aerospace

Tall, quiet and productive

Dörries CONTUMAT VCE 2000 lathe in valve production

Gourmets think of Gouda as a cheese paradise, but specialists from the oil and gas industry value this city for the special valves that are produced there: There is much talk in the industry of the high-pressure control and stop valves from Mokveld that are manufactured on special machine tools. The Dutch specialists are particularly proud of their new “quiet tower”.

+ 20 % higher productivity

“Our valves work at high pressures of 20 to 900 bar“

“Normally, the hydraulics make a terrible amount of noise. We didn‘t want our employees to have to put up with that anymore”, says Bart van den Bosch, Manager of Production Engineering at Mokveld Valves BV in Gouda. “But now there‘s almost no noise”. The ergonomic answer to this problem was a Dörries Contumat VCE 2000 / 200 MC FC So vertical turning lathe. 

The ergonomic machine has been in use since 2013. The unusual tower structure is noticeable upon first glance: The machine table (60 kW drive capacity; 19,300 Nm torque) can be used to process workpieces that weigh up to 12 tonnes, with a maximum height of 2,450 mm and a diameter of up to 2,000 mm. “This design is very unusual for a vertical turning lathe”, says van den Bosch. “The machine is also very special in other ways: The pallet system with its motor driven set up is extremely important to us”. This extra feature on the VCE 2000 makes the setup process for the next workpiece more ergonomic and productive, allowing it to be completed while another workpiece is still being processed.

The Dutch company uses the VCE 2000 predominantly to machine cast steel, chrome steel, duplex, super duplex, Inconel and occasionally titanium. Two round valves, each weighing around 5.5 tonnes with 80 mm fl ange holes, were produced from Inconel in a complete machining process. The integrated tool magazine with 90 pockets also plays an important role in the complete machining process. As around 80 % of the machining operations are allotted to turning, the magazine contains 50 lathe tools that Mokveld has transformed into 300 lathe tools using a technological trick with special holders. However, the percentage of milling and drilling operations also plays a crucial role: The Dutch valve specialists appreciate the fact that bores can now also be manufactured on the machine in a single clamping position. This reduces the long machining times, as well as costs and energy consumption.

- 25 % energy consumption

The importance of measuring devices is remarkably high: Both the aligning station and the machine are equipped with a Renishaw probe and automatic calibration device. This function is important in a turning and machining centre that roughs down, finishes, mills and drills in a single clamping position. The machine achieves finish tolerances down to 30 μm on these large components, which has eliminated the need for subsequent grinding. “For safety reasons, precision and quality are very important to us”, says the expert. “Our valves work at high pressures up to 900 bar.” “Our customers expect a high level of performance from us in every respect”, adds Marketing Manager Chris van Assem. “The requirements have increased in the standards that we need to observe”. 

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