The Aerospace Upturn Starts Here5 Axis SNK HPS-120B Machines for CMLReleased at: 11:00 19/12/2005 Matsuura has long extolled the virtues and benefits of continuing to invest through periods of intense competitiveness and continuing drives for cost reduction. Lack of confidence and uncertainty about the short term future, however, unfortunately prevent many companies from realising these gains, despite these initiatives being a constant and accepted feature of business life.
 One company that has taken advantage of the current uncertainty and the associated benefits is the CML Group based in Birkenhead, on the Wirral. With an established history in the area since its formation in 1949, the company's roots are in precision engineering. CML Group have experienced their fair share of challenges and future uncertainty. With a significant proportion of their workload being directly linked to the Aerospace industry, CML enjoy preferred supplier status with Avro International, BAe Systems Civil & Military, Airbus, GKN Westland and Raytheon. However, the events of September 11th 2001 have left a continued cautionary feeling across the organisation as well as the aerospace industry as a whole. To rise to the challenge, a continued investment in people, training, plant, machinery, technology and systems keeps the company at the sharp end of progress.
CML’s philosophy of keeping the overwhelming proportion of manufacture under direct management control produces dividend in high quality and service. In turn, this means that just-in-time supply is consistently reliable. Directors, key personnel and production staff have tremendous experience in the unique requirements of the aerospace industry, bringing an enthusiastic, positive, no-nonsense approach to engineering.
Industry pressures and the uncertainty that accompanies them, are fuelled by the continued drive for cost reduction and increased competitive advantage. For those who can meet the production efficiency and cost reduction challenges, greater volumes of work are available. CML Group are the first to admit, that the seemingly safest approach would be to tighten the reins, control costs drive the production process hard and weather the storm until the good times return. However, they are also acutely aware that weathering the storm is not a realistic long term solution. Production processes stop evolving, plant and machinery ages with the associated effects on reliability and production throughput. In summary, the competitiveness of the organisation slowly becomes eroded.
With new packages of work potentially available, the requirement for additional capacity provides a spring board for process efficiency improvements and the incorporation of the latest production process technologies that will provide the competitive advantage of the future.
In the summer of last year, the CML Group selected Matsuura Machinery Plc and SNK to provide the next steps of the companies ongoing initiatives to deliver their required production efficiency improvements whilst also increasing production capacity and throughput capabilities. The order was placed for two SNK HPS-120B 5 axis High Speed Profiling machines. For increased process flexibility, one of these machines also incorporates a twin pallet changer configuration, enabling the offline set-up of more complex components.
The machines utilise a horizontal spindle configuration incorporating the fourth and fifth axes into the spindle head. With a working envelope of 3,000mm x 1,200mm these machines are designed specifically for the production of components typically found within the Aerospace industry.
CML Group require increased capacity within this machining envelope size, to accommodate increasing volumes of work supporting the entire Airbus series of commercial aircraft. With, relatively speaking, volume Rib production for established Airbus programs contrasting with the initial low volumes and higher variety of the new and larger Airbus components, CML Group were looking to combine a fully flexible production process without increasing the overall investment cost beyond the bounds of competitiveness.
By selecting only one of the two machines to incorporate a pallet changer, enables the CML Group to minimise their investment costs for the work requiring quick component change over whilst also having the flexibility of offline load/unload for the more complex components. The whole focus is driven towards maximising spindle utilisation through the application of the optimum machine configuration for the product.
To complement this focus on spindle utilisation, CML Group also aimed to capitalise on the opportunity to optimise the production process through cycle time reduction. However, the associated re-engineering costs for such a process can often outweigh the cost reduction benefits achievable. With fully engineered data available from the existing production process, a sequence of simple spindle speed and feedrate changes within the NC program data delivers significant cycle time reductions with negligible engineering costs. This becomes possible through the utilisation of the 15,000rpm 37 kW spindle driven through the robust BBT50 Big Plus taper, to maximise metal removal rates. The reduction in cycle times creates additional free capacity on each machine, enabling a higher throughput to be achieved, with overhead costs amortised across a greater number of components for increased profitability.
The SNK HPS-120B’s full 5 axis configuration allows CML Group to incorporate the traditional secondary operations into the prime production process. Secondary operations are typically the slowest operations with the highest degree of manual input required and often the highest degree of risk to component quality.
‘This installation represents the next step change for the CML Group and will provide the foundations for future development of the companies manufacturing capabilities and reputation within the industry’, quoted Les Raynor, CML’s Production Engineer responsible for the SNK project.
‘By making the major investments during the times of market uncertainty, we strengthen our position within the market, developing our route up the learning curve, leaving us in a stronger position to capitalise on any future market growth. This is especially relevant to the several new aircraft projects which CML Group are currently involved in, that are beginning to impact significantly upon the subcontract manufacturing market,’ explains Geoff Stewart, Managing Director of CML Group. But there is more to these investment decisions than just CML’s development strategy. ‘Selecting the right supplier that understands and supports your own organisational objectives on a long term basis are critical to the success of any new machine investment’. ‘We look to build long term relationships with our suppliers. It’s not enough to just ensure the delivery, installation and training run according to plan, there is a greater value in having the right people to provide the longer term technical support as well as a comprehensive service and spares support infrastructure.’ Matsuura’s showroom facility in Coalville provides a central location for service, spares and their engineering support infrastructure.
One of the most popular words used within the industry today is ‘Turnkey’. CML Group carefully considered the option of incorporating a turnkey engineering element within the investment package. Whilst Matsuura undoubtedly have considerable experience within this field, the ‘bought in’ engineering costs associated with major complex aircraft components can be significant enough to warrant exploring all available options. But most companies are acutely aware that to utilise in-house engineering capabilities alone often limits the process to aspects that are most familiar, tried and trusted, loosing the opportunity to embrace new idea’s and developments available across the industry. ‘We selected a hybrid solution for the SNK machines, combining in-house engineering capabilities with the overseeing advisory services of Matsuura’s engineers.’ Machining techniques, production process sequences, component fixturing and cutting tool selections have all been jointly evolved between our own engineers and Matsuura’s projects team. Matsuura have supported our own production engineers throughout the engineering process, drawing on a wider range of production experience across a multitude of market sectors. ‘I am particularly pleased with the results of the combined engineering activities and the resultant benefits that this is delivering to our production process’ said Geoff Stewart. ‘Matsuura understand and fully support our business objectives, and are working closely with us to achieve and exceed these.’ For more information about CML, please visit their website at www.cml-group.com For more in-depth information on the Matsuura supplied SNK Range of large capacity CNC machines, please call Simon Burrow, Matsuura's Commercial Manager on 01530 511400 or email him sburrow@matsuura.co.uk Category: Aerospace |
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