Dugard provides heavy-duty solution for ENS Precision Engineering Ltd

As a successful subcontract machining, fabricating, plating, NDT and assembly business, Rotherham based ENS Precision Engineering Ltd expanded its interests with a move to a new 39,000sq/ft factory in 2018. Since moving to the new facility, the precision engineering company has purchased a Dugard HD1886B machining centre to increase its machining capacity and versatility.

The family business that is now based in Hellaby on the outskirts of the South Yorkshire town famed for its coal mining and steel production, is delighted with its purchase from the leading machine tool company. Commenting upon the purchase,

Tim Atwell from ISO: 9001 certified ENS Precision Engineering says: “We bought Dugard because it was a very competitive package with box guideways and a BT50 taper, which makes it a very rigid machine. Before buying the machine, we went to one of Dugard’s customers and they were very pleased with the machine, and that is always the best way to find out about the machine. This testimonial gave us the confidence to buy from Dugard, which is a very well-established company.”

“Whilst many companies go for very high rpm with a low depth of cut, at EMS we believe in using as much of the carbide as you can, going for bigger depths of cut. This is why we go for BT50 taper machines because they always have the grunt to push the carbide. The results are very good, and we have not had any issues so far, which is great.”

Referring to buying the first Dugard machine from the Brighton-based machine-tool experts, Tim says: “We had no reservations buying our first Dugard machine. Dugard is a long-established company and they are very honourable people. The only question for us was around the fact that we had never had that type of machine from Dugard. We had bought a different brand machine from them in the past, but it was a lathe. So, we just needed to know that the HD1886B could do the job and the backup was there.”

Commenting on the new installation at ENS Precision Engineering, machine shop operator and past apprentice, Mr Josh Hipwell says: “We recently installed the machine and the main reason for the purchase was that our old machine was getting a little tired. We wanted a machining centre that could do all the work that our previous machine could do and more.”

But as a machine shop with a variety of brands across the shop floor, Josh said the company picked the Dugard HD1886B for a multitude of reasons. “As a company, we had a set budget that we wanted to stay within. The Dugard machine not only came within that budget, but it was the most robust and rigid machine in that price bracket.”

The robust machine has a BT50 spindle taper and this desire for a solid platform was based on productivity goals. As Josh continues: “The majority of jobs we are processing on this machine are from mild steel, not harder materials. However, our aim with this machine is to reduce machining times and increase productivity. So, we are taking very heavy cuts at relatively high speed to reduce our cycle times.”

Looking specifically at the footprint of the machine that has a bed capacity of 1800 by 860 by 700mm in X, Y and Z-axes, Josh says: “The Dugard machine has one of the biggest ranges in Y and X-axis of any of our machines, but the overall footprint is very compact. Furthermore, the axes are flipped on this machine where the Y-axis is on top of the X-axis, this makes the machine construction a lot more rigid for harder and heavier-duty cutting.”

Adding to this, Tim says: “The working envelope is very useful. Space is always at a premium and the other machines that we have that take a lot of space are our sliding head lathes, comparatively, this Dugard machine is very compact. I have to say we are absolutely delighted with this machine.”

Referring to some of the jobs the company has cut on the Dugard HD1886B, Josh continues: “The machine is very versatile. At the moment, we are cutting some light fabrication work, but we have also cut some very heavy workpieces. The machine is already familiar with taking 10 to 12mm depths of cut for sustained periods, the machine really stands up to the task.”

Configured with the FANUC 0i-MF Plus Series CNC control, Josh says: “We already have a number of machines with FANUC control systems that work back to back from a programme perspective, but we also have jobs where we’ve had to put new programs on the Dugard machine with this control and it’s as easy to programme as any machine on our shop floor.”