Continuous investment in the latest CNC machine tools has enabled a UK machining subcontractor build ongoing cuctomer confidence, and using mostly one supplier ensures back-up.

HySpeed (CNC) in Southbourne, West Sussex, UK, operates some 20 mainly large capacity machining centres with capacities up to 2000x950x800mm in its 18,000ft2 machine shop and they are all engaged in 24h production of pump and aerospace components HySpeed has two main customers that use almost all the capacity since the company's foundation by brothers Barry and Gary Francis in November 1993 Consequently these customers drive the almost continuous plant purchase policy.

According to managing director of HySpeed, Barry Francis, the company's investments have exceeded GBP 1.5 million.

An example is a pair of Hyundai-Kia V50D, twin-pallet vertical machining centres (VMC) and a Hyundai-Kia VX950 VMC.

Each VMC has contributed to improved productivity by reducing machining cycles by some 30-50% against the machines they replaced.

All three of these Hyundai-Kia machines were installed by C Dugard of Hove, UK, which has also installed a Hyundai-Kia VX650 VMC and two Hit-15F CNC turning centres as well as six Niigata 4-axis and four Kiwa 4-axis horizontal machining centres (HMC).

According to Barry Francis, the reason so many machines have been from the same supplier is because it provides the service and most important the support as well as all aspects on the installation - and at a realistic price.

Barry Francis' confidence in having two major customers is qualified by his company's trading record on price, delivery and quality.

This consistency of supply has been repaid by these customers in schedules providing security for forward planning of up to some five years ahead.

The continuous 'drip-feed' of repeat batches of around 30 parts and occasional demands of quantities varying between one and five to 200 parts partly provided the catalyst for constant business growth.

The demand also motivated the two directors to add with machines well able to satisfy the deamnd.

Gary Francis, technical director, said they always check out competitive equipment for specification, capability and price, which on a few occasions has led to other purchases of machines that better fitted the bill.

However, he said: "In straight business, the range of machines available from C Dugard's Hove operation is difficult to beat".

The Hyundai-Kia V50D moving column, twin 180 deg indexing pallet VMCs are installed back to back.

They replaced two 14 year old VMCs.

Said Gary Francis: "The pace of machine tool development really comes to the fore when you compare new with old.

But already we find the 600mm by 460mm by 570mm capacity is stretched to the limit with some of the parts we are now machining for aerospace".

Each pallet of 700mm by 500mm is fitted with a subplate to which setters can quickly mount fixtures or clamps.

For very thin components, a vacuum chuck is used to secure the part.

Most of the original tooling from the older machines is used in the 24 station, 40 taper tool magazine with double-arm automatic tool changer (ATC).

As an illustration of the working relationship between C Dugard and HySpeed, Dugard was entrusted to specify the machines with features such as Cool Jet high pressure coolant system and the swarf removal system to suit the type of work that was scheduled to be produced.

It included the Fanuc 18iM CNC and software package to cater for 3D profiling from solid billet and general milling and drilling.

Indeed, even the original programs were able to be used with just a few minor 'tweaks' to further improve cycle times from the Licom DNC linked CAM system.

While tolerances tend to be fairly open on a lot of parts, certain dimensions are 'ultra-tight'.

The company uses master checking techniques and even have to account for ambient temperature.

Most materials machined are aluminium, titanium and steel and some cast iron is used for pump body housing production.

* High precision VMC - the Hyundai-Kia VX950M high precision VMC was installed recently.

Dugard told manufacturingtalk that this VMC very popular in the mould and die sector for its high speed RISC processor to multi-buffer blocks of program and manage feed, speed and acceleration by auto recognition of any curved surface.

HySpeed uses it to machine long aerospace parts from solid billets with significant rough and finish cycles.

"Quite often these parts can be on a machine for 12 hours," said Gary Francis, "But that is at least 30% quicker than we could produce them before." With each part worth more than GBP 700, most weeks see four, two left and two right hand, parts machined on the 2700mm by 950mm table.

The Hyundai-Kia 950M has a working volume of 2450mm in X, 950mm in Y and 850mm in Z with a 50 taper, 22kW spindle.

Said Gary Francis: "With a table of this size we can also multi-load the same or different components to improve our efficiency".

* About HySpeed - HySpeed (CNC) now employs 42 people.

A third partner Leigh Hunter is engineering director.

HySpeed (CNC) was started by the Francis brothers and two other machinists from the same failed subcontractor and six machines bought with a three month 'finance holiday' from the finance company.

To help them at the start, a small order book was placed by the two current customers who were willing to help out.

Said Barry Francis: "The country was also in the depth of recession but we passed the test with the customers and from those heady days, both companies have faithfully bought most of our capacity and generated enough business to encourage a move into our current premises in 2001".

In the same way their customers have treated Barry and Gary Francis so these two machinist directors have worked with C Dugard maintaining the machine tool supplier has always been prepared to understand the situation and work very closely in providing help, support and any service required.

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