Clifton Engineering opt for Dugard purely on power

Established in 1993, Clifton Engineering is a family-owned company based in Northumberland, England. They supply a diverse range of international industries from oil and gas, aerospace and space exploration to medical, automotive and motor sport.

The precision engineering company employs 34 members of staff and also specialises in polyurethane moulding.

Originally set up to supply local manufacturing companies, Clifton Engineering has expanded to become an internationally respected supplier of sub-contract component manufacturing and precision machining.

Operating from two modern factory units, their facilities include an extensive CNC machine, and polyurethane mould shop as well as a conventional machine shop and toolmaking capabilities.

Earlier this year to complement their existing set-up, Clifton Engineering invested in a new Dugard 400 lathe. Historically Clifton Engineering had always bought their machine tools from another recognised Machine Tool supplier but on this occasion the CNC lathe from Dugard had far more to offer.

One of the main reasons Dugard won the business was the sheer power of the machines they have to offer. The Dugard 400 CNC lathe is built on a solid, heavy duty casting and is equipped with a high torque spindle, which delivers first class precision machining results.

Steve Waddle from Clifton Engineering commented, ‘We have 15 VMCs on site and 8 CNC lathes and this is only the second time we have engaged Dugard as a supplier. The first was over 15 years ago and the machine is still producing today. The new Dugard 400 lathe offered us more power than all the other machine tools we looked at, it was also available ex-stock, not to mention we were very confident that Dugard were the right business to support the purchase.’

‘We needed the new machine to assist with larger components; therefore the fact that this lathe offered us more power meant we could reduce our cycle times thanks to greater metal removal at higher speeds. Having this new machine also enables us to utilise the torque, machining more difficult materials.  It is not uncommon for us to machine steels such as 26w and when handling this type of material you need to ensure you have the power.’