Big boost for local machining capacity

The acquisition of a new computerised numerical control, or CNC, machine, said to be one of the largest horizontal boring mills in South Africa, will allow for more large machining jobs to be completed locally.

Johannesburg-based Efficient Engineering says that it is making a considerable investment in its technology and production capacity by importing and installing the five-axis machine, which weighs 115 t and requires special foundations.

“This floor-type boring machine will further add to Efficient Engineering’s production capacity with many of our existing lines of work,” says Efficient Engineering COO Gary Colegate. “It will also open the door to precision large-scale machining work which  can now be executed in a single set-up, saving time and costs for local customers.”

He asserts that the acquisition will make an important contribution to South Africa’s industrial capability by allowing mining equipment original-equipment manufacturers and mining companies to procure more products locally – an important tenet of the Mining Charter.

He notes that milling machines of similar scale in South Africa are often dedicated to in-house work for their owners. By contrast, Efficient Engineering will now be able to offer a wider range of services to even more sectors, as its infrastructure is customer focused. The WRD150Q machine from TOS Varnsdorf, based in the Czech Republic, will allow the company to offer a wider range of services to more sectors.

With a fully integrated metrology system and a rotary table measuring 3 m x 3.5 m and boasting a carrying capacity of 50 t, the boring machine has a horizontal cross travel of 15 m and a vertical travel of 5 m. The total torque of the main spindle is 2 473 Nm, giving it the power to make relatively deep cuts, with rotational speeds up to 2 500 rpm. Travel speeds are said to be high for a machine of this size, with a 44 t column capable of moving at 24 m/minute in rapid travel.

“A modular headstock interface can accommodate four different universal type  machining heads, giving us the ability to achieve a wide range of different angles and shapes and access to difficult-to-machine areas,” explains Colegate. “The machine also has a portable wireless hand-operated control panel, allowing the operator to move around the job and control the machine while not in the operator’s cabin.”

The automated tool changer can accommodate 60 tools at a time, helping to reduce machining time and improve productivity. To fully optimise the equipment, Efficient Engineering says that it has training two qualified artisans in the specialised skills required for its operation. The new machine will be installed with the assistance of TOS Varnsdorf engineers and the company’s local agent in South Africa, Machine Tool Promotions.