CNC spotlight
Dugard delivers Founded in 2005, DGF Engineering Ltd has been on a continuous growth trajectory and at every step of the way, the Hertfordshire manufacturer has turned to Dugard for its industry-leading machine tools. The company started its investment in Dugard machines with the Dugard 1000 3-axis VMC – this has since been followed by a SMEC SL 2000M turning centre and now a smaller Dugard 550 machining centre.
like our Dugard 1000. So, this machine ticked all the boxes and it fits exactly where we wanted it.” Discussing the work the company is machining at present, Liam says: “As a subcontractor, we will typically machine anything, but our main industry focus is the scientific, liquid and gas testing industries - but then we could also be doing work for a farmer down the road.” Looking at the materials the company machines, Liam continues: “We machine a wide range of materials that include aluminium and stainless steel, and for a small machine the “We machine a wide range of materials that include aluminium and stainless steel, and for a small machine the Dugard 550 handles stainless very well. The machine has a 10,000rpm spindle, the horsepower is very good and it will cut all day long.”
The acquisition of the SMEC SL 2000M turning centre in 2022 was due to the turned components at DGF Engineering Ltd increasingly needing secondary milling operations on machining centres. To free up milling capacity, the Royston-based subcontractor that produces a diverse range of components for a variety of industry sectors believed the Dugard SMEC would make a major difference – and it has. Recalling why the company invested in a live turning centre, Liam Fernard from DGF Engineering recalls: “Turning work with milled features were tying up our CNC milling department for too long and we needed a solution with live tooling. As we were happy with the service that we received from Dugard on our Dugard 1000 3-axis VMC, we naturally looked at their lathes and the SMEC SL 2000M turning centre ticked all the boxes.” With the service, support and reliability of Dugard being as robust as the machines, the company turned to Dugard once again when it needed additional milling capacity. Discussing the latest acquisition, Liam says: “We bought the Dugard 550 for several reasons, one being the small footprint. We didn’t have a huge amount of room and the machine that the Dugard 550 replaced was only a small machine. A lot of the work we do is quite small components, so we didn’t need a big bed and big footprint machine
Machinery & Manufacturing 54
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