The machines - three Doosan DNM 4500 vertical machining centres, one Doosan DNM 6700 large-capacity vertical machining centre and one Lynx 2100LMB lathe equipped with driven tooling and supplied with a bar-feeder - were delivered and installed at Dyer Engineering’s 100,000 ft2 split-site manufacturing facility in Stanley, County Durham between April and August 2018.
All five machines were purchased by Dyer Engineering following a visit by company representatives to MACH 2018. The express purpose of the team was to assess the technology on view, talk to selected machine tool suppliers, secure the best deals and place orders.
All five machines were selected for their reliability, productivity, cutting performance, competitive price, ready availability, and the service and aftersales support provided by Mills CNC. The decision to make such a significant investment in capital equipment followed an internal audit undertaken by Dyer Engineering in early 2018. It was intended that the audit would identify any weaknesses or potential production ‘pinch points’ that could affect the company’s ability to meet its future growth objectives and ambitions.
Says Leigh Foulger, BatchLine Division lead: “We are committed to continuous improvement and, as such, continually monitor and benchmark all aspects of our performance. The audit results revealed that some of our existing CNC machine tools, while still performing adequately were, owing to their age, becoming less reliable and more prone to breakdown. We knew that the situation, if not addressed, would only become more acute over time and so we decided to ‘grasp the nettle’ and make the significant investment required to address our weaknesses and improve our machining capabilities in one fell swoop.
“Prior to the MACH show we drew up a list of our machine tool requirements, which included outline technical specifications, capacity and capabilities,” he continues. “We decided that we needed four reliable and accurate vertical machining centre equipped with the latest Fanuc controls. We also needed a Fanuc-controlled multi-tasking lathe with driven tooling and a bar feeder.”
Although Dyer Engineering does not necessarily push its machines to deliver exacting part accuracies (typical accuracies required are ±0.2 mm), they can be in operation around the clock and, as such, have to be reliable performers in order to meet OTIF arrangements made with customers.
Having met with Mills’ representatives at MACH and seen a number of the Doosan machines being demonstrated on the company’s stand, the serious business of agreeing deals and placing orders began.
Says Foulger: “We placed the total order with Mills because they had the technology which most closely matched that on our ‘hit’ list.”
Four Doosan machines have been installed in the company’s BatchLine Division, which manufactures complex, high-precision fabricated and machined components to UK and international automotive, rail, defence, marine and energy customers. One of the DNM 4500 vertical machining centres has been installed in the company’s TechProjects Division, which manufacturers large and often complex fabricated structures and assemblies (with machined features and details) to customers operating in the energy and rail sectors.
The four machining centres are equipped with directly coupled spindles, roller LM guideways, thermal compensation systems and quick-change automatic tool changers, while the Doosan multi-tasking lathe offers 8” chuck/65 mm bar diameter capacity, a high-torque spindle (15 kW/4,500 rpm) and 3.7 kW/6,000 rpm driven tooling capability.
Concludes Foulger: “We’re delighted with the performance of all five machines - they haven’t missed a beat. This, plus the knowledge that the machines are backed by Mills’ technical and service support, means we are confident in achieving our growth targets.”
