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Horizontal machining centres prove very popular

A Matchmaker M/C product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 8, 2001

One high speed horizontal machining centre which has proved particularly popular with industry as a whole is the rigidly constructed and versatile twin-pallet Mitsubishi M-H5B, from Yamazen (UK)

Horizontal machining centres have really 'caught on' in the last few years, particularly in the subcontracting sector.

With multi-fixturing, rapid pallet changing, the ability to 'hit' several sides at once, large capacity ATCs and high speed operation; horizontals can significantly boost productivity, cut lead times and lower production costs on certain types of batch work.

Then, of course, they can be linked together to form flexible machining cells.

One high speed horizontal machining centre which has proved particularly popular with industry as a whole is the Mitsubishi M-H5B, from Yamazen (UK).

For this rigidly constructed and versatile twin-pallet machine can be supplied with spindle options up to 20,000 rev/min spindle, 40 m/min rapids, 120-station ATC and tool and pallet changing times of 1.3 and 5 sec, respectively.

The M-H5B can also be specified with Fine Mould (FM) software for the high speed and high definition machining of moulds.

Yamazen says that a high proportion of Mitsubishi sales over the last 18 months have been into the subcontracting sector -- both in the form of stand alone models and multi-machines which have been linked by linear rack-type pallet arrangements to form a flexible machining system.

For example, a number of leading aerospace subcontractors have installed Mitsubishi horizontal machining centres.

Chester Hall in Essex now has four M-H5Bs, as does Arden Precision in Solihull (including two 'ring-fenced' machines for specific customers), while Supercraft in Surrey is also capitalising on the speed and versatility of a Mitsubishi machine.

Meanwhile Coventry-based Viasystems has installed two Mitsubishi M-H5Bs linked by a Fastems two-level rack type pallet transportation and storage system.

Used to machine the front and rear extrusions of electronic equipment racks for the telecommunications sector, the FMS provides for 24 hour a day working on these aluminium components.

The entire system is driven by the Fastems control software, based on Viasystems' order intake information.

However, the most advanced Mitsubishi-based FMS installed to date is at the Gloucestershire works of precision subcontractor Kenard Engineering (Tewkesbury).

This highly flexible system is based on five M-H5B machining centres linked by a multi-level Fastems linear rack system which holds 72 pallets.

The recently installed FMS is being used to machine some 40 different telecommunications components such as chassis, trays and heat sinks on a round-the-clock basis.

A scheduling type cell controller oversees all operating functions and each machine is also linked to KIDS -- Kenard's own information and data collectionsystem.

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