At Neville Precision Engineering, one of the UK’s leading names in the design, prototyping and manufacture of aluminium extruded products, one of the Mecal MC304 Ariel-5 MDT machining centres has recently joined two other Mecal CNC machining centres from Addison Saws.

The first two Mecal CNC machining centres are 4-axis models are used to manufacture 40,000 aluminium door sill plates a year for one of the world’s premier automotive brands. By comparison, this latest machine to be purchased by Neville is a 5-axis Mecal MC304 Ariel-5 MDT.

Edward Neville, MD of Neville Precision Engineering, says: “For a new contract, which involves the manufacture of some 10,000 aluminium carriage light fittings a year for the next generation of high-speed trains, I initially considered purchasing an additional Mecal 4-axis machine. During a visit to Mecal’s HQ with Addison Saws for machining trials, however, I was able to see the latest generation Mecal MC304 Ariel-5 MDT, 5-axis CNC machining centre. A demonstration confirmed that it was precisely what I was looking for. ”

With full 5-axis capability, the Mecal MC304 Ariel-5 MDT allows the cutting tool to approach the component from all possible angles, in order to complete cutting and machining operations on the top, bottom, sides and ends. This has brought immense flexibility to Neville Precision Engineering’s carriage light manufacturing cycle, where finished components measuring 2m long x 200mm wide are produced from 4.5m-long extrusion bars.  

This latest investment in CNC machining technology by Neville Precision Engineering has enabled the company to reduce machining cycle times significantly, removing any need for components to be manually repositioned during the manufacturing process. The Ariel-5 machining centre is equipped with an optional, fully independent clamping system and offers Neville Precision Engineering considerable opportunities for component development.

“We are delighted to be able to offer both the MC304 Ariel-5 MMI and MC304 Ariel-5 MDT models,” comments Addison Saws’ sales director, Chris Wilson. “Highly robust and competitively priced, these latest CNC machining centres from Mecal bring new levels of flexibility and convenience to customers who produce components from extruded aluminium.”