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Brother, the Japanese 30-taper machining centre manufacturer, has had a machine in its portfolio with a one-metre X-axis for nearly a decade. The third iteration of this model, launched in April 2023, has seen the specification uprated in several key areas to boost capacity and versatility. Sole sales and service agent in Britain and IrelandRead more

30-taper vertical machining centre (VMC) manufacturer Brother, Japan, has introduced a new 5-axis model with a swivelling rotary table, the Speedio U500Xd1. Despite having a nominal footprint of just 1.5 x 2 metres, it is capable of multi-face machining of components up to 500 mm diameter by 270 mm high and weighing up to 100Read more

Speedio 30-taper, 3- to 5-axis machining centres built by Brother are able to produce components in such short cycle times that it is difficult to load raw material and unload finished parts by hand quickly enough. So to maximise production efficiency, the Japanese machine manufacturer introduced a robotic handling system, Feedio, at the EMO machineRead more

It was as recently as 2012 that manual plus two-and-a-half-axis CNC milling gave way to full 3D machining of plastic injection moulds on a 3-axis vertical machining centre (VMC) at family-run toolmaker and plastic injection moulding specialist Plasticom Group (www.plasticomgroup.com). Since that time the toolroom has undergone a transformation, with 2020 alone seeing investment ofRead more

Featuring a generous working volume of 815 x 510 x 510 mm in a small 2.5 x 1.8 metre footprint on the shop floor, the new VC850- 5A is the latest prismatic metalcutting machine to be launched by German manufacturer Spinner Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik, whose factory is located near Munich. The 5-axis, vertical-spindle machining centre, which isRead more

Andover-based aluminium diecasting company MRT Castings uses robotic systems in its foundry, but until now automation has not featured in the company’s machine shop, apart from twin pallet change on machining centres from the Japanese manufacturer Brother, supplied through sole agent Whitehouse Machine Tools. That situation is due to change following an order placed byRead more

The sixth generation of ultra-high-precision turning centres from Spinner, Germany, which started manufacturing them in the 1950s, was for the first time presented on the manufacturer’s stand at the AMB 2018 show in Stuttgart (18 – 22 September). Available in the UK and Ireland through sole agent Whitehouse Machine Tools, the new Microturn lathe isRead more

Whitehouse Machine Tools has been appointed, with immediate effect, sole agent to sell and service in the UK and Ireland the full range of machine tools manufactured by WELE Mechatronic. You can view the complete WELE range here. Founded in 2007, the Taiwanese firm produces vertical and horizontal machining centres with X-axis strokes up toRead more

In medium volumes, there is little difference between the cost of producing machined castings in China and in the UK Zinc and aluminium high-pressure die casting specialist RD Castings has used Japanese-built, high-speed, twin-pallet machining centres from Brother since 1989 and currently has nine of them adding value to its products in two machine shops inRead more

Subcontractor progresses to 5-axis machining after success of first Brother S700X1 Even after extending the day shift, Suffolk-based subcontractor CTPE was still having difficulty producing aluminium covers for a medical housing in two operations quickly enough on an ageing, 40-taper, 3-axis machining centre after the customer raised the call-off rate to 100 per week. ARead more

Anyone needing to machine complex components weighing up to two tonnes within an 820 mm cube may wish to review the new VC1650 5-axis machining centre from German manufacturer, Spinner, represented in the UK and Ireland by sole agent Whitehouse Machine Tools, Kenilworth. Rigidity and accuracy are assured by deploying a +1°/-110° B-axis spindle toRead more

A robotic component handling system, Feedio, has been introduced by the Japanese manufacturer, Brother, to increase the production efficiency of its Speedio range of 3- to 5-axis machining centres. Available in the UK and Ireland through Whitehouse Machine Tools, the compact unit can be retrofitted to upgrade any machine in the range. All are highlyRead more

Brother, the Japanese manufacturer of very high speed machining centres, has introduced an uprated version of its Speedio M140X1 5-axis, 30-taper mill-turn centre. Called Speedio M140X2, the machine was launched at Jimtof 2016 last November and is available in the UK and Ireland through sole agent, Whitehouse Machine Tools. A video of the machine demo-cuttingRead more

The U-630 and U-1530 ranges of 3-, 4- and 5-axis vertical machining centres (VMCs) from German manufacturer, Spinner, have been significantly uprated in response to suggestions from end users. Sole sales and service agent for the UK and Ireland, Whitehouse Machine Tools, explains the improvements. Called U-Advanced Series, the machines offer larger magazines up toRead more

A new, vertical-spindle machining centre has been introduced by the German manufacturer, Spinner, which despite having a generous working envelope of 1,650 x 820 x 820 mm, occupies a relatively small footprint on the shop floor of 3,550 x 2,750 mm. Its compactness is a result of employing a novel method for protecting the 1,800Read more

