Sales of machine tools have increased by 25 per cent to £21 million for C Dugard while forward orders, currently in excess of £8 million, depict continued growth in customer confidence in the growing portfolio of machine tools.

Said managing director Eric Dugard: “Everything is now coming together from the efforts of everyone in the company over the last four years. We have seen a steady growth of at least 20 per cent year on year that has given us the confidence to progressively build our UK customer support services and develop and expand our own Dugard Eagle range that has established a reputation for high performance, reliability and quality of build.”

This range has grown to over 70 different models of lathes and vertical machining centres as well as horizontal and five-axis machining centres, sliding headstock and multi-

function lathes, turn-mill centres with B-axis and subspindles plus horizontal borers. “We offer high-quality build specification machines that are very competitively priced and available on excellent delivery timescales,” said Eric Dugard.

He added: “We are now involved with, and winning big projects from, OEMs and Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors and have been building our machine range and service to meet their particular demands which has helped to create a more professional business for all our customers.”

The UK is very active for C Dugard, as reflected in the MACH 2008 exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham where more than 20 orders were won. The 520 m2 stand was the largest ever taken by the company. Important also in the growth of the company has been the international business that has enabled the

DUGARDthe

eagleDUGARD EAGLES SOAR

benefits of ‘economy of scale’ to be added to the range.

By working very closely with the dealer network throughout Europe, the Middle East and Russia, the company has benefited from the

trend towards medium and small batch requirements not only in general machining but also high value projects involving aerospace, oil and gas and petrochemical sectors.

There are 55 people based in Hove and half the company is now engaged in customer support. With ever-growing demands for project work, application engineering plays a central role keeping five engineers fully occupied.

There is also a help desk with two people providing front line contact in addition to the service team.

When any Dugard Eagle machine is delivered to Hove from the Taiwanese factory (that builds the range and is 33 per cent owned by C Dugard), a specialist team of six engineers perform complete PDI checks that can, depending on the machine and customer requirements, take between one and four days. These cover specification, health and safety compliance, machine performance, control and software as well as quality of build before shipment to the customer.

Said Eric Dugard: “Having a part share in the builder’s business puts us in

a very special position that works to the advantage of customers.” At Hove these engineers also add UK sourced items such as through spindle coolant, special chucks, swarf management, fourth axis units and fixturing.

He then added: “This, in our view, is a critical part of customer service. We do not believe in ‘ship and drop’ to customers and we take our warranty commitments very seriously. When either of our two installation crews delivers and installs a machine, it has to power up and perform. It is very important for us as a supplier to understand that we are installing and commissioning an investment that the customer has made in the future of his business.”

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An eye for the future – doors opening onto the new showroom at Hove

Dugard’s MACH 2008 exhibition stand was an outstanding success

Check out our website for more information on our latest range of new

and stock machines plus pre-owned equipment at

www.dugard.com

C Dugard Machine Tools, 75 Old Shoreham Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 7BXTel: +44 (0)1273 732286 Fax: +44 (0) 1273 203835 Email: info@dugard.co.uk www.dugard.com

Issue 1

The latest range of You-Ji elevating cross rail type vertical turning lathes (VTL) provides a turning diameter up to 2.8 m by 1.6 m turning height with spindle motors up to 75 kW via high torque ZF gearbox with dual speed drive. The machine has the capability to carry out turning, milling and grinding cycles and will carry hydraulic chucks with up to six jaws. In addition, 90º approach drilling heads can be specified as well as a grinding spindle option and automatic pallet and tool changer.

High stability and rigidity are paramount in the heavy box-section structure of the column to support the sliding cross rail of the new You-Ji range designated 1000, 1200, 1600, 2000 and 2500 to accommodate non-symmetrical work and heavy cutting conditions. The base is heavily walled and multi-ribbed for rigidity and to retain high thermal stability when supporting workloads up to 15 tonnes.

The high precision CF-axis gearbox with worm and wheel drive is able to deliver a maximum torque up to 17,500 Nm and provides a positioning accuracy of 15 secs of arc. Over 200 You-Ji machines have been installed in bearing manufacturers’ plants around the world and machines with a table capacity over 6 m diameter are to be launched.

Simultaneous five-axis tool positioning and combined multiple operations, incorporating up to five sides of a component, into a single cycle can be achieved with the latest Dugard Eagle X-5 vertical machining centre. As a result, high levels of geometric relationship between different features of a component will be maintained and, by combining operations, shorter production lead times achieved.

