Archive for February, 2008

Oxnard, CA – Machining large sheets of material or oversized flat parts can prove challenging for today’s manufacturers and contract machine shops. The sheer size of the material requires a large-capacity machine, but the work itself usually requires high speed, rather than heavy milling.

The new SR-200 Sheet Router from Haas Automation, Inc., is an affordable solution that provides expansive capacity in a lighter-weight, gantry-style, 3-axis CNC machine with 148" x 76" x 8" (xyz) travels. It easily accommodates 6′ x 12′ sheets of material, and accepts ISO standard G-code programming through the user-friendly, full-function Haas CNC control.

The router comes equipped with a 24,000-rpm, 5-hp (continuous) 30-taper spindle for cutting and drilling various plastics, sheet metals and other light materials. An optional 10-pocket automatic tool changer is available for unattended operation using multiple tools. Other high-productivity options include high-speed machining with look-ahead, a hard disc drive with Ethernet interface, a remote jog handle and full 4th-axis capability.

The open-frame design of the SR-200’s steel-beam base allows users to design their own table and fixturing specifically to meet their individual needs (a 1" thick MDF table is standard). The overhead gantry assembly travels the full length of the fixed table on precision, low-friction linear guides, resulting in extremely accurate positioning. Powerful brushless servomotors on all axes produce high-speed rapids (up to 2,000 ipm in X and Y) for fast cycle times. The standard configuration includes a 15" color LCD monitor and USB port.

The Haas SR-200 offers specialty shops and manufacturers a highly flexible, easily customized machine of exceptional quality and value. As with all Haas products, it’s backed by the worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets, offering the industry’s best local service and support

SOURCE: Haas Automation, Inc.

A powerful 5.2kW laser cutting/profiling system, when fitted with an automatic load/unload system, can increase by up to 50% with typically only an extra machine investment of 20%

A leading supplier of sheet metal working equipment, Bystronic UK, will be exhibiting a wide range of equipment from its extensive portfolio of products at the forthcoming MACH 2008 exhibition. Among the exhibits will be five products previously unseen at an exhibition in the UK. Two of these were launched as recently as late 2007.

* CNC laser cutting and profiling – the Byspeed 3015 machine will be equipped with a powerful 5.2kW resonator and the all new ByTrans automatic load/unload system.

ByTrans has been specifically designed for those companies that produce predominately medium to large size batches with a limited selection of raw materials.

It is a portal system providing vibration-free handling of the cut sheets and the choice of model is dependent on individual requirements and space constraints.

Bystronic told manufacturingtalk.com that production can increase by up to 50% when a laser is equipped with ByTrans, for typically an extra machine investment of 20%.

* Compact design – the ByVention 3015 laser has a compact design, which makes it the smallest laser cutting machine for full-sized 3m x 1.5m sheets, claimed Bystronic.

The machine requires just 6m x 6m of floor space and therefore customers can utilise even the smallest of spaces.

The control cabinet and the system’s laser source are integrated in the machine frame and form a single unit.

Additionally, the cooling unit and the used air filter have been combined in a compact, powerful unit.

The ByVention is equipped with an innovative Bystronic designed materials flow concept, which makes all parts instantly available and ensures flexibility when using various sizes of material and partially used sheets.

Cut parts are continuously and automatically transported from the cutting area and are immediately available to the user even during the cutting process.

The removal area is fully accessible; therefore removal of cut parts is simple and convenient.

The machine is offered at a fixed price with the cost including the Bysoft CAD/CAM software package, commissioning and basic training as well as the two year warranty and preventive maintenance.

Thanks to the ‘everything included’ concept, the customer knows exactly what the investment cost is.

* Water jet cutting – the ByJet Pro, launched at the end of 2007, is Bystronic’s latest waterjet cutting system to meet the stringent demands in parts production without causing thermal effects in the material.

The machine is encapsulated for a cleaner and low-noise working environment and the new ergonomically designed shuttle table maximizes machine productivity.

