New UK machining facility opens at Sheffield Forgemasters

SFIL claims it has installed the UK's largest 5-axis vertical turning lathe (VTL) manufactured by Spanish company, Bost, as part of a £6 million upgrade to its machining facilities and to dramatically improve its capacity and throughput for complex machining requirements.

Commissioning of the VTL was attended by delegates from Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, which helped to fund the VTL installation, alongside senior supply chain partners and officials from Bost and its UK supplier, McDowell Machine Tools.

David Bond, CEO at Sheffield Forgemasters said: “We were delighted to commission this new facility which marks a step-change in our capacity to deliver advanced manufacturing techniques.

“The improvement of our machining facilities is of particular interest to customers such as those in the defence industry as it will improve accuracy and significantly reduce lead-times on delivery for crucial components both for the UK and US submarine programmes.

“Our new VTL will also have significant implications for the machining of domed or cylindrical components such as those required in the civil nuclear power market and pressure vessel markets.”

Weighing almost 250 tonnes, the Bost VTL is the largest and most capable 5-axis vertical turning lathe in the UK and required the removal of 6,000 tonnes of earth and 3,400 tonnes of concrete to create a foundation.

It has a maximum machining height of 4m, maximum swing diameter of 8.5m, table weight capacity of 100 tonnes and embraces modern Industry 4.0 techniques of process control, adaptive control, and real-time interactive maintenance protocols.

Stuart McDowell, managing director at McDowell Machine Tools, added: “Sheffield Forgemasters is one of the last iconic British manufacturing companies and flies the flag for UK heavy industry globally. We are delighted the company has invested in advanced 5-axis Bost technology.

“Bost hydrosphere machines offer key benefits of being extremely heavy, rigid and powerful yet still capable of the highest levels of accuracy. This technology is a significant investment for Forgemasters and gives the company capability unrivalled in the UK and matched by only a handful of companies throughout the world.”

The installation of the machine has taken 330 days to complete and precedes the installation of a Bost ram, horizontal floor borer, which will increase Forgemasters' capacity for the machining of ultra-complex shapes including node castings for offshore oil and gas markets.

The Bost ram machine is scheduled to be commissioned later this year and both machines will allow Sheffield Forgemasters' machine shops to substantially improve machining times on key components.

David Bond concluded: “Despite the high levels of competition for contracts that we face on a global level, the business has always recognised the need to keep investing and pushing technological boundaries and capacity so that we can compete at the highest level.

“Upgrades to our plant will continue and improved facilities in each department from steelmaking to machining are helping the company to make great strides in what we can achieve.”

Sheffield Forgemasters www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

McDowell Machine Tools www.mcdowellmt.com