Established in 1913, Brent & Warburton is a family-owned and -operated company based in Tomago, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales (NSW). The company recently purchased its first Mazak CNC machine tool.
Now in its fourth generation, Brent & Warburton continues to build on more than 100 years of knowledge and capability in machining, manufacturing, fabrication and fitting. Its Tomago workshop boasts six CNC lathes, six CNC mills, as well as a number of manual machines, fabrication and fitting facilities, along with six overhead cranes.
An important factor behind Brent & Warburton’s longevity is its tradition of constantly striving to be a world-class manufacturer. This is also one of the factors behind the business’ recent purchase of a Mazak FJV60/80, a high-precision, high-productivity, double-column vertical machining centre with enhanced performance, intelligent functions and rigid machine construction.
The Mazak FJV60/80’s special design ensures extremely high-precision machining over extended periods of operation by eliminating the spindle overhang often seen in C-frame vertical machining centres. Furthermore, its ergonomic design ensures convenient loading and unloading of large workpieces and overall ease of operation.
Darcy Currey, General Manager at Brent & Warburton, spoke to AMT about the choice to invest in a Mazak machine tool.
AMT: What prompted this Mazak purchase? Was it a growing workload, a gap you identified in the market, or something else?
Darcy Currey: Like many manufacturers in Australia, we identified a need to modernise our machines. With this, we recognised that we needed to move from buying the cheapest machine which will do the job, to buying the best machine to do the job.
AMT: Why this particular machine? Was it bought for a particular feature?
DC: With this purchase we wanted to improve the rigidity of the machine so that we could gain efficiency processing wear plate materials like BIS 500. At the same time, we wanted to increase the size of the machining envelope for the vertical machine centres in our workshop.
AMT: What is the reason you chose a Mazak machine over other brands?
DC: The design of the Mazak machine emphasises ease of interaction between person and machine. In addition, the machine table provides 100% access to an overhead crane, which simplifies loading and unloading of parts.
AMT: What kind of work are you using it for? What parts will you be manufacturing predominantly?
DC: We are planning to move most of our wear plate processing onto the new machine. An important part of our business is machining mounting holes of various designs into wear plates, which line chutes for materials handling.
AMT: What benefits have you gained or do you plan to gain from this machine?
DC: We expect cycle time for parts will be reduced, as well as change-over time between parts. Operator fatigue should be reduced by the good ergonomic design of the machine. Also, we expect the halo effect from a high-quality machine and brand like Mazak to improve morale and performance of our operators.
AMT: What about this machine makes your job easier?
DC: The machine has a maintenance schedule built into the control, which flags when regular maintenance is due. It also lets the operator know when it’s been done. The machine design simplifies monitoring and changing of grease and oil.
AMT: What advice and help did you receive from John Hart in your purchasing process?
DC: John Hart presented a number of machines which could make our parts and discussed the advantages of each. When we settled on the Mazak FJV 60/80, they helped us option up the machine while avoiding options which wouldn’t benefit us.
AMT: How well do John Hart people respond to your business needs?
DC: John Hart assisted us with machine inspections prior to our purchase. We received regular progress updates during the manufacture and delivery of the new machine. They also helped us understand the requirements of the machine foundation and placement. Overall the support from pre-purchase through to installation and training has been comprehensive.