The machines are principally used for the one hit production of various hitch and suspension pins for articulated dump body trucks, where the machines' spindle power and driven tooling makes them ideal for this type of work. The parts produced range from 50mm to 250mm in diameter and are machined from heat treatable steel in typical batch sizes of 800-off.
Stanley-based Ronco has been in business for over 20 years and offers a subcontract manufacturing service that covers all areas of CNC turning, milling and grinding as well as welding and light fabrication. It provides a complete end-to-end service, including design and management of heat treatment and conversion processes.
Production director Paul Cottrell stated: “The hitch pins are quite complex and all require live tooling. Our customers are very cost-conscious and our processes have to be as efficient as possible. The CMZ machines fit the bill as they can finish the components in one operation.”
A key factor for Ronco is the power of the CMZ machines – both in the spindle motors and in the live tooling. “The CMZ machines have wraparound spindle motors with no drive belts or pulleys and so they deliver the full power to the workpiece. You can see it in the way they cut metal. We have moved away from our previous supplier because their machines were totally lacking in power compared to the equivalent specification from CMZ.”
The first two CMZ machines acquired by Ronco were twin spindle, gantry loaded units – one for primarily bar type components and the other primarily for disk type components. These have now been complemented by a further three machines to cope with heavier components that do not suit gantry loading. The most recent is fitted with a 12 inch chuck and Y-axis for the largest components and all but one are fitted with automatic bar feeders.
Mr Cottrell adds that, with order levels on the rise, Ronco is looking to make further investments in CMZ technology. “The build quality of the CMZ machines is excellent. They have proved to be very reliable and we have had good backup from CMZ, so we have just ordered our sixth machine – a twin spindle TL25AMS turning centre with gantry loading. And with order volumes also on the up, we are looking to move forward and think about additional machines. We will continue to buy CMZ because for the price there isn't anything better on the market.”
CMZ UK
www.cmz.co.uk
