The owner of TPB Precision Engineering, Terry Benfield has more than 25 years' experience working in subcontract industry with customers ranging from medical, scientific and motorsport. The business is based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
TPB first opened in 2018 when Terry invested in a VM20i and a TM8i lathe, both from Hurco. Growth has been steady since then and additional milling and turning capacity was needed to meet the demand from a number of local customers.
Many years ago, Terry was an Applications Engineer at Hurco. The experience gained meant that he was an ideal candidate when Hurco were looking for someone to put their new driven-tool lathe range through its paces.
The TM8Mi lathe includes a full redesign of both machine and control compared to the previous model. In addition to mechanical enhancements such as a more compact footprint and larger spindle bore, the lathe control has also been improved to include features that are loved on the milling control. Primarily, concurrent programming, check for errors and estimated run time, but also improved processing speeds and enhanced graphics.
Terry comments “The programming of the milling operations on this lathe are the same as rotary programming for the mill. It's extremely easy to use".
Due to space restriction within the workshop TPB use a bar puller in preference to a barfeed unit. Terry says this is perfect, as a lot of batches are quite small, often in the order of 50 off, or less.
For a business such as TPB, continuous, consistent accuracy, within microns is essential. Materials such as D2 steel are managed with no fuss or vibration. The surface finish is always excellent.
TPB Precision needs to get as much work done as possible in a single handling. Compared to a standard 2 axis CNC lathe, Terry says owning the new TM8Mi is like having 2 machines. The ability to do simple milling operations on a shaft, or off-centre drilling mean that complete components are sometimes finished in a single handling.
Based on the experience so far, it is likely that Terry will be working closely with Hurco again in the future. Some of his recommendations for programming enhancements and ease of use have been taken onboard by Hurco Software engineers in Indianapolis.
As the Hurco range of turning centres grows, it is likely that further feedback from businesses such as TPB Precision will prove essential.
www.tpbprecision.co.uk
