First UK installation
By Emmegi.
Just a few months after the installation of the first Emmegi 4m Comet R4I five-axis CNC machine in the UK, Emmegi (UK) has now completed the installation of the first, larger Comet R6I version.
That machine has gone into Charles Henshaw and Sons, the Edinburgh-based facade specialists, which manufactures both aluminium and steel curtain walling and integrated facades.
Like so many fabricators, Henshaw is experiencing an increase in demand on commercial projects across the UK, so has made the investment in order to expand its manufacturing capabilities.
Three years ago, Henshaw invested in a heavy duty 10.5m Emmegi Satellite XT five-axis machining centre to cut and prep oversized curtain walling profiles and bespoke elements; and was impressed by the quality and durability of that machine.
The mobile gantry on the Satellite enables different workpieces to be machined at the same time in two separate work areas, or one end loaded and unloaded while the machine is operating at the other. The Comet R6I offers many of the same opportunities for production efficiencies as the Satellite XT, with single or double zone modes that allow for machining either a single 6m bar length or multiple shorter lengths.
The I in the R6I model means that the machine offers ‘independent’ positioning of the servo-controlled vices. That means when the electro-spindle is operating, the machine automatically set up the vices ready for machining in the next area, and this obviously has the potential to save significant amounts of operator time.
The Comet R6I can machine bar lengths up to 6m, machining from -15° to 90° on the horizontal axis, and a full 360° forwards and backwards on the vertical axis across all the profile faces. It has a 12-piece tool magazine on the gantry that can hold a blade with a maximum diameter of 250mm for cutting and notching large sections, and a guaranteed fast changeover time. It also has a mobile worktable for easy loading and unloading, which increases the machinable section on the vertical axis as well.
The R6I at Henshaw was also installed with a fully soundproofed cabinet to minimise noise levels in the factory.
Graham Chung, Henshaw managing director, said: “We chose the Emmegi Comet R6I as a natural upgrade on our current CNC machine, and it is fully delivering on our criteria to advance our manufacturing capabilities. Although there are other CNC machines similar to the Comet R6I on the market, we decided to go with Emmegi as we have had a long and prosperous relationship with Emmegi UK.
“This further investment, only three years after the installation of the Emmegi Satellite CNC, is a reflection on our expanding order book and the increase in demand for our products and services on a UK nationwide basis.”
Ian Latimer, Emmegi UK’s managing director, said demand for machining centres has remained strong throughout the pandemic.
“There’s certainly no lack of confidence in the market,” he said. “We’re seeing fabricators right across the UK making really significant investments in machinery, partly to keep pace with demand and cope with the limitations imposed by social distancing in their factories, but largely because they want to optimise their efficiency in the way that Henshaw has done, ready for when the market returns to something like normal.”
