For many subcontract machine shops, it’s a challenge to know which machines to purchase to handle the work that comes through the door. Sometimes, the type of work dictates the products needed, but on other occasions, it’s the development of the company to become more efficient and take on previously impossible work that drives purchases.
For Ian Gibson, Managing Director of Vision Precision Engineering, the latter scenario led to investments in XYZ products on their shop floor. Starting the business with his uncle, Dennis, after they were made redundant, they managed to bring the machines they used to their new business and set about finding work, a significant challenge.
Using existing contacts, they found an unlikely source of work making parts for coffee machines in Costa Coffee stores. “We were approached to make developments and improvements to the machines in the stores so that the Barista’s could not make mistakes in loading the cleaning products used in the machines,” says Mr. Gibson. This influx of work prompted the business to seek improvements in their manufacturing processes, leading them to XYZ for a solution to make parts faster than on their traditional milling machine. Mr Gibson continues, “Steve Cox, the XYZ Area Salesman regularly called in and, when the company needed to make an investment in new equipment, he helped us to select the right machine which was an XYZ 710 vertical machining centre complete with a 4th axis.”
This investment created a new dilemma for Mr. Gibson. Now, making parts faster created a bottleneck in the secondary operations needed on the parts. This led to further investment in a smaller machining centre from XYZ to handle the increase in demand.
The XYZ TC 320 LTY, dubbed ‘The Beast’ by Vision Precision Engineering.
“Even with the 2 machines and 4th axis fitted to the mill we were still falling behind in supplying parts to our customers so again we contacted XYZ to see how we could improve our manufacturing further,” comments Mr. Gibson. The answer this time was to invest in an XYZ TC 320 LTY driven tool lathe. “The ability to produce milled and drilled features on our turned parts was taking up capacity on the original mill, so it made sense to purchase a machine that could produce our parts in one hit which is why we decided to invest in the TC 320 LTY product.”
With the hardened box way built machine with its Y and C axis, along with driven tool capability in place, Vision Precision set about getting the most out of its latest purchase. “Now we have this machine available to us, we have been able to quote for work that previously we could not tackle,” observes Mr Gibson. This is partly due to the maximum turned diameter of 320mm and the maximum turning length of 550mm. With a bar capacity of 78mm, it also means that Vision can produce more parts from bar rather than billets, and with a barfeed purchased for the machine, lights-out machining has now become a regular occurrence.
The XYZ TC 320 LTY, set up with the 70mm drill.
“The machine just seems to tackle everything we throw at it.” Mr. Gibson states. “Big or small, it does it all, and the material removal rates are phenomenal. From 20mm depths of cut when turning, to drilling a 70mm diameter hole with a modular drill in super duplex material, is proper justification for us giving the machine its nickname of ‘The Beast’. When you consider we were only running at 200 rpm when performing the drilling and it was only using 25% of the available spindle power it’s a well-built machine with great power and it holds the tolerances we demand of it all day, every day”.
Mr. Gibson also notes, “it’s not only the machine that’s important to me but the whole package I get from the company I buy my equipment from. From the sales process through to the installation, training and the ongoing support from XYZ’s customer support team, the whole experience has been second to none and that’s why I purchased a CT65 HD to support the work of ‘The Beast’ and, also produce some of the smaller parts we manufacture.”
Vision Precision Engineering is renowned as the home of ‘The Beast’.
Like in every fairy-tale story, ‘The Beast’ is able to open doors just by its presence. By posting on social media about the work it undertakes, Vision Precision Engineering has generated interest from companies looking to outsource their machining jobs. Business is growing, which has led to a recent move to new premises. From modifications to coffee machines, Vision is now attracting work from various sectors, including green energy, medical and defence.