CASE STUDY I RDSA
Partnerships between the machine tool buyer and the machine tool builder don’t
just happen. But making it happen is well worth the effort, as the experiences of Melbourne-based Rockdrill Services Australia prove.
Partnering for
SUCCESS
W
hen Melbourne-based Rockdrill Services Australia
(RDSA) established a state-of-the-art in-house manufacturing facility to supply high-quality rock drills and components to the booming mining industry, they turned to Okuma
Australia to find the right equipment and expertise. Manufacturing Director and company co-founder Andrew Clingeleffer
knows that when it comes to quality and productivity, purchasing the right machine tool is only half the battle.
“You can have the best product in the market, but it needs to
be used the way it is meant to be used to reach its full potential,” he says. “We don’t just sell products, we are providing solutions to make our customers’ operations more efficient. The
whole ethos of our business is providing a complete service
to the customer, partnering with the customer, understanding
what the customer is looking for. And that is exactly what Okuma is doing for RDSA.”
What started as a service and repair business in Kalgoorlie in
2001 to address a gap in the mining industry not serviced by
the OEMs has now become Australia’s leading manufacturer
of mining rock drills (drifters) and drill parts. An increase in demand and the need for a more reliable supply led to RDSA
moving its manufacturing equipment from Kalgoorlie, WA, to
Melbourne and establishing an in-house manufacturing facility located in Melbourne in 2007, capable of producing a
comprehensive range of high quality rock drill spares for most
common OEM rock drill models.
www.okumaaustralia.com.au
BY BARBARA SCHULZ
RDSA also provides a full range of training and maintenance
services for drills and partners with customers to focus on improved drill performance and reduced cost per hour.
“We help our customers to optimise the hours they can get out
of their OEM drills through better maintenance and drill practice,” Andrew explains. “We have been very innovative in finding solutions to issues with the OEM drills and have retrofitted
our own parts to drills which has increased service life and
performance. Based on that, we have developed our own drills
which we are now taking to the market.”
From solid billets to complex parts
Developing their own products required RDSA to machine
parts from solid billets because the delivery and casting quality
was often not good enough for the desired end result. While
RDSA managed to get the jobs done with their existing machines, it was very time-consuming and inefficient. As a result,
Andrew and his team started to look for other machinery to
satisfy their demanding machining needs.
“We were looking for alternative machining solutions to machine the complex housings of our drill components from solid
billets,” he says. “Our own proprietary drills require different
types of housings and internal components which are of highaccuracy and surface finish. We work with up to 5µm accuracy
and 0.8 Ra surface finish, because the parts are quite intricate,
and concentricity and squareness are important. Everything in
When RDSA was looking for
alternative solutions to machine
the their drill head housings
from solid billets, they turned to
Okuma Australia.
www.okumaaustralia.com.au
CASE STUDY I RDSA
the housings has to be exactly right.”
Manufacturing Manager Richard Stinson and his team have
done the research and hard yards to find the best solution
to perform multi-axis precision machining tasks, which is now
paying off for them.
Technical support and training
“Okuma were not only able to supply machines with the capability and technology we were looking for, they were also
able to satisfy our desire for the technical support in training
and product development, using their own internal application engineers,” Andrew says. According to Team Leader Phil
Clayton “The level of competency of our team has increased
significantly with our machinists consistently doing exceptionally high-quality work!”
Since its installation in 2009, the Okuma model MU-500 vertical multitasking machine has transformed the business,
making its workshop competitive with other world-class busi-
nesses around the globe. “As a specialty workshop we regard
ourselves as world-class with the equipment and quality processes we have in place. Okuma has certainly been a part of
that transformation,” Andrew says.
The 5-axis vertical machining centre has a 12,000rpm milling
spindle with added turning capability and distinguishes itself
by offering a table rotated by a direct drive motor at up to
1000rpm in lathe function, allowing components to be turned
in conjunction with a static tool in the spindle. The design is
based on a fully integrated trunnion swivelling horizontally
through +20/-110 degrees and carrying a 360-degree rotary
table. Maximum weight of components that can be supported
is 500kg.
But most of all it is the speed and accuracy of the direct-drive
rotary axes that sets this machine apart from the rest. The trunnion rotation is fast with a repeatability of 0.001 degree.
And repeatability is key for RDSA. “We have been able to machine our products on the existing machines, but the accuracy
wasn’t repeatable,” Andrew says. “With the accuracy of our
Okuma machines we can even make the most complex parts
repeatable. Together with Okuma’s training and technical support, the 5-axis machine has really accelerated our product
development and growth.”
Increased productivity
RDSA has managed to cut the machining time for some of its
drill housings by a whopping 50% - and eliminated the grinding processes, as the Okuma CNCs – RDSA has also invested in an LB4000 and LB3000 lathe – can hard turn and mill
with the required surface finishes. “Moreover,” Andrew adds,
“Okuma’s thermo-friendly concept works perfectly for us, consistency and quality is easier to maintain.”
The return on investment will definitely be there for RDSA, who
not only manufacture their own range of drills, but fully support
the OEM drill range that their customers are using. “We work on
short run small batches and focus on doing them as efficiently
as possible, get them in and finished. With small batches and
a big range of parts you need flexibility to be able to do that,
which is what we have achieved with Okuma technology.”
Andrew emphasises that all processes have significantly improved – not only through the use of high-tech CNC machines,
but also due to operator training. “Okuma has not only delivered the equipment but helped develop our people to such a
high level that they are leading the industry in their skills,” he
says. “We managed to significantly reduce our set-up times
and reduce the total machining hours for a drill housing from
60 hours to just over 30 machine hours. That’s half of the origi-
nal machining time, and the accuracy is better too.”
As RDSA’s efficiency has increased, so too has their customer
base and recognition within the mining industry. Today RDSA is
Australia’s largest independent rock drill manufacturer and servicer and has become the preferred supplier for many of Australia’s largest owner miners and mining contractors. RDSA’s
approach of providing a complete support package has seen
many customers reduce their operating costs and improve
their productivity.
RDSA’s strategically located service centres allow for the support of mining operations Australia wide. This national approach
has seen steady growth within the business, with RDSA now
looking further afield to develop the company internationally.
“We are very excited about where we are going and what we
are doing,” he says. “The support from Okuma is outstanding
and the flexibility of the machines helps us to get our products
to market quickly now.”
“The Okuma team has been absolutely brilliant. Basically, they
have provided us with what we look to do with our customers and suppliers. We see them as partners who consistently
provide what we are looking for, working to the same ethos as
us. It is not ‘them and us’ but we work closely together with an
open workshop, share expertise and develop our businesses
together.”
“The support from Okuma is outstanding and the
flexibility of the machines helps us to get our products
to market quite quickly now.” Andrew Clingeleffer,
Manufacturing Manager.
www.okumaaustralia.com.au