Pro-active component manufacturer targets long-term cost savings

Citation

(2002), "Pro-active component manufacturer targets long-term cost savings", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 74 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2002.12774eab.005

Pro-active component manufacturer targets long-term cost savings

Keywords: Components, Cost, Tooling

Choosing the most effective tooling for a job and looking for cost-savings in the long term rather than buying the cheapest available at the time, is one of the significant changes in business philosophy which has brought continued expansion at Beverston Engineering.

The St Helens-based contract manufacturer has re-assessed all business practices and manufacturing processes in recent years and is determinedly applying a pro-active rather than reactive business philosophy.

For its parting-off work, the company has turned to Advanced Carbide Tooling to identify and implement the best solution – not just the tooling itself, but also the best speeds, feeds and programming method to be used. As a result, Beverston is now using a Mircona parting-off system, which we are told has not only achieved the flexibility and benefits required across the range of materials machined, but also across different operations.

Although Beverston predominantly supplies components to aerospace, it serves a variety of other industries, too, which entails working in a very wide range of materials including stainless steel, aluminium and bronze, as well as exotic aerospace materials such as Nimonics, Hastelloy and titanium.

"Most of our jobs are short runs", says managing director Rod Wah, "so we try to use one grade of insert that suits all these materials".

"Compared to the tooling we were previously using, the Mircona tools have enabled us to increase feeds by up to 40 per cent and tool life has increased by up to 50 per cent on some materials", said Mr Wah. "We also use the part-off tools for other turning operations such as grooving and back-chamfering, which is very useful on waist diameters and can often mean one less tool in the turret".

In addition to the improved performance, he says the Mircona tooling has also led to significant cost savings. This is also indicative of the change in culture at Beverston. We once would have sought the cheapest inserts on offer – we now look for the best available for the job in hand and the long-term cost savings'.

Details available from: Advanced Carbide Tooling Ltd. Tel: +44 (0) 1455 234000; Fax: +44 (0) 1455 234022; Web site: www.advancedcarbidetooling.co.uk