Aerospace component supplier expands in England and Thailand

Citation

(2009), "Aerospace component supplier expands in England and Thailand", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 81 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2009.12781cab.002

Aerospace component supplier expands in England and Thailand

Article Type: Aerospace technology From: Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, Volume 81, Issue 3

Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools, UK agent for Hermle machining centres built in Germany, reports on how one of its customers is using cellular, lean manufacture to meet cost-down targets.

Tier 1 supplier to the aerospace industry, Weston EU, has opened a new factory in Earby, Lancashire, UK, devoted to five-axis machining of the root form and tip shrouds of compressor blades, which are produced from aluminium-, titanium- and nickel-alloy forgings.

The unit is close to the company’s headquarters and hitherto main production centre in Foulridge, Lancashire, from where all 21 Hermle machining centres, representing three-quarters of the company’s total number of five-axis machines, were relocated to Earby between March and November 2008 (Figure 1).

Figure 1 A view of the shop floor at Weston EU’s Earby factory showing 15 of the 21 Hermle five-axis machining centres

In a parallel venture, a blade production facility was opened in Thailand towards the end of 2008, intended to strengthen further Weston EU’s leading position as a global supplier to the civil and military aerospace sectors. The firm also runs another Thai factory it opened in 2005, where aircraft interior parts are manufactured.

Commented Dave Abbott, Director of Manufacturing Operations at Weston EU’s Lancashire factories, “To enable manufacturing operations in the developed world to compete with low-wage countries, there is a pressing need to put in place efficient production methods based on lean manufacturing principles.”

“That is why we have consolidated 5-axis blade machining in the UK from two buildings in Foulridge to the new Earby site. At the same time, we have introduced more efficient, cellular manufacturing to help us meet cost-cutting targets demanded by aerospace OEMs, yet still make reasonable margins.”

A total of 20 of the Hermle machines have been divided into five cells, each comprising four five-axis machining centres and an adjacent CMM for 100 percent component inspection. The 21st Hermle machine is a larger C 40 U model that runs independently, producing land-based gas turbine components.

Production volumes vary enormously, but are sliced up into batch sizes that can be completed by each cell in a single shift, of which there are three during each 24-h weekday. Mr Abbott said that they used to have batches that over-ran shifts but production was difficult to control, as responsibility was shared by too many operators.

Workbenches, tool storage, shadowboards and cleaning stations have all been standardised and there are individual service drops to each machine. Planned maintenance is carried out meticulously to ensure minimal unscheduled machine downtime. In addition, operators and team leaders are responsible for “asset care” during each shift, whereby checking, cleaning and top-ups are completed across a list of ten items in a cell, with actions logged on a chart.

Concluded Mr Abbott, “Weston EU is more than just a subcontract machinist. We develop close, long-term business relationships with customers such as Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Smiths Aerospace and Goodrich, which often involve life-of-programme agreements.”

“Customers do not stipulate how we should manufacture their parts, but they are impressed when they see a factory laid out like our new blade machining facility in Earby.”

“Improvements we are making to airframe as well as engine component production, and to 5-axis machining of compressor blades and vanes for power generation, are helping us to win new business and to make a profit on it, despite relentless reductions in the prices we can charge.”