The 'Miyano Fleet' is an affectionate term created by the Techno Group's two sub-contract production centres where 16 Miyano fixed-head turn-mill centres are installed. The machines are playing a significant role in enabling the company to generate business from producing aero engine components, cabin interior, control equipment and instrumentation for various Tier 1 companies in the highly challenging aerospace industry sector. The machines are also forming a key production platform to enable the firm to move into other sectors of subcontract machining which includes prestige automotive sectors.

The Techno Group has established a well-proven policy of forecasting the type of work that best suits its capability, then it selects, installs and proves-out the machining technology before chasing down particular customers. As a result, confidence is easily established with customers over its ability to perform and deliver.

The Techno-Group comprises two companies: Technoset and the group headquarters based in Rugby; and Technoturn on the south coast in St Leonards-on-Sea. Both 35,000 ft2 sites have seen recent heavy investment in their infrastructures, Technoset expanded by 6,500 ft2 and Technoturn by 4,500 ft2 and a machining centre capability has been added to each site along with equipment to improve productivity, shorten lead and reaction times.

In addition, the company is not only able to satisfy customers' production needs, but is also extending its support in supplying design for production advice and a machining service to help customers' research and development and prototype projects. As a result, this capability is now drawing in contracts for providing a complete service from part sourcing right through to kit marshalling and assembly.

Said Operations Director John Stretton: “We have a policy of committing to invest first and so prove our operational capability which gives new customers in particular, a level of confidence in our ability. Not only has this prevented work going off-shore, but has had the reverse effect, and one that we see growing significantly, of drawing business back from overseas.”

High on the Group's priority list to support new opportunities and provide additional capacity this year were orders placed on Citizen Machinery UK for four Miyano fixed-head turn-mill centres. Two BNJ-42SY5 machines were delivered to Rugby early in 2015 followed by a high specification ABX-64SYY2 two-spindle, twin-turret machine delivered in June to Technoset. This installation was quickly followed by an immediate order for a second ABX but this time the three-turret version, ABX-64TH5, for installation at the Technoturn facility.

Said Technoset's Managing Director Kevan Kane: “We have an established partnership with Citizen Machinery UK where we work together to overcome any difficulties in machining and especially when very complex work is involved. Some components produced on the Miyanos can have cycle times up to 30 minutes in difficult materials such as Inconel, Nimonic alloys and special stainless steels, and most have a strong bias in addition to turning, involving the milling of features and the use of up to 16 driven tools.”

Indeed, customer demands on the Group, as it has moved into higher end machining, are constantly increasing. Mr Stretton explained: “We are forever intensifying our focus on quality rather than out-and-out cycle times. Mirror finishes and fully controlled deburring with no marks or scratches when parts leave the machine are now the order of the day and tolerances of 0.025 mm, 0.02 mm and some as tight as 12 micron are becoming almost commonplace. Achieving these operational demands really means having the right machine in the first place. But this has to be backed with in-house attention to quality control, programming, setting and no skimping on tooling.”

As Mr Stretton outlined, the progressive installation of the Miyano brand follows high levels of return generated by the machines with the knowledge that the back-up and support is always available. He said: “When you consider the regularity with which we put parts through each machine and maintain such levels of precision ready for despatch, supplier relationship is very important. However, we will always consider competitive machines of similar standard, but there has to be a logical reason to change suppliers.”

He also maintained that with busy machine shops - the Group employs 70 people on the two sites - what is needed is interchangeability with tool holders, work holding and most important, familiarity with setting and programming.

The two recent Miyano BNJ-42SY5 machines were the latest upgraded additions to the BNJ family giving increased spindle power. Each machine has a main and secondary spindle of 11kW, 6,000 revs/min and 5.5 kW, 5,000 revs/min. These are supported by a main 12-station turret having 2.5 kW, 20 Nm torque 6,000 revs/min driven tool positions and a six-station sub-turret able to create simultaneous and overlapped machining sequences.

Said Mr Stretton: “These latest developments from Miyano are already enabling us to avoid potential bottlenecks and help to cut our production lead times by up to a half on some repeat batches. We are also gaining from faster changeover which is very important to improve spindle utilisation on shorter batch runs.”

Meanwhile, the nine-axis Miyano ABX-64SYY2 at Rugby, extends the company's single operational and overlapped machining strategy and introduces a larger 65 mm bar capacity. By ordering the optional quick-change, bar-to-chuck adaptor this adds to the versatility of the machine. It has a 15 kW 4,000 revs/min main and 7.5 kW sub-spindle with two, 12-station Y-axis turrets able to carry up to 48 fixed tools or be combined with the 4.5 kW 6,000 revs/min drives to each turret station for driven tools.

A prime example of single cycle work passing through the Rugby operation is a multi-featured aircraft grade 17/4 stainless steel component produced from 60 mm bar. The component, produced in batches of 25, involves the removal of some 70 per cent of the material, said Mr Stretton: “The in-built rigidity of the machine with its hardened and ground slides aids the ease of achieving surface finish, tolerance and the critical geometrical relationships.”

In the centre of the component is a flanged feature that has to be profile milled to create six external flats with perfect blending of radii on each corner. Drilled through the flange are three off-centre PCD holes each with precisely controlled chamfers. There is also an elongated slot which is drilled and finish milled through the flange.

Further processes involve turning of the part either side of the flange, a deep blind 20 mm bore that is U-drilled and bored to a 15 micron tolerance with an 8 mm breakthrough from the bottom into the opposite face. A number of counterbores, reliefs and chamfers are created in the bore and on the two outside diameters either side of the flange, a cone, spigot diameter and reliefs are also produced.

Meanwhile, the ABX-64TH5 at Technoturn has a different specification to the Rugby machine in order to provide added flexibility and so it is compatible with two previous ABX installations at the site. The TH5 version of the ABX has three 12-station turrets each with a Y-axis and the ability to apply them as required to overlap sequences and simultaneously turn, mill or drill at both spindles.

David Mcllwain, Managing Director of Technoturn, outlined how the infrastructure of the business is being shored up with key people which includes a group sales arm, a production control team that is constantly charged with communicating with the customer and a key account manager.

He said: We need this infrastructure to not only maintain customer relationships in support of our investments, but also, to protect a quarter of our turnover that is generated from exports to Germany, India and the USA, and especially as we attract highly valuable re-shoring work back to the UK.”