Subcontractor takes first steps into five-axis machining with 30-taper Brother VMC

Wisbech-based subcontractor Avant Manufacturing was using four 40-taper, three-axis vertical machining centres (VMCs) when, towards the end of 2024, a sharp upturn in existing and new business meant the company needed an extra machine, fast. The solution arrived in the shape of a Brother Speedio U500Xd1 five-axis, swivelling-trunnion VMC with 30-taper spindle from Whitehouse Machine Tools, sole UK agent for the Japanese manufacturer.

Dominic Roach, who founded the company in April 2021, wanted to a five-axis machining centre to reap the benefits of fewer component set-ups. The advantages include higher speed of production and less risk of errors and damage to workpieces due to excessive manual handling. He also wanted to produce more complex components, preferably in one hit. However, the space remaining on the shop floor was limited and 5-axis machines tend to be large.

The Brother Speedio U500Xd1 offers a footprint of 1,560 x 2,026 mm, fitting neatly into the available space. Subcontractors are increasingly moving towards the 30-taper interface configuration, especially with the BIG-Plus face and taper contact option, as Whitehouse Machine Tools says it combines 40-taper rigidity with the high-speed motions of which smaller form factor machines are capable.

“The Brother practically sold itself,” states Roach. “We couldn’t find a 40-taper machine that would fit, while other 30-taper equipment suppliers had a limited number of production platforms and automation possibilities in their range, which would have limited our future options. Additionally, I was drawn to the Brother because it is a true five-axis machine, not a three-axis model with a bolt-on compound table. An added bonus is that Whitehouse offers unlimited technical support and is very quick to respond when we have a query. Someone always gets back to us within half an hour.”

As he was swapping to a smaller diameter tool holder that he had never used before, Roach was keen to satisfy himself that the Brother machine was powerful enough to remove metal quickly. Admittedly most of the material going through the shop is aluminium, with the remainder mainly plastic, but often billets are reduced to 10% of their original size, such as a repeat-order medical robot part. In one recent instance, the company milled a 72 kg block of 6082 aluminium down to a weight of 4 kg, a reduction of more than 94%.

With a similar aluminium billet and some Ceratizit roughing end mills, Roach drove 100 miles west to Whitehouse Machine Tools’ showroom and technical centre in Kenilworth to put a U500Xd1 through its paces.

“I was impressed not only by the metal removal rate, but also by the size of parts that can be produced in such a small footprint. I’d have no hesitation producing components from tougher materials either, as it’s easy to change the machining strategy to limit the width and depth of cut and increase the spindle speed and feed rate.”

Since there was an urgent need in Wisbech for the additional spindle, he decided to rent a U500Xd1 ahead of taking delivery in April 2025 of a more capable model, a U500Xd2. Whitehouse duly supplied the rental machine and provided two days of on-site training.

The upgraded U500Xd2 has longer travels in X and Y, giving a working volume of 500 x 450 x 380 mm. The rotary axis motions are the same, as are the 16,000 rpm BIG-Plus spindle and 28-position tool magazine, but the control is full five-axis rather than 4+1. A high-accuracy mode option with 1000-block look-ahead has been selected, as well as 35 bar high-pressure coolant and Blum probes for checking cutter length and workpiece position. Chip-to-chip time is fast at 1.4 seconds, owing to simultaneous tool change and rapid traverse in the linear and rotary axes.

To indicate the increase in speed compared to one of his 40-taper VMCs, Roach cited a scientific part produced from solid aluminium that formerly required four separate set-ups on three-axis machines. The number of operations has been halved and the same component is now produced in 36% of the time. That is because although Op 1 is the same, Ops 2, 3 and 4 are now completed on the five-axis Brother in a single clamping using the rotary axes to position the part for five-sided machining.

A job completed in January 2025, involving drilling 60 holes at eight different angles into a medical plastic block, was not feasible on the three-axis machines. So the availability of the Brother is allowing Avant Manufacturing to gain new business that it previously had to turn down.

A difference noticeable immediately following the arrival of the U500Xd1 was the better milled surface finish. In addition, the machine holds tight dimensional tolerances, to less than 10 microns, despite there being no temperature control in the factory.

Looking to the future, Roach is looking to move to larger premises and has first refusal on an adjacent unit on his current industrial estate in Wisbech. He is committed to continuing the journey towards 30-taper, five-axis machining to provide increased capacity for both large and small batch production.