From Manual to CNC Machining thanks to ETG

P&T Precision Engineering a subcontract manufacturer that specialises in the production of jigs, fixtures and machined components has made the transition from manual to CNC machining.

Discussing the transition from being a manual machine shop to a CNC facility, Mr Darragh Walsh from P&T Precision Engineering says: “We were a small family company with six employees and we decided to invest in CNC equipment from Engineering Technology Group. We ended up buying quite a lot of new equipment. This has helped us to grow in the industry sectors that we need to grow in, and it has helped our customers to get more products with shorter lead times. In a short space of time, we have gone from six staff to 22, but we have also grown our number of machines”

Jamie Fletchmore from ETG Ireland says: “P&T was an up and coming family run business that was coming from manual machines into the CNC world. They approached us and said they wanted to make that advance from manual to CNC machining. We sat down and spoke about the first machining centre and we introduced them to the Qauser MV184. From there, we migrated on every two years and they were buying more technology, which included the Nakamura AS200L turning centre and then two years later they purchased another Qauser MV184.”

The first step the Naas based company took was to invest in the Qauser MV184 vertical machining centre. “This type of machine is a big step up from where they were, machining parts on manual machines in multiple operations. With the Qauser MV184, P&T were able to take those manually machined parts from drawing and CAD model straight into the machine with a finished part coming off. So, they were able to get the parts through the shop floor much faster and that also reduces the downtime involved with going from one operation to another with the manual process. Investing in our machines and technology has enabled P&T to move through different types of components and different kinds of materials, especially harder materials. This has allowed P&T to get into markets that they were not used to working in,” continues Jamie.

“It has opened doors and opportunities that has led the company to then look at the Nakamura AS200L turning centre. This machine opened P&T up to a new range of products that they were able to look at. They were making parts in multiple operations from a lathe point of view and now, by using the Nakamura AS200L turning centre they can finish those parts complete in one operation. P&T are now able to do all of the milling, drilling, tapping and then also transfer parts to the second spindle, so the part is coming off the machine in one complete operation as opposed to multiple operations.”

“P&T are a very creative company and they do a lot of design work for the companies that they work with. So, they came to us with particular types of work and asked if they could do it on our machines. We sat down with them and supported and guided them through the different ways that we could approach jobs.That has enabled P&T to create much better parts, much quicker whilst retaining and improving upon the precision and the tolerances of the parts that they are making,” continues Jamie.

Looking to the future, Darragh concludes: “The future for P&T will hopefully see us break through to the 2000sq/ft and expand with quality machines and also increase our workforce to help increase our capacity. This will certainly result in more machine tools from ETG Ireland.”