The main attractions of a mill-turn centre to a precision engineering company was its ability to enable parts to be made in 'one-hit', reduced time spent on job set-ups and reduced cycle times.

Chard, UK-based precision engineering subcontract specialist - Metaltech Precision - has recently invested in a Doosan Daewoo MX 2500 ST mill-turn centre. The investment, the latest in a long line of machine tools purchased from Leamington-based Mills Manufacturing Technology - is already having a positive impact on Metaltech's productivity and performance by reducing cycle times, increasing work throughput and improving part accuracy. Metaltech is one of the largest precision subcontractors in the South West.

The company currently employs 55 people at its 35,000ft2 facility (soon to be increased by a further 5,000ft2) and operates 24h, 'around-the-clock' production (Monday - Friday).

Metaltech manufactures and supplies precision components (predominantly high-accuracy pump and valve parts and sub-assemblies) to a diverse range of industry sectors.

These include - petrochemical, oil/gas, tobacco and other 'processing' industries.

The company provides total manufacturing solutions to its customers - and as well as the full complement of CNC machining capabilities - turning, milling, grinding etc - also offers fabrication and welding as well as other finishing operations, e g, painting, heat treatment, shot-blasting, assembly, etc Metaltech manufactures high-precision parts made from titanium, aluminium, mild steel, alloy steels, Inconel, Hastelloy and stainless steels (e g, 316, Duplex, etc).

Parts are usually required in low-medium volume (typically 100 off) - although the company does manufacture in batch sizes from 1-5000 off.

Part accuracy varies according to the specific job in question - but on average +/-7-8 micron tolerance is standard.

The company's latest investment in the Doosan Daewoo MX 2500 ST Mill/Turn machine reflects Metaltech's desire to increase its productivity and maintain its competitive advantage.

The MX machine provides Metaltech with improved manufacturing flexibility - from simple turning operations right through to highly complex multi-axis machining.

Whatever the manufacturing scenario - the MX 2500 is a more than capable performer.

The attraction of the MX machine to Metaltech was its ability to enable parts to be made in 'one-hit'.

The advantages of 'one-hit' machining are well known - and Metaltech is experiencing and benefiting from all of them.

Reduced time spent on job set-ups is a definite advantage as are reduced cycle times.

Improved part accuracy (due to minimal workholding and fixturing) and reduced operator intervention - also have a positive impact on performance.

Said Steve Hill, director at Metaltech: 'The decision to invest in the MX 2500 ST was a relatively easy decision to make.

Although the machine represents a significant investment for us - we know that its functionality and capability will strengthen our performance.

Even though we have only had the machine for a couple of months - it is already an indispensable part of our operation'.

The MX 2500 ST is a high-performance machine.

It has a 76mm bar working capacity and both left and right (main) motor driven spindles have 26kW 3,500 rev/min capability.

For extra productivity the MX machine has a 18.5kW 10,000 milling spindle with 40 tool magazine (B-axis with 240 deg indexing); a +/-80mm double-slide Y-axis and a 12-station driven tool bottom turret.

Both the milling spindle and bottom turret can be programmed and controlled to machine on either of the main spindles.