Sixfold top quality from GF Machining Solutions

The six new milling centers of the MIKRON HPM 450U type, installed at the Lotus F1 headquarters in Enstone, England, are the centerpiece of a comprehensive modernization of the British Formula 1 team's production facilities. Six months later, Thomas Mayer, COO, Lotus F1 Team Chief Operating Officer, is highly satisfied: "We made the strategic decision to expand our milling capacity to 5 axes, and we chose a system that enables the machining of workpieces in a single setup. With this decision, we significantly increased productivity, improved the utilization of our machine tools, achieved higher and more consistent part precision, and reduced unit costs."

Before investing in the MIKRON HPM 450U, the Lotus F1 Team mainly relied on 3-axis milling machines to produce highly precise, complex parts. While these machines delivered good results, they left much to be desired in terms of productivity. A major drawback was the high time expenditure for machine setup. "We were not as efficient and effective as we wanted to be," explains Mayer. "With the old 3-axis machines, too much time was lost during machine setup as well as in planning and designing custom fixtures for milling. Additionally, the frequent interruptions in the production process not only negatively affected productivity but also, given the manual handling of workpieces, impacted the precision of the parts. We knew that 5-axis machines would be the ideal solution for our production requirements; for manufacturing highly precise, complex parts in small batch sizes, and that significant performance improvements could be achieved if we could machine workpieces in a single operation." The Lotus F1 Team decided to replace its 3-axis machines with six new 5-axis machines.

The machine selection

"Since we wanted to standardize production with the new 5-axis machines, all machines had to be identical," says Mayer. These standardization requirements not only called for identical machines but also for corresponding tools, fixtures, etc. Thomas Mayer: "We wanted maximum flexibility and 100% compatibility. If one machine fails, we need to be able to switch quickly and seamlessly to another."

Furthermore, this uniform approach enables our programming and operating personnel to familiarize themselves with all new machines in the shortest possible time." After deciding to upgrade, the Lotus F1 Team began searching for the most suitable model and compiled a list of the most important requirements. These included size (footprint), capacity, performance characteristics (with particular emphasis on integrated automation), availability, and cost of the machine, as well as the scope of service. Not least, the quality and speed of customer service from GF Machining Solutions in England was an important purchasing criterion for the Lotus F1 Team. "The HPM 450U machines have met our high expectations from the very beginning," summarizes Thomas Mayer. "As a result, we have significantly increased our productivity and quality by machining workpieces with just one setup."

MIKRON HPM 450U

The GF Machining Solutions MIKRON HPM 450U met all the requirements of Lotus F1. The powerful, compact, and cost-effective 5-axis milling machine is equipped with a directly driven rotary swivel table and allows standard milling and drilling operations up to 3+2 positioning and 5-axis simultaneous machining. The powerful spindles (30 kW, 20,000 rpm) and integrated automation (palette changer with seven stations and tool changer with 120 positions) ensure even better machining performance. Additional strengths include a variety of available SMART-Technology software modules that ensure maximum productivity around the clock, as well as a high degree of flexibility in production and reliability during the milling process. Thanks to its versatility, the MIKRON HPM 450U is ideal for machining various materials, such as aluminum, steel, and stainless steel, up to particularly hard, difficult-to-machine materials.