Leader Chuck shares pole position with Mori Seiki to meet Schumacher Racing's turning needs
Radio-controlled model car racing is serious business, with sponsored race teams and professional drivers competing every week at various events throughout the country and overseas, including world championships. Schumacher Racing is a leading exponent of the sport, producing a wide range of battery and fuel (nitro methane) powered touring, off-road and sports cars for enthusiasts around the globe.
“It’s Formula One in miniature,” says managing director Robin Schumacher, “even to the extent that we are continually updating and enhancing our designs. This is to extract maximum performance from the carbon fibre chassis, three-speed auto gearboxes, hydraulic suspension systems, traction and torque control as well as ABS featured on some our 80 mph race cars.”
In addition, the company’s Northampton site mirrors Formula Grand Prix team HQs, with Schumacher Racing’s skilled and enthused 25 employees adopting an ‘only the best is good enough’ work ethic that is underpinned by a myriad of production equipment. This includes toolmaking capability to complement in-house plastics injection moulding capacity and, more recently, investment in modern twin-spindle, bar-fed CNC turning technology via a Mori Seiki SL-154SY turning centre.
“With each car needing around 1,000 components and 150 of these being metal parts (disregarding standard screws and nuts), until the installation of the SL-154SY we outsourced all our metal component machining,” comments engineering manager, Vic Ababurko. “We were spending around £250,000 each year on machined parts, some from the Far East.
“But the lessons learned from satisfying our injection moulding needs in-house – the machine paid for itself within months – prompted us to do our sums in terms of the outsourced metalcut parts. We soon realised that even if we produced only half of what we were buying-in, a new turning centre would pay for itself in no time.”
Having analysed available machines, it soon became clear that the Mori Seiki was the best fit in terms of specification, reliability and, thanks to the use of a HAINBUCH chuck on the sub-spindle, accuracy. “Coincidentally, we also noticed that a number of F1 teams were also utilising identical methods [or arrangements or set ups?] Mori Seikis,” adds Vic Ababurko.
He continues: “The machine supplier, Fredk. Pollard & Co, had a good reputation for customer care and, being first-time CNC users, this was important to us. In the event, this has certainly been borne out.”
With live tooling on its 70 mm Y axis, the SL-154SY boasts maximum turning diameters and lengths of 300 mm and 350 mm, respectively, and X and Z axes travels of 215 mm and 490 mm – more than adequate for Schumacher Racing’s requirements. It has a spindle speed range of 60 to 6,000 revs/min and a 12-station tool turret.
Supplied with Leader Chuck Systems’ collet-style HAINBUCH chuck on the second spindle, as recommended by Fredk. Pollard & Co, the machine plays a key role in satisfying the company’s demand for cost-effective, precision components.
“Although the tightest tolerance we work to is 30 microns, and the machine easily achieves that, everything we do is ‘double-sided’,” says Vic Ababurko. “After parting off from the first chuck, the work pieces are held in the HAINBUCH chuck for all the secondary and finishing operations.
“Without the HAINBUCH chuck’s high-accuracy clamping of up to 0.004 mm TIR it would be true to say that our investment wouldn’t have made sense.
“Sure, we need accurate clamping, but for the particularly small components we produce we also insisted on the ability to securely hold short component lengths. Due to its back stop part location facility and fixed, parallel clamping action, where the clamping head is closed by a perfectly mating taper, the HAINBUCH provides exactly that.
Processing mainly alloys – aluminium 6262, 2011 TF free-machining aluminium and some steel – the SL-154SY has so far been applied to shock absorber bodies, flywheels and differential components, for example, within a 13 mm to 42 mm diameter size range, producing batches of circa 1,500-off.
The first job on the machine was a 3 mm thick by 42 mm high motor plate, formerly purchased from an overseas supplier who manufactured the part in five operations on conventional milling machines. With its live Y axis, the SL-154SY now machines the part in a single, unmanned setting by applying a sequence of milling, drilling and tapping operations.
“By doing this job in-house, we are not only achieving a piece part cost that is comparable with the original bought-in price, but we initially also gained a two-month advantage during the launch of a new car,” confirms Vic Ababurko.
“Dealing with overseas suppliers is often fine in terms of price advantage, but sometimes it takes time for design changes to be implemented. Today, with our new-found turning capability, we can see the results very quickly.”
More jobs are regularly being added to the SL-154SY – the machine will eventually produce around 75 different components - and within six months it had already saved more money than the company would have spent on bought-in parts.
Also, with its potential for single set-up machining, and unmanned running courtesy of the automatic bar feed system, the machine has not only attracted enquiries for sub-contract work but has now also spurred the company into looking at the remaining 70 or machined items used on each car.
In the meantime, Robin Schumacher points out that the company - founded 15 years ago by his father Cecil, a former Cosworth design engineer - has built a reputation for high-quality, high-specification cars. (Despite the Formula One successes of Michael and Ralf Schumacher, the German brothers - no relation - have not helped the company sell more cars!)
“In this business, what wins on Sunday sells on Monday,” concludes Robin Schumacher. “So as well as having the best drivers, it is important for us to continue to produce top-quality cars. And that means having the best people and equipping them with the best tools for the job.”
With compliments:
Colin Hoskins
Wildish Communications Ltd
36 New Road
Chatham
Kent ME4 4QR
Tel: 01634 832221
Fax: 01634 832224
Email: colin@wildishpr.com
Issued on behalf of:
Leader Chuck Systems Ltd, Century Park, Birmingham B9 4NZ
Tel: Freephone 08000 LEADER (08000 532337)
www.leaderchuck.com
Contact: Mr Mark Jones, Managing Director
Editorial enquiries: koshea@leaderchuck.co.uk
