Following its successful tender submission, MACH Machine Tools was awarded, and has now fulfilled, a contract to supply Gateshead College with four new high-performance CNC machine tools equipped with the advanced DynaPath control.
This latest machine tool investment is an integral part of a wider strategic modernisation and refurbishment programme, implemented by Gateshead College, to upgrade the machining capacity and capabilities of the engineering workshop located at its Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing and Logistics Campus site – helping to transform it into a world-class engineering training facility, providing its students and trainees with a distinct ‘employment edge.’
MACH Machine Tools, part of the Vigilance Group, and a supplier of high-quality CNC and manual machine tools and machine shop equipment to UK and Irish component manufacturers as well as a growing number of FE and HE institutions, has recently supplied Gateshead College with four new MACH CNC machine tools.
The machines, all installed in April 2025 in the engineering workshop at Gateshead College’s Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing and Logistics’, and all equipped with the advanced DynaPath CNC control, comprise the following models - a MACH MDS 900-4T toolroom mill, a MACH MDS 845-8T 3-axis vertical machining centre, a MACH MDL 1600 flat-bed lathe with driven tooling and a recently-launched MACH MDS 202 slant-bed lathe.
The four machines have been installed, next to one another, in a purpose-built, CNC-designated area within the revamped engineering workshop facility, which not only boasts an inspection zone with advanced CMM technology, but also features a ‘linked’ training room, equipped with a suite of six Wi-Fi enabled touchscreen tablets (also supplied by MACH Machine Tools as part of a sponsorship arrangement), where students and apprentices can learn and practice their CAD/CAM and off-line programming skills, in class or remotely, using the DynaPath control and attendant Fusion software.
Literally a stone’s throw away from where the new CNC machines are located is the manual machine tool area with eight manual lathes and eight milling machines, and a ‘soon-to-be-completed’ industrial robot and automation zone.
The workshop is impressive, well-resourced and is packed with technologies that, as was the desired intention, are used extensively by advanced manufacturers in the local area and up and down the country, and the layout of the workshop resembles a modern, dynamic machine shop.
Says Charlotte Brass, Gateshead College’s Curriculum Leader for Apprenticeships and Higher Education:
“The workshop certainly looks the part and the recent investments made in CNC machine tools, CMM technology and CAD/CAM mean our students and trainees now have access to a world-class training facility.
“Our objective was always to create a workshop that mirrored and replicated, where possible, the machining facilities available in many advanced engineering companies (OEMs, Tier One companies, precision subcontractors etc.,) in the area, and across the UK.
“I believe we have achieved that goal.”
The wider context and rationale
Gateshead College’s rationale behind the redevelopment of its engineering workshop and its decision to invest in new machine tool technologies can be seen against a backdrop of continuous improvement and a number of concomitant imperatives that include:
- Making careers in engineering more attractive and appealing to young people and adults.
- Engaging and collaborating, more effectively, with local employers and employers’ associations to ensure that the College’s engineering curriculum (delivered through its full- and part-time courses, and apprenticeship programmes) is, and remains, relevant to industry needs.
- Helping to address skills shortage issues faced by engineering employers by equipping students and trainees with relevant, practical and transferable vocational skills, and recognised qualifications as a route to boosting their employability prospects.
However, critical to Gateshead College’s ability to attract high calibre students onto its courses and to increase local engineering employers’ participation and involvement, invariably centres on the quality, and the depth and breadth, of its in-house training facilities.
Says Graham Stouph, Gateshead College’s Head of Department for Automotive and Engineering:
“To put it bluntly, if the technology and equipment we are using to train students doesn’t match up with what’s being used in the world of work – there’s a problem…and a credibility gap that’s difficult to bridge is the result.”
The recent investment made in new MACH CNC machine tools has to be viewed against this backdrop.
Investing in the new technology: decisions made, and the process followed.
In early 2024, Gateshead College actioned its agreed policy decision to completely modernise and revamp the engineering workshop at its Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing and Logistics facility as a route to transforming the practical and skills-based content of its full-time and part-time engineering courses and its engineering apprenticeship programmes.
