West Midlands subcontractor Ufone invests to capitalise on economic recovery and sees drilling and milling cycle times cut byup to two-thirds

Ufone, a Black Country specialist in subcontract machining of large, heavy components, has taken delivery from DMG of the UK’s first DMF500 Linear 4/5-axis vertical machining centre with five-metre X-axis.  It significantly extends the size of prismatic component that the Dudley-based precision machinist can produce, as the previous maximum was three metres in X. Investment by Ufone in the DMG machine and a new CNC lathe from another supplier for turning parts up to 800mm diameter exceeds £500,000 within the past year.  It demonstrates Ufone’s confidence that the economy is emerging from recession, at least in the sectors that it serves.


Capable of producing parts weighing up to seven tonnes within a 5,000 x 1,100 x 900mm working envelope, the DMF machining centre has a linear motor that accelerates the spindle head in the X-axis at 6 m/s2  to a rapid traverse speed of 80m/min.  Non-cutting times are therefore minimised, resulting in high productivity.


http://www.theengineer.co.uk/mwp/in-depth/machining%C2%A0-centre-boosts-capacity-and-productivity/1002994.article