DN SOLUTIONS

The UK's aircraft and aerospace parts market is the second largest in the world after the United States. Demand for aircraft and aerospace components has increased in recent years both domestically and internationally, said HEC Precision, a company specializing in aerospace parts processing and multi-axis processing in the UK. Since purchasing and installing Doosan Machine Tools' multitasking turning centers at  its production sites, HEC Precision has not only  improved  its productivity but has also actively responded to diverse customer needs including super-precision machining and complex shape machining.

We can operate the machine tools at night with a smart machining system, thereby improving our productivity, enhancing the utility of our machine tools, and reducing our costs.

Challenge

“We had to choose excellent equipment for super-precision aerospace parts processing!”
According  to a  report  released by  the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)  in 2016, the global aircraft market will grow to US$ 5.6 trillion, with demand  for an additional 38,050 aircraft, by 2034. Recently, the demand for low-cost aircraft has surged in emerging economies, particularly China and India, enabling the UK's aviation industry, which ranks second in the global aircraft and aerospace parts market, to grow steadily."With the recent expansion of the low-cost aircraft market as well as the large-sized aircraft market, the demand for small aircraft is expanding rapidly," said Kevin Manhood, managing director of HEC Precision. "In  line with the increasing demand for aerospace parts in connection with the A350 project, our company has carried out facility investments with the aim of supplying high-quality super-precision parts to our customers in a more stable manner."

Predicting  that demand  for aircraft will expand  in emerging countries such as China and India, in particular, as well as in the UK, HEC Precision decided to purchase 
machine tools that would deliver high-precision, high-quality, high-productivity work performance as part of its plan to respond rapidly to changing markets without incurring an excessive financial burden.Having used Doosan machine  tools  for eight years and experienced their excellence as well as Doosan's responsiveness  to any management or  service requirements, HEC chose DMT’s PUMA 3100Y, a multitasking  turning center, without hesitation and installed it in its Southall plant in August 2015.

Solution

Ultra-Precision High-Speed Machine Tools to Cope with Expanding Demand for Aerospace PartsHEC Precision  is currently using the PUMA 3100Y to process aluminum aerospace parts that require ultra-precision machining. Notably, the machine tool can carry out flexible machining using 50mm, 80mm, and 100mm diameter bars, but it is also ideal for multi-axis-based multitasking. Moreover,  it minimizes the need for operator intervention and can be operated at night  with a smart machining system,  thereby  improving productivity, enhancing the utility of the equipment, and  reducing costs.  In addition,  the machine  tool offers superior structural rigidity of the box guideways, 
ensuring stable performance under any processing conditions, minimizing  thermal displacement, and guaranteeing excellent accuracy during  long-time machining operations.
In addition,  the  three available spindles  -  including a spindle of 30 kW / 3000 r / min  - deliver the best performance under diverse processing conditions, and as such are capable of processing diverse parts with the materials that customers want, including stainless steel, titanium and Inconel. HEC is highly satisfied with 
the PUMA 3100Y.

"Since 2015 we have seen  increasing demand  for a variety of aircraft components in connection with the A350 aircraft project," said Kevin Manhood, managing director of HEC Precision. "We established a  facility investment plan  to meet our customers'  increasing needs and supply our products  in a more stable manner." He made  the  following remarks about  the background to the purchase of Doosan machine tools:

"The PUMA 3100Y boasts high productivity, precise machining ability, and convenient operability. With a ±65mm Y-axis and the 7.8kW / 5000 r / min milling spindle, and capability for single setup, this machine tool has reduced our machining times and manpower.It performs superbly for processes requiring complex and precise machining at high speed. In addition, the machine  tool enables HEC Precision  to achieve  the desired precision thanks to its solid structure, superior rigidity, and the minimized thermal displacement of the spindle and axis. It also had a big advantage in that it was possible to start production quickly due to its ease of installation.