 |
 |
||||||
[July 2005]
Siemens Aid Five-Axis Machining For Ceramics Industry
One of the principal objectives of Hothouse, which is part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, is to provide design and technology support to the local ceramics industry. With five-axis machining now playing a real part in the evolution of the ‘Potteries’ into a pioneering region of machining organic shapes, Hothouse has purchased a high performance JOBS machining centre, opting for Siemens control and drive equipment.
Originating in 1994 from a European Urban Pilot Project, Hothouse is a non-profit making organisation that has grown and diversified, but still has a significant focus on technology. “Hothouse is about technology transfer – making companies aware of advanced processes,” says group manager Andrew Briggs. “Five-axis machining relies on many things – the machine tool, the tooling, the programming, the verification and, of course, the control.
“Everyone imagines pottery to be simple, but in actual fact it’s the entire opposite. The problem is that it uses a lot of organic shapes,” he says. “Imagine an embossed pattern on the curved surface of a cup, which was one of the first projects we worked on with Wedgwood. To produce this we have to machine the pattern detail on the cavity of a mould – it’s far from straightforward.” Which is why, when Hothouse have seminars and workshops on five-machining, it attracts the likes of BAE Systems, Airbus, Jordan and BAR.
“Hothouse has managed to give what are essentially traditional companies a significant competitive edge by enabling them to apply some very sophisticated technology,” says Mr Briggs. “And of course we required a sophisticated controller to feed and manage that information.”
The continuous, five-axis JOBS machine has a working envelope of 2100 by 1250 by 900mm, with 400º movement in the A-axis and 210º in the C-axis. It has a 24,000rpm spindle with 20m/min feeds.
The JOBS is proving quite a draw in the Potteries with well known names such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Royal Worcester and Portmeirion all using the Hothouse facility to reduce the process count from drawing board to finished production tooling. “One of the problems in this industry is that it is craft-based and it has to work with engineers, who require absolutes – there is a huge disparity between the two. One of the tools we can use to overcome this hurdle is the Siemens control.”
Such has been the success of Hothouse and the JOBS machine that the organisation is now attracting work from the heritage industry. Several large statues have been produced by Hothouse (usually in sections) from materials such as marble, overcoming the difficulties of producing complex shapes on figurines such as heads and hands.
ENDS