New Brother Mill/Turn M140X cutting demo featuring super high-speed i-machining from Solidcam unveiled at METAV exhibition See the machine in action via the video link on our Brother page ;  Read more

Established in Blackpool 21 years ago, Entech Engineering has within the past five years invested in a new, purpose-built factory as well as modern inspection equipment and new machine tools to keep in the forefront of technology. The company specialises in the manufacture of original and replacement manipulation tools for tube in a wide varietyRead more

Leading UK Diecasting company outlines the benefits of using Brother’s range of high-speed VMCs, including the new 1metre Speedio S1000X complete with 4th-axis Trunion with 550mm swing…..Read more

Many subcontractors offer to machine components from metal as well as plastics, but they are different disciplines and it is difficult to excel at both. Plastic materials present special challenges, not the least the long, stringy swarf that is normally produced during turning. Chip breaking is almost impossible, whatever tooling is used, except when machiningRead more

Subcontractor’s highly productive VMCs will give any competitor a run for their money, from Budapest to Beijing. A seminal moment has arrived in British manufacturing, it appears. Using the latest ultra-highspeed machine tools, UK subcontractors can rival their competitors in low-wage countries and still make a profit. Paul Cobb, managing director of Nottingham contract machinists, Hemlock Engineering, describes howRead more

Lincolnshire motorcycle accessory manufacturer, Drury Precision Engineering, is world-famous for its high quality Evotech Performance (www.evotech-performance.com) range of motorcycle accessories such as replacement tail tidies, crash protection products, engine guards and guards for radiators and oil coolers. Intended mainly for road bikes but, in some instances also fitted to their racing counterparts, the products areRead more

Leicester subcontract machinists, Nisan Engineering, was recently awarded a new contract to machine stainless steel splitter valves used in the food industry. Complex internal profiles dictated the need for full simultaneous 5-axis machining, so managing director Mukesh Prajapati set about acquiring suitable capacity for the work. After researching the market, he decided that a SpinnerRead more

By employing a novel method for protecting the table’s X and Y axis guideways from swarf and coolant ingress, using a single wiper system and without recourse to telescopic covers, the German machine tool manufacturer, Spinner, has managed to endow its new VC1150 vertical machining centre with a working volume of 1,150 x 620 xRead more

New Brother General Catalogue published detailing all new models

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is enjoying an unprecedented upturn in sales since Tata Motors took over the group in 2008, making the automotive manufacturer a major driver for growth in manufacturing across the West Midlands and beyond. Managing that success brings challenges along the supply chain due to difficulty in anticipating global demand for theRead more

5-axis machining cell is ideal for high mix, low-to medium batch production. A new, 5-axis machining cell has dramatically increased the efficiency and flexibility with which prismatic components are manufactured around the clock at the Crediton works of subcontractor, Adaero Precision Components. The turnkey cell, costing one-third less than similar equipment shortlisted, was supplied inRead more

Machine tool supplier to Ford and Bosch, transforms machine accuracy without design changes Most CNC machine tool manufacturers invest heavily in machine developments that improve accuracy but by using the latest calibration systems at its factory in Istanbul, Turkey, leading manufacturer Spinner has improved specified machine accuracies without the need to change designs. As Mr Nurhan,Read more

Renthal, a world leading producer of accessories for motorcycles and mountain bikes, is changing its rear chainwheel (sprocket) manufacturing process from CNC drilling followed by a sequence of manual operations to virtually one-hit production on a pair of Brother machining centres

German machine tool builder, Spinner, will display 20 machines on its largest ever, 5000 m2 stand at this year’s EMO exhibition in Hannover. There will be 11 CNC lathes and nine milling centres including five different 5-axis machines. One will be a new, entry-level, vertical machining centre, called U5-620 Compact, according to Whitehouse Machine Tools,Read more

In the past year, a new name in metalcutting equipment has come to the fore in the UK since Whitehouse Machine Tools, Kenilworth, took over the sole sales and service agency for Spinner Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik GmbH, near Munich. It gives British manufacturers the option of buying top quality, European-built machines at prices that are more competitiveRead more

Plymouth subcontractor, Morris Engineering, was faced with either losing an aerospace contract, quite possibly to an overseas supplier, or finding a way of manufacturing the components much less expensively. The resulting value engineering exercise, which involved investing in an additional Brother vertical machining centre, was so successful that cycle time and labour overhead were bothRead more

Workpieces up to half a tonne can be machined to very high precision in a nominal half-metre cube. Tried and tested designs and components used by leading global machine tool manufacturers have been selected by Averex Automation, Taichung (www.averexcnc.com), to produce the Akari HS-450i horizontal-spindle machining centre (HMC). By selecting only the best constituents andRead more

The versatility of Brother high-speed machining centres has helped Suffolk die casting specialist, RD Castings, to diversify from over-reliance on supplying the yellow goods sector, which proved volatile during the recent downturn. Whereas the company used only to machine its own zinc and aluminium high-pressure die castings, during the second half of 2009 it startedRead more