J & N Microwave invest in value for money

Started in 1996, J & N is a subcontract machining company working within the communications industry. They specialise in the design, manufacture and assembly of precision RF Microwave Waveguide Components, CNC machining parts mainly out of aluminium and brass.

With full CNC capability for milling and turning, J & N have eight CNC machine tools on-site including both VMCs and Turning Centres and over the last 2 years they have invested in four new Dugard machine tools in order to meet their ever changing needs.

Having previously bought machine tools from competitors, J & N spent a long time researching the market where they discovered that Dugard machining centres (VMCs) could offer them significant benefits.

The machining centres recently purchased from Dugard included an ECO 760 and two Eagle 660 VMCs. All machines were equipped with the popular Siemens control system, this offered a significant benefit for J & N as the technical functionality is far superior to that of controls on previously owned machine tools. One key advantage is the ability to import DXF files which saves time when preparing to machine a component.

In addition to the machining centres, J & N have also invested in a Dugard 52TTS turning centre, the purpose of which was to replace two machines with one.  The sophistication of the TTS machine enables parts to be machined in one-hit with its twin spindle and unique tooling design.

Owner, Jon Rawson, comments ‘We chose Dugard for both technical and commercial reasons. The machines are efficient, reliable and offer a level of technology our previous supplier didn’t. In addition, the costs of the machines are also significantly less to start with; these two factors alone made our decision an easy one. As for the service post sale, well, we’ve had no concerns on this front, the response is timely and reliable’

J & N took the plunge on their £250k investment as they felt they needed the edge over their competitors. They also wanted to improve their cycle times on parts and become less labour intensive and far more productive. That is exactly what Dugard’s machines have been able to provide and J&N consequently expect to see a payback time of approximately two years thanks to the level of technology offered by Dugard.