Midas Pattern invest to help meet environmental responsibilities
In 2019 Midas Pattern Company Ltd decided to reduce its carbon footprint to deliver sustainability goals and lessen its climate impact. Within a year, the Bedfordshire-based business had attained process carbon neutrality and celebrated achieving carbon net-zero at the start of 2021. Financed independently, Midas introduced a myriad of green methods as part of the #MidasGreenInitiative, including a farm of 650 solar panels which powers the plant, 100% LED lighting and a compressor system which uses 30% less energy.
On top of this, all packaging is shredded and recycled, single-use plastics are banned and no waste goes to landfill. “There’s been a lot of hard work and investment in the last two years, but it’s certainly been worth it,” says managing director Alan Rance.
Part of this world-leading initiative means updating and investing in the most efficient equipment possible. Following the purchase of a colossal VF-11 in 2021, Midas has just taken charge of brand-new VF-9 and VF-4SS vertical machining centres.
“The VF-9 and VF-4SS have slotted straight in. They perform just as well as the larger machine, and they’re a known quantity for rapid reliability and capacity,” Rance says.
“This level of investment gives both our existing and new customers more confidence when placing orders with us. They see we own the right equipment for the job and feel protected and assured by what we can offer. We have a long-term vision for ourselves and our clients.
“The new Haas machines vastly increased our capacity, our versatility and improved our turnaround. We can now machine much larger jobs in one hit, so we’re not spending time setting up multiple parts. So it’s certainly more efficient.”
Midas Pattern’s new Haas VMCs share many energy-saving features, including an ‘Auto Power-Off’ setting that turns the machine off after a specified number of minutes idle. ‘Power-Off at M30’ sets the control to start a 30-second timer that will turn off all power unless interrupted. Sleep Mode puts the machine into a low-power mode for a programmed length of time.
In addition to a screensaver, the ‘LCD Backlight Off’ setting blanks the LCD after a specified idle time. A ‘Conveyor Off’ setting automatically turns off the chip conveyor as desired. The ‘Servos and Hydraulics Off’ setting automatically turns off the servos and hydraulic pump after a programmed period.
Midas has enhanced its latest purchases with high-speed machining for greater efficiency in cornering, and the VF-4SS boasts a super-speed 12,000 rpm spindle. The VF-11 and VF-9 have ample room for large parts with an envelope of 3,048 x 1,016 x 762 mm and 2,134 x 1,016 x 762 mm respectively. All three are equipped with a 30+1 side-mount tool changer.
“The side-mount tool changer is great as it keeps your tools outside the machine. This may not seem like a big deal, but the tool holder and spindle tapers stay clean, leading to less wear and tear.”
The company was founded over 30 years ago in St. Neots by Alan Rance, to manufacture precision pattern equipment for the local foundry industry before moving down the A1 to Bedfordshire. Since then, the site and the business has grown in stature and in capabilities. Midas now commands over 30,000 sq ft and has diversified into a world-class precision polyurethane moulding company supplying a wide range of life-changing and life-enhancing industries, the largest of which are medical, medtech devices and scientific instrumentation.
“Many of our customers have seen increased requirements during the global pandemic, particularly in investigation and testing in the medical and MedTech sector. As other industries have naturally seen a quieter period, we have been able to react quickly to the change in volume of work for those who really need it. That has been very satisfying.”
Midas has been a Haas customer for 25 years; their first Haas investment was a VF-3 back in 1997. “We knew Haas is perceived as a good brand,” says Rance. They have a name for reliability and accuracy. If we’re happy with a brand, why wouldn’t we stick with it? The first machine and the support we got from Haas gave us the confidence to come back time and time again.”
The technical team work closely with clients, creating polyurethane RIM tooling for bespoke designs, which are ordered in low volume and are then repeated over decades. One such project was to produce a set of five mouldings for an electronically controlled dive unit capable of supporting long-endurance and depth capability for some of the best dive units in the world. It was essential that parts produced could withstand extreme temperatures and all weathers, including salt water and a high level of accuracy was paramount for safety and functionality.
Rance chose to part exchange one of the company’s older machines with his latest deal. This machine will now be brought back to Haas’ newest facility in Norfolk, where it will undergo a full service, alignment checks and testing before being resold. “We found both the purchase and the part exchange processes very easy,” says Rance. “The availability was quick and we know we’re always getting value for money. Haas equipment is a known machining solution.”
Midas is proud of the company’s commitment to the future that includes being a conscientious and responsible world-class engineering and manufacturing business dedicated to investing and protecting the future for its workforce, its customers, and the global community.
“We found both the purchase and the part exchange processes very easy. The availability was quick and we know we’re always getting value for money. Haas equipment is a known machining solution.”
Alan Rance, Managing Director
