Based in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, de Havilland Engineering Group offers a comprehensive service for the supply of small to large metal fabrications. Due to the broad size range of its work, the business is split into several divisions, allowing it to manufacture its own products in addition to providing a variety of subcontract fabrication services.

Heavy fabrication contracts cover industry sectors such as oil and gas, water, and site installations, as well as the marine engineering, aerospace, wind turbine, hydrogen generation and recycling industries. Separate departments cover fabrications for food processing, precision engineering and a number of safety products. As a result, the variety of materials processed is huge, from light plastics such as PEEK, PTFE and acetal to cast iron and tough steels including stainless and super duplex.

The latest investment in CNC metalworking capacity by de Havilland is a pair of machine tools from Hurco. First to arrive was a TM10i 2-axis lathe with an 81mm spindle bore, fitted with a Hydrafeed MSV80 bar magazine. Maximum turning diameter and length are 450 and 760mm, respectively. Two weeks later it was followed by a VM20i 3-axis vertical machining centre with a 1,016 x 508 x 508mm working volume. Both machines have a Windows-based control system with industry-leading conversational programming software, Max 5.

Lewis Chandler, lead operator of the machines said: “The capacity of the machines is large considering their small footprint and the price point for what they are giving us has worked out really well. The conversational programming is very easy to use. It asks you what you want, you type in the figures and it draws it up for you automatically. It’s brilliant”.