Specialising in very high-precision components, a subcontractor says adding value is the key to success, which is why it has invested in a CNC mill-turning centre.

Adding value is the key to Technoset's success says the company's Managing Director, Fred Moser, and its recent investment in a Nakamura-Tome WT 150 super precision Mill-Turning Centre will help to build on that success. Turning Technologies, Nakamura-Tome's sole UK and Ireland distributor, supplied the twin-spindle, twin-turret machine. 'According to our accountant, turnover is vanity and added value is sanity.

In some companies up to a quarter or more of the product value they produce represents bought-in material cost.

For us though, over 90% of our turnover is added value and with the high-value materials we work with everything has to be right first time,' says Moser.

Technoset specialises in very high-precision components for demanding markets such as the aerospace, defence, sub-sea, fibre optic and opto-electronics industries - often machined from difficult materials, and wherever possible, produced in one set-up.

The new machine joins a Nakamura-Tome WT-250 machine, 14 multi-axis sliding-head machines and two other multi-axis fixed-head lathes all fitted with automatic bar loaders to give Technoset a capacity that covers diameters from 0.5mm up to 65mm and capability of machining components in most materials available in the marketplace today.

'We don't currently have machining centres, but I would class the two twin-spindle, twin-turret Nakamura machines as mill-turning centres.

We specialise in one-hit machining and that is what they allow us to do,' says Moser.

One of the main reasons for buying the new Nakamura machine is to increase Technoset's capacity for complex mill-turned aerospace components - and, in particular, a safety critical terminal lug for the electrical load management system on Boeing's 777.

'The 777 is a lovely plane and it is proving increasingly successful,' says Moser.

'And because of that success, production on this component is ramping up.

Looking at it, you would think this was a machining centre job, and machining it will take full advantage of the WT 150's mill-turning capability and the fast rapid travels mean we can reduce cycle times.

We are currently making the part on our Nakamura-Tome WT 250, but we want to be able to free up this larger capacity machine to cope with other significant orders.

By investing in the new WT 150, and a new IEMCA magazine bar feeder that can feed 12' bar without cutting it in half, we will be able to run extended hours and make the component faster and more efficiently.' When it comes to buying a machine tool, Moser is very clear as to what matters most to Technoset.

'We are looking for three things: capability, reliability and flexibility.

As far as capability is concerned, one of the most important considerations was the power of the driven tooling - at 3.7kW this was more powerful than other machines we looked at - and we already knew from our five years of operating the WT-250 that reliability was a given.' In terms of flexibility, what Technoset wants is commonality, so that it can always choose the best solution for any job without having an eclectic mix of machinery.

As Moser explains, 'I don't believe in having lots of different types of machines to do similar jobs.

What we want is a commonality of controls and programming systems that are compatible with our existing equipment.

In the case of the two Nakamura-Machines, there is a further advantage in that the driven tooling on the existing WT-250 is compatible with the new WT150.

This not only reduces the need to invest in much new tooling, but it also gives flexibility between the two machines.' Turning Technologies was appointed the UK and Ireland distributor for Nakamura-Tome in mid 2004 and has quickly moved to create a dedicated team of factory-trained Nakamura specialists and a comprehensive stock of spare parts.

Moser says that it has been a pleasure dealing with Turning Technologies and that although a lot of the production engineering for the Boeing component had already been done on the WT-250 by Technoset personnel, TTUK were able to help them get the most out of the new machine by optimising existing programmes to best suit the new WT-150.

'I like their way of working,' says Moser, 'They are responsive, helpful and a nice outfit to deal with.

I think that the best endorsement I can give though is the fact that we bought a machine from them.'