Extraordinarily quick reaction saves the day

Related Vendors

HASCO Hasenclever GmbH + Co KG

Meusburger Georg GmbH & Co. KG

Ramada Acos

Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG

A quick decision for a new supplier

“Before we placed the order we spoke with several UK users of Hermle equipment, from blue chip firms to small subcontractors, and all endorsed the brand. We were also mindful that we did not hear any negative comments.”

Nigel Pitman, Managing Director of FGP Systems added, “To change from the incumbent supplier of our nine 5-axis machining centres to Hermle was a huge decision for us.

“We had been talking to Geo Kingsbury for about 18 months regarding purchasing a C 42 U 5-axis machine for another project, which did not go ahead.

“So we had already done a lot of research, which included a visit to the German factory. You can see the machines are built well, including the simple things. The trunnion bearings are much bigger than on most 5-axis machines, for example.

“Even something straightforward like the swarf conveyor impressed us. Some manufacturers provide a swan neck that is too high and narrow for efficient removal of chips, whereas Hermle’s conveyor is low-rise and as wide as the machining area.”

He went on to say that the machine has not missed a beat since it was installed, despite running double shifts, seven days a week. It has been more or less devoted to producing a family of components from aluminium billets for the aircraft seat tray tables. The first operation on the main part involves 3-axis milling with two axes clamped while the second requires a fully interpolative 5-axis cycle.

Gallery

The C 400 has excelled especially in respect of the high surface finish being achieved on machined components. It was previously causing FGP Systems some difficulty, as the grey anodising stipulated by the customer tended to show up every machining mark left by scanning with a ball nose milling cutter. Many hours of manual polishing were needed to remove the marks. Now components go straight from the Hermle to anodising without any further work, such is the consistency of surface finish.

(ID:44757727)