Investment by Ricardo in gear-manufacturing machines has improved productivity and extended capability, as the recent investment of £1.5m in a Klingelnberg spiral bevel grinder underlines.

The Klingelnberg equipment is now installed and commissioned at Ricardo’s Midlands Technical Centre in Leamington Spa, and is producing components of precision and quality for the current range of motorsport and sports car transmissions being made by the company, while simultaneously supporting the development of a new series of products destined for market release in the near future.
In addition, the company has acquired new design and quality assurance capabilities through software upgrades such as the KIMOS (Klingelnberg Integrated Manufacturing of Spiral Bevel Gears) software package from Oerlikon.
Dick Elsy CBE, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, recently toured the Ricardo Midlands Technical Centre to see the new equipment in action, and said: “It’s great to see Ricardo at the forefront of digital manufacturing with investment in adaptive machining. Their new spiral bevel grinder is already delivering great results in terms of process capability and productivity improvement. I was very impressed”.
Ricardo Performance Products MD Martin Starkey, adds: “The investment in manufacturing technology and software, including the purchase of the Klingelnberg grinding machine, has enhanced Ricardo’s capability to design, analyse, manufacture and inspect bevel gears with a closed-loop system. This willingness to invest underlines our commitment to digital manufacturing development, and the new technology is a key enabler in supporting our customers with more advanced solutions, meaning they can look forward to even higher standards of product quality and shorter lead times.”
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