The Dugard Eagle X-5 is controlled by the high specification Heidenhain iTNC 530 control and in a typical C Dugard specification there is a choice of options to suit different machining scenarios and customer needs. For instance, while the standard spindle is 10,000 revs/min via a belt drive, this high productivity VMC has also been developed to accommodate high speed with 18,000 revs/min and a 43 kW, 24,000 revs/min unit.

The fully supported combined saddle and table casting sits on an exceptionally rigid bed casting to provide maximum stability to the direct mounted, trunnion style, rotary and tilt table. This enables the two-axis unit to accept loads up to 600 Kg and has high torque linear technology drive motors integrated within the rotary and tilting axes.

Travels are 500 mm in X, 600 mm in Y and 465 mm in Z while the A-axis can be tilted between + 95o to – 95o. The fully programmable 360o C-axis can be positioned or rotated at up to 100 revs/min to accommodate light turning applications integrated with five-axis milling and drilling cycles. Rapid traverse rates are 40 m/min in each axis to an accuracy of + 0.005 mm and repeatability is within five microns.

A 24 position, electrically driven tool magazine with a cam-type swinging arm enables tools to be exchanged in just 2.5 secs. All three spindle variants have the advantage of HSK 63A tapers.

For five-axis linear interpolation, the Heidenhain iTNC 530 control is hard to beat for specification, features, operator interface and full 3-D, five-axis simulation. Program memory is ample at 30 GB and a whole range of canned cycles is included. Helical and spline interpolation are also included with Dynamic Collision Monitoring available as an option.

X-5 EAGLE

The ability to machine larger aluminium and titanium aerospace components at Bristol-based Oldland CNC Engineering prompted the installation of its third Hedelius five-axis moving column vertical machining centre with a fourth machine due in early 2009.

The key factor in the choice of this production platform for John Tucker, managing director, was the ability to machine in three-axis mode to produce original reference or datum faces on one side of the machine and then, via a large programmable trunnion mounted rotary and tilting table fitted to the other side of the machine base, produce true five-axis toolpaths in a single cycle on the remainder of the component.

The Hedelius RS 125-K has given Oldland the best of both worlds because a single operator can prepare, manipulate, and load/unload, deburr or inspect a component on one side, while the machine continues its automated cycle on the other and thus maximizes productivity and machine utilization.

The Hedelius is not the first five-axis venture for this progressive 50-man company. In addition to two previous installations of the smaller capacity Hedelius RS 80 machines, also sourced from C Dugard, are two large capacity Edel CyPort 4020 five-axis gantry machining centres with a capacity of 4 m by 2.3 m by 1.3 m the first installed in 2004, the second 18 months later. As a result, the first Edel machine took the company into Airbus A380 component machining providing the capability for structural parts such as wing skins - a particularly successful area of expertise for the Bristol company.

Like the Hedelius machines, the Edel gives flexibility to cope with a wide range of challenging components and, when required, multiple quantities of smaller parts can also be positioned around the table area to further improve machine utilization while helping to reduce work in progress and cycle times Also installed are two of the latest Dugard Eagle XP 3200 bridge-type machining centres.

Oldland was established in 1975 by brothers David, having a design background, and John a former toolmaker. As the company’s track record confirms, the business is almost entirely devoted to serving the aerospace sector that is very close to its doorstep in Barton Hill, Bristol. Customers rank as blue chip names in the industry including Airbus UK, GKN Aerospace Services, GE Aviation and GKN Aerostructures, Yeovil and in recent years the company has chalked up worthy accreditations including ‘Supplier of the Year’ awards.

OLDLAND’S FIVE-AXIS FOCUS

YOU - JI TURN - MILL - GRIND

HIGH FLYING EAGLES

The latest Dugard Eagle MH-500, a 500 mm twin-pallet moving column machine with 40 tool magazine and Fanuc control, is now available for under £100,000.

The new machine is constructed on a one-piece Meehanite base and saddle that weighs over nine tonnes to provide a heavy duty and rigid machining platform. To this structure, heavy duty linear ways are added and set on a wide span to provide high stability while accommodating 32 m/min rapid traverse rates over 610 mm in X and Z and 510 mm in the Y-axis. Positioning accuracy is ± 0.004 mm and repeatability ± 0.003 mm.

With a typically high Dugard Eagle specification, the machine uses a long nose design of ISO 40 spindle with 10,000 revs/min available as standard

from the 15 kW drive while a higher speed option of 15,000 revs/min can be ordered. Also included is 20 bar through the spindle coolant supply.

