Quick turnaround machining for aerospace components

Citation

(2006), "Quick turnaround machining for aerospace components", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 78 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2006.12778aab.008

Quick turnaround machining for aerospace components

Quick turnaround machining for aerospace components

Keywords: Aircraft components, Machining centres

With demand for its precision 2D profiling running at an all time high, Hucknall Sheet Metal Engineering (HSME) deflected excess work to its five-axis TRUMPF TLC 1005 laser system to support its fully committed TRUMPF L2503 flat bed laser. Whilst this was a workable solution in the short term, it was not good economic practice and naturally restricted the company's five-axis capacity.

Clearly further investments needed to be made to gear-up for the increased workload and HSME (Plate 6) again plumped for TRUMPF. The company recently installed an L3030 flatbed laser – a machine that has already brought benefits beyond greater capacity – and a qualifier 1,250 co-ordinate measuring machine.

Plate 6 Quick turnaround machining for Hucknall Sheet Metal Engineering with TRUMPF's L3030 flat bed laser

The capital expenditure policy of HSME has always ensured the company has the most advanced equipment that it can afford. This has earned Nottingham-based HSME a high reputation as a fully accredited AS9100 and MADCAP manufacturer of precision parts for the aircraft industry as well as the materials handling, automotive and rail sectors.

Central to the high-class service HSME provides is its 2D and 3D laser profiling facility. To complement its existing TRUMPF flat bed, the company chose the L3030 for its higher capacity, allowing HSME to provide the quick turnaround service that its customers expect.

“If we receive a call for a part for an aircraft on the ground – known as an AOG situation in the industry – we need to have the means to respond at speed and the L3030 allows us to do just that,” explained HSME's general manager, Steve Guyler.

The L3030 has proven its capability to cut efficiently the wide range of aerospace material handled by HSME from Titanium to Nimonics. “Our customers have been taking up the increased capacity with relish,” Steve continued. “A good percentage of our work does not require secondary operations so the finish quality provided by the L3030 is important. This is particularly beneficial for the laser cut and folded kit parts we make for the catering industry.”

Owing to the L3030, HSME has also been able to improve the quality, accuracy and speed of set up for a range of parts that would normally be punched. A further benefit has been the laser's ability to machine thicker material, up to 12mm stainless steel and 6mm aluminium, in less time.

Stringent quality checks are crucial to HSME's AS9100 and MADCAP accreditation and the company's purchase of a TRUMPF Qualifier now provides digital checking of all parts as well as reverse engineering capabilities. It also produces reports that can be printed and appended to job cards for audit inspection and in compliance with clients' quality control systems.

HSME exploits both functions of the qualifier. Parts cut on the flatbeds are measured against data from customer- supplied drawings. Qualifier also provides a comprehensive tolerance check on the production line, a facility especially important to one customer, a producer of automotive gear drives, whose fine tolerance work can now be easily verified.

The second function of qualifier is for reverse engineering where a flat part is measured so that a programme can be created for automated production on one of the TRUMPF flatbeds. “Parts come in with intricate hole patterns or where the customer has lost the original drawing,” Steve explains. “The Qualifier saves us the laborious task of re-creating the drawing and associated CAD file.”

“Manufacturing to aircraft standards requires constant attention to quality and accuracy,” Steve concludes. “But the skill of our staff and our commitment to high quality machines allows us to maintain this status to the benefit of aerospace and non-aerospace customers.”

Details available from: Trumpf Ltd, Tel.: +44 (0) 1582 725335, fax: +44 (0) 1582 399250, e-mail: sales@uk.trumpf.com.