🎧 Out with the old…

A leading mechanical and fluid power transmission specialist has traded in a twelve-year-old Doosan vertical turning lathe for a new DN Solutions model to increase its in-house machining capacity and capabilities. Mills CNC, the distributor of DN Solutions’ machines has recently supplied Surrey-based jbj Techniques Ltd with a new, FANUC-controlled vertical turning lathe.

Celebrating its 50th year in business, jbj Techniques is a family-owned business that currently employs 25 staff in Redhill.

As for the DN Solutions’ 24” chuck Puma V8300M, it was installed at the company’s 7200sq/ft facility in January 2024 and has replaced an older Doosan VT750M vertical lathe. The new machine, with its compact footprint and box guideway construction, is equipped with a powerful, high-torque 30kW 2000rpm 3153Nm spindle making it ideal for machining hard and difficult-to-machine materials.

The V8300M also has driven tooling capabilities with an 18.5kW 4,000rpm spindle that increases flexibility, enabling complex parts to be machined in one set-up. Furthermore, the integration of a 12-tool position side-mounted ATC in addition to its existing 12-tool station turret, increases productivity by reducing downtime caused by tool changes.

The Works Director at jbj Techniques, Mr Ben Stubberfield says: “Our new V8300M is has significantly improved our in-house vertical turning capacity and capabilities. The new machine has replaced a previously-acquired VT750M vertical lathe which, although being a good machine that had served us well over the last 12 years, didn’t have a big enough turning diameter to machine some of our larger components. This resulted in us having to use an older, and much slower, lathe for these applications which, on occasion, affected our process efficiencies.”

With its reputation built on quality, service and speed of response, jbj Techniques decided to replace the VT750M with a new larger VTL.

As Ben Stubberfield continues: “We approached Mills CNC with our requirements and were introduced to the new DN Solutions’ V8300 series. As well as having a bigger work envelope than the VT750M, it also featured the additional side-mounted ATC and the advanced FANUC 0iTP control.”

As a consequence, the company invested in a new, compact Puma V8300M – a machine with live tooling that, despite its small footprint, boasts an 830mm turning diameter and 690mm turning height. Since being installed the V8300M has been put through its paces, machining a diverse range of components made from an equally varied range of materials that include stainless, super duplex, carbon and alloy steels and cast iron. Component cycle times can often be long, depending on the specific application.

Discussing the company, jbj Techniques Managing Director, Mike Davis says: “Everything we do is geared towards helping customers optimise their processes. From working in partnership with them to design and developing new mechanical power and/or fluid power systems and solutions to supplying replacement parts for existing systems – our focus is on helping manufacturers reduce downtime, improve safety and sustainability, and maintain productivity levels.”

Jbj Techniques’ customer base and user profile are large and diverse. Its products and solutions are used extensively in the power generation, oil and gas, renewables, motorsport, food and beverage, transport, environmental, materials handling and marine sectors. Wherever mechanical power and fluid power transmission systems are employed, there is a good chance that jbj Techniques’ products, services and solutions have been implemented.

Jbj Techniques’ machine shop, comprising seven CNC machine tools and a range of manual machines and equipment, is a vital and integral element of the company’s service offering and one that helps differentiate it from its competitors.

The latest DN Solutions’ V8300M VTL has significantly increased machine shop capabilities and has also helped it improve its ability to respond quickly to customers’ requirements for large and complex high-quality machined components.