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them, mean that it is often more efficient and effective for us to have standalone, independently-operated lathes and machining centres at our disposal. If and when required, parts can be easily transferred between our machines.” Serendipity At the time when Bowers & Jones was contemplating replacing the mill-turn machine by investing in a new machine tool, the company was approached by Mills CNC regarding a new Fanuc-controlled Puma lathe it had in stock. The machine in question was a 15” chuck Puma GT 3100L long-bed, box-guideway lathe equipped with a powerful, high-torque, belt- driven spindle (35kW/2,800rpm/1613N-m) and a 12-station turret with a maximum turning length of 1275mm and a maximum turning diameter of 481mm. It was also available for immediate delivery. “Although somewhat fortuitous in retrospect, the GT 3100L fitted the bill perfectly for machining our ‘small/medium-sized’ rolls and components, so we decided to place the order for the new lathe once we had sold the mill-turn machine and secured the appropriate funding”, remembers Jane Somerville. Having previously invested in (Doosan)
machines, the company had already established good relationships with Mills CNC. “We like Mills’ proactive and informed business approach. “The (Doosan and DN Solutions’) machines they sell, and support, are technically-excellent, reliable and competitively-priced, and the after- sales services they provide cannot be faulted. “We rely on Mills to service our existing Doosan machines and use their ‘Mills CNC Finance Operation’ to help fund our machine tool investments too.” At work Since being installed the GT 3100L has been put through its paces machining a range of high- performance, highly-customised and application- specific replacement rolls and parts for new and existing steel mill customers. Characterised by their high-precision, tight geometrical tolerances and superior surface finishes, rolls designed and manufactured by Bowers & Jones, are typically machined from high-quality forged tool steel* billets in a range of batch sizes i.e., from one- and two-offs, through to larger volumes (i.e., up to 200-off), depending on customers’ requirements. *(Rolls can also be manufactured from special quality iron and cast steels as well as
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