Product category:
Vertical machining centres (VMC)
News Release from: C Dugard | Subject: Vertical machining centres
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 January 2006
Supplier responded quickly to need for
four VMCs
Aerospace machining subcontractor - on an increase in demand of parts from a major customer, had to act quickly, and had four vertical machining centres installed within six weeks of ordering them.
Following notification of an increase in order quantities from a major customer, specialist aerospace contractor, Bowmill Engineering, knew it had to react fast to meet new delivery schedules Within five weeks of placing an order with C Dugard of Hove, Sussex, UK, for two Dugard Eagle 660 and two Eagle 850 vertical machining centres, they were delivered, installed and commissioned at the company's Poole headquarters
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 30 Jul 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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However, according to operations director Nick Epps, not only did Dugard impress him with its delivery, it also succeeded in helping to relocate and reinstall 24 existing machines on Bowmill's factory floor to best accommodate the new Eagles and optimise component flow without disrupting production.
In addition to producing a diverse range of components in titanium, Stellite, Inconel, heat-treatable steels and plastics for the past five years, Bowmill has been supplying Messier-Dowty with kits of machined landing gear components for the Airbus A320 programme.
Taking a significant percentage of production, each kit consists of 68 parts all predominantly machined from solid, such as slave links, up-lock bolts and complex bracketry which have to be delivered in batches of 12 sets every 10 days on a Kanban pull system.
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Such has been the success of the contract, significant endorsements have been given by the customer for Bowmill achieving 100% on-time deliveries.
As a result, Messier-Dowty recently requested Bowmill to quote for machining previously fabricated components that were to be added to the existing kit.
Not only was the company able to beat any competitor's price, but also its capability and reliability to supply provided a factor that helped the customer decide to retain the business in the UK rather than consider outsourcing to the Far East.
Then in tandem with winning the additional kit, the company also received notification of an acceleration of the A320 programme with the delivery rate increasing by a third to 16 kits every 10 days.
Explains Epps: "We recognised immediately that we required three additional machining centres and as we had recently very successfully installed a Dugard Eagle 660 machine we had no hesitation in returning to the same supplier for the next orders." The subsequent order for one four-axis Dugard Eagle 850 and two Dugard Eagle 660s, of which one had four axes, was enhanced by the addition of a further Dugard Eagle 850 fitted with a 10,000 rev/min optional spindle to help ease production when machining parts, such as barometric instrumentation components.
At the same time Bowmill also ordered a pre-owned Jacobsen toolroom grinder and part-exchanged a Quasar horizontal machining centre that was handled through Dugard's used machinery operation in Hove.
Within five working weeks from order Bowmill had its first machine on site and within the next week all machines were installed, commissioned and in production.
A key element in the machine selection was footprint of the machine.
Space at Bowmill is at a premium and so the compact nature of the Dugard Eagles, being 2000mm by 2060mm for the 660 and 2360mm by 2060mm for the 850 version, was paramount.
Says Epps: "To optimise component flow and make the best of the floorspace, Dugard worked with the shopfloor machinists and moved 24 machines.
We decommissioned on a Thursday morning and by Monday morning we were back in production which we all agree was an incredible achievement." Following a 35-year history Bowmill has grown to become a GBP 4.5 million turnover business which now includes Bowmill Metal Treatments and employs 78 people.
The company is a member of the Society of British Aerospace Companies and the West of England Aerospace Forum.
Last year it won the WEAF Overall Competitiveness Improvement Award, in part thanks to its planned programme of investment and success of the advanced Kanban techniques.
Concludes Epps: "This latest project is a first class example of our capability to respond to customer needs. Request a free brochure from C Dugard ...
We have been helped by Dugard's record of machine installations with us and the effort they are willing to put in by way of support and this has proven to be so critical in enabling us to achieve our objectives.".
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