DMG/Mori Seiki cutting and grinding machines are helping to ensure reliable production at BEL Valves’ Newcastle upon Tyne factory.
BEL Valves, a subsidiary of British Engines, manufactures bespoke gate, ball, check, HIPPS, needle, double-isolation and globe valves for subsea and surface oil and gas applications where pressures can reach 20,000psi.
The company now owns two SL2500s, three NL2500s, three NL3000s, one SL603, two NVX5100s, three NZX2000s and one Taiyo Koki vertical grinder and is about to take delivery of an NZX4000.
According to Jonathan Lamb, group production director at BEL Valves, the company chose DMG/Mori Seiki machines based on their build quality. Lamb explained that the slideways on the NL machines are 30% wider than on conventional machines, that the torsional rigidity is 100 per cent better than on previous models and that spindle rigidity is 50% greater.
The damping capability of the DMG/Mori Seiki machines is said to produce a better result during BEL Valves’ demanding, 12mm-deep grooving operations.
The high-output motor on the rigid machinery offers plenty of torque at low speed, enabling the company to use its power to the full.
DMG/Mori Seiki achieves an average response time of 0.8 days and spare parts are delivered from its Stuttgart facility by the next day 95 per cent of the time; Lamb said that the service BEL Valves gets from DMG/Mori Seiki is very good and much better than that offered by most machine-tool companies.
