Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business issue 34 | Page 29

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 29
Plastic Mouldings Northern CNC process operator
Anthony Winter with plastic parts finished by the firm’s
5-axis CNC machine.
By Martin Walker
5-axis CNC machine trims plastic firm’s
finishing time to improve efficiency
A County Durham manufacturer is now producing plastic parts for the automotive, pharmaceutical
and aerospace sectors much quicker after investing in a state-of-the-art CNC machine.
P
lastic Mouldings Northern (PMN)
invested £300,000 in the MAKA 5-axis
tool which enables the company to trim
parts more efficiently after moulding them.
Using the advanced software HyperMILL,
which is designed specially for intricate 5-axis
machining, the German-made, twin-table
MAKA is capable of trimming 3m by 1.5m
and 0.5m deep parts with tolerances of
0.1mm, and complements PMN’s range of
plastic vacuum forming machines.
It comes after the firm, which employs 20
people at its premises in Bishop Auckland,
invested in a Geiss moulding machine which
can mould products 3.5m by 1.5m using
material up to 12mm thick.
PMN also invested in a new industrial
thermoforming machine last year, and
production director Mark Rigg said: “This has
been a major investment for the company as
it gives us a bigger range of capabilities.
“Designed specifically for the machining of
thermoformed and composite components,
the MAKA gives us the ability to consistently
finish complex trimmed mouldings, in a
fraction of the time required by manual
methods.
“The tandem table gives us the capability
of running two separate jobs at the same
time. It’s also a faster machine and it has
more versatile options on it.
“Using HyperMILL and CAD
software, the MAKA is capable
of trimming 3m by1.5m by 0.5m
deep with tolerances of 0.1mm.
It goes hand-in-hand with our
larger moulding machines,
which means we can mould
and trim to larger sizes that not
many companies can do in the
North of England.
“Previously we had five or
six people finishing products.
Now we have one using that
machine. But we’ve relocated
those employees into other
areas of the business so we haven’t lost any
staff as a result.”
Combined, PMN’s machinery can be used
and adapted to accommodate a range of
domestic and industrial parts for refrigerator
liners, bath tubs and shower trays, interior
and exterior automotive parts, fuel tanks and
panels for special vehicles.
PMN supplies DIY chains including
Homebase, B&Q and Wickes, and it also
manufactures parts for the automotive
industry, with clients including Bentley,
Jaguar Land Rover, JCB and Rolls Royce.
The company has also built up an industry
reputation for supplying Jouplast adjustable
risers, which ensure decking and paving
slabs sit even, having previously gained
an exclusivity agreement to distribute the
equipment across Britain.
The company, formed by Mark Rigg and
sales director Freddy Bourdais with two staff
in 2002, celebrated 15 years in business in
2017 with a record turnover, as sales grew
10% to £2.3m and staff numbers rose to 20.
More details about Plastic
Mouldings Northern can be found at
plasticmouldingsnorthern.co.uk, or you
can give the team a call on 01388 777 700.