Another major customer had been having difficulty finding a UK supplier that could meet the high quality and lead times required on a range of critical parts. After many attempts, they settled into a pattern of buying large quantities at long lead times from the US. David continues:

"Having seen our Deco and the history we had with them on smaller volume parts, they agreed to conduct trials with us. The Deco was extremely successful in producing the parts; its ability to change from one variant to another quickly enabled us to quote competitively."

AEL competitors with alternate sliding head lathes were bidding for the same job but were having difficulty efficiently machining components from hexagonal bar. The customer specification dictated that the bar must be bead blasted prior to machining to give the ultimate finish required. As all users of sliding head machines will be aware, the guide bush will leave a witness, which on normal hexagon work is acceptable.

Competitors using alternative sliding head technology were unable to satisfy the customer's stringent requirements. In addition to marking, the competitors also had difficulty drilling a 0.3mm diameter hole 9mm deep through the component. A combination of the rigidity of the Tornos backed up by the Tornos engineers' ability to draw from world wide experience of difficult applications and appropriate tooling, paved the way for AEL to successfully produce samples and ultimately win the contract. The 13 employee company now produces the component in 2.5 minutes whilst competitors could only manage a handful of parts in two weeks.

www.aeluk.co.uk