Subcontractor Plays a Medley of Success With Matsuura Machines

Medley Precision Engineers Ltd is certainly a fan of the Matsuura brand, being home to no fewer than six Matsuura machine tools. This journey down a route of high-end machine tools is something that started over ten years ago.

As Medley Precision Engineers Ltd Production Manager, Mr Stuart Solomon comments: “We started off with a twin pallet RA-1 VMC and it escalated from there as demand grew. We then moved on to the 15 pallet horizontal and then the two 5-axis machines.”

The company manufactures work for a host of industries that include the oil & gas sector, aerospace work and a complete range of general subcontract precision machining. Discussing why the company selected Matsuura, Mr Solomon continues: “When we started, we heard good reports about the machines and we liked the concept. We also work closely with SPS Aerostructures, a local aerospace company and we did a lot of their aerospace fixtures and work for their Matsuura machines (12off H.Plus-630 horizontals in a Fastems FMS, 2off stand-alone H.Plus-630 twin pallet horizontals, VX-1500 vertical and a 5 axis SNK HPS-120B), so we gained a relationship with Matsuura before we actually bought any of their machines.”

Referring to the impressive 15 pallet H.Plus-300, Mr Solomon says: “This machine stores all our programs on the machine, which are also backed up remotely. With all the pallets, we have set-ups that we can leave in the machine for continually running jobs, so set-up times are minimal. It is basically the time to load the program to the machine and then it’s up and running.”

“The machine runs lights-out and we have the flexibility to either run production work or 15 different jobs simultaneously with the pallet system. Not only do we have the pallets, we have four faces on each pallet. So, with a cube on a pallet, we can have four parts on a single pallet. This has been excellent for our business.”

Moving on from the H.Plus-300, the company has also installed two Matsuura MX-520 5-axis machining centres. Commenting upon these acquisitions, Mr Solomon says: “I think these machines are great. I love them!! Not only do we use the machines as full 5-axis but we also have the Microloc vice table so we incorporate standard blocks into 5-axis parts to cut down operations. Matsuura has been successful with the 5-axis machines as it didn’t previously focus on this type of machine but more the multi-pallet machine tools. It suits customers like us as not all our work is suitable for palletising.”

Referring to ‘cost of ownership’, Mr Solomon believes: “Its known that Matsuura aren’t the cheapest machines in the market but the service, back-up and the great applications team are clear benefits. Also the machines are very high quality with a very high run-time. If you add all this up, it’s a common sense purchase that actually saves us money each month. As a business, we pride ourselves on delivery and have a 99.8% delivery guarantee; this is why its crucial that we have reliable, high quality Matsuura machine tools.”