Bushell and Meadows

Drilling and sawing procedures during small bone surgery require a hand-held power tool rotating at up to 20,000 rpm, so component parts must be highly accurate to avoid vibration and noise.

However, there is a trend towards smaller, more compact hand tools of greater complexity, which places ever more stringent requirements on manufacturers when they are machining the rotational parts.

Subcontract machinist, Bushell & Meadows, Tewkesbury, has solved the problem by transferring much of its turned parts production from fixed-head lathes to two new SV-32 sliding headstock, multi axis, mill-turning centres supplied by Star Micronics GB.

The first machine was installed in January 2007. It became a vital part of production so quickly that the company decided to purchase a second, identical model within six months.

Both of the 11-axis CNC machines are fitted with electrostatic mist extraction and high-pressure coolant delivery to assist swarf clearance, as a lot of stainless steel is machined, notably 17-4 PH and AISI 440C.

Mike Attwood, Operations Manager at Bushell & Meadows, said, “None of our fixed-head turning machines has a counter spindle whereas both of the Stars have that facility. It means we can produce components in two or three operations that previously needed six or seven separate set-ups.

 

"Savings in machining time around 20 percent and lead time can be done from days to under 10 mins"

 

Mike Attwood

Operations Manager

 

Bushell and Meadows