Super speedy cycle times

Whilst taking its first steps, managing director Mr Edmondson began looking for a CNC machine, but he found that most of the suppliers were not eager to help a fledgling business. It was at this point that he contacted his local Haas salesman.

“Haas bent over backwards to support us,” he says. “We had no idea which model we needed, but they spent hours with us going through the options, then we had a day at the showroom viewing demos. We were sold.

“It was obvious that the build quality was second to none. Like for like, in our opinion, the Haas machines stand head and shoulders above the rest.”

Mr Edmondson opted for two VF-2 vertical machining centres. While one has recently been traded in for a new Haas, the other has run every day since the company began.

“It’s as good for repeatability as a brand new machine and it’s been very reliable,” Mr Edmondson affirms.

Aerospace is the largest industry served by the subcontractor, but CPL also works hand-in-hand with companies such as Teledyne Defence and Space to develop products used in space, telecommunications and the defence. CPL is also well respected in the motorsport industry.

Orders vary from one-off prototypes to batches of thousands and everything is designed using the CAD/CAM package Edgecam. Investments have been made in a further nine Haas machines over the past few years, including six Super Speed vertical machining centres.

These high-performance CNC machines are built for speed, with a 12,000rpm spindle, 24+1 pocket side mount tool changer and 35.6 m/minute rapids.

“The Super Speed machines are superb,” Mr Edmondson enthuses. “They have improved our cycle times by tenfold. All our programming is completed offline so we simply load the programs in and press go. We can run an extra shift overnight, unmanned without any worry.

“What I like most about the machines is that, old or new, the controls are the same. The buttons are laid out and labelled identically and this consistency helps our operators enormously. Whenever we get a new machine, we have half an hour with the trainer to show us any improvements, then we’re cutting metal.”

Service is also an important factor for Mr Edmondson and his team.

He says: “Over 11 machines, in all the years we’ve been using Haas our downtime has totalled less than two weeks. The service is absolutely top class and something we can rely on.”

Always looking to expand and improve, CPL has been awarded ISO 9001 certification and is applying for AS 9100 for the aerospace sector.

In terms of its facility, the company is currently putting the finishing touches to an additional unit, increasing its total capacity to 3,200ft².

“Our customers are always asking us to do more for them. This facility will enable us to offer them everything they need.”

CPL Engineering www.cpl-precision.co.uk

Haas www.haas.co.uk