Operating from three sites in Byfleet, Surrey, Supercraft provides a total, make to print, manufacturing solution to the aerospace sector, a situation that has been enhanced by the recent investment in three multi-axis machining centres from Yamazaki Mazak UK. 

Founded in 1982 as an aerospace fabrication company, Supercraft has developed into a full service manufacturer for machining and fabricating high precision aerospace components, adding treatments such as welding and painting before building the parts into recognisable airframe assemblies.

Approved to ISO9001 and AS9100, along with a number of customer approvals, the company has placed great emphasis on its business management systems enabling it to provide project management and kit set supply. In addition it has invested heavily in manufacturing technology.

By offering a total solution, and working as a partner to its customers, the 100 employee company has grown its turnover over the past two to three years by around 30%. Key to this growth, the company claims, has been the move to more modern, and versatile, machine tools, especially the multi-axis machines from Yamazaki Mazak.

“We bought our first Mazak about four years ago – a Quick Turn Nexus 200 MY turning centre,” says Paul Barber, Supercraft’s sales director. “The capabilities of this machine allowed us to be competitive on batches as low as one-off thanks to the speed of set-up and the ease of programming on the shopfloor. It was the success of the machine that prompted us to investigate further investment into multi-axis machining centres.”

Machine limitations

Supercraft also recognised that, due to the limitations of its existing 3- and 4-axis machining centres it was missing out on potential work so investment in 5-axis capability became a necessity. Through this investment, the company was also aware that new sectors of the aerospace market, from which it derives 95% of its business, would become available.

“There are many projects in the pipeline that will create lots of opportunities for multi-axis machining,” Mr Barber explains. “With this investment we will be in a good position to win some of that work and in the current economic climate the Mazak machines are allowing us to take time out of jobs, in the face of cost down pressures from our customers.”

Supercraft’s first venture into 5-axis machining was to purchase a Mazak Variaxis 630-5X II twin pallet machining centre which was quickly followed by a Variaxis 500-5X II twin pallet machine. Capable of machining multiple surfaces with simultaneous 5-axis movements, the Variaxis machines are helping to eliminate multiple set-ups, reduce work in progress and improve customer leadtimes.

“We manufacture some very complex parts that with our previous machine capacity would take up to six set-ups to complete,” says Nigel Prior, Supercraft’s manufacturing engineer. “With the Variaxis we achieve this in two, and with the twin pallet arrangement we can run first and second operations back to back. This improved our service of supplying fast track deliveries to our aerospace customers.” 

Extending the envelope

One example of productivity gains through use of the Variaxis machines is the manufacture of a series of rib bracket supports. Cycle times on these components has been reduced by 30% with the additional bonus of an improvement in the accuracy and quality of contoured features, leading to a reduction in the amount of supplementary hand finishing that is required.

Installed during 2009, the Variaxis machines quickly became established and the advantages that they brought to Supercraft initiated the discussions about the next stage of the investment programme.

The Variaxis machines have a workpiece capacity of 500mm diameter by 400mm (500-5X) and 730mm diameter by 500mm (630-5X), but Supercraft was receiving inquiries for work outside of these capacities. The result was an order being placed for a Mazak VTC 800/30SR travelling column vertical machining centre equipped with the optional rotary table making it a full, simultaneous, five-axis machining centre. The versatility of the machine is enhanced by feedrates of 50m/minute and a powerful 35kW spindle with a maximum speed of 18,000rpm.

“The installation of the VTC-800/30SR increased our capacity to machine large components, which for a subcontract company is important as we never know what is coming through the door next,” Mr Prior reveals. “The combination of the Kitagawa rotary axis, our own design of clamping plate, and the machine’s standard fourth axis tilting head, has enabled reduced set-up and machining times on a range of components including thin-walled structures and rib details. This is work that Supercraft would have declined from quoting for in the past.”

With a table size of 3,500mm by 820mm and a machining capacity of 2,000mm by 500mm, when using the 5-axis option, the VTC-800/30SR has given Supercraft the confidence to bid for and win new work

Delivering the goods

The transition to 5-axis machining may appear daunting at first, but Supercraft was reassured by the support on offer from Mazak. “When you are investing at this level you obviously shop around,” concludes Mr Barber. “However, from the first meeting with Mazak we were reassured that they could deliver on their promises and to our expectations.

“Once we placed the order they were very helpful in helping us to develop the 5-axis functionality of the VTC machine, which was the first to be ordered with this set-up in the UK I believe. The aftersales support and training that was provided both in-house here and at Mazak’s Worcester facility enabled us to quickly get up to speed with the Variaxis machines and starting producing components.”

Yamazaki Mazak
www.mazak.eu