MACHINING
Walker has wide-ranging and comprehensive high precision machining capabilities and offers significant capacity across the three manufacturing sites where continual investment aids competitiveness and shortest lead times.
In total, there are well over 100 CNC machines available, most are able to be worked on extended shift patterns, thus providing flexibility to service customer programme needs.
The size of items that can be manufactured ranges from very small parts ‘the size of a match head’ up to much larger pieces ‘up to 3m long or up to 1.5m in diameter’.
An important differentiator in capability is the ability to machine to an ultra-high accuracy of just 2 microns – this is achieved in temperature controlled machining halls and by using ‘gold standard build’ machines.
The majority of machines are multi-axis allowing ‘one-hit’ manufacture of complex parts with optimised quality and throughput.
Many machines have in-cycle probing to monitor product conformance during the manufacturing operation. This data can then be incorporated as a part of the validation documentation provided with the finished items.
Most formats of CAD data can be received and are used to offline programme the CNC machines, and CMM machines for optimised performance.
Here is a brief overview of the machining types available:
CNC MILLING:
- HMCs with multi-axes and multi-pallet loading
- Full 5-axis machining centres
- VMCs with 3+1 axes
- FMS cells with multi-pallet loading
CNC TURNING:
- Multi-axis advanced Turn/Mill centres – some with robot loading
- 2-axis with bar fed loading or chucking
- 2-axis large chucking
- Vertical 2-axis
CNC EDM:
- Wire and spark erosion
GRINDING:
- Cylindrical and surface
TOOLROOM:
- Very flexible capability – a specialism is the design and build of fixturing and work holding equipment
