Heavy, large part CNC machining operation D.C. Technical Services acquires Durma press brake

Meeting customer demand for both quality components and consistent, on-time delivery is essential for any business’s competitiveness. However, having to subcontract work that can’t be done in-house can add weeks or months to delivery times and compromise on quality standards. This was the issue faced by D.C. Technical Services, a company specialising in medium and large-sized machining and fabrication. Driven by frustration over lack of control and mounting customer demand for complete fabrications, D.C. Technical Services has now added CNC bending to its turning and milling capabilities. The same factors had driven the company to purchase its large CNC vertical and horizontal borers in 2009.

The new Durma AD-S 40400 press brake is a CNC synchro press brake that has a multiple-axis configurations as well as the normal Y1Y2 X and R axis to assist with the handling of heavy plates. Included on the front of the machine is the AP3-AP4 sheet/plate following system. This system has been integrated into the control and will automatically move the sheet or plate during the bending process. Additionally the system gives support to the heavier plate. The machine has been supplied and installed by Spectrum Machine Tools

D.C. Technical Services has been in the general engineering industry for over 40 years. Established in 1977 by electrician Basil Mouratidis, the company is now run by his sons George and Alex, who both joined their father in the business at the very young age of 16 in the early 1980s.

In 2009 DC Technical Services invested in a large vertical borer and a large horizontal borer at the same time. In the vertical boring department the company has four machines that are capable of milling components up to 5 000mm swing and 2 500mm height. They also have three horizontal boring machines with milling capabilities of up to 8 000mm cross travel and 3 000mm machining height complete with a 20 ton rotary travel

“Although the company started off as an electrical contractor supplying actuators used in the assembly of valves by German company Zimmermann & Jansen Technologies, the core business of the company has changed dramatically since then. My late father was a conscientious and service-oriented man who worked hard. This was recognised by clients soon after establishing his business here in Vanderbijlpark and as a result he was requested to do more than be just a supplier of industrial actuators and related products,” explained George Mouratidis.

“Machining of components and reconditioning of products has subsequently emerged as the fundamental mainstay of the business and subsequently we have manufactured, reconditioned and re-engineered a vast range of components and equipment for a number of big-name clients,” continued Mouratidis.

A large shaft being machined

Last year the company invested in two new heavy-duty CNC lathes. The biggest lathe has capabilities of 1 850mm swing and 12 000mm between centres, which allows DC Technical Services to do shaft machining

“Not satisfied with just being a general engineering company the emphasis of the company took on a different slant in 2009. We were already doing general machining but were limited by the size of our machines, as are many companies. We decided that to alleviate the frustration of having to subcontract the large machining contracts out we would invest in the equipment ourselves. Through our own experience we knew that there were not many companies in South Africa that could offer these services and even these were limited to only certain machining operations.”

“This is why we invested in a large vertical borer and a large horizontal borer at the same time. We knew that if we had the equipment we could offer clients a complete service.”

Large boring capabilities – vertical and horizontal“Subsequently we have continued to invest in our capabilities and in the vertical boring department we have four machines and are capable of milling components up to 5 000mm swing and 2 500mm height.”

“We now have three horizontal boring machines with milling capabilities of up to 8 000mm cross travel and 3 000mm machining height complete with a 20 ton rotary travel.”

“The maximum table load that we can take is 40 tons but there are not many requests for that size component to be machined.”

“However, the main objective of the shop is to offer a complete service so there is no subcontracting required. We have smaller CNC and conventional machines – four milling machines and nine lathes – so we are well catered for in this department. Our biggest lathe has capabilities of 1 850mm swing and 12 000mm between centres, which allows us to do shaft machining.”

DC Technical Services has added a fixed beam CNC gantry milling machine to the machining department. The machine has a 4 000mm by 3 000mm portal

“We have also just added a fixed beam CNC gantry milling machine to this department. The machine has a 4 000mm by 3 000mm portal and was installed in October 2020.”

New Durma AD-S 40400 press brake“Customers don’t like to have machining done here, then have to move it someplace else for other operations, before moving it back here for other machining operations to be completed. It all adds costs and time. They want to make out one purchase order and get a complete component or product returned to them. If you can bring other operations and services in-house, at least you can move things around to accommodate the customer.”

“With this in mind we have now purchased a Durma AD-S 40400 press brake, a CNC synchro press brake that has a multiple-axis configurations as well as the normal Y1Y2 X and R axis to assist with the handling of heavy plates. On the front of the machine we have included the AP3-AP4 sheet/plate following system. This system has been integrated into the control and will automatically move the sheet or plate during the bending process. Additionally the system gives support to the heavier plate.”

“We have been very fortunate to acquire work from Alstom Ubunye who are supplying a Gibela/Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) contract. We are supplying components for the bogey headstock and undercarriage and we are now going to supply upper and lower plates for the frames. We now supply about 60 different components for this project.”

“It is a machine truly designed to decrease setup time. The powerful, yet simple control will automatically calculate the bend sequence, bend angle, back gauge retraction, bend allowance and features collision protection. The ram positioning system allows real time monitoring and complete control of all ram speeds, positions and pause times.”

“The machine has a bending force of 400 tons and a bending length of 4 050mm. However, to accommodate the thick narrow components that we are processing a 800T clamping system that gives us a 400 ton per metre bending capability has also been engineered into the machine. Special tooling has also been developed by Durmazalar in Turkey to bend the special profiles that we are processing.”

“Spectrum Machine Tools have supplied and installed the machine.”

“To accommodate the machine we have erected a new building. The machine will not take up the whole space but with our future plans we will be able to accommodate other similar type equipment in this building.”

“We have been very fortunate to acquire work from Alstom Ubunye who are supplying a Gibela/Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) contract. We are supplying components for the bogey headstock and undercarriage and we are now going to supply upper and lower plates for the frames.”

“We now supply about 60 different components for this project.”

“Besides rail transport components we also machine components for all types of gearboxes and fans, crushers, paddle mixers, star feeders, bearing housings, gears, valves and many other components for various industries. Some other clients we service include Master Drilling, Caterpillar, Fl Schmidt and recently we have started doing work for VR Steel.”

“Having this large equipment has made a real difference to the company’s fortunes.”

For further details contact D.C. Technical Services on TEL: 016 986 1229 or visit www.dcts.co.za