en.Wedoany.com Reported - Allan Carabine, owner and Managing Director of MK Precision in Milton Keynes, officially ordered a Hurco VMX42SRTi five-axis machining center and a PC25 Kawasaki robot cell on the final day of the MACH 2026 exhibition. This marks the supplier's first-ever showcase of a machine tool loading/unloading cell based on a six-axis industrial robot. Carabine stated that the move aims to invest in additional CNC machines and automation equipment that can further enhance the company's manufacturing efficiency.

Carabine is an early adopter of new technology. In 2021, his VMX30UHSi five-axis machining center, equipped with a Hurco ProCobot ProFeeder-X 10-drawer system, was the first Hurco ProCobot installed in the UK. His feedback helped Hurco engineers refine the design and software, and the product has since become a mature automation solution. As a supplier serving industries such as Formula 1, motorsport, rail, defense, photography, and cryogenic engineering, Carabine insists on continuous investment in the latest equipment to maintain a competitive edge. He stated at the exhibition: "We can support our customers in producing everything from one-off prototypes to high-volume runs. The machines we purchase must offer this versatility. The 600 mm diameter C-axis rotary table on the VMX42SRTi, combined with the wide rotation range of the B-axis spindle head, allows us to manufacture large parts without multiple setups. Typically, five-axis machining tasks may run for four, five hours or longer. The advantage of adding PC25 robot automation is that even if a previous task finishes in the middle of the night or over the weekend, I can always have the next task running quickly on the machine."

Working closely with Hurco, Carabine will first familiarize himself with the VMX42SRTi machine, scheduled for delivery in July, and carry out the automation retrofit later this year. Since MK Precision already has experience with Hurco's job automation software and five-axis machining, the learning process will be smooth. The rotary joint at the center of the C-axis provides clamping for zero-point positioning tooling, and the small clamping plates supplied by the robot create lifting points for each vise or pallet, which can be placed in any of the 36 possible positions on the rack unit. Hurco's Job Manager software only requires the user to select the tooling position and the next program, with no need for specialized robot programming knowledge, so training for using the automation takes just one day.

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