When Manthorpe Engineering takes delivery of the largest machine installed by DMG in April 2007, the colossal 3.4m bed DMU 340FD mill-turn machine will make the Derbyshire, UK-based aerospace specialist the envy of not just UK manufacturers, but also those throughout Europe and the rest of the world. From humble origins some 30 years ago as a precision machinist providing subcontract services to the mining industry, Manthorpe Engineering has emerged as one of the UK's premier suppliers of components to the aerospace, defence and power generation sectors. The past 10 years has seen Manthorpe maintain continued investment in new plant and machinery, which will culminate in the completion of a new 25,000ft2 machine shop late in 2006.

Some of the company's milestone investments include Unigraphics NX3 CADCAM in 2004, followed a year later by the arrival of Manthorpe's first multi-tasking machine tool.

'The installation of the DMU 340FD next April, along with a DMC 160FD twin pallet duoBLOCK mill-turn machine, will take our total number of multi-tasking machines to five and increase our machining capability to 3m diameter from our existing 2m limit,' explained sales director Chris Bowley.

The DMU 340FD mill-turn centre combines two technologies in a single machine, allowing workpieces weighing up to 7000kg to be machined using five axes simultaneously in a single set-up.

This complete solution not only saves time and money but also achieves greater flexibility and accuracy.

The new 2.5m, direct drive NC-rotary table offers 40kW of power.

It can provide rotational speeds of 120 rev/min, torque of 10,000Nm and a holding torque of 15,000Nm.

This highly productive unit masters a previously unattainable range of horizontal and vertical mill-turn applications.

During the evaluation process, the impressive capacity and specification of the DMU 340FD led Manthorpe to investigate further, first by attending the EMO 2005 machine tool exhibition in Hanover, and then by visiting the DMG assembly line in Pfronten.

Suitably convinced, Manthorpe officially signed the order for the GBP 1.25m package at the recent MACH 2006 exhibition in Birmingham.

'The DMU340FD is a strategic purchase that will allow us to widen our portfolio of parts both from a size and range perspective in the markets we already serve and hopefully also open up new ones,' explained Bowley.

'At the moment the large majority of our customers are UK-based although we are supplying parts to Belgium, the US and Canada, and are actively looking at other export markets.

The DMC 160FD will allow us to consolidate best practice manufacture on current and new parts where we are continually being asked for price and lead-time reductions.' Manthorpe Engineering will be using both of its new DMG machines to produce components such as air intake casings, compressor casings, turbine casings, rings and seals in a single set-up from materials including carbon steels, stainless steels, aluminium and exotic alloys such as nimonic, inconel and titanium.

The gantry-design DMU 340FD, with three-point support for quick installation, is a mill-turn machine featuring an XYZ of 2800 by 3400 by 1600mm respectively.

The universal, swivelling milling head features a controlled, driven B-axis, while the 180-pocket tool magazine comes complete with an automatic horizontal changer.

When large, high value billets of material are involved, the cost of scrap or rework is not an option in today's highly competitive manufacturing arena.

For this reason, the package selected by Manthorpe features the inclusion of several on-machine probing/measuring options.

These include: a Renishaw OMP 60 infrared measuring probe; a combination measuring tool for the machining area (Blum laser for milling tools, Renishaw TS 27R for turning tools); mechanical tool breakage control; and a Zoller TDS tool identification system.

All of the systems are linked to the machine's Siemens 840D Powerline control (Heidenhain iTNC530 available as an alternative).