Five-axis flexibility

END USER: Lotus F1 racing team, +44 1608-672410, www.lotusf1team.com.
CHALLENGE: Boost productivity by reducing machine downtime.
SOLUTION: Six 5-axis milling machines with pallet systems and lights-out manufacturing capability.
SOLUTION PROVIDER: GF Machining Solutions, (800) 282-1336, www.gfms.com/us.

In September of last year, the Lotus F1 Team purchased six 5-axis Mikron HPM 450U automated milling centers from Geneva, Switzerland-based machine tool builder GF Machining Solutions for the Formula 1 racing team’s production facility at its Enstone, England, headquarters. (GF’s U.S. facility is in Lincolnshire, Ill.)

“We made the strategic decision to extend our milling capacities to five axes” said Lotus F1 Team COO Thomas Mayer, “and in this respect we chose a system that allows us to machine workpieces in a single setup. This decision has enabled us to considerably increase productivity, improve the utilization of our machine tools, achieve a higher and more uniform [level of] part precision and lower the unit costs.”

Courtesy of GF Machining Solutions

To standardize production, Lotus F1 Team purchased six 5-axis Mikron HPM 450U milling machines from GF Machining Solutions.