Judging from recent activity, the company has been making good on its commitment to make whatever strategic capital equipment investments are necessary to improve service to customers.
Matthew And Son Engineering, a Sebenza Gauteng-based general engineering machine shop that specialises in CNC multi-axis machining and milling, has recently invested in a new Doosan DNM 750L II CNC vertical machining center that was supplied by Puma Machine Tools.
The family-run company that is nearing the beginning of its fifth decade in business has seen change in more ways over the last 24 months other than just on the operational side. Matthew Mayhew Jnr’s vision of taking the company to new levels of efficiency and the resulting quality improvements, has seen the company grow substantially with investment in new equipment and alterations to its factory space so as to improve the flow of material handling and product despatch. As a result, the whole factory needed some attention, from the floors to the workflow. This is a massive task as production and deliveries cannot stop while you move and renovate.
Matthew And Son has recently invested in a new Doosan DNM 750L II CNC vertical machining center that was supplied by Puma Machine Tools
“We do not have long lists of clients on our books, but those that we do count as our regulars have recognised what we have achieved and we are now machining more components for them. We are machining components for some large corporates that are involved in the mining, rail transport, automotive, water and paper industries. The number of components that we machine has trebled and accordingly turnover has gone up. However, the new projects that we are getting involved in are what really interest us,” said Matt Mayhew (Matthew Mayhew Jnr.)
“For example, we recently won a contract to machine five different components for the rail transport industry. This contract is for five years and requires that we invest in another CNC lathe, but with bigger specifications.”
“We did that when we purchased a Doosan Puma 5100 XLMB CNC turning center that can accommodate components up to 3 000mm in length and 650mm turning diameter. The machine also has a milling function and a bigger motor than what is normally supplied with this machine. Besides other components we are machining components that make up the new contract from solid bar. When the bar arrives on the floor, they weigh 205 kilograms and once we have finished machining the component has been reduced to 47 kilograms.”
Matthew And Son has also recently installed a Kasto bandsaw that has a 320mm diameter cutting capacity and was supplied by Retecon Machine Tools
“Up until the installation of the Doosan Puma 5100 XLMB CNC turning center we only had the capability of machining up to 1 320mm length on our other four Hyundai Wia CNC lathes. This machine has more than doubled our capabilities in turning operations.”
New Doosan DNM 750L II CNC vertical machining center
“Over and above increasing our capabilities and capacity the new lathe also acvhieved the company’s initial goals of improving cycle times and throughput when we purchased it. Such were the improvements in these areas it forced us to look at our milling capabilities. We were vulnerable in this area as we only had one Hyundai Wia CNC vertical machining center. Although the machine has a dual table fixture and 4th axis we were limited by the table size of 1 200mm by 500mm and a maximum load of 800 kilograms.”
“All we needed was for this machine to have a breakdown and we would not have an alternative. So besides buffering our risk we needed to address the situation of capacity and capability as we had received increased orders for one the components for one of our rail component contracts.”
The new Doosan DNM 750L II CNC vertical machining center will allow Matthew And Son to machine four base plates in the same cycle, which increases the company’s capacity for this component by 300% as well as saving time on handling and loading of the component
“We specifically needed to look at capacity in terms of the base plates that we are required to do shoulder and face milling operations on, as well as high feed interpolation of holes and engraving. The average weight of the plate components we are producing is 100 kilograms.”
Four up component machining
“The large-capacity heavy-duty Doosan 3-axis vertical machining center has travels of 2 160mm by 762mm by 650mm, a table size 2 160mm by 760mm, XYZ capacity of 2 160mm by 762mm by 650mm, has a 30-position tool changer magazine and a spindle power/speed up to 28kW/12 000rpm. This will allow us to machine four base plates in the same cycle, which increases our capacity by 300%. Not only does it increase our production capabilities and capacity but it will also save time on handling and loading of components.”
“We have also recently installed a Kasto bandsaw that has a 320mm diameter cutting capacity.”
Renovating the factory
“We had previously done some renovations but with the acquisition of this new equipment we had to do more renovations. We are now adding a further 400m² of floor space and with the rearranging of the various departments including our welding department we will be able to have the virtual optimum of material flow without investing in automation.”
Matthew And Son have recently won contracts to machine and supply components for the rail transport industry. These solid bars will be machined on the company’s Doosan Puma 5100 XLMB turning center
“The renovation also includes the installation of three 3-ton overhead cranes as well as making the factory space as atmospherically controlled as possible without sealing off the whole factory space.”
“While we hear of companies cutting shifts, and of others slashing jobs, we have been investing in new equipment to increase production and capacity and peering into every corner of our operations to seek ways of eliminating wasted time, motion and energy. The results? Increased throughput, a well-organised shop floor and our employees are energised and invested in the company’s success.”
For further details contact Matthew And Son on TEL: 011 609 5603 or visit www.matthewandson.net
