Looking to cut cycle times from days to minutes.

No project too big or too small is StrucMAC Engineering’s statement on its website. But if you delve down deeper and research the recently completed projects done by the company, big is more prominent than small. The same goes for the capital equipment purchases that the company has done in recent years. Large CNC machining machines now occupy a fair amount of shop floor space at the company. But then if you are repairing, rebuilding and refurbishing heavy industrial equipment with many large and heavy components and workpieces to machine, you need this type of equipment.

“We might not have purchased the largest vertical boring mill or CNC machine but it is one of the largest to be installed in South Africa in recent years. I know of machines that are working locally that have much larger tables and load capacities but they are all machines that were manufactured in the last century and if they were human they would be referred to as elder statesmen. However, besides the age of these machines they are still producing quality work,” said StrucMAC’s owner and founder Andre Hattingh.

“Since we introduced our first ‘large’ CNC machine in 2009 – a Sanco SDM 4225 L, which is a bridge type CNC double column machining center that has a table size of 4 000 by 2 000mm and can take a load of 12 tons – we have become known for manufacturing new and refurbishing large components and sub-assemblies.”

“When the company was established 30 years ago, we were machining small to medium size components. This still accounts for a large portion of the business and hence the continuing investment in the latest CNC equipment. However, with most of our clientele in the mining and construction industries we were getting more and more requests to manufacture and refurbish larger workpieces and components that in some cases can weigh many tons.”

StrucMAC’s latest investment is the Kenyou VTM-4050GC, supplied by WD Hearn Machine Tools. With a 5m swing, a 4m table and a 2.4m component height, the machine can take a table load of 30 tons

“Large-part machining presents different challenges. You can define large-part machining as any component that is too heavy or bulky for a single human being to move the part to another location quickly, or too large to fit within the work zone of the most commonly available CNC machine tools. Parts such as these could apply to almost any industry, though aircraft, construction, power generation, mining and oil drilling are ready examples of industries that commonly have a need for very large machined parts. In large-part machining, much of the challenge has to do with performing as much of the work as possible in a single setup. Today five-axis or 3+2 machining is often required to let a machining center reach many of the features of the part in a single setup.”

“Subsequent to our first Sanco investment we purchased another Sanco machine from WD Hearn Machine Tools, this time a CNC horizontal boring machine and then a Skoda FCW 140 horizontal floor borer that includes a spindle diameter of 140mm, which is large by any standards, and a 10 000mm X-travel and 5 000mm Y-axis travel.”

The machine has milling and grinding functions, driven tooling, auto head changing, a FANUC control and Renishaw probes

“These were followed by an investment in a large Fermat twin table horizontal floor borer to handle large workpieces up to 40 ton. The machine has travels in the XYZ of 10 100mm by 3 500mm and 700mm respectively, with its W and ram travel V-axis having travels of 800mm and 700mm respectively. The T40 table size is 3 000mm by 3 000mm.”

“We then invested in a Leadwell LTC-60LY with driven tool turning centre that has a 5m turning length and a 1m swing followed by our first Kenyou vertical boring mill with driven tooling. This machine can accommodate a component 2.4m high, has a 2m swing and the table load is 10 ton.”

“Now we have installed a Kenyou VTM-4050GC vertical boring mill. Choosing the right machine depends on the workpiece size and job requirements. Horizontal boring machines excel at heavy-duty and large workpieces, providing stability and rigidity for long shafts or large castings. On the other hand, industrial vertical boring machines offer flexibility and ease of loading – ideal for medium to large discs, housings or precision bores.”

A component is dwarfed on the table that has a 5m swing

“A vertical boring mill is a heavy-duty industrial machine tool that acts like a vertical lathe. It turns a massive, heavy workpiece flat on a rotating horizontal table while non-rotating cutting tools shape the internal bores or outer diameters. Vertical boring mills performs a variety of drilling and boring operations on large components. They are also very space efficient, easy to setup and provide easy access to various areas of the workpiece, including the top and sides. Vertical boring mills can perform most lathe operations like facing, boring, turning, tapering and thread cutting.”

Kenyou VTM-4050GC with 5m swing
“Our latest investment is the Kenyou VTM-4050GC, also supplied by WD Hearn Machine Tools. With a 5m swing, a 4m table and a 2.4m component height, the machine can take a table load of 30 tons. The machine has milling and grinding functions, driven tooling, auto head changing, a FANUC control and Renishaw probes.”

StrucMAC have invested in one of the largest CMMs ever installed in South Africa by LK Metrology. The Aeros series comes complete with Renishaw head, Camio software and a huge host of Stylii and extensions. The machine was supplied by WD Hearn Machine Tools

“The machine is imported from China and arrived in 10 off 40-foot containers and 2 flat racks. New foundations had to be put in for this machine. Size wise they were 9.5m wide, 13.7m long and 1.5m deep. That is a fair amount of concrete.”

Vertical boring mills, also known as vertical turret lathes, are mostly used for machining of large circular or round parts like turbines components, pipe flanges amongst other components. Vertical boring mills can perform most lathe operations like facing, boring, turning, tapering and thread cutting.

For further details contact StrucMAC on TEL: 011 822 2399 or visit https://strucmac.co.za