The acquisition of a Tornado A90 CNC lathe/MBF1000 barfeed 'lights-out' package, purchased at MACH 2000 through Colchester distributor RK International, has boosted productivity for busy North Devon sub-contractor Hele Bay Precision. The company, which turns a diverse range of components for the motor cycle, aerospace, medical equipment and gauge manufacturing industries - among others - has adopted unattended operations with the Tornado, thus freeing-up manpower for other tasks. Owner/operator Derek Rawlins says: 'I went to MACH 2000 to purchase a another type of machine, however, when I saw the Tornado on the Colchester stand, the 'lights-out' concept really appealed to me.

As we run a small but very efficient operation, the machine - and its price - suits our requirements precisely.' more - Machine operator/setter Mark Potter is also quick to praise the new machine: 'With such a small workforce, any move towards automated operation is very welcome and the Tornado 'lights-out' package requires absolutely minimal supervision.

Set-up is so simple that our two first-year apprentices carry out all operations except final programming.' The Tornado can be set-up at shift commencement and left to run without supervision for virtually the rest of the working day.

Unmanned machining is accessed through a 'Custom graph' key which scrolls through four comprehensive displays on the all-digital GE Fanuc 21i-T control.

An important market sector for the Tornado 'lights-out' package is the small engineering sub-contractor, such as Hele Bay Precision, however the machine is equaly suitable for larger sub-contract operations, overhaul facilities and OEM's.

The Tornado 'lights-out' package allows the adoption of economical unmanned 24 hour operation, thereby releasing manpower from long and tedious machine supervision, while dramatically improving productivity.

Until now 'lights-out' operations have had limited availability, usually installed on very expensive machinery beyond the resources of small companies.

During operation, the tool monitoring system monitors 'axis torque load' so that, at predetermined levels (ie when tooling is worn), duplicate tooling is automatically selected.

A bonus of the system is that expensive and time-consuming tool breakages are totally eliminated.

Another facet of unmanned, continuous production is the lathe's 'in-process gauging' - a process for measuring the sizes of components within the machining cycle itself.

Measured dimensions are compared with the expected drawing size using an optical transmission system and any deviation is fed back to a tool offset device for correction.

The system ensures size is monitored during warm-up - thereby minimising scrap components, while closer tolerances are maintained during normal operation - widening the range of components turned and reducing, where applicable, the number of operations in a manufacturing process.

more - Coupled to its 'lights-out' productivity advantages, the Tornado also incorporates many other productivity enhancements including continuous material feed, production scheduling and integral 'parts catcher', while standard equipment includes GE Fanuc 21i-T control system, Colchester 12-station high speed turret with VDI 30 tooling system and choice of spindle speed ranges of 4000 and 6000 rev/min.

With the Tornado having gained both the respect and confidence of Hele Bay's staff of four, Derek Rawlins is extending its use from unattended operations to full 'lights-out' production throughout the silent hours.

Mr Rawlins sums up: 'Commissioning, tuition and service back-up, from both RK International and Colchester, have been excellent while the product has brought us first-class productivity while remaining ultra-reliable.