, guides an operator through set-up and programming. Manufacturers can also maintain the productive capacity of the robot through the use of Zero Downtime, an intelligent maintenance scheduling and status prediction tool. Fanuc offers some optional extras
that can unlock the full potential of the ARCMate, including Dual Check Safety and WELDPro CAD plug-in.
Fanuc UK
www.fanuc.eu/uk/en
/ FACTORYEQUIPMENT
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