A means to an end

A new Doosan vertical lathe investment is proving more than instrumental in helping leading precision subcontract specialist consolidate and grow its aerospace business.

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has recently supplied a new, large-capacity vertical turning lathe to Unilathe – a leading precision subcontract specialist based in Stoke-on-Trent.

The machine, a Fanuc controlled Doosan VT1100, was installed at Unilathe’s 82,000ft2 facility in August 2019 and has been positioned adjacent to another Doosan VT1100 machine to create a flexible, high-productivity vertical turning cell.

Since being installed the new Doosan VT1100 vertical turning lathe has been used to machine a range of complex, high-precision and performance-critical components for customers operating in the aerospace, oil and gas, off-highway, mining, rail and special industrial equipment sectors.

These components, machined in small batches, are large, heavy and awkward-shaped. They are made from hard and difficult-to-machine materials that include titanium, Inconel, nickel-based alloys, Heat Resistant Super Alloys (HRSA) and Jethete (a corrosion-resistant, hardened and tempered steel) etc., to name but a few.

Investment rationale

Unilathe is a company committed to continuous improvement and has an ongoing programme of making strategic investments in its people, plant and equipment as well as its systems and processes. A primary objective behind the new VT1100 investment was Unilathe’s desire, and determination, to secure new aerospace business.

Explains Andrew Sims, Unilathe’s managing director:

We have been active in the aerospace sector for a number of years and have an international reputation in the sector for quality, lead time fulfilment and cost competitiveness. Our ambition is to significantly grow this side of our business and to strengthen our position in the supply chain.

To do this Unilathe has implemented a number of strategies. These include:

  • becoming a member of the North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA);
  • achieving specific aerospace quality management accreditations (i.e. AS9100), and working towards gaining others (i.e. SC21 certification);
  • using and leveraging the skills, experience and knowledge acquired from working in other sectors (i.e. off-highway, rail etc.), to help raise its profile and, as a consequence, win new business in the aerospace sector.

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by Aerospace Manufacturing Magazine