The twin 500 mm by 500 mm pallets can each be loaded up to 450 Kg and provide indexing to 0.001o. Pallet exchange time is within eight seconds and a pallet wash is also standard.

As a standard fitment, the 40 tool chain magazine can be upgraded to 60 tools taking tooling units up to 8 kg in weight. Control is via Fanuc OiMC or Fanuc 18iMB system available as an option. Rigid tapping, tool length and workpiece measurement can also be supplied by C Dugard while swarf handling and a conveyor system is standard.

DUGARD EAGLE ADDS HORIZONTAL

CHINESE LET DOWNWhen a Chinese machinist failed to deliver the level of quality required for special bar taps made from 316 stainless steel, it was a recommendation from another customer that brought R E Enfield to the rescue to produce a batch of 16,500 tap assemblies each comprising eight parts.

Says Derek Enfield managing director of the privately-owned Hatfield company that was set up by his grandfather 103 years ago: “You cannot afford to let customers down today. Reliability is the key to survival in the subcontract game. You have just got to invest in the right capital equipment to service the customer and this was a perfect example that has secured us future business.”

Mr Enfield is 73 years old and unlike many company owners at his time of life, has not contemplated the thought of exit strategies into retirement. Intimately involved in his company’s continued success and investment plans he says: “You need to invest in the type of equipment that will perform the task with that ‘little bit to spare’ and then use the in-house skills to deliver the quality, as promised, and at a reasonable price that is acceptable to both parties.”

The failure to be reliable was a reason Mr Enfield changed his machine tool supplier to C Dugard of Hove three years ago when

he installed his first Dugard Eagle 1500 Maximill vertical machining centre. The machine was purchased to produce parts for the medical, bar code reader, calibration

equipment and electronic machinery sectors and was far from being a retaliatory or impulsive buy, having been let down by the previous supplier of several machines to his workshop. He looked at all the main contenders in the machining centre community, commenting that he could not believe the arrogance of some suppliers and the lack of willingness to look at the wider overall package or really believe in his long term plans.

Here C Dugard was keen to work with us, he says: “They clearly understood our needs and the after sales service has been as good as their word.” With the Dugard Eagle subsequently proving its worth and reinforcing the decision to change suppliers, further installations followed: an Eagle 32 sliding headstock turn-mill centre with subspindle in 2005, an Eagle 660 vertical machining centre in 2006, an Eagle 850 vertical machining centre in 2007 and another machine is about to be ordered.

Derek Enfield is a firm believer that business is about service

C Dugard sponsored speedway team, the Eastbourne Eagles, are the 2008 Elite League Knock-out Cup champions after trouncing Poole Pirates, last year’s winners and red-hot favourites, for the title by a mammoth 22 points in front of a large sell-out crowd.

Bob Dugard, who is director of the Sussex club, which is the oldest speedway club in the UK, and chairman of C Dugard’s machine tool operation based in Hove, coached the youngest team of riders in the league to take the highest accolade in European speedway.

He described the winning of the championship trophy as a night of ‘really high octane drama’ and said: “The Eagles’ team produced an electric performance on the last night of a tough season that speedway fans will cherish for a long time.”

The top of the table team is jointly promoted by C Dugard customer Hagon Products of Hainault in Essex, a company that uses Dugard Eagle machines to produce precision components for motorcycles.

Speedway has always flowed in the blood of the Dugard family following the activities of Charlie Dugard the founder of C Dugard Machine Tools. He founded Eastbourne Motor Cycle Sports Club in 1928, became a grasstrack champion and purchased the home circuit of Arlington stadium in 1937, which is still owned by the Dugard family.

Current C Dugard directors, brothers Bob and Eric, have also been involved in speedway racing over the years with Bob being classed as a ‘veteran’ with 50 years’ involvement with the sport. Bob’s son Martin is a former international speedway rider and represented Great Britain in its World Cup Team. He was the youngest rider to win the Southern Riders Championship in 1986, was British under-21 champion in 1989, overseas champion in 1993 and won the British Grand Prix in 2000.

C. Dugard’s international expertise in supporting large capacity multi-axis machining centres and production cells involving customisation to meet specific requirements prompted Maquinaria CME, one of Spain’s leading machine tool builders, to appoint the Hove based company to represent its range of machines in the UK.

The CME range of bed-type machines covers ram-type universal head and travelling column designs with up to 20 m of travel in the X-axis. The range includes machine configurations with integrated rotary tables, universal milling heads enabling boring and 5-axis continuous milling, floor type universal five-axis head machine with rotary tables up to 2.5 m and large capacity machines with automated pallet systems. The largest machine in the CME range, a Modelo MQ, weighs some 60 tonnes.

