Recognised as one of the UK’s most comprehensive single-site suppliers of non-ferrous castings, Essex subcontract business Maycast-Noakes Precision Engineering Ltd has put its faith in Q8 Oils and Freddy Industrial vacuums to clean up its machine shop. MTD magazine visited the Halstead Company to investigate.
Located in North Essex with more than 130 staff, Maycast-Noakes operates investment, sand and gravity die foundries that all feed into the modern machine shop to service the aerospace and defence sectors. To instil confidence in its aerospace and defence clients that constitute 80% of turnover, Maycast-Noakes is AS: 9100 Rev D, ISO: 9001 and NADCAP certified. The machine shop currently utilises 10 CNC machining centres and 3 CNC lathes that include HAAS and Doosan Puma machines.
Talking about the business, Maycast-Noakes Sales Director, Mr Dave Blower tells MTD magazine: “ We offer a complete service and that is the USP of the business. We do everything from design and forgings through to machining. So, from one purchase order, a customer can get a complete part and that is of particular interest to our aerospace and defence customers. The majority of our work is non-ferrous materials and aerospace work accounts for over 50-60% of our business. A lot of this is work is long term contracts that give us 5 to 10 years of scheduled production. The defence side of our business is following suit with long-term contracts becoming more prominent.”
“We have a strong investment program going forward and our latest acquisition is the HAAS UMC750 5-axis machining centre and a laser scanner. We have also invested in the gravity die casting area. We will be having more HAAS machines in the near future to grow the machine shop whilst also replacing older less efficient machines. Our investments are quite strong and our shareholders are happy to invest profits back into the business so we can push on and meet our growth forecasts.”
Looking at the implementation of Q8 oils, Mr Blower says: “Q8 supply all our coolants and cutting fluids into the machine shop. They are a key supplier from our point of view. In addition, we started working with Freddy a little over a year ago and they have changed the environment we work in. The machine shop is a lot cleaner and safer and it makes a big difference from our point of view.”
Speaking about the relationship from a Q8 Oil perspective, Q8 Oil’s Martin Crabtree says: “We have worked with Maycast for a few years and we have the QCare system in place here. This QCare service sees our team regularly visit Maycast to monitor the cutting oil water mix fluid. We ensure the fluids are in good condition and the customer gets the maximum life and efficiency from our fluids.”
“Whilst coolant life is of major importance, we want the customer to run at the correct parameters for the sake of improved tool life, working environment, health and safety and overall product quality. As well as applying our products, we work in partnership with Freddy and we see them as the number one manufacturer of industrial vacuum systems. My time on-site is to ensure the customers get the most out of our fluids. From this standpoint, I could definitely see that there was a need for a Freddy EcoVac type of system to be used. This analysis is based on the quantity and type of swarf produced at Maycast.”
“Rather than stop the machine and create downtime to get the swarf out of the machine and flush the fluid away, the Freddy will extract the swarf and filter the coolant simultaneously. It will then pump the coolant straight back into the machine in literally a matter of minutes. This is very cost efficient as we are not generating waste fluid and we are extending the sump life, which is good for the customer.”
Adding up the savings..
Discussing the benefits of the partnership, Mr Crabtree emphasises: “There have been substantial savings from the waste fluid generated as the fluid that was being thrown away wasn’t necessarily bad fluid. It was just the process of emptying the machines and the swarf that was building up that was proving inefficient. We are now wasting much less fluid and it is also environmentally preferable. The fact that the Freddy EcoVac filters the coolant before replenishing the machine is a great benefit.”
With regard to the cutting fluids on-site, Mr Crabtree continues: “The water soluble cutting fluid in use at Maycast is the Q8 Brunel XF343, this is an aerospace industry approved fluid. It is free from formaldehyde, boric acid, boron and chlorine – making it new generation fluid that is going to be legislation proof for many years to come.”
View the story here – https://www.mtdcnc.com/tv/product-reviews/freddy-and-q8-oils-clear-up-at-maycast-noakes
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