MAGNETIC WORKHOLDING AND HANDLING EQUIPMENT FROM ITALY A new range of Italian-made products that incorporate permanent-electro magnets, designed for workholding on machine tools including grinding machines and for handling sheet, bar and other ferrous materials in warehouses and factories, has been introduced to the UK and Irish markets by 1st Machine Tool Accessories, Salisbury. It […]

A new, versatile, automatic drill sharpening machine manufactured by the US firm, Darex, has been introduced to the UK by sole agent, 1st Machine Tool Accessories. Called XT-3000 Auto, it bridges the gap between a manually operated machine and a fully automated CNC sharpening system. The automation attachment is factory-fitted to a new unit but […]

Last April (2013), precision engineering company Columbia Precision installed its first vertical turning lathe (VTL), a Mazak Megaturn Nexus 900M, as part of a £2 million investment in new plant and software.  It increased to one metre the maximum diameter of component that can be accommodated on a lathe at the subcontractor’s factory in Aston, […]

Subcontractor’s detailed examination of workholding reveals astonishing cost savings and productivity increases No matter how fast a machining centre is, the speed and efficiency with which parts can be clamped for presentation to the spindle and unclamped afterwards defines the productivity of a process. A prime example is at Gosport-based subcontractor and precision engineering firm, QCD Limited, […]

Cwmbran-based subcontractor, James Brown Industries, receives two-thirds of its business from companies in the oil and gas sector. Earlier this year, one customer significantly increased the volume of stainless steel and nickel alloy components it was ordering for daily Kanban delivery in boxes containing anything from 8- to more than 600-off. In addition, new component […]

NEW KITAGAWA PRODUCTS FROM 1ST MTA Chucks, rotary tables, vices and other accessories manufactured by the Japanese company, Kitagawa, are major product lines within the range of workholding equipment supplied by 1st Machine Tool Accessories. At MACH 2014, there will be three products new to the UK. WORLD’S THINNEST ROTARY TABLE At just 99 mm […]

Higher production, greater accuracy, less scrap, lower operating costs More and more companies are experiencing big increases in production without having to invest in new machine tools simply by upgrading to Chick Workholding, which enables more components to be presented to the spindle at each set-up. The US-made clamping systems are supplied in the UK […]

Malvern subcontractor, Insight Precision, has cut floor-to-floor times and increased production output using two clamping systems from 1st Machine Tool Accessories, a One-Lok and a Qwik-Lok, both manufactured by Chick Workholding in the USA. Insight Precision was established in the 1980s as a general contract machine shop. Currently, work is carried out mainly for the […]

‘Unbelievably quick’ is how 1st MTA describes the new Kitagawa RK200 rotary table. The NC unit indexes through 90 degrees in 0.31 sec and achieves a maximum speed of 100 rpm. A maintenance-free roller gear cam reducer, rather than traditional gear sets, decreases the motor rpm to the table’s rotational speed. This improves positioning accuracy, […]

Modern CNC lathes and tooling permit high cutting speeds and feeds, leading to increased machine efficiency and productivity. To ensure operator safety, however, European Norm EN 1550 states that the gripping force of chucks should be checked regularly. To this end, Kitagawa has introduced the KGFM series of wireless grip force meters, designed to measure […]