Since its inception in 1970, AW Precision has grown and evolved continuously to become one of the leading manufacturers of punch and die products in the UK and Europe. The Rugby-based company is undertaking a course of investment, with the latest capital asset to arrive being its second Chevalier SMART-B818 III surface grinding centre from Dugard.

Discussing the business and the reason for the Dugard investment, Andy Whitworth from AW Precision says: “We produce punches and dies for the automotive stamping market. We bought the Chevalier machine as we have to produce location flats on a lot of our products. We also produce blade punches for radiator manufacturers, for which the Chevalier is ideal.”

Speaking about the requirements of those components, he adds: “The location flat has to be accurate because it locates the part in the press tool. So, if that location is out, there’s going to be a big smash in the press tool. If you can imagine that the tool is working at 150 to 180 strokes per minute, or maybe even faster; that is going to make a big bang when it goes wrong. As a result, we have to achieve very tight tolerances, down to 10 µm and often better. Such demanding tolerance and surface finish requirements can also depend upon the grinding wheel. To help, the Chevalier machine has automated wheel dressing, which means we can do lights-out machining while maintaining consistent quality, surface finish and tight tolerances with much-improved productivity.

“I would absolutely recommend this machine to companies using manual grinders,” he concludes. “The Chevalier from Dugard is a real workhorse for us.”
For further information www.dugard.com