Subcontractor installs first Mori Seiki to boost capacity

The Thetford-based company has a diversified client base and has worked on some prestigious projects, including a giant man - bigger than the Angel of the North - used in the recent Take That concerts! William Bridgman, managing director explains the reasons for purchasing the company's first Mori Seiki. "Our order book is 20% up this year and we anticipate that it will increase by a further 20% next year. We needed more capacity to keep up, and we were looking for a machine that would be robust, reliable, accurate, long lasting and low maintenance. "Mori Seiki has a reputation for build quality. We particularly liked the built-in turret and spindle motors and the box guideways, these will give us longer tool life, repeatability and rigidity. We have had the machine completely tooled up so we will be able to achieve very short tool change times. In our opinion, the Mori Seiki is definitely worth it for a long-term investment." The NLX2500MC purchased by Warren Services has a built-in motor in both the spindle and the turret, and supports a maximum turning diameter of 366 mm and a bar work capacity of 80 mm. The built-in turret motor is highly rigid, and produces a third less vibration and a tenth of the temperature increase than traditional approaches. Tool tip rigidity is 22% better than on a conventional machine; turret indexing is fast, taking just 0.27 seconds to move one station; rapid traverse rates are 30 m/min; and spindle speed is 6,000 rpm – all this resulting in typical cycle times of nearly half of those possible on older machines, it is claimed. Richard Bridgman, chairman of Warren Services, is also chairman for the East of England for SEMTA, The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies, and the company is a committed trainer, with nine apprentices on its books out of a workforce of 85. In fact, the purchased machine model is identical to those used recently to support the WorldSkills event held at London's ExCel and which saw Mori Seiki as a headline sponsor, supplying CNC machines to support both CNC turning and CNC milling elements of the competition. All of Warren Services' apprentices attended the WorldSkills event, in fact. Steve Finn, director, vice president – sales for Mori Seiki UK says: "We are delighted that Warren Services supported us with the purchase of one of the NLX2500MC machines used in the competition and brought all their apprentices to the WorldSkills event. Our aim is to inspire young engineers and Warren Services is a prime example of what can be achieved with the right support. Richard Bridgman adds: "Mori Seiki's commitment to WorldSkills chimes with our approach to apprentice training. Having a similar philosophy to us for the promotion of engineering skills in the UK is an important factor for us when building a long term, profitable relationship with our suppliers."