The machine – the largest ever installed by the contract manufacturer – will provide it with flexible production capacity to meet all foreseeable demands in terms of producing precision milled and turned workpieces in a single set-up. Indeed, the 6-axis Droop+Rein T series machine – with its machining envelope of up to 19 m table length, 9.5 m between the columns and 7 m under the spindle – will also help attract new work.
Established in 1971, Metalex specialises in producing complex workpieces for a range of customers in the aerospace, energy, marine and consumer goods industries.
Metalex’s desire to source a machine that would not only satisfy current production needs but also meet all projected demands in the years ahead saw it make contact with a number of machine builders, including Starrag, which in the past has supplied the company with a number of machines (a Dörries vertical turning lathe and two Starrag STC horizontal 5-axis machining centres).
To help meet application demands at Metalex, Starrag added the two rotary tables and turning tool holders for in-cycle turning operations, and expanded the horizontal and vertical clearances of the Droop+Rein T series machine. Also included was Balluff tool identification, Renishaw probing, Blum laser tool measuring, video monitoring of the work area using four cameras, ARTIS tool and process monitoring, and Brankamp collision monitoring – all integrated via the machine’s Siemens 840 D SL CNC.
The machine is due for delivery in 2020 and production is scheduled to commence in 2021.
Kevin Kummerle, CEO of Metalex, summarises the pre-order project phase: “To continuously evolve and be a company of the future, a combination of our capabilities, technology and people must work together to create innovation that sets us apart from others. Our customers need to know that their key suppliers are committed to be at the leading edge of their industry, offering the best total value in terms of quality, technology, cost and service for today and the long run.
“We applied these same considerations in our machine tool evaluation process, looking for a partner which could provide a complete technology solution for our application; a highly flexible and accurate machine configuration integrated with the latest in technology supported by a service organisation capable of rapidly solving challenges that arise. All of these factors are why we selected Starrag as our partner on this critical project.”
All of the machine’s heads will be designed, built and tested by Droop+Rein in Bielefeld. In addition, the machine will be prepared for more heads to be fitted in the future as further jobs arrive.