The system on show will be equipped with four independently driven slim Z-axis cutting heads and this, when combined with the shuttle table concept, positioning/cutting speeds and axes dynamics, is said to be able to produce up to five times as many parts per unit time.

Additionally, the efficient programming software, Bysoft CAD/CAM, and the control and monitoring of the cutting processes by ByVision, ensure that non-productive time and material usage are kept to a minimum.

* press brakes (brake presses) – of two new press brakes to be shown, the Bystronic Beyeler Xpert press brake is said to deliver the highest repetition accuracy on the market.

This machine features an extensive and expandable database which is available at the touch of a button.

The control panel, with its intuitive user guidance, allows for ease of programming and operation.

Pressure reference (PR) bending technology, with hydraulic-dynamic crowning, continuous compensation of the side frame deflection, pressure control and protection of the tools against overload ensures maximum angle accuracy to satisfy the highest of bending demands.

In addition a Bystronic AFM EP 31-100 press brake with a bending length of 3150mm and a press capacity of 100 tonf (1000kN) will be on show.

The machine provides an economical and flexible press brake requiring minimal set-up and programming times.

With its 2D visualisation of the bending cycle and hydraulic crowning system the AFM EP range is the perfect introduction into CNC press braking.

* Software forum – there will also be a software forum where the range of Bystronic software will be demonstrated.

At previous exhibitions this has attracted great interest from visitors.

* CNC punch press – in addition to its own range of products, Bystronic UK is a supplier of the Pullmax range of punching machines.

The latest Pullmax 520 CNC punching machine, equipped with automatic load/unload facility for unmanned production will be on show.

The machine is capable of handling sheet sizes up to 2500 x 1250mm and has a tool capacity of 200 with a 20 station auto-indexing.

In addition there is the facility to press flanges up to 75mm.

Commenting on the company’s presence at MACH 2008 Bystronic UK’s managing director, Dave Larcombe, said: ‘This exhibition is going to be one of the most exciting for Bystronic and visitors to the stand with so many new products on show.

The message we are conveying is clear, Bystronic offers an optimal solution for every manufacturing application’.

He added: ‘We are in constant close contact with our customers.

With our very open approach and by listening to our customers, Bystronic is able to understand their requirements and produce and supply products to satisfy their needs’.

* Price deals on the MACH stand – where companies are having to come to terms with increased interest rates, Bystronic is addressing this issue by offering a number of fixed price deals and special price package deals to visitors to the stand.

Further details will be available on the stand.

Larcombe concluded: ‘This pricing system was introduced with the launch ByVention laser and has proved popular amongst customers.

The pricing includes delivery, assembly, start-up and training, software, maintenance contract and in the case of press brakes, standard tooling’.

Bystronic UK at MACH 2008, NEC, Birmingham, UK, April 21-25, Hall 4, Stand 4610.

LOS ANGELES, CA , Jan 25, 2008 – Westec 2008 features the unveiling of two major developments in CNC Software’s Mastercam CAD/CAM software. Attendees will get the first look at Mastercam’s new Feature Based Machining (FBM) as well as the Mastercam for SolidWorks add-in. Both will showcased in booth # 3258 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA on March 31 – April 3.

Feature-Based Machining (FBM)

Mastercam’s new Feature-Based Machining automates the machining process. This offers shops dramatic speed improvements and allows for great reductions in programming time. Mastercam’s FBM will automatically evaluate the part and program pockets, contours, bosses, and drilling routines with minimal user input. New users to Mastercam will be machining 2D solid parts sooner thanks to FBM’s ease of use and short learning curve.

Mastercam for SolidWorks

Mastercam for SolidWorks is fully integrated CAM that runs seamlessly in SolidWorks. SolidWorks users can now program their parts directly within SolidWorks using Mastercam’s industry-leading toolpaths and machining strategies.

