It was just over a year ago that heavy rainfall caused flooding in and around the Paarl area of the Western Cape. One of the industrial areas was badly hit and businesses saw knee-deep water running through their factories and offices. One such company was Donnees Engineering (see: https://metalworkingnews.info/concentrating-on-quality-and-efficiency-at-donnees-engineering).
“Fortunately most of our CNC machines, which includes eight Mazak machines, five Fanuc Robodrills and a Fanuc Robocut EDM, were not damaged to any great extent. But the whole of our factory floor was under water which caused damage,” said Johan Koen, CEO and owner of Donnees Engineering.
“Thinking positively it forced us to get a whole new floor done, which I had been sort of thinking about but had not got round to. At the same time, we put in protection so if there are floods in the future we could prevent the water coming in to the best of our ability.”
It was just over a year ago that heavy rainfall caused flooding in and around the Paarl area of the Western Cape. The flood forced Donnees Engineering to get a whole new machine shop floor done
“Every year we invest a lot back into the company to ensure growth, and to keep up with our customers’ demands. This year we invested in our new Mazak Quick Turn 300, supplied by Hi-Tech Machine Tools. We also did a lot of maintenance on our other machines, invested in new tooling and did some more upgrading of our building.”
“A big percentage of the jobs that this machine is running, we used to do on our Mazak Quick Turn 200, the smaller brother of the Mazak Quick Turn 300. But we often ran into troubles with tool length and collision control. This then turned into a time-consuming process, where the operator had to take extra precautions when cutting these big components that barely made it into the work envelope.”
“With the new Mazak Quick Turn 300 we have a lot more room for these components and we can programme and run them seamlessly, thus saving a lot of time with the setups.”
“In addition to the purchase of the Mazak we also purchased a travelling steady and a Renishaw probe for this machine.”
“The reason they have been purchased is that the travelling steady will ensure smoother turning operations, less chatter and overall a more solid finish on the big components that we machine.”
Every year Donnees Engineering invests back into the company to ensure growth, and to keep up with their customers’ demands. This year they invested in a new Mazak Quick Turn 300, supplied by Hi-Tech Machine Tools
The Mazak Quick Turn 300 is run with the Mazatrol SmoothG Control
“The probe was to have a better grip on the dimensions of the parts, as it is sometimes difficult to get to hard-to-reach places to measure specific dimensions. The accuracy of the Renishaw probe is also a big part of why we purchased it along with the machine.”
“We do a lot of work for the food industry, as well as aerospace. This machine is perfect to turn big, long shafts or even big, hollow housings. What is also nice is that the components that we mainly did on our big conventional lathes, we can now easily fit into this machine, and again save a lot of time and effort when it comes to making these components.”
“We mainly machine stainless steel (304, 316, 17-4), cast iron, different tool steels (K110, En19, Marathon), aluminium (mainly 6082), HDPE, acetal, brass and BMS. This machine will be kind of an all-rounder.”
“The correct name of the machine is Mazak Quick Turn 300 (1500U). It has a maximum swing diameter of 720mm, a maximum machining diameter of 420mm, an X-axis travel of 240mm, a Z-axis travel of 1 640mm and the machine is run with the Mazatrol SmoothG Control.”
“A big percentage of the jobs that this machine is running, we used to do on our Mazak Quick Turn 200, the smaller brother of the Mazak Quick Turn 300. But we often ran into troubles with tool length and collision control. This then turned into a time-consuming process, where the operator had to take extra precautions when cutting these big components that barely made it into the work envelope. With the new Mazak Quick Turn 300 we have a lot more room for these components and we can programme and run them seamlessly, thus saving a lot of time with the setups. In addition to the purchase of the Mazak we also purchased a travelling steady and a Renishaw probe for this machine.”
Last year the company purchased a DN Solutions DNM 6700 VMC with Fanuc i Plus Control and a 4th axis
Donnees Engineering now have nine Mazak machines on the floor. They include four vertical machining centers, three lathes and one Integrex j-200. All machines have been supplied by Hi-Tech Machine Tools. The Integrex j-200 is a compact machine designed for large workpieces – maximum machining size is 500mm and maximum machining length is 500mm. Additionally, a large machining area is provided thanks to long strokes: X-axis – 450mm, Y-axis – 200mm, Z-axis – 550mm, B-axis indexing range of 220° and C-axis of 360°. The orthogonal Y-axis machine construction allows face milling, end milling, and drilling to be performed in the large machining area without C-axis indexing thanks to long Y-axis stroke: 200mm.
“We also purchased 2 other new machines last year. One was the DN Solutions DNM 6700 VMC with Fanuc i Plus Control and a 4th axis. The XYZ travels on this machine are 1 300mm by 670mm by 625mm.”
“The other machine is a DN Solutions PUMA DNT 2100 MB turning center with Fanuc i Plus Control and live tooling. Maximum turning diameter is 300mm and the X-axis travel is 230mm and the Z-axis travel is 580mm.”
At the same time a DN Solutions PUMA DNT 2100 MB turning center with Fanuc i Plus Control and live tooling, supplied by Puma Machine Tools
“These machines have played a big part in our shop efficiency, and with that said, we manage to split our workload even more to deliver the finished components to our customers on time.”
Donnees Engineering is a relatively young company, having only officially opened its doors for business in March 2006 as an after-hours business. But sole owner Koen had been machining precision components for many years prior to starting his own business.
For further details contact Donnees Engineering 082 789 3818 or email johan@donnees.co.za or visit
https://www.facebook.com/donneesengineering
