Miltek Sport
Table: Swift-Cut 1250
When looking at a car, it can be easy to forget that we’re looking at the sum of many finely-tuned and thoughtfully made parts, but at Milltek Sport, they remember. The company, which has been producing a comprehensive selection of performance exhausts for key marques like Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, BMW and Nissan for over 31 years, is at the forefront of tuning companies’ and vehicle owners’ ‘must-have’ lists in over 80 countries around the world. But despite their massive reach and influence, all Milltek Sport exhausts are designed, developed, and manufactured in-house right here in the UK.
Great British design isn’t all Milltek has going for them, they also pride themselves on using top-notch materials, like high quality type-304 aircraft grade stainless steel. This type of steel, which is used on all pipework and the total construction of the silencer, is anti-magnetic and is less susceptible to discolouration. Mandrel bending of the steel ensures full flow bends for better gas flow, which allows for ultimate performance without the loss of mid-range torque.
Last year, Milltek began searching for a plasma cutting table to cut elliptical holes in sheet metal silencer bodies prior to forming– which had previously been performed with a punch and die– and for producing bespoke sheet components for R&D purposes. In particular, they were looking for a plasma cutting machine that would have a great build quality and a compact design with a 1/2 sheet-sized cutting bed. Support was also high on their priority list, and they wanted a machine that would be easy to use and would offer great customer support. They found Swift-Cut’s range of plasma cutting tables through an internet search and received their Swift-Cut 1250 machine in July, 2013.
Dave Marshall, General Manager at Milltek, says that the their Swift-Cut machine has allowed them to reduce the process times and increase the accuracy of the holes they’re cutting. Overall, this improves the quality of all subsequent processes, which allows Milltek exhausts to be even more fine-tuned than ever before. Plus, they find that the machine is easy to program and operate and are pleased with its compact footprint– making it a small but mighty investment to their business.
Like with all new tools, questions sometimes arise and things can sometimes go wrong. After their initial install and training with the Swift-Cut installation team, Marshall says that “simple issues are resolved on the phone or dealt with quickly by an engineer’s visit.” Swift-cuts and swift support!
Marshall’s final comments about the machine are straight-forward and sturdy: the machine is “sensibly priced, well supported, and British made.” Happily, we feel that we can say the same about Milltek’s range of exhausts, which you can check out on their website or on Facebook!
