Polymer bushing and wear material manufacturer Vesconite Bearings has installed two Haas lathes with bar feeders for large-volume bushing production.

Demand for long production runs is increasing and the new lathes allow the manufacturer to produce 20,000 to 70,000 bushings at a time.

There is a definite need for this equipment, says production manager Robin Crabb, who would have previously required several machines with operators to manufacture such large orders.

With the bar feeders, 30 bars with diameters of up to 20 mm, or a smaller number of bars with larger diameters, can be automatically fed into the machines.

This allows for continuous operation.

The machines are fitted with work and tool probes so part checking is also carried out automatically and continuously.

“We have three sizeable orders on hand for large customers,” reports Crabb of the need for the lathes.

Winning orders involving large bushing quantities will assist the company to achieve its stated goal of growing the company’s revenue tenfold in ten years, he says.

Vesconite Bearings
www.vesconite.com