Single set-up system

Ash Safety assembles, services and hires out safety equipment, and provides City & Guilds-accredited training for users. However, company founder André Beard decided recently to move into the world of manufacturing.

He has also invested in test equipment that allows the Honiton business to assess and certify other companies' safety products, thereby creating an income stream as an approved test centre.

Before installing a new XYZ TC 320 LTY turning centre in 2011, various components were machined on a subcontract basis. This entailed holding stock to avoid problems caused by late deliveries, which impacted on cash flow and inhibited product design/development.

Beard ruled out the idea of a lathe and mill in favour of a turning centre with Y axis, driven tooling and 78mm bar capacity.

The Y axis of the TC 320 LTY, which has a 45hp main spindle capable of 3300 rev/ min, can travel 50mm above and below the centreline, making easy work of parts that would otherwise require separate milling and turning operations. Canned cycles cater for machining functions such as stock removal against contour. The simple conversational programming of the Siemens 828D ShopTurn control means the entire sequence from drawing to finished part takes the minimum of operator keystrokes.