Mastercam’s latest release, X2MR2 will also be demonstrated in the booth. Stop by to learn about the Mastercam X2 features including: -

• The new Peel Milling toolpath moves the tool in and “peels” away material, layer by layer.
• The Operations Manager pane can now float to a different area of the graphics window or to a separate screen when you are working with dual monitors.
• The Create Boundary function greatly expands Mastercam’s toolpath boundary creation, restricting the toolpaths to highly specific areas.
• Many powerful multi-axis enhancements are included in the advanced multi-axis toolpaths.
• Common edge optimization in nesting is now supported.

About Mastercam

Developed by CNC Software, Inc., Mastercam is Windows-based CAD/CAM software for 2- through 5-axis milling and turning; 2- and 4-axis wire EDM; 2D and 3D design, surface, and solid modeling; artistic relief cutting, and 2D and 3D routing. CNC Software is a privately owned corporation founded in 1984. The U.S.-based company provides Mastercam CAD/CAM solutions to more than 124,936 installations in 75 countries in industries including mold-making, prototyping, automotive, medical, aerospace, and consumer products. Mastercam runs under Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, and is compatible with all other CAD/CAM systems. For more information about CNC Software, Inc. and its Mastercam family of products, contact CNC Software, Inc., M – F, 8 AM – 6 PM EST at (800) 228-2877 or (860) 875-5006, 671 Old Post Road, Tolland, CT 06084. Or visit www.mastercam.com.

OPEN MIND Technologies CAM software product integrated within Solidworks and receives highest partner status.

The new hyperMILL® V9.7 from OPEN MIND offers CAD integration with SolidWorks®. SolidWorks Corporation, developer of the popular Solidworks CAD product has certified the integration of OPEN MIND’s complete solution and has designated hyperMILL® as a ‘Certified Gold Product’. This is SolidWorks’ highest award based on outstanding integration, quality and interoperability.

To receive the ‘Certified Gold Product’ award, the partner product must go through a multilevel certification process. The requirements include full integration of the software user interface within SolidWorks® and associative database linking of the geometric data of SolidWorks®. In addition, SolidWorks® reference customers must be able to use the software product effectively. In-house product tests are also conducted at SolidWorks to determine whether its high requirements are fulfilled. OPEN MIND Technologies released hyperMILL® V9.7, including the SolidWorks® integration in October 2007. And now hyperMILL® has now successfully completed and passed the certification process.

Integrated process chains for CAD users
“Our CAD-integrated CAM solution hyperMILL® has the advantage of allowing SolidWorks® users to implement integrated process chains on their existing user interface,” explains Frank Eckstein, responsible for hyperMILL® in SolidWorks in the Application Technology division at OPEN MIND. “In our software solution, the CAD and CAM systems both access the same database. A uniform data model is used for the entire process. This helps ensure transparency and accuracy in the production process and prevents errors.”
About OPEN MIND Technologies AG

OPEN MIND Technologies AG ( www.openmind-tech.com) is a leading developer of CAD/CAM software and postprocessors for designing and manufacturing complex moulds and parts. OPEN MIND offers an extensive range of products, from 2D feature-oriented solutions for milling standard parts through to software for 5-axis simultaneous machining. With their hyperMILL® software, which is used in the automotive, tool and mould manufacturing, mechanical engineering and aerospace industries, OPEN MIND Technologies AG is represented in all the important markets in Asia, Europe and North America. OPEN MIND Technologies AG is a Mensch und Maschine company ( www.mum.de).

Further information:
Alan Levine
Email Contact

GE Fanuc has developed a series of aftermarket services that the company said can deliver as much as 25 percent more machining capacity without buying new equipment.

GE Fanuc’s Engineered Solutions (www.gefanuc.com) business unit has developed a method to optimize machine tool processes that includes adjusting the functions on machine tools to ensure they operate accurately and that they deliver the correct information to the machine controller.

GE Fanuc Engineered Solutions aftermarket services tune-up such machine functions as feed-forward, look-ahead, contouring controls, NURBS interpolation, and feedrate and adaptive controls.

