Printer Friendly
Email a Friend
5-Axis Machining Was Needed to Get Ahead
01 Jul 2005
"We had to move into five-axis machining to put clear water between us and the lower-cost competition here in the UK and offshore, " says Mark Kirby, managing director of Coventry based Jetblades Engineering. In mid-June 2003 Jetblades purchased a Mazak Variaxis 630-5X simultaneously controlled, five-axis machining centre. "Within a month of the Variaxis being installed it was flying and we were producing world class components. Now we are able to respond very rapidly to the demand for technically complex components."
"The quantities involved are usually small and lead times are short.
The objective is to smooth the flow of work through this business, which is why we place so much emphasis on machining from solid. The lead time on titanium forgings, for instance, makes the alternative of machining from solid a viable option, particularly for prototypes and preproduction components."
This 22kW, 12 000rpm double column machine is capable of tackling components weighing up to 500kg.
Machining of complex components, whether aluminium, titanium or exotics, is now completed in a single set up.
In 1953 Jetblades was one of the few specialist engineering companies able to manufacture ultra-high specification components for jet engines.
The company's investment in high technology five-axis machining is aimed at reaching new markets such as motorsport and defence, while safeguarding existing aerospace business.
The company now serves a wide range of high technology market sectors.
www.jetblades.com
Related information
For more information on this company visit
