Stand purchase increases capacity

Key in the machine order was the availability and installation that would allow them to meet the ultra-tight, eight week customer parts delivery deadline as director Yian Stavrou comments: “We had the enquiry, quoted and had to machine prototypes on existing Citizen machines then waiting for conformance testing.

“This meant the contract for the family of 22 parts in 316 stainless steel was still being received on the Thursday before the show but we also needed extra capacity to meet the deadline imposed by the customer.”

Fellow director George Dingley adds: “We viewed all the sliding head machines at the show and found the specification of the latest Citizen Cincom L32-XII was perfect for these parts so we placed the order on the stand and took delivery of the machine that was being demonstrated.”

Sub-CNC Precision was set up in 2009 by Messrs Stavrou and Dingley with one Citizen L20 machine in Luton. Within six months, a fixed head lathe and a further sliding head machine were installed. Eight years on with new, more modern purpose-built facilities in Dunstable, the company employs eight people and has grown at an impressive rate of 30% each year over the past two years and is well on course to maintain this momentum through 2016.

The Citizen L32 is the seventh Citizen machine installed at the firm plus a Miyano BNA-42MSY fixed head turn-mill centre that was added to the machine shop in 2012. However, even with a proven track record with Citizen Machinery UK, and especially with past support and service, the company needed the most flexible machine for the type of features incorporated in the design of the components.

According to Mr Stavrou, based on the nuclear parts order, the most complex part needed 14 driven tools and 10 static tools and here, the 40 tool capacity of the L32 was ideal. Meanwhile, what also attracted the two engineers was the added flexibility of the swivelling fully programmable B-axis with its driven tool positions.

Mr Stavrou says: “There is ample power to surface mill and drill angled features on the stainless components and with the fast processing, overlapping cycle capability and added flexibility of a Y2 axis on the back toolpost, single cycle operations significantly reduce lead-times.”

Comments from Mr Dingley on the level of flexibility now available from the new L-Series machine means the company is now able to draw back in-house certain subcontracted components that involved considerable milling. “These can now be produced in a single cycle out of round bar on the new machine,” he comments.

The Citizen Cincom L32-Xll has a 7.5kW, 8,000rpm main and 3.7kW 8,000rpm back spindle with 1kW, 6,000rpm driven tools. While Sub-CNC took the 32mm capacity machine from the exhibition, 35mm and 38mm bar size versions are options. Rapid traverse speeds are quick at 32m/minute.

Mr Stavrou concludes: “Access is also ideal for setting which enables us to achieve a fast changeover. We also included high pressure coolant to improve tool life and help swarf control as we often machine difficult materials such as Monel, Inconel, titanium, S80 stainless steels and nickel alloy bronzes.”

Sub-CNC Precision www.sub-cncprecision.co.uk

Citizen www.citizenmachinery.co.uk