Dugard Investment adds-up for Adnet

Located in Brockworth on the outskirts of Gloucester, Adnet Precision Engineering Ltd is a subcontract manufacturer that has continually grown its business. Operating in the defence, pharmaceutical, aerospace, metrology, medical, telecommunications and semiconductor industries, the company has ramped up its investment in machine tools to support ongoing growth. The latest investments have included an array of 3 and 4^th-axis machining centres, turning centres and sliding head turning centres from Dugard.

The first machine that was installed by the South Coast machine tool experts was a Dugard 760 XP machining centre, which was soon followed by another two Dugard 760 XP machines just before the Covid pandemic. Providing the ISO: 9001 certified company with 3 and 4-axis machining capability, the machines have been running almost non-stop since their installation with the exception of the Covid hiatus.

Alluding to why the company has purchased machines from Dugard, Caroline Day from Adnet Precision Engineering Ltd says: “Dugard has been a very good supplier. The customer service and support has always been amazing. We started with a Dugard 760 XP machining centre and we continued to buy more machines from there. With the three Dugard 760 XP machining centres, we have just one operator running the three machines. If the machines are extremely busy with short cycle time work, we may have two operators running the three machines.”

The next machine the company purchased was a Hanwha XD20IIV sliding head turning centre from Dugard. Discussing this machine, Caroline adds: “We already had one sliding head machine, but we were running out of capacity, so we invested in the Hanwha to add capacity. We reviewed the market and looked at other sliding head machine options, but as we had already built a strong relationship with Dugard from our machining centre purchases, and we were familiar with their excellent level of service and support – we opted for the Dugard Hanwha machine. This new machine is running parts more than 30% faster than our existing sliding head machine.”

With a maximum spindle speed of 10,000rpm on the main spindle and 8,000rpm on the sub-spindle, the machine has a spindle motor power of 2.2/3.7kW. The Hanwha XD20IIV is driven by a FANUC 32i-B CNC and provides extremely precise machining through its high tool adaptability, minimised thermal displacement and powerful driven tooling capabilities. The Hanwha XD20IIV is supplied material via a 3m bar feed and with its high traverse rates, large tool capacity and programmable chip removal (PCR) that minimises swarf build-up and the need for constant monitoring, Adnet can maintain its high-quality standards whilst meeting the lead times of demanding customers.

Most recently, the company purchased a SMEC SL2000SY twin spindle single turret mill/turn centre from Dugard. The new workhorse has an 11/18kW spindle motor that provides remarkable levels of torque for maximum material removal whilst the highly reliable, rigid and heavily ribbed Meehanite cast and structural design provide exceptional surface finishes, repeatability and precision. The 8-inch chuck machine has a sizeable capacity with a swing over the bed and cross slide of 650 and 540mm respectively with a maximum machining diameter of 395mm and a maximum machining length of 450mm.

Discussing why the company purchased the machine, Caroline concludes: “We have invested in this twin spindle machine with a single turret, as the plan was to replace two existing machines with the SMEC. So, this machine is doing a lot more work than the two machines previously did. With the twin spindles we can achieve a lot more work it is probably 30% more efficient than the two previous machines combined. The machine has far much more capability than the previous machines and it is achieving much faster production times. The purchases from Dugard demonstrate our ongoing commitment to investing in the latest technology thus delivering the best possible results for our customers.”