The future at PTF Manufacturing looks secure if the increase in orders and the multi-million Rand investment in CNC equipment over the last 18 months is anything to go by. Although PTF Manufacturing had zeroed in on machining components for the pump and valve industry as its primary business strategy, this has changed in recent years.
“Machining of components for the pump and valve industry is still very much part of the mix and accounts for most of our machining output. We have been operating in a niche area of the industry whereby we are known for machining the more complex components and not the ‘dog eat dog’ side of the business. These parts consist largely of axisymmetric shapes, so lathe work is the main part of the production, but as we have grown and added more equipment to the shopfloor, we have increased the variety of operations and components that we are able to machine,” said joint owner Brandon Morris.
PTF Manufacturers has purchased a second Yu Shine large capacity heavy duty and versatile CNC vertical lathe. The new VL-1200 ATC+C has a swing diameter of 1600mm, a turning diameter of 1350mm, a turning height of 1350mm and a table load of up to five tons
When Morris and partner Nas Kalogianni purchased PTF in 2002 they decided that if they were going to be successful and competitive they would have to regularly invest in new equipment. The business already had CNC lathes and mills and some conventional equipment, most of which are still working today, but from the start of the partner’s transition into the company they knew that modernisation would be a key part of their emerging production strategy.
The company subsequently purchased a number of CNC horizontal lathes, vertical machining centres and vertical turning lathes from Victor Fortune Machine Tools.
PTF Manufacturers has purchased 10 Victor Fortune CNC machine tools in the last two years
The partners made a significant decision in the company’s history four years ago when they decided to go big and move out of the company’s comfort zone.
“We needed a large capacity machine, and purchased a heavy duty and versatile CNC vertical lathe. The Yu Shine VL-1600 ATC+C, which is manufactured in Taiwan and supplied by Victor Fortune, has a swing diameter of 2 000mm, a turning diameter of 1600mm, a turning height of 1350mm and a table load of up to eight tons.”
“The power spindle combines the spindle motor and a 2 step transmission to provide powerful face milling, end milling, drilling, tapping and grinding operations. Equipped with a second power spindle, the C and CF axes provide turning, face milling, side milling, drilling, grinding and tapping operations all in a single set-up.”
Included in the purchases is a second Victor Vturn 760 vertical turning centre that has a turning diameter of 760mm and a swing of 900mm
“An added option that we included was live tooling which gives us a huge amount of flexibility.”
“There are very few companies in South Africa that have this capacity and as word spread we found that more and more projects were being offered to us.”
Second Yu Shine
“As a result we acquired contracts in the rail transport industry, more specifically components for electric motors for locomotives, and other areas we have not been involved in before. It has necessitated in the company upping its machining capabilities, and in 2014 we purchased five additional machines. These included four Victor Vturn 26 machines, two of these being the HD models, and a Victor Vturn 45.”
“We have continued our expenditure in 2015 and purchased a further three Victor Vturn CNC lathes, a Victor Vcenter 102 machining centre, and a second Victor Vturn 760 vertical turning centre that has a turning diameter of 760mm and a swing of 900mm.”
The PTF facility comprises two separate buildings each with 870 m² under roof. With all the recent purchases the company has had to look at its operational flow. All the ‘smaller’ CNC machines, which includes the lathes and machining centres, are now housed in the one building and the ‘bigger’ machines in the second building.
An atmosphere controlled quality measuring room has been constructed in the second building and houses a DEA CMM measuring machine, and a second one is on order. This time the company has purchased a smaller Wenzel CMM
This has cleared the way to purchase a second Yu Shine large capacity heavy duty and versatile CNC vertical lathe. The new VL-1200 ATC+C has a swing diameter of 1 600mm, a turning diameter of 1350mm, a turning height of 1350mm and a table load of up to five tons.
“This second Yu Shine machine has given us the flexibility we needed, especially in the heavy duty machining arena.”
Additional positives have evolved for the company in the last two years. An atmosphere controlled quality measuring room has been constructed in the second building and houses a DEA CMM measuring machine, and a second one is on order. This time the company has purchased a smaller Wenzel CMM.
The company has been audited for ISO 9001 and certification has been approved. Due to the increased volume of work the company has employed eight additional staff and also added night shift five days a week.
For further details contact PTF Manufacturers on TEL: 011 825 3590 or visit www.ptf.co.za
