The rub of the green

The volume production division of the Reading based Rodmatic subcontract operation, The contract that currently requires the processing of some 40 tonnes of material a month will eventually lead to fully automated cell machining strategies that will run around-the-clock.

Says managing director Brian Steatham: “Green technology has opened new opportunities for us and this initial phase of the contract worth some £500,000 was won on competitive pricing using production technology, our willingness to invest in innovative methods to guarantee quality and consistency of supply and our existing track record in the fluid power sector.”

He adds: “Over recent years Rodmatic has established an enviable reputation by providing a high volume production facility with the flexibility to ramp-up new component introductions and provide spares in smaller batches through Rodmatic's sister company Rodmatic Hytek.”

So far Rodmatic has invested over £100,000 into the project that includes the purchase of a high speed Akira-Seiki A650 vertical machining centre with a twin pallet rotary index table giving the facility for simultaneous loading and machining. The machine has rapid traverse rates up to 72m/minute and a one second toolchange. It is able to produce eight parts per cycle requiring drilling, tapping and deburring using carbide tooling that takes less than 12 seconds to complete each component.

Rodmatic had already committed to progressively overhauling and refurbishing its 29 Wickman multi-spindle lathes and three of these machines have been tooled for thread rolling for the contract by LMT (UK) of Coventry. As a result, high quality threads can be guaranteed with faster cycles and improved health and safety by avoiding sharp edges when the customer assembles the components.

The recent installation of a Durr 80C programmable cleaning system giving high standards of cleanliness and a Tesascan non-contact measuring system with automated SPC data compilation were additional resources that influenced the placement of the contract by the customer.

“With the first phase of the contract now tooled and in full production, our engineering team is now focusing on developing the processes for phased growth that will involve additional parts,” Mr Steatham explains. “Our next move is to install fixturing able to hold 30 parts at a time on the Akira-Seiki to be followed by incorporating flexible automation to minimise manual involvement. This will allow us to maintain round-the-clock production without interruption.”

Rodmatic
www.rodmatic.com