When Derek Howitt, a toolmaker by trade with a strong background in the aerospace and automotive industry established Alba Precision Manufacturing in Retreat, Cape Town, in 2009, the business was built around an opportunity to apply his experience in production engineering and CNC machining to the requirements of the local automotive industry.
Seventeen years later, Alba operates as a CNC production engineering business with capabilities in turning, milling, CAD/CAM programming with 3D inspection capabilities. Alba’s work today ranges from repeat production components to more specialised machining, with customers drawn from a number of industrial sectors.
Derek’s background and professional focus has remained concentrated on CNC manufacturing with CAD/CAM expertise gained from experience in the industry from both his hands-on perspective as well from production management roles he has held previously.
Alba Precision Manufacturing’s Sino VMC850L 3-axis CNC vertical machining center marked a step up in the development of Alba’s machining capabilities. The machine is equipped with a Siemens 828D control and has X, Y and Z travels of 850mm x 500mm x 600mm respectively. Its 500mm x 1 000mm table has a maximum load capacity of 500kg, with a BT40 spindle. It was supplied by Lead Machine Tools
Alba Precision Manufacturing is now equipped for small, medium and large batch production and machines stainless steel, mild steel, tool steels, aluminium, brass and other materials with capabilities to machine complex 2D and 3D components.
“One of the biggest challenges we face as a machine shop is the rising cost of materials. Of course, we are not alone in facing this challenge, but this is where you have to adapt to market trends and be able to put yourself in a position to look for new business in emerging industries instead of relying on legacy industries,” says Howitt.
“I have been in the industry for a long time and I have learned that if you are not able to adapt your business to these kinds of changes, you simply won’t last. Another aspect you constantly have to navigate is the rising cost of labour and this plays a significant role in costing a job, again experience helps to create yourself competitive advantages here,” continued Howitt.
“Then you factor in the rising costs of electricity, transport and let’s not forget tooling now too – being successful in this industry is not as easy as it once may have been. But we are seeing areas of growth and this is positive news for us.”
The shop floor is also equipped with a Sino VMC650L, a 3-axis CNC vertical machining center designed for industrial metal cutting, milling, drilling, mould manufacturing and more
This combination of production and jobbing work is an important part of Alba’s operating model. Rather than limiting the business to a particular component or industry, its machining capabilities provide a platform from which different requirements can be accommodated.
Building machining capability
Alba’s current machine inventory comprises seven CNC lathes and five CNC milling machines including Leadwell T6 and T6i CNC lathes, a Leadwell T7 CNC lathe, Leadwell V25 and V40 machining centers, a Maho 532 CNC milling machine and a Sino VMC850L vertical machining center as well as a Sino VMC650L. Both Sino’s are equipped with workholding solutions to allow the machining of complex geometries.
The acquisition of the Sino VMC850L marked a step up in the development of Alba’s machining capabilities. The machine, supplied in 2019 by Lead Machine Tools, is equipped with a Siemens 828D control and has X, Y and Z travels of 850mm x 500mm x 600mm respectively. Its 500mm x 1 000mm table has a maximum load capacity of 500kg, with a BT40 spindle.
The company operates as a CNC production engineering business with capabilities in turning, milling, CAD/CAM programming with 3D inspection capabilities
The VMC850L is configured for operations including milling, drilling, boring, tapping and profile milling, allowing several operations to be completed in a single setup where the component and process permit it. Positioning accuracy is specified at ±0.010mm, with repeat positioning accuracy of ±0.005mm.
Alba is also equipped with twin spindle CNC turning capabilities on one of its lathes that has independent headstocks (main and sub-spindles) that allow complete front and rear machining of a component in a single setup, fed by a 3m bar feeder. Alba retrofitted the machine with a chuck in place of the original collet which allows for further machining versatility.
For a job shop, the range of equipment is as important as individual machine specifications and this has ensured Alba has the scope to move between different production requirements without being tied to one type of work.
On the shop floor is a Chiah-Chyun CDS-32 CNC lathe. The twin spindle CNC turning capabilities feature independent headstocks (main and sub-spindles) that allow complete front and rear machining of a component in a single setup, fed by a 3m bar feeder. Alba retrofitted the machine with a chuck in place of the original collet which allows for further machining versatility
The company manufactures many different components including various stainless steel frameless glass balustrade fittings, sensor bosses and gas adaptors for various automotive applications like catalytic converters, petro chemical components, gas spring, ball studs and related fittings, shock absorber piston rods and inner tubes, telecommunication, medical and aerospace components, bore hole drilling quick fit attachments and brass motor gland fittings, various medical devices, machined, dispensing components for the beverage industry, compression glands for the water drilling industry, fan blade mounting brackets for the assembly of blades to deep mining fresh air circulation fans, chain drive gears, t-bolts and castle nuts for lifting cradles as well as HDPE pipe flanges, with dimensions and configurations adapted to customer requirements.
The company also manufactures blow moulds as well as specialised tooling, dies and punches for the packaging, food processing and paper industries.
Diverse capabilities demonstrate one of the differences between production machining and simply operating CNC equipment. A machine is only one part of the process and programming, tooling, workholding, setup, inspection and an understanding of how the component will be used all influence the final result, explained Derek.
Quality assurance is handled in-house at Alba, with the facility equipped with an optical projector with 2D software. In-house inspection capability like this is important in a production environment because it provides a means of verifying machined features against the component drawing rather than relying solely on conventional workshop measuring equipment, reflecting the skills required to operate a modern job shop. Alba Precision is currently looking at installing CMM measuring equipment to enable them to satisfy all of their customer’s quality and inspection requirements.
A diverse machine portfolio on the shop floor provide Alba the job shop capacity to cater to a wide variety of industries, allowing the company to move between batch production and components requiring more specialised machining, catering to the aerospace, medical, automotive and food processing industries amongst others
Alba’s diverse machine portfolio on its shop floor provide it the job shop capacity to cater to a wide variety of industries, allowing the company to move between batch production and components requiring more specialised machining. The continuing challenge, and the value the company brings to its customers, lies in applying the experience behind that, and machine investment is therefore linked to production requirements rather than having technology just for the sake of it.
“What has also been interesting to see is that with certain industries, where suppliers may have started to import components, we are seeing some of these customers returning to us. Importing components is not as easy as it was a few years ago, and you mix that with the fact that you could encounter quality challenges with those components and this makes a case for returning to local manufacturing,” concluded Derek.
Alba Precision Manufacturing is ISO 9001:2015 certified and operates as a B-BBEE Level 4 company employing 15 staff. You can find their components all across Southern Africa.
For further information contact Alba Precision Manufacturing on Tel: +27 (0)21 712 2633 or visit https://albaprecision.co.za