Each machine in the range that comprises Modelo FCL, FS, GT, MB, MP and MQ has a series of capacities. Each can be interfaced with different control systems according to customer preference – an area where C Dugard has high levels of experience gained from the diverse range of machine tools it supplies.

Most machines have a highly rigid ram-type universal head with choice of configurations on quill travels, spindle powers up to 41 kW and either high torque or higher speed spindles up to 18,000 revs/min. There is also a selection of automatic tool changers and magazines and options of fourth and fifth-axis rotary tables.

Among the wide range of components produced at Towncross Engineering are parts for the home assembly models of electro-magnetic engines that work on 3 to 6 volt battery power. The models replicate original working engines developed between 1836 and 1860 to mimic steam engine technology but instead of coal, used the recently discovered ‘phenomenon of electricity’ as the power source.

Towncross managing director Paul King, and business partner Linda Palmer, run the toolmaking-turned part production machine shop in Bognor Regis that was set up in 1978 and have produced around 300 sets of the 60 or so engine parts for the Old Model Company in Chichester. The parts

were produced in the 1,400 ft2 machine shop by his CNC machinists and include the main beam, flywheels and centre pins for the electric coils.

While some parts are turned, milled and drilled in a single cycle on the company’s Dugard Eagle 32 sliding headstock lathe with subspindle, others are machined on a Dugard supplied two-axis lathe then milled on a vertical machining centre.

However, the highly visual appearance of the curved spoke flywheels for the models are now set and produced in a single ‘one-hit’ cycle on the latest C Dugard installation, a turn-mill with subspindle and a Y-axis crossfeed to the 12 station turret.

MODEL SUPPLIER

Mike Ireland’s New Year Resolution was to turn around Quick Tools, a company he had acquired following just six weeks of negoti-ations, which were completed on 4 January 2008, with plans to develop its expertise into a low volume, high technology design, development and machining operation.

Within just five months, his dedication to transform the ailing Portsmouth-based business has been rewarded with turnover already tripled, but as Mr Ireland maintains: “This is the result of a totally focused at-titude, the workforce’s help and willingness to move forward plus the return from up-front investment.”

For instance, he purchased a Dugard Eagle BNC 1860 CNC Multifunction flat bed lathe and an ex-demonstration Dugard Eagle 1000 vertical machining centre.

Customers include leading names in com-mercial and military aerospace and defence, F1 and industrial and commercial engineer-ing companies with the supply of complete design and manufacture of jigs and fixtures, test rigs, mould and press tools as well as developing and building special purpose machinery. Prestigious projects have included Euro Fighter Typhoon, Boeing 787, Airbus A340 and EH101 Merlin.

Materials processed include aluminium, brass, copper and most steels including stainless, Duplex, Nimonics, armour plate and titanium as well as some composites and nylon which is why the Dugard Eagle machines were chosen.

Often facing the turning of large shaft type parts, the BNC 1860 gave an added capac-ity of 1,680 mm travel in the Z-axis with 475 mm swing and 710 mm in the gap bed for fixture work.

The machine also has the power of an 11 kW spindle, a quick-change toolpost and a rear mounted eight-station turret, able to provide automated cycles on repeat com-ponents and batchwork.

Meanwhile the Dugard Eagle 1000 VMC, that replaced an aging Japanese machine described by Mr Ireland as ‘a bit tired’, has rejuvenated the small batch subcontract machining capability and is proving highly beneficial to tooling production.

The machine is directly linked to Master-CAM and Delcam’s CAD software via the Heidenhain control. With a table size of 1,200 mm by 510 mm it provides a useful platform for the type of toolmaking opera-tions carried out by Quick Tools and is also ideal for small batch production.

Axis travels are 1,020 mm by 530 mm by 510 mm and the 24 tool magazine with twin-arm changer provides sufficient tool capacity. Quite important for Quick Tools is the compact design of the machine that requires a floor space of just 2.8 m by 2.08 m making it ideal for the size of the cur-rent workshop. But one of the reasons for seeking new, larger premises in the near future is to create enough room to enable expansion.

Paul King: “We are winning contracts due to our flexibility and quality capability”

QUICK TOOLS TAKE - OFF

HOT FROM SPAIN

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munications tel: 01634 832221

C Dugard Machine Tools, 75 Old Shoreham Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 7BXTel: +44 (0)1273 732286 Fax: +44 (0) 1273 203835 Email: info@dugard.co.uk www.dugard.com