Tuning such functions on a machine tool can extend a machine’s capabilities, Gary Highley, manager of Engineered Solutions for GE Fanuc, said.

“Users often don’t understand the full capabilities of their CNC machines. There are literally hundreds of tools in the CNC that can be used to improve productivity of the machining process,” Highley said.

“Machine tool builders provide the best value CNC system to meet their machine specifications, but may not take advantage of some key advanced features unless specified by the end user. Awareness of this functionality can lead to huge improvements in manufacturing processes,” Highley added.

For example: A machine tool’s servo system may not be properly adjusted and optimized for manufacturing, he said. Servo motors are responsible for moving spindles and tables on machines, and parts will be made out of tolerance or nearly out of tolerance if they do not function properly.

To get the best performance from a machine tool, GE Fanuc tests and adjusts servo system parameters while monitoring the machine to ensure that the responses from the servo system match the mechanics of the machine.

In addition, current loops are adjusted to high settings to realize a high response rate, and velocity loop and position gain also are set high to get higher responses to commands and to suppress disturbance torque.

Highley has a long list of other adjustments, tests and checks that he does on a machine, but he said the current loops are the heart of the servo system.

“Faster current loops equal faster response to disturbances and reduced path error. A fast current loop allows for a fast velocity and position loop. Faster loops improve speed and accuracy,” he said. A high velocity loop improves a machine’s speed of response to commands, while position gain determines how fast the servo system reacts to position deviation. A high position gain helps to reduce errors as long as stability is maintained.

Highley said basic servo tuning on a machine run by an aerospace parts producer improved the cycle time and the part profile. Cycle time was reduced by tuning the velocity and position loops for higher speeds, and by reducing acceleration/deceleration times to 150 ms from 600 ms. Part accuracy was improved by reducing path errors and interpolation errors.

In a second example, Highley said another aerospace parts producer was able to save $150,000 in the production of one part as a result of servo tuning and machine optimization on a line of seven horizontal machining centers.

The shop could not hold tolerances on the part, even while machining at 72 ipm, and had to make significant edits to its part programs each time it ran the part. Also, a separate, edited program was needed for each part on each machine, and the edited programs were based on test cuts that were done each time a new batch of parts was run.

The machine optimization included correcting settings for pulses per revolution of the spindle, which is a feedback response to the CNC; adjusting gains on the machines and correcting high precision contour control parameters.

“The result is that the programmed path now is the path that they get,” Highley said, adding that the shop now uses one part program for all seven machines instead of individual programs for each machine, and it has reduced hand deburring operations by 98 percent.

Delcam, the software developer and distributor of such products as PowerMILL, Partmaker, FeatureCAM and ArtCAM, has a special hands-on approach to its software development process.

Delcam operates a machine shop, its Tooling Services Division, next to its software development headquarters in Birmingham, England.

The main aim of the facility is to allow comprehensive real-world testing of software before it is released to customers. However, it also operates as a working machine shop which is profitable in its own right. It uses the latest machining and inspection technology from manufacturers such as Mecof, Anyak, Matsuura, Bridgeport, Renishaw and POLI.

“The Tooling Services Division has always had a dual role within Delcam,” Brian Hawkshaw, division director, said.

“While we provide a real-world testing environment for our CAM software during its development, we are also required to operate as a profitable business in our own right.”

Delcam just added a WFL mill-turn machine with a three-meter working capacity to the Tooling Services Division.

“Until recently, we have concentrated on five-axis machining, both because that was the main focus for our PowerMILL development team and because five-axis operations increased our ability to take on more complex jobs and complete them more efficiently.

“The move into mill-turn has had similar motives. Delcam has expanded its product range with the acquisition of FeatureCAM and PartMaker, both of which offer millturn functionality, so we needed equipment with the ability to test new developments in these programs.

