Customer Success story: Thomas Broadbent & Sons

Reliability that replaced a dual rotary table operation 

About Thomas Broadbent 

Founded in 1864, Thomas Broadbent & Sons is one of the UK's longest-established engineering companies and is widely recognised for manufacturing the world's first industrial centrifuge. Today, the company designs and manufactures specialist process equipment for industries including environmental engineering, carbon capture, wastewater treatment, and industrial processing. 

Challenge 

Thomas Broadbent carries out a wide variety of precision machining operations, including milling keyways, drilling angled features, and supporting increasing levels of subcontract machining. 

Its previous rotary table had become a constant source of frustration, regularly breaking down and struggling to maintain accuracy and flatness. To keep production moving, a second rotary table was required, so that machining could continue while repairs took place. 

However, the ongoing downtime and inconsistency meant a long-term solution was needed. 

Solution 

Already familiar with the NIKKEN brand and its reputation for quality, Thomas Broadbent selected a NIKKEN CNC401LFA rotary table with hydraulic brake. 

Installation was completed quickly, allowing production to resume with minimal disruption. 

Results 

Since installation, the NIKKEN rotary table has completely replaced the previous unit. 

The business now relies solely on the NIKKEN table for demanding milling and drilling operations, benefitting from improved rigidity, consistent accuracy, and significantly reduced downtime. 

Its robust construction and ease of maintenance have also simplified ongoing servicing, while improved rigidity provides greater confidence during heavy milling operations. 

For Thomas Broadbent, investing in NIKKEN has delivered the reliability and consistency required to support growing production demands. 

John Murgatroyd, Subcontract Development Coordinator:

Nikken was an easy choice for us when it came to replacing our rotary table. Their products have always proved reliable, convenient and durable with the ability to withstand the demands of our heavy engineering workshop. We're more than happy with our recent purchase with Nikken.