Paul Tardif, design manager at Erodex, explains the role that the company’s design team plays in providing design solutions to a range of engineering challenges posed by clients.

“Primarily, we are a tool design office, specialising in aerospace tooling and the design of EDM electrodes, to make various jet engine components and enable the mass production of parts. We are currently working on a range of new engine projects and new part introductions for some of our major customers.
“The designs are primarily one-off, unique designs – almost like prototype tooling, meaning that we specialise in working on new parts that are being introduced, new engines being developed, or modifications to improve existing tooling,” he adds. “Once we have designed the tooling and it has been manufactured, it can be in service for up to 20 or 30 years.”
Much of the ‘added value’ created by the Erodex design team includes developing solutions to complex problems, finding new ways to make existing processes more efficient, and designing solutions that enable a high degree of accuracy and repeatability to be achieved. Tardif adds that “the accuracy required for grinding tooling, for example, is to grind within ±0.025 mm in terms of mass production tooling, requiring around ±0.01 mm in terms of accuracy from our tooling. The customers are then able to use semi-skilled labour to load components into the tools, and can expect a really high level of repeatability, always knowing exactly where the part will sit and how it is going to clamp. The component would often be expected to repeat to that same position within 0.02 mm every single time.”
For further information www.erodex.com

Midlands-based A&M EDM propelled itself to record sales of £6.1m in 2018, a 32% increase on 2017. The company is attributing the feat largely to its investment of £750,000 in CNC machinery and equipment.

Headquartered in Smethwick, A&M EDM provides precision engineering and EDM capabilities. West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, was invited to commission new equipment from an investment of £0.75m in 2018. Arrivals included a five-axis Hurco CNC machining centre, two spark eroders, a Hitachi handheld analyser for alloy identification and Renishaw laser calibration equipment to enable the preventative maintenance of 22 CNC machining centres. The investment was part funded by a £50,000 grant from the Black Country LEP Growing Priority Sectors fund. A&M also recruited 10 extra staff in 2018, taking the current workforce to 67.
Mayor Andy Street saw demonstrations of A&M’s CNC machining, quality inspection, and spark and wire erosion capabilities for aerospace, automotive, Formula One and production assembly customers. He commissioned the five-axis Hurco machining centre, met apprentices at work, discussed skills development and the role of advanced manufacturing and engineering as the dynamo of the West Midlands Industrial Strategy.
Street was presented with a memento of his visit, which was produced using A&M’s manufacturing capabilities. Electrodes were wired to cut the lettering, while an embossed West Midlands Combined Authority logo was created by spark eroding the required shape.
Managing director of A&M, Mark Wingfield, says: “It was a privilege to host the Mayor and discuss the importance of supply chain SMEs to competitive manufacturing in the West Midlands. We value working in partnership with the public sector; the Growing Priority Sectors grant enabled us to accelerate investment and create new engineering jobs. We will continue investing in our capabilities, skills and apprentices.”
For further information www.amedm.co.uk

Supplied by Warwick Machine Tools, an Excetek V650 wire EDM has been installed at the University of Wolverhampton.

Graduates working on the UWR Racing team at the university, which runs a competitive car in the Formula 3 series, are using the machine to produce critical parts.
At the University of Wolverhampton, the Excetek V650 is used primarily to remove printed parts, created using additive manufacturing technology, from their supporting structures. An accurate cut must be provided in demanding conditions, with raw un-sintered powder material often left within cavities inside the component, which presents further challenges. The Excetek V650G was chosen because it can meet all these demands.
A non-contact process, wire EDM does not induce stress into the raw material; it will cut anything that is conductive. Even super alloys can be cut as easily as mild steel. Using 5-axis cutting allows different profiles to be created on the top and bottom side of the part. Components measuring up to 1000 mm can be cut on the Excetek V650.
Versatility of process is another benefit of wire EDM. For example, users can produce a gear on an Excetek EDM machine to an ‘as-ground’ finish. Conceivably, this means that users could load a heat-treated blank on the worktable, and cut the internal spline and outside gear profile such that the part would come off ready to use. For the students at Wolverhampton, this flexibility allows them to think outside the box.
For further information www.warwickmachinetools.co.uk

Halesowen-based HLP Engineering Solutions, a specialist in press tools for the automotive industry, has invested in another Sodick wire erosion machine from Sodi-Tech EDM. The large Sodick AQ750L Premium not only provides more size and time capacity, but greater precision and around 25-30% more speed than the machine it replaced.

“We started with no premises, machines or money, and would simply cold-call to get work,” explains co-director Luke Hobbs. “A friend offered us some space in his unit and we bought a few pre-owned Sodick wire EDMs from auction. We were familiar with Sodick machines from previous employment and they are tried and tested as far as we’re concerned. We also know the guys at Sodi-Tech and the level of support they provide.”
Progress at HLP soon accelerated. After a brief stint in a rented unit the company acquired its own premises in Halesowen, with three pre-owned Sodick wire EDMs in place. However, faced with yet more demand for its services, the company recently sought to expand its capacity even further.
“Along with the size, the AQ750L Premium has introduced us to new-generation technologies such as linear drives, which compare favourably against our other machines that feature ballscrews,” says Hobbs. “It means that surface quality is enhanced and energy consumption is reduced.
“The Jumbo feeder on the AQ750L Premium means we can load large spools of wire and run some of our longer jobs unmanned, out of normal working hours, which we are insured to do,” adds Hobbs. “This is one example where the new machine has moved us on to the next level, along with precision and speed. I would estimate the new Sodick is 25-30% faster than the machine it replaced.”
For further information www.sodi-techedm.co.uk

As far as cutting tool manufacturers are considered, Lanarkshire-based Gilmour Tools has carved a niche in the local and export industry by manufacturing and supplying specialised cutters for the oil and gas, automotive, and aerospace sectors.

Producing indexable inserts and rotary tools from materials such as carbide, ceramic, PCD, PCBN and CBN, the Larkhall company also manufactures tool holders in-house.
Manufacturing bespoke solutions as opposed to ‘off-the-shelf’ product lines is how this Scottish manufacturer competes with the larger ‘economy-of-scale’ cutting tool OEMs. With all products designed to customer specifications, Gilmour Tools has an output in the region of 250,000 tools per annum, with upwards of 70% being exported. To keep pace with demand, the company has invested heavily in the latest EDM technology from Fanuc.
Commenting upon this relationship, Gary Gilmour says: “We started buying Fanuc machine tools over 20 years ago to replace creep-feed grinders, and we currently have a total of 11 Fanuc models on site. The latest arrival is the next-generation RoboCut C400-iB wire EDM machine. All of our Fanuc models run around the clock, seven days a week. The Fanuc service is second to none and the CNC is an easy-to-use universal system. This means that our staff can easily transition from one machine to the next, regardless of model or age.”
Referring to why the company has recently acquired the RoboCut C400-iB, Gilmour says: “The oil and gas market has grown dramatically, which is mostly overseas, so we knew we had to buy more machines and employ more people. Since our journey started with Fanuc, they have always been very helpful with regards to support, financing and payment plans.”
For further information www.fanuc.eu