CNC MILL/TURNING GIVES OCTOGENARIAN SUBCONTRACTOR A NEW LEASE OF LIFE!

The replacement of cam-driven turning with high-technology Citizen CNC mill/turning machines has given John Elliot, the 83-year-old managing director of Quality Couplings, a new lease of life. “The new machines have transformed the company,” he says, “giving me completely renewed interest – you could say I’ve developed a totally new outlook on life!”

Following the installation of two Citizen C-Series CNC sliding head automatic lathes Mr Elliot reflects: “One immediate benefit of CNC technology is that we know exactly where we are with production, quality, delivery and price, and the company is already benefiting from reduced cost of production per part as the new machines are run unmanned at night.”

That’s a far cry from the situation 12 months ago when he was facing the spectre of a future lack of skills for his traditionally bread-winning, but ageing, cam-driven machine based turning operation as four of his key autosetters (with 75 years service between them) look forward to retirement next year. He decided then it was time for a change and to adopt high technology mill/turning.

After spending some time looking at the leading CNC sliding head machines on the market, he decided in 2005 to buy the two Citizen C-Series machines from NC Engineering in Watford. These were installed in a refurbished factory unit just four units away from his cam machine shop and arrangements were made for NC Engineering to retrain an autosetter, Dave Reynolds, (who can tell the tales of some 50 years of being around automatic lathes) while 26-year-old CNC setter/operator, Paul Holliman, was recruited to run the new Citizen C16-VII and C32-VIII machines.

Born in 1923, John Elliot left school at 14 to serve a seven-year apprenticeship as a pattern maker, followed by several years in the Merchant Navy during the war. When he was 58, he bought Quality Couplings from The Receiver – at a time when many would rather be thinking of retirement rather than building a business - and moved the company from Birmingham to its current base in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He set about using traditional cam autos to produce turned parts for pipe fittings, and over the years progressively built a very successful business.

Today, he runs the two machine shops from an office on the shopfloor. He wakes at 5 am every morning, arrives at work by 7 am and most evenings leaves at 4.45 pm on the dot. In March next year, he is due to be featured in a Channel 4 documentary.

Quality Couplings has a customer base of some 600 clients spanning heating and ventilation, gas burner, valves, pipe and hose fittings, pneumatics, heating, hydraulics and automotive suppliers, and it manufactures batches ranging from 500 to 10,000 parts.

CNC machining now takes priority at the firm (“once established with the Citizens we despatched 11 cam machines to a company in Birmingham,” he says) though six cam machines continue to be used. However, capability to mill and turn parts of various levels of complexity in a single operation is dictating as much work as possible through the Citizen C16 and C32. This is confirmed by Paul Holliman, who reckons over 700 programs have been written since the machines were installed in April 2005. Machines are often reset in the afternoon ready for the next job to run through the night and when the batch is completed, the machine switches off and is reset in the morning for the next part.

Due to the wide variety of batch sizes Paul Holliman prefers to program at the machine while its running, working to the scheduled work load laid down by Mr Elliot. Far from sitting contemplating his life, Mr Elliot is continuously busy. He still goes to see customers, takes most of the phone calls to Quality Couplings and ensures all the machines are fully loaded with jobs. “I issue the job cards manually – but early in 2007 we will be computerised, which will also help me control stock,” he says. Computers will be an important addition to the Citizen machines as with such a large customer base and a big demand for production call-off from stores for quick delivery, Quality Couplings has around £1 million of finished stock components.

Other tasks performed by this most senior of managers is the raising of invoices and checking invoices from suppliers. “There is no hierarchy in this business,” he said, “I also do most of the quotes working with the setters to establish cycle times – well at least for CNC – I can still do cam machine quotes with my eyes almost shut, a factor of doing it for so long.”

Both Citizen C-Series machines installed at Quality Couplings have main and sub spindles with two-gang tool slides enabling simultaneous machining with three tools. The C32-VIII has an 8,000 revs/min main and 7,000 revs/min sub spindle with 14 tools and eight driven tools powered by 1 kW motors. The C16-VII has 18 tools plus eight driven by 1 kW motors.

What has impressed Mr Elliot is the support from NC Engineering. “We had a couple of problems on a parts-catcher and for some reason a troublesome platen on the C16. NC Engineering was able to locate and replace the platen the next day,” he said. “Now that’s what I call service,” he maintains.

While Mr Elliot runs the day to day operation of Quality Couplings, his son John ‘junior’ runs a submersible and surface pump supply operation from the same premises. While not involved in his father’s production interests, the two do vie for storage space and, with a knowing wink and a definite pride in his son’s achievements, Mr Elliot says he enjoys keeping the younger businessman on his toes.

“ He’s got to make space for my expansion,” maintains Mr Elliot, “because I’ve got the bit between my teeth to adopt new technology and there will be more CNC machines installed soon. It’s the way forward and we can’t be a dinosaur in this business – I’m seeing too many subcontractors that are going to the wall because they have failed to invest!"