A material relationship
As a multi metal full service provider Amari Aerospace supplies pre-cut billets as well as bar stock material
With the move from investment castings to billets as the starting point for aerospace components, the relationship with its material supplier Amari Aerospace is critical to the success of Arden Precision.
Managing director, Don Ryan, explains that the use of investment casting as a source of raw material to produce components has dramatically declined over the past 10 years or so. “It has been replaced by fabricated or machined from solid components,” he says. “The advantages are strength, lightness and availability. For investment casting you require tooling, with design requirements. Working with solid billet material from our supply partner, Amari Aerospace, we are able to bring products to the marketplace much quicker – often within a four week period. This time reduction is significant as the design process often runs late on the project schedule and we can add value by bringing the project back on time.”
Time is often a scarce resource in the aerospace industry and it is a key controller at Arden Precision. “Our quality is good, so for us the goal is on time, in full (OTIF) delivery,” Don Ryan says. “We can’t start the process without the raw material, so Amari Aerospace’s delivery on its promise directly affects ours, which is why we work in partnership. As a business we are self contained and once Amari Aerospace has provided the processed raw material we can add further value via machining – which is our core to enhance customer value to the product with competence. We do our own painting, coating and assembly so very little is subcontracted out. This way we keep control over the process. Going outside means you join a queue and you are in danger of not meeting your scheduled delivery date.”
As a multi metal full service provider Amari Aerospace supplies pre-cut billets as well as bar stock material for around 2,500 live part numbers with workpiece sizes varying from 10 mm squaredright up to 800 mm squared. Every piece of cut material supplied by Amari Aerospace has the customer part number, cast number, and grain flow (on rolled material) dot peen etched on to it to aid traceability.
Some of the aircraft grade aluminium billets used by Arden Precision are very expensive but the company shares its production visibility so that Amari Aerospace has the opportunity to work with the extrusion and rolling mills to take some of the cost out. “Rather than us placing a random order for 10 billets, if we have visibility of 50 billets we give that to Amari Aerospace so its staff can work with us on cost,” Don Ryan confirms.
For new components the customer will come to Arden Precision with the solid model design for a part and a calculated price, which as Don Ryan says can sometimes be a bit challenging. He continues: “Our relationship with Amari Aerospace is very successful in this scenario. The staff at Amari Aerospace will look at the opportunity and investigate the options we have with material manufacturers to cascade the project down the chain. It means that we can possibly meet the customer’s needs – we are not just saying no we can’t achieve that cost.
“By involving our preferred suppliers we have a chance of providing the customer with what they want, possibly with a different sized billet or alternative specification of material. The customer is open to these suggestions early on in the project, and our relationship with them means we get involved for our knowledge and experience.”
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