Long-established manufacturer Norman G Clark Pty Ltd has further advanced its precision manufacturing capability with the commissioning of the latest Okuma CNC machine cell.
Having celebrated its centennial year in 2019, Norman G Clark remains a proudly Australian, family-owned company. Considered one of this country’s most diversified manufacturing and supply businesses, it services industries such as mining, heavy vehicles, off-road vehicle, defence, power generation, food, packaging, paper, forestry and other associated industries.
The cornerstone of the business rests on a licencing agreement granted to the company in 1963 by the original Horton Enterprise to manufacture Horton fan clutches and Nexen Air Champ industrial clutches, brakes and tension control equipment. The company also distributes an exhaustive range of industrial and off-road equipment from principles based in USA and Europe. Norman G Clark is an OEM supplier to all of Australia’s heavy transport manufacturers and to the defence industry.
The company’s general engineering capabilities, which encompass CNC turning, milling and drilling, as well as design and fabrication to customers’ specifications.
The new CNC machine cell incorporates an Okuma Multus B300II Wx900 with an OSP-P300SA Control, a gear-cutting package, a workpiece gauging station, and a Fanuc M710iC/45M robot loading system. It follows the introduction around three years earlier of an Okuma CNC Lathe Model LB3000EX-II with hobbing functionality. Both machines complement an extensive range of CNC lathes and machining centres, as well as gear cutting, slotting, broaching and palletising equipment.
“The introduction of the latest Okuma CNC machine cell has made a significant impact on our production, with high-tolerance components now produced on one machine instead of four , saving on both time and the handling of components,” said Liam Mitchell, Manufacturing Manager at Norman G Clark. “With fewer operations required and tooling already in the machine, the overall time saving we have achieved in the set-up has greatly increased our production capacity and quality output. These are important factors as the company continues to grow. Precision, consistency and high quality output are vitally important.”
Mitchell added that the consistently high-quality output of the machines over extended production runs has had a positive impact on the operators, who have appreciated their ease of operation and the fact the company is investing in the latest technology. Mitchell also noted the technical support and training from Okuma was “exceptional”.
“At Okuma we congratulate this third-generation, 100-plus-year-old company as it continues to grow and invest in the future of manufacturing in Australia,” said Okuma Managing Director Dean McCarroll. “It continues to service a wide spectrum of industries with a very broad range of high quality respected products. The business philosophy of Norman G Clark is closely matched with that of Okuma and we look forward to assisting the development of this company as it continues to make history in Australian manufacturing.”