DMG Mori used as venue for WorldSkillsUK milling competition

DMG Mori has provided the venue and machines for the national finals of the WorldSkills UK milling competition.

WorldSkills competition categories include automation, bricklaying, forensic science as well as CNC milling with the aim of finding the best apprentices in each of the over 60 disciplines.

As part of its continued support for WorldSkills UK, DMG Mori hosted the CNC Milling UK National Finals at its Coventry headquarters in November, one of 21 venues chosen to host the competitions, which would normally have taken place at the NEC in Birmingham before the pandemic.

As a member of WorldSkills, a movement of over 80 countries, WorldSkills UK gains global insights to help raise standards across the UK. Through sharing international best practice, WorldSkills UK helps deliver high-quality training and assessment and boosts the skills of educators and students.

For the CNC Milling national finals, DMG Mori supplied two of its M1 machining centres as well as training before the event to familiarise the contestants with the machine and the Siemens control. Also supporting the event were Jemtech, Mitutoyo, Quickgrind, Gewefa, Mastercam and GKN, supplying coolant, tools and fixtures, CAM software and metrology equipment.

The competition standards are very high, with tolerances of ±10 microns demanded together with a surface finish free from scratch and vibration marks and properly chamfered.

To complete the task, competitors need to programme the part from the supplied drawing, set all the tool lengths and offsets, set the vice, cut the part and gauge it on the machine, all within a limited time.

One of the competitors, Nathan Moore is studying at Coleg Cambria, which has just undergone a £8.5 million investment, is employed by the Ardagh Group, which employs 16,000 people across 12 countries and has manufacturing facilities in Deeside and Wrexham.

Mr Moore said: “My tutor at the college put me forward for the competition and I am getting full support from my employer. The competition has taken a lot of commitment and hours of work, but I can see the benefits it will bring to my career in the future.”

Steve Finn, managing director of DMG Mori UK, concluded: “The UK is famous for high technology products, and we need the next generation of engineers to meet the growing demand, and to develop innovative and skilful manufacturing methods.”

DMG Mori
www.dmgmori.com