The redevelopment project was headed up by Charlotte Brass, and the planning process involved the following:
- Fact finding discussions with engineering members of staff to help clarify what the revamped workshop could and would look like, and what the range of technologies within it would comprise.
- Internal discussions with senior management and procurement staff to create a top line budget and establish and agree the parameters (content, timescales, evaluation process etc.,) of the tender process that would be put in place to facilitate the new investments.
- Visits to, and meetings with, local employers to get their input on the new workshop’s machine tool and technical equipment’s capacity and capabilities.
- Discussions with technology providers and suppliers to understand and find out more about the technologies on offer.
An audit into the type and range of machine tool technologies in the workshop led to the following decisions being made:
- The reduction in the number of manual machines (lathes and milling machines), from 32 to sixteen.
- The replacement of four older (Siemens-controlled) lathes and machining centres with four new machines (two lathes and two machining centres) equipped with a different and more widely used CNC control system.
Explains Charlotte Brass:
“Typical class sizes dictated that we no longer needed 16 manual machines, and that eight machines (four milling machines and four lathes) would suffice in the future.
“The decision to replace our four Siemens-controlled machine tools was market-led and reflected the ‘situation on the ground’ that very few of our local employers used or had Siemens-controlled machines in their machine shops. In fact, he majority of employers use Fanuc-controlled machines, and ISO programming is the norm rather than the exception.”
The tender
As part of the investment process a detailed tender, inviting potential suppliers to submit detailed proposals for the supply (including delivery, installation, training and support etc.,) of four new CNC machine tools (two CNC lathes and two CNC milling machines), was prepared and advertised.
In addition to supplying the four new machines, the tender also required the successful bidder to decommission, remove and safely dispose of the four Siemens-controlled machines and sixteen manual machines from the workshop.
Continues Graham Stouph:
“We wanted to part exchange the older machines to help fund the new CNC machine tool investment.”
Tender success
As part of the College’s robust procurement procedures an extensive evaluation process was followed after the submissions’ closing date, with every tender invitation reviewed against the published evaluation criteria and weightings, to determine the most economically advantageous and best-value submission.
MACH Machine Tools, tender response was successful for a number of reasons:
- The diversity of its machine tool range and the quality, price and availability of the machine tools Gateshead College selected.
- The level of service and support, including delivery, installation and training provided.
Explains Charlotte Brass:
“We first met representatives from MACH Machine Tools on their stand at the MACH 2024 exhibition and this gave us a good overview of the DynaPath control and the machine tool technologies they provided. This, plus the company’s knowledge and experience of working in the FE/HE left a good impression and put them in a strong position in the tender process.
“We made the decision to invest in four different MACH CNC machines (two lathes and two milling machines), because we wanted to broaden and enrich our students’ and trainees’ learning experience and provide them with practical skills from working on different types of advanced machine tools typically used by our local employers.
“MACH Machine Tools’ sister company, Machine Tool Sales Online (MTSO), provided a competitive quote for the disposal of our older machines, and their removal plus the installation of the four new machines, was quick and seamless.”
DynaPath control
The four new machines are all equipped with the advanced DynaPath CNC control system.
Equipped with a large memory (8GB) and impressive block look-ahead capabilities, the system is flexible and can be used for ISO G-code programming or conversational programming. Additional flexibility is provided via a DXF reader/editor capability, and the system’s remote Wi-Fi enabled remote monitoring, diagnostics and support facility helps guarantee machine uptime and trouble-free operation etc.
DynaPath is a proven, powerful, versatile and easy-to-use and is an innovative control system that is ideal for relative CNC novices through to seasoned professionals.
Summary
With on-site staff training about to be completed in the next few days, Gateshead College’s four new MACH machine tools equipped with the DynaPath control will soon be up and running ready for staff, students and trainees to access although, with the College’s academic year ending in June, the new machine tools will come into their own from September 2025 – when the new academic years starts.
Concludes Graham Stouph:
“We are delighted with our investment in MACH machines and with our recently-forged partnership developed with MACH Machine Tools. Our workshop, I am confident, will impress employers and make them even more confident about the skill levels and calibre of our students and trainees.”
For further information please contact:
Matt Andrew
matt@machmt.co.uk
Tel: 0117 965 2706