The agreement covers the entire CB Ferrari range of multi-axis machining centres, polishing machines and laser systems, all of which are suited to applications within the aerospace sector, blade manufacturing in particular, with its A, S and N series of machines; as well as mould and die, where its D series large-capacity machines meet the requirements of the mould maker.
Cornwall-based IWSH is a leading specialist in retrofitting, service and repair of a wide range of machines and CNC controls, in particular Fanuc systems. It also has on-board extensive machine tool sales experience gained with leading UK machine suppliers. It says that the association with CB Ferrari is an ideal opportunity to extend its existing remit by adding new machine sales to the services it already provides to to customers, including existing users of CB Ferrari machines.
Ian Warren, IWSH’s head of sales and operations, says: “We have experience of working on the existing Ferrari machines installed in the UK and the quality of the machines and their capability seemed to be a perfect fit for UK manufacturing. The machines, while renowned for their aerospace applications, are also widely used in the mould and die and medical sectors. We believe that there is significant potential for the technology manufactured by CB Ferrari in the UK. And, what gives us more confidence is the fact that they design and manufacture the key elements of the machines, including spindles, in-house. This control of quality is evident in the finished machines. Add to this their expertise in blade manufacturing software and we believe that their range is a perfect fit for the high added value manufacturing sector.”
CB Ferrari manufactures a series of 3-, 4-, and 5-axis machining centres, including high speed linear motor machines, that are targeted at blade machining and also complex shaped components. Because of this speciality CB Ferrari has invested in in-house development of software that optimises cutter paths when machining turbine blade profiles by producing a true geometric shape in-line with the blades’ CAD profile to a precision of 0.02 mm. For the mould and die sector, its D-series simultaneous 5-axis machines have axis travels up to 3,000 by 2,200 by 1,000 mm (in X, Y and Z), and can be supplied with tilting head/integral rotary table or an optional two-axis spindle head. CB Ferrari’s series of polishing/grinding machines feature the same path optimisation software as the machining centres, making them ideal also for finishing turbine blades, greatly reducing the amount of hand-finishing and improving product quality.
In addition to the metalcutting and polishing range, CB Ferarri also offers 3- and 5-axis laser systems for texturing, drilling and welding. Here its Liquid Jet Laser technology allows deep-sided cavities with parallel sides to be lasered. The ability to cut in this way also opens up opportunities normally associated with wire-cut EDM systems.
