As Britain’s manufacturers grapple with an uncertain steel market, attention is increasingly turning to how every tonne of material can be used more effectively. With import restrictions, fluctuating prices and supply chain pressures affecting procurement strategies, reducing waste is becoming as important as securing supply.
For many engineering businesses, this means examining every stage of production to prevent valuable materials being lost through scrap, rework or rejected components. Lye-based surface finishing specialist Midland Deburr & Finish believes finishing processes have an increasingly important role to play in protecting margins.
Chris Arrowsmith, managing director of Midland Deburr & Finish, says manufacturers are becoming more focused on the lifetime value of every component entering production: “Material costs have become a much bigger conversation over the past few years. When manufacturers are paying more for steel, aluminium and other specialist materials, they naturally expect to recover as many finished components as possible from every production run.”
Arrowsmith believes deburring and cleaning should be viewed as critical quality processes rather than secondary operations. Burrs, sharp edges or surface contamination can affect assembly, coating performance or inspection, potentially resulting in expensive rework after significant manufacturing value has already been added.
Midland Deburr & Finish provides vibratory deburring, vapour and solvent degreasing, ultrasonic cleaning and component impregnation for customers across aerospace, automotive, defence, electronics and general engineering.
According to Arrowsmith, controlled finishing processes can improve batch-to-batch consistency while reducing the variability associated with manual processing.
“Finishing may be one of the final stages of production, but it has a significant influence on product quality, manufacturing efficiency and ultimately the value manufacturers achieve from every component they produce,” he concludes.
More information www.midlanddeburrandfinish.co.uk
