Artec Engineering precision metal spinners has 60 years experience in the metal spinning industry and have positioned itself as one of the industry leaders in metal spinning since 1964. During our 60 years in the industry, we have been fortunate enough to build some long standing business relationship with a wide range of customers, manufacturing repeat parts for decades.
One of our oldest customers in the fan industry, produces a range of fans, which are used in a variety of industrial processes. We produce a wide range of parts from inlets to cones from 200mm dia. inlets up to 1200mm dia. backing plates.
Artec Engineering has recently produced four different sized inlets in CZ108 Brass.
Each variant has its own tooling, which we produced at Artec Engineering Ltd. The tooling starts as a solid billet, which is then carefully machined to create the correct profile of the inlet. Having the capabilities to manufacture the tooling in house, enables our highest standards to be maintained and additionally reduces the lead time involved, compared to longer lead times associated with tooling being produced off site by sub-contractors.
Manufacturing Process 1
The first stage of the manufacture process is to take a brass sheet and work out the best yield from the sheet. This is important for two reasons. The first is to ensure that the customer gets the best value for their part and the second is to reduce waste material.
Our sheet metal worker then places the sheet on the guillotine bed and measures the distance to cut the sheet into squares. The squares are slightly bigger than the diameter of the blank required for the spinning. A square is then placed centrally on the circle shear, which clamps the blank and cuts the material to create a circular blank. To locate the blank centrally on tool on the spinning lathe, an 8mm dia. hole is drilled centrally.
This blank was then taken to our Quality Inspector, who measures the blank dia. to ensure that it meets the diameter requirements as specified on the manufacturing card. When this inspection was signed off, the remaining squares are circled and labelled to go onto the next stage of production.
Manufacturing Process 2
Each variant of the inlets goes through the same manufacturing process which first began with our senior metal spinner taking the correct tool and calibrating this onto the spinning lathe. This stage is crucial to ensure that the tooling is secured and rotating correctly.
The brass circular blank, is then located on to the tool and secured. The metal spinning operator then starts the hydro-spinning lathe, so the blank is spinning at high resolutions. Pressure is applied to the blank using the wheels, which is controlled by the operator, who feels how much pressure to apply.
This process is highly skilled, as too much pressure will tear the material and cause the part to be scrapped.
For these particular range of parts, the form of the spinning cannot be produced in one process. The spinning is formed to a point before it must be annealed. This annealing process help to make the material more malleable, so it can be stretched and reduces the chance of the material splitting.
As the spinning, will have a circular disc, after the spinning has been formed, this excess material has to be cut from the spinning to create the inlet. Again, the spinning has a first off inspection from our Quality Inspector before the remaining parts are produced.
This is just another one of the high quality spinning’s produced by Artec Engineering Ltd.
Please get in contact today and see how Artec can assist you with your next project today
