MACHINING and this is a credit to the 40,000rpm spindle.” The future Looking to the future, Dawnlough has plans for more Bumotec machines and continued expansion, which will certainly continue with the ambitions of the Acrotec Group. “The machines are extremely flexible and this means we can just change the programmes, jaws and collets over and it is ready to go in less than two hours,” Keith Kennedy affirms. “For our highprecision mid to high volumes with a high mix of complexity, the Bumotec is the perfect machine for our business. “In addition, the service levels we’ve received from Starrag have been exceptional. Starrag is a brand with a limited footprint in Ireland and I believe our Bumotec was their first machine installation in the country. The support has been second to none.” Q Starrag www.starrag.com Q Dawnlough Precision https://dawnlough.com Hercules, established 50 years ago, brings extensive practical experience serving operators of vessels and industrial plant across the UK, Europe, and worldwide. Hercules’ skilled team offers a complete service covering hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical and mechanical engineering from its two sites in Dartmouth and Paignton. In prototyping and testing, Hercules adeptly transforms customer ideas into reality, ensuring that projects of all sizes meet expectations while staying within budget constraints. Hercules’ engineers regularly travel to all corners of the world to oversee installations, guaranteeing smooth operations. “A large number of orders placed are for our own products,” explains director Lee Drury, “largely parts for offshore windfarm support vessels such as winches, thrusters, and watertight deck hatches. We also manufacture components for superyachts and racing yachts. It’s niche, complex work; we’re machining a variety of materials such as stainless steels, titanium, bronze, and specialist composites.” Lee Drury began his career with the company aged just 17. While first learning the trade on manual machines, he read engineering magazines and was captivated by pictures of workshops full of Haas CNC technology. “This was how I wanted to work,” he recalls. “It was honestly a dream of mine. I convinced my then boss to consider investing in a Haas machine so we went to see a Mini Mill being demonstrated at first and came away with a VF-2 and a TL-1.” The Haas VF-2 vertical machining centre and TL-1 Toolroom Lathe were quickly followed by a Mini Mill. “The machines have changed the way we manufacture; they have opened so many doors,” Mr Drury affirms. “We can design in a way we couldn’t before because of what we can now produce.” The purchase of a VF-6 large frame vertical machining centre took manufacturing to a new level. The VF-6 has a 1,626mm x 813mm x 762mm work envelope, 8,100rpm direct drive spindle and 30+1 side mount tool change. “As the business grew, so did the machines. We were milling our winches and deck hatches manually. With the VF-6 on board we’re now 95% automated and our numbers are through the roof because we can make more parts,” Mr Drury enthuses. “It’s the same with our CNC turning operations. We bought a larger lathe and it runs all day,” he adds. “We opted for the Haas ST-25 turning centre with tailstock and bar feeder. We had a manual lathe which produced small batches; now we simply load the barfeeder and it makes thousands of components in the same time.” The team has recently enhanced its two latest vertical machining centres with Haas/Renishaw wireless probing options: “We needed to keep up with demand and the probes have helped us massively. They’ve reduced Hercules director Lee Drury Hercules: engineering across continents Scan here for more Starrag articles
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