Bespoke solutions from McDowell Machining Technologies

Stuart McDowell set-up McDowell Machining Technologies in 2009 after a long history of working in the machine tool industry. His company soon discovered a niche supplying advanced machines involving long project work and subsequently became an agent for Bost, Niles-Simmons and more recently Mandelli. In this Q&A he discusses his approach to supplying and installing the latest machine tool technology with Ed Hill which has taken him, and his company, around the world.

EH: Why have you chosen the machine tool partners that you work with: Niles-Simmons, Bost and Mandelli?

SM: Most of our business is carried out with OEMs or Tier 1 or 2 suppliers and we have been successful predominately within the defence, automotive, aerospace, and energy markets. I enjoy technical sales where I can be innovative, think outside the box and ultimately be progressive with the introduction of new technology and processes. I originally found this creative environment at Bost who are a very progressive Spanish company; always offering new developments and solutions to fit the customers’ production needs.

Bost are set-up to work this way and are very design driven. Before I worked with Bost I was surrounded by commodity machines that can be very rigid in their designs and rarely introduce something that really captures the imagination.

I have known Niles-Simmons for a very long time after an introduction at IMTS in Chicago. The group, headquartered in Germany, make machine tools that are of the highest quality available in the market today in terms of accuracy, rigidity and performance. They are always being asked to provide solutions to make core components – cranks and cams, turbine shafts, disks, landing gears, axles and valve bodies etc – from the most challenging materials with quality, cost savings and time reductions in mind. They always rise to the challenge and deliver some truly remarkable solutions such as ‘closed-door machining’. In my opinion, nobody else can deliver what they can just now.

Mandelli were added to our agency in January this year. They are an Italian company very similar to Niles-Simmons but make horizontal multi-process milling machines that complement the Niles-Simmons brand very well. They have similar target customers and markets and many synergies again with our other principals with regards to innovation.

EH: What sectors do you supply your machines to and how do they differ from your perspective?

SM: We are mainly active in the defence, energy markets (oil and gas, nuclear, wind, tidal), aerospace, automotive, power generation, and heavy engineering. Typically, we are involved with core components that are difficult to make, expensive to machine and made from exotic materials.

The automotive market has been Niles-Simmons’ largest market historically as they often provide full crankshaft lines into engine plants – we have three here in the UK. With the automotive industry changing, and the combustion engine eventually being replaced by electric drivetrains, we expect to see some real activity in electric drive units (EDUs) where they will still be very competitive and remain active in mid- to large-sized cranks and cams for trucks, trains and power generation.

The most progressive market for Niles-Simmons, alongside Mandelli, is aerospace where they focus on engine components – typically casings, disks, blisks, shafts, gears and landing gear – although Mandelli have some excellent solutions for components such as engine mounts, flap straps and actuators and a specific product specification for highly efficient removal rates of heat resistant alloys. Niles-Simmons have successfully installed more than 15 solutions working on disks and shafts for complete finish machining with no operator interventions.

Bost have specialities all of their own and excel in heavy machining, power generation, energy, defence, marine and aerospace. For many mid to large size core components they can offer great solutions. Our focus with many of our domestic projects is centred around offering solutions that keep these core components being manufactured in the UK and innovative ways to remove as much cost as possible.

EH: Many of your installations are very bespoke – far from ‘off the shelf’ supply. How do you work with customers to offer and manage the best solutions? What is a typical lead-time for a specialist client installation?

SM: Bost machines are very bespoke which means no two installations are identical. When you engage with them you realise that although the machines are made from the same structural components, they are integrated with different kinds of technology to best suit the application. Sometimes these machines have to be installed on huge, deep, cast foundations but they can be placed directly on a floor (depending on its quality).

Niles-Simmons and Mandelli machines are from smaller product groups but the configuration can vary a lot for the customer’s requirements. However, the actual installations can be relatively easy due to the design concepts of the machines themselves.

Lead-times for Niles-Simmons are around 10 - 14 months; Mandelli 10 - 14 months; and for a Bost machine it can be anything from 12 - 24 months. The process after the order remains in sales, up until pre acceptance or the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT).

A project manager is assigned and collaborates with the customer about delivery schedules, foundation handover, health and safety requirements and permitting. Once the machine/s are delivered to site we assign our own engineers to work alongside the OEM engineers up until handover at the Site Acceptance Test (SAT). Once handover is done, we usually have an applications and service presence with the company and that will continue in different formats depending on what the customer requests.

EH: What levels of automation can be attached to the machines you supply? How are they geared up for the world of Industry 4.0?

SM: In many ways our machine builders are leading from the front. Mandelli introduced the first FMS systems in the 1970s and this is a huge part of the solutions the company provides. They make their own FMS and have their own software suite to run it which is very user-friendly but offers huge benefits with data acquisition that can be captured to improve shopfloor production, scheduling, inventory and traceability.

Niles-Simmons push the boundaries all the time. They actively sell closed-door solutions with high levels of automation, process control, adaptive control, condition-based monitoring built-in and software for in-process machine verification.

This means they can deliver solutions where there is no operator interaction required with the machine. This alongside turnkey projects where they can deliver full production lines with the highest levels of automation gives them a unique advantage.

Bost offer similar solutions. They had great success with one global landing gear manufacturer offering a closed-door solution that took them from a machining time of 140 hours for one part down to 17 hours with no operator interaction. They can also provide FMS’ for their vertical turning lathes (VTL/VTL-CY) machines.

EH: What do your customers most value: your expertise; aftersales support and service/training etc.? Why should they approach you?

SM: If its technical and their parts are difficult to make; if the parts are expensive or labour intensive or if a customer is having problems with the performance of their existing machines, then this is usually where we can engage positively. We are honest and take time to listen to the customer; after all nobody knows the challenges they face with regards to their own parts as well as they do themselves.

We like to offer something progressive that sets us apart from everyone else – we are not afraid of doing the work it takes to push boundaries. Our machines are not for everyone; they are not commodity machines, but they can be accessible and offer a step change in production capability. We remain very focused on service, calibration and applications – it is all the same in my eyes – you cannot have technically advanced machines in the field without adequate support.

EH: Do you think UK companies generally understand the value and benefits of investing in the latest machining technology?

SM: We face the same challenges in the UK that we have for a long time: it’s expensive to make parts here typically because of labour costs and the protocols we have to follow. I am a strong believer that we have missed chances to adapt over the years; machines are replaced like for like and better options not explored.

Additionally, machine capabilities are sometimes hyped and oversold, then bought by customers, but the full extent of the potential gains are never realised. Organic growth brings many problems when introducing new technology to companies as you have an inherent culture associated with making parts or operating machines that can ultimately block production gains.

However, there is a lot of momentum around Industry 4.0 at the moment which is good as it’s a real driver. It’s making a lot of the technology around automation accessible and affordable, but there is more to it than automation; at its core is the ability to trust the machine through a process of gathering data and interacting with that data.

If this is accepted, nurtured and pushed – and the culture on the shopfloor is addressed by a new adaptable skillset – then we can remain competitive even desirable (especially for high value components) to be a leading manufacturing country of choice for many OEMs.

McDowell Machining Technologies www.mcdowellmt.com