Just a few months after the installation of the first Emmegi 4m Comet R4I 5 axis CNC machine in the UK, Emmegi UK has also completed the installation of the first, larger Comet R6I version. The R6I machine was placed at Charles Henshaw and Sons, an Edinburgh-based façade specialist that manufactures both aluminium and steel curtain walling, and integrated façades. Like so many fabricators, Henshaw is experiencing an increase in demand on commercial projects across the UK, so has made the investment in order to expand its manufacturing capabilities.
Three years ago, Henshaw had invested in a heavy duty 10.5m Emmegi Satellite XT five-axis machining centre, to cut and prep oversized curtain walling profiles and bespoke elements. The team has been impressed by the quality and durability of that machine.
The mobile gantry on the Satellite enables different workpieces to be machined at the same time in two separate work areas, or one end loaded and unloaded while the machine is operating at the other. The Comet R6I offers many of the same opportunities for production efficiencies as the Satellite XT, with single or double zone modes which allow for machining either a single 6m bar length or multiple shorter lengths.
The I in the R6I model means that the machine offers ‘Independent’ positioning of the servo-controlled vices. That means that when the electrospindle is operating, the machine can be automatically setting up the vices ready for machining in the next area, which naturally has the potential to save operator time.
The Comet R6I can machine bar lengths up to 6m, machining from -15° to 90° on the horizontal axis and a full 360° forwards and backwards on the vertical axis across all the profile faces. It has a 12-piece tool magazine on the gantry that can hold a blade with a maximum diameter of 250mm for cutting and notching large sections and a guaranteed fast changeover time. It also has a mobile worktable for easy loading and unloading which increases the machinable section on the vertical axis as well. The R6I at Henshaw has been installed with a fully soundproofed cabinet to minimise noise levels in the factory.
Graham Chung, managing director at Henshaw, said: “We chose the Emmegi Comet R6I as a natural upgrade on our current CNC machine and it is fully delivering on our criteria to advance our manufacturing capabilities. Although there are other CNC machines similar to the Comet R6I on the market, we decided to go with Emmegi as we have had a long and prosperous relationship with Emmegi UK. This further investment, only three years after the installation of the Emmegi Satellite CNC, is a reflection on our expanding order book and the increase in demand for our products and services on a UK nationwide basis.”
Ian Latimer, Emmegi UK’s managing director, said that demand for machining centres has remained strong throughout the pandemic. He added: “There’s certainly no lack of confidence in the market. We’re seeing fabricators right across the UK making really significant investments in machinery – partly to keep pace with demand and cope with the limitations imposed by social distancing in their factories, but largely because they want to optimise their efficiency in the way that Henshaw has done ready for when the market returns to something like normal.”