“Secondly, we have received more inquiries for large-scale projects that would only be possible to undertake efficiently with a mill-turn machine. We were taking orders for work even before we acquired the machine, and its capacity is already booked for most of this year,” Hawkshaw said.

He added that Delcam’s Tooling Services Division duplicated the diversification into other industries that Delcam accomplished with its software business in recent years.

“The aerospace sector now provides our biggest source of work, rather than the toolmaking industry,” he said.

Delcam sees the manufacturing expertise it gains in its Tooling Services Division as an important part of the comprehensive support it gives to its customers.

Besides helping the ocmpany’s development teams, experience it gains in the division is passed on to its support staff.

Hawkshaw said Delcam’s support staff uses the knowledge developed in the division to give its software users advice on all areas of their work, including the best choice of machining strategy and cutter selection.

Being able to test such developments on-site obviously gives Delcam a major advantage in proving out its software.

“Many CAM programs generate data that is mathematically correct but that is often impossible to machine in practice,” Hawkshaw said, adding that the company’s machine shop had a roll in the development of its PowerMILL software for high-speed machining and shop-floor programming and that he expects the mill-turn equipment to have a similar role in developing software for multi-function machining.”

Water jet cutting machines feature a programmable bevel head that allows angled cuts of +/-45 deg, while plasma-arc stations and drilling heads with automatic tool change can be added

A number of MicroStep waterjet cutting machines are already in use in a variety of different UK markets, reported MicroStep UK. Each is equipped with intensifiers supplied by KMT waterjet systems and all future sales will include a KMT pump as standard. Sales manager at MicroStep, George said: ‘KMT Waterjet Systems provide extremely high quality and reliable pumps and help to achieve the maximum waterjet cutting performance.

Furthermore the company is both innovative in terms of new product development and provides excellent customer service’.

The standard MicroStep waterjet cutting machine range covers cutting width 1.5m to 3.5m and cutting length 3m to 18m.

Special orders can be taken from customers wishing machines outside this range.

All machines are based on a precision engineered and compact framed construction and are optimally adjusted to waterjet cutting purposes for materials as diverse as metal, stone, marble, armoured glass, ceramics, plastics, corrugated cardboard, foamed material, as well as sandwich materials.

* Innovation – the machines offer some highly innovative features.

These include the following.

* A programmable bevel head that allows angled cuts of +/-45 deg.

* Additional plasma-arc cutting stations.

* Drilling heads with automatic tool change.

* Camera system to take templates into the CNC or nesting systems.

There is also the facility for remote servicing with modem/internet access that allows full machine diagnostics to be undertaken.

This can eliminate the need for site service visits and cut drastically the time that does have to be spent on-site when visits are needed.

On-line technical support is also provided by MicroStep UK.

* About MicroStep – MicroStep UK has now been established in the UK to market the company’s ranges of Aquacut and Watercut CNC waterjet cutting machines.

The company is based in Coventry and has been formed through an agreement between the directors of Matrix Lasers, who have been users of MicroStep machines for a number of years, and the MicroStep parent company in Slovakia.

The new company has also appointed George Tudor, who has vast experience in the profiling industry, as UK sales manager.

January 28, 2008 — The latest version V16, under the slogan of ‘Twice the power of V8’, includes a raft of new features aimed at providing enhanced functionality for interactive tasked and further automation for users looking for semi or completely unmanned solutions. JETCAM will also be increasing the number of end user releases in 2008, ensuring that customers can immediately take advantage of each new feature as soon as it is available.

JETCAM Expert V16’s sequencing routines have been optimised to further improve the cutting path which can considerably reduce the overall cutting time of complex nests. A new reporting engine has also been included to provide comprehensive and customisable reports. A report designer is included, where users can simply drag and drop the required fields or tables of information onto the page. Single component or complete nest images can also be added. Reports of any size or format can be generated, including labels for single label printers.

