SFM Technology
'...it supports our claim to be a true 'one stop shop' equipped to provide a complete engineering solution.'
Hardware
CNC Bridge Mill is the right choice
A management buy-out in 2002 gave co-owners Richard Whittington and Keith Tridgell the opportunity to expand still further a design and manufacturing business that has enjoyed substantial growth in recent years. “SFM Technology Ltd offers customers a bespoke design and manufacturing capability that adds value to their products,” says Richard Whittington, “and we have the flexibility to deliver any combination of design, prototype development, product enhancements, machining/fabrication/welding, tooling, complete manufacture and assembly.”
Established in 1985, ISO 9001-accredited SFM Technology began by designing harvesting machinery. However, growth over the past decade has come increasingly from more technologically demanding industrial sectors, with aerospace now a dominant aspect of its engineering activity. Its innovative design solutions are supported by an extensive experience of machining and fabricating ferrous and non-ferrous metals, composites, plastics, wood and other customer-specified materials.
An established supplier to, among others, Agusta Westland, Airbus (UK), GKN Aerospace, Thales and the MOD, the company is confident of its ability to respond to the most demanding challenges. “Our design capability extends from conceptual scheming right up to fully detailed assembly drawings,” says Keith Tridgell, “The design process is managed either through electronic data transfer or, with longer-term projects, by outplacement at customers’ premises. Our combination of machining and fabrication expertise, which includes welding to BS EN 287/288 standard, is perhaps unusual in the aerospace sector but it supports our claim to be a true ‘one stop shop’ equipped to provide a complete engineering solution.”
The 50-employee company is proud of its skills base, which is focused on mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical applications, and of its ability to retain highly skilled people. It is also proud of its sustained investment programme, evidenced most recently by the installation of a XYZ BRM 80-150 CNC bridge mill equipped with a five-axis spindle head; a Delcam PowerMill CAD/CAM system; and a Faro seven-axis articulated portable arm CMM with Delcam PowerInspect software.
“We are increasingly involved in more complex projects that demand a bigger machining envelope and a five-axis machining capability,” says Richard Whittington. “Having worked with XYZ Machine Tools for the past 10 years or so, beginning with manual turret mills and moving on to manual/CNC mills/lathes and machining centres, we are confident that this new CNC bridge mill is the right choice for our type of work.”
Fitted, as standard, with a 24 hp high torque vector drive spindle capable of 8000 rev/min (up to 24,000 rev/min optional), the XYZ BRM 80-150 CNC bridge mill is the largest of the six models in the range. It accommodates workpieces weighing up to 2270 kg on its 2030 mm by 3810 mm table. X, Y and Z axis traverses are 3810 mm, 2030 mm and 710 mm, respectively, and rapid traverse in all three axes is 25 m/min. However, it is the five-axis capability that results from a simple changeover to a Tri-Tech programmable head that is the real attraction for SFM Technology.
Developed specifically for aerospace machined parts, this programmable head provides a genuine five-axis simultaneous capability at a very affordable price, allowing unrestricted access to all points of the new bridge mill’s machining envelope. This enables much larger workpieces to be machined than would be possible on a three-axis machining centre fitted with a tilt-rotary table. The alternative of a dedicated five-axis machining centre was considered but dismissed as a far more expensive one that carried with it the risk of the machine being under-utilised, whereas another straightforward changeover sees the CNC bridge mill back in straightforward three-axis machining mode.
One of the advantages of five-axis machining, according to Richard Whittington, is that it eliminates the multiple set-ups otherwise required to reposition the workpiece at complex angles. And the additional A and B axis capability imparted by the Tri-Tech programmable head means that cycle times on more complex work are shorter. SFM Technology benefits because its five-axis capability is attracting new aerospace business while its customers, both new and existing, benefit from shorter lead times and a more flexible response.
Inevitably, perhaps, SFM Technology’s rapid expansion, which involved the acquisition of Advanced Tooling and Northern Engineering in 2002, means that floor space is at a premium on its sites in Martock and Taunton. This meant that the Burlescombe, Devon machine tool distributor had to make several changes to the new CNC bridge mill’s configuration before installing it in the Martock factory. “XYZ Machine Tools has always provided good support, with a rapid response when necessary,” says Richard Whittington. “This latest project has shown, once again, that it is also very approachable when a customer needs some extra help to achieve the optimum result.”