The company was spun out of the Cranfield University Precision Engineering Institute in July 2011 and named after the late Professor John Loxham, described as one of the founders of the ‘Deterministic Approach to Metrology and Manufacturing’ – a philosophy for precision engineering.
Loxham Precision is owned by a number of UK individuals, while the university also retains a shareholding. Paul Shore, FREng, CEO at Loxham Precision, is a former Professor of precision engineering at the university and was the Head of Engineering Divisions at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL), a role he left in May to focus on ultra-precision at Loxham, explains to Machinery the new machine is part of a growth strategy for the company.
“What we have been doing until now is developing Loxham Precision’s core competencies that give us some unique technical propositions,” he explains. “You can already buy ultra-precision machines on the market, so why would Loxham’s be any better than anybody else’s? What are the core, unique qualities that we can provide?
“We have a number of engineers at Loxham Precision together with some key people on the financial side. We also have a banking sector investor who is helping tailor the company for future growth investment.”
The new 5-axis diamond turn-mill CNC machine tool Loxham has manufactured is the Micro 5. It has been developed in direct response to companies who employ high precision turning and micro milling for manufacturing complex components in small and medium batch sizes
The machine embodies attributes of previous Loxham machines such as – compactness, nanometre performance and automated tool setting. Together with low energy needs and environmental footprint, and low cost of ownership, the new Loxham machine offers ease of use through CAM manufacturing capabilities.