Further development specific to punching machines has also been announced. Automatic tooling placement logic has been further optimised, providing users of punching machines with the same level of automation as profiling machines. Tools are automatically placed on the component based on highly configurable parameters. This information is then carried through to all related nests – if the component is updated then this is automatically reflected on the nest. ‘Tool teach mode’ further enhances the automatic tooling facilities by allowing JETCAM to ‘learn’ a user’s preferred method of tooling a particular contour.

JETCAM’s free form high performance nesting module (FFHPN) for V16 has also undergone further development, with the latest release offering even greater efficiencies. With metal prices increasing even a 1% material saving can quickly mount up to a considerable amount. JETCAM is also offering prospective customers a free ‘nesting benchmark comparison’ whereby they will compare a user’s existing nests with one created through FFHPN.

Commented Mike Weber, Managing Director JETCAM International s.a.r.l.; “These features in Release V16, when combined allow a JETCAM Expert system to rapidly become self-sufficient. It intelligently and accurately applies logic so that the whole CAM process can become truly hands-off, especially when JETCAM’s Remote Control Processing (RCP) system is employed. With our knowledge of the complexities of today’s powerful CNC machines this frees the operator for other tasks, maximises machine runtime and reduces material waste. For any size of organisation this level of automation has to be their goal to remain competitive in today’s climate of cost reductions. Companies employing manufacturing efficiency methodologies such as ‘Six Sigma’ will benefit from a system that provides a data-driven approaches to problem solving with a focus on customer impact. Any business purchase has to be justified by return on investment, and JETCAM continues to deliver this in three key areas: material utilisation, machine cycle time and programming time.”

V16 will be available for download from the JETCAM.com web site in February 2008. Existing customers under maintenance will be able to download the software immediately at no cost. Customers out of maintenance need only to purchase a maintenance contract to gain access to the latest features – there is no additional upgrade price to pay.

For more information please contact Martin Bailey at Email Contact. Product box shots and company logos are available for immediate download from www.jetcam.com/logos.htm.

Contact information:

JETCAM International
Terrasses du Port
2 Avenue des Ligures
MC98000
Monaco

Tel : +44 870 760 6469

Web: www.jetcam.com

E-mail: Email Contact

Producer of low volume reaction injection moulded parts and polyurethane castings uses five vertical machining centres to cut master pattern equipment from polyurethane tooling board

The Midas Pattern Company specialises in the production of low volume, high quality reaction injection moulded (RIM) parts and polyurethane castings (PuR). The company intends to dramatically shorten the time and cost for a designer to move from a CAD model to a fully functioning prototype/finished usable component.

The production material has to validate design and produce a saleable product.

Midas uses five Haas CNC vertical machining centres (VMC) – typically to cut the master pattern equipment from polyurethane tooling board.

Midas said that one of the main reasons for choosing Haas CNC machine tools was reliability and user-friendliness.

Based in Bedfordshire, UK, the Midas Pattern Company was established in 1989 as a precision foundry toolmaking company.

The company has developed into a substantial business integrating CADCAM and CNC toolmaking techniques with traditional pattern and mould making skills.

Managing director of Midas, Alan Rance, said: ‘We aim to dramatically shorten the time and cost for a designer to move from a CAD model to a fully functioning example of a new product – not just a prototype, but a finished part, made from production material that not only validates design but is truly saleable in the market place’.

Midas uses a novel composite tooling system, MRIM, which offers a production moulding technique that can produce quantities from 1 to 5000-off.

Midas said it is ideally suited for making large parts or components with multiple assemblies and complex features.

Rance said: ‘We make parts in the production intent polymers that enable our customers to produce low volume examples of new and prototype products without incurring the very high cost of metal tooling or the compromises in functionality and mechanical properties you expect with traditional RP techniques’.

Based on RIM and PuR, the company’s FASTrim service offers a competitive alternative to SLLS/Silicon and VAC casting.

FASTrim can provide finished parts in as little as 10-15 working days, using cast PuR and soft tooling CNC machined directly from 3D CAD data.

Typical customers include medical technology companies building low-volume, high value instrumentation – machines that can cost hundreds of thousands of Pounds each but are usually built in low numbers.

