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Wakefield based Hydraulic System Products Ltd produces hydraulic parts predominantly for the earth moving equipment industry.

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HSP has recently invested in a new Typhoon B65 MSY turning centre from Colchester Machine Tool Solutions. MTDCNC\u2019s Paul Jones travelled up the M1 to take a look\u2026

Hydraulic System Products Ltd is a business that is often running around the clock and up to seven days a week when necessary,.

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It manufactures measurement equipment and kits, hydraulic control valves, microbore hoses and accessories, with much of the components for fluid power systems supplied to the heavy machinery sector.

With the Typhoon B65 MSY turning centre only being launched in the last 12 months, Chris Smith from Colchester Machine Tool Solutions told MTDCNC, the Typhoon has been breaking new ground:

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He says \u201cThe machine that H-S-P have bought is a barfed twin-spindle machine with a 65mm bar capacity and it utilises a Y-axis.

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They went for this model as they have some of our older Tornado machines, which are twin-spindle \u2013 but the additional Y-axis really gives more scope for some of the more complex projects.

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The company also has some new designs in the pipeline where the Y-axis will certainly be needed for some of the small angular holes the company wants to machine.\u201d

Sean Gray from HSP says: \u201cIts brilliant! It\u2019s also a name you can trust. We\u2019ve had Colchester machines for years and they are amazing.

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They are only up the road if we need anything, and they are always on hand for us.\u201d

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Asked if the company is getting the benefit of the Y-axis configuration, Sean says: \u201cWe are using it a lot on our newer parts, and we are developing the Y-axis capability into our products and production.\u201d

The company bought its first Colchester machine back in 2001 and reliability is a core factor for HSP.

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Sean says \u201cIt\u2019s all about reliability for us. We have a few Colchester machines, but they are not on the level of the new machine.

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We come in at 8 a-m and get the machine up and running, at 3.30 in the afternoon we are doing the tip changes and getting it ready to run the next shift. Its relentless\u201d

Regarding programming and getting used to the additional axes, Sean says: \u201cAlthough it has an extra axis, we can transfer the programs over from the other machines, but as the Y-axis is not in the program, it will start to \u2018alarm-out\u2019.

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So, it\u2019s very basic and easy to change the program from the old Tornado that doesn\u2019t have the Y-axis, to the new Typhoon machine that does.\u201d

Referring to the parts machined, Sean says: \u201cAt the moment we are running a check valve on the machine with a male thread of 3-quarters BSP to an internal 1inch and one 16th U-N-F thread.

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It\u2019s not too intricate, but we do machine intricate parts on the Typhoon.

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We have so much production that we have to get out, the extra capacity of the Typhoon is great, but the Y-axis will enhance this further over time.\u201d

\u201cThe Tornado and Typhoon machines come equipped with a software package called MGI Demo.

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This manual guidance code is an amazing bit of software that makes programming a hell of a lot easier.

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We can simulate the programs and make the parts on the screen before you actually turn them, which reduces the potential for collisions.\u201d

\u201cI can write a program, ensure I set the MGI demo simulation and the tooling, and then run it through without moving the machine at all.

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So, I know that the software will flag up an error and if something is going to go wrong.\u201d

Working with a more robust machine platform than previous models, Sean commented on tool wear,

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\u201cWe have witnessed less tool wear and this is down to the build quality, the weight, configuration and the fact that as a brand new machine, everything is 100% concentric, precise and running as it should.\u201d

\u201cThis machine has achieved everything we wanted and more. It is an amazing machine from a name you can trust. Colchester have certainly raised the level with the new Typhoon.\u201d