The first of 11 large, bespoke Vertical Turning Lathes (VTLs), being built for Sheffield Forgemasters’ proposed new machining facility, has passed a milestone test ahead of shipping it to the UK.
German machine specialist, WaldrichSiegen, which is designing and building the machines to meet Sheffield Forgemasters’ requirements, has completed assembly and Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) for the first ProfiTurn 6500/120Y machine, working jointly with Sheffield Forgemasters.
The VTL machine is a full 5 axis machine with a 5m faceplate and a maximum turning height of 4.7m, to accommodate a maximum workpiece of 120- tonnes, and has 5 new inter-changeable machining-heads.
John Cocker, Recapitalisation Machine Tool Lead at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “The completion of factory acceptance testing for our first new VTL is a critical milestone for Sheffield Forgemasters and essentially underpins our confidence in WaldrichSiegen to deliver the remaining machines for our recapitalisation programme.
“Despite the size of these machines, the VTL has the capability to work to the finest tolerances and deliver significantly improved efficiency gains.
“The machine has advanced probing technology that will improve our machining and inspection accuracies when machining large forgings and castings for the defence sector.
“The VTL underwent highly rigorous FAT procedures to ensure absolute operational accuracy before shipment to the UK and to see a machine of this scale and complexity, assembled and tested to such exacting standards, is a very exciting development for us, and for UK manufacturing.”
Fully configured for Industry 4.0, the VTL offers digital connectivity, advanced analytics, automation, and advanced manufacturing technologies for complete integration into a network, which can show capacity, speed, status, history and requirements of each machine on demand.
Sheffield Forgemasters’ new machine shop will cover 35,000m2, housing 21 new heavy-duty machine tools from Waldrich Siegen and 9 large cranes to deliver crucial components for the UK defence programme.
It will be the most advanced facility of its kind in Europe, providing highly skilled jobs for decades to come and work has already started on a 21-acre plot of brownfield land in the Meadowhall district of Sheffield, which the company purchased last year to house the facility.
The company is also installing a 13,000 tonne forging press and ancillary equipment as it gears up for delivery of civil nuclear and defence nuclear manufacture, including supply for the SSN-AUKUS submarine programme, which will replace Astute-Class nuclear attack submarines.
Sheffield Forgemasters has 710 employees and its award-winning apprenticeship scheme makes up ten per cent of its workforce, but it also retains 81 per cent of successful apprentices, above the average 65 per cent apprentice retention rate for businesses (according to The National Apprenticeship Service’s guide).
The first Sheffield Forgemasters VTL is anticipated to be installed and commissioned in 2027 and the second machine will undergo FAT in August 2025. Project management, installation, servicing and maintenance of the new machines will be undertaken by McDowell Machining Technologies.
About Sheffield Forgemasters
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- Sheffield Forgemasters specialises in the design and manufacture of high-integrity forgings and castings for the world’s most complex engineering challenges
- The company operates a fully integrated end-to-end manufacturing process, including steel-making, forge, foundry, machining and testing, from a single site in Sheffield.
- Some of the largest bespoke engineered steel products in the world are produced with capacity for castings of up to 350 tonnes and forgings of up to 200 tonnes finished weight.
- Global markets include Defence, Civil Nuclear, Offshore, Power Generation, Renewables, Steel Plant, Steel Processing and Ingot & Bar.
- The company was acquired in August 2021 by the Ministry of Defence who intend to make significant investments to re-capitalise defence-critical plant and equipment on site.
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