* About RIM – Rachel Collier, Midas’ technical sales manager, said that reaction injection moulding, utilising MRIM tooling is ideal for the instrumentation industry.

She said: ‘Customers may only want to produce between, say, 10 and 20 finished products a year.

For example, if a customer designs and builds a new mass spectrometry machine costing many thousands of Pounds, it wouldn’t make sense to lay down metal tooling suitable for thousands of parts when you only need a few’.

Many of today’s medical equipment manufacturing companies are relatively small – often founded by individuals departing larger organisations – and perhaps only aiming at niche markets.

As recently as 20 years ago, such companies probably wouldn’t have existed without the patronage of a corporate benefactor – a large, well-financed parent organisation, for example – or some other significant investor.

Developing a new product was hugely and prohibitively expensive.

These days, even small firms can use the services of companies like Midas Pattern to get their products to market at a fraction of the traditional cost and to compete head-on with the big, well-funded players.

‘We’re not a typical plastics company so we’re not obsessed with high-volumes,’ said Collier.

‘We’ve taken all of the techniques and the principles we’ve learnt in the very specialised foundry pattern-making sector and applied them to making high quality plastic parts in small numbers’.

The Midas process starts by building tooling models within CAD (Computer Aided Design).

From these CAD models complex CAM (Computer Aided Machining) software is used to generate cutter paths.

The code for these paths can then be downloaded to one of the company’s five Haas CNC VMCs.

The VMCs include a 12,000 rev/min spindle VF-4SS, a VF-6 with a 4th axis Haas rotary table.

There is a a large 2m x 1m VF9.

The machines typically cut master pattern equipment from polyurethane tooling board.

‘Once we have the master pattern equipment we then use it to produce a composite metallised resin injection mould tool – MRIM,’ said Collier.

‘That’s about as much as I can tell you.

The detail of the process is a closely guarded secret’.

She added that the skill – the ‘Midas touch’, one could say – is being able to make a good quality tool from the master pattern.

Each of the company’s CAD engineers is also a machine setter, programmer and operator, so when it came to choosing a CNC machine tool, said Haas to manufacturingtalk.com, top of the list of essential criteria were reliability and user-friendliness.

Thanks in part to the precision of the master pattern equipment, Midas MRIM Tooling is guaranteed to produce up to 5000 parts, which is usually far more than a customer needs but does allow them to be used for intermediate production volumes.

A typical mould is around a 1m3 in size, which in the world of mainstream injection moulding would be considered extremely large.

Collier made the point: ‘If you made a hard tool for a part of that size it would cost around 10 times more than one of our composite moulds.

We can also achieve the complexity but without having expensive mechanical movements’.

* Pattern making – pattern making is a labour intensive process, so Midas still relies on its own knowledge workers – skilled pattern and toolmakers – as well as its state-of-the-art machines.

To keep them all busy, the company supplements its core business with a range of other activities.

The Bedford factory, spread across two adjacent sites, is essentially a tool making facility, which produces foundry patterns, jigs and fixtures, rotational mould tools, inspection fixtures and exhibition models.

It also houses a number of Low Pressure RIM moulding machines producing low-runs of finished parts.

‘What all Midas products have in common,’ concluded Collier, ‘Is that they all start with CNC machining, which means that every time Midas delivers a tool or a finished part odds are it started life on a Haas CNC machine tool’.

* About Haas Automation – Haas said that CNC machine tool companies have led the ‘democratisation’ (or freeing up – Ed) of manufacturing production, perhaps none more so than Haas Automation itself, which claimed to be the original low-cost, high-specification machine tool builder.

Founded just twenty years ago in California, USA, but already with more than 85,000 of its products in operation around the world, Haas said it has certainly played an important part in getting affordable, reliable tools in the hands of the ‘industrious and the ingenious’, helping companies like Midas Pattern Company to ‘turn bright ideas into gold’.