Senior Aerospace Bird Bellows, have purchased a 60 tonne hydraulic C-Frame Press from AMOB. This machine will be instrumental in their application of precision-forming titanium parts for the aerospace sector.
This new machine, the PHC-60T C-Frame Press, will be effective in improving and updating SABB’s ability to form air conditioning reducers for aeroplane ducting from material such as titanium.
When asked what issues they were facing in their fabrication process before the installation of their new C-Frame Press, SABB’s Manufacturing Engineer Rich Bailey said, ‘This machine really saved us time. The previous machine was not automated.’ He continued, ‘with the old press we used, we had worked out that it took roughly four hours for a full production run, including tool changeover. The new AMOB machine takes us ninety minutes from start to finish. In all, we save two and a half hours.’
Throughout the production process of this bespoke machine, AMOB and SABB worked closely together, including an in-person visit to AMOB’s headquarters. While at our in-house manufacturing facility in Portugal, key representatives from the engineering team of SABB observed a factory acceptance test (FAT) of their exact application before signing off on the machine’s capability.
ABOUT BIRD BELLOWS
Senior Aerospace Bird Bellows was established in 1975 as a family run operation, serving the oil, gas and petro-chemical industries. Since then, they have evolved into a market-leading supplier of precision sheet metal fabrications to the aerospace and fluid control industries, and now forms part of the Senior PLC engineering business. SABB describe their core competencies as ‘the design, manufacture and qualification of flexible joints and pressure duct Systems for air management Systems (AMS), environmental control systems (ECS), bleed air systems, cabin pressurisation, de-icing, and fuel & waste applications’.
NEW MACHINE
Their machine, manufactured specifically for Senior Aerospace Bird Bellows, is a high-tech modern solution to a very particular application. Due to the PHC-60T replacing an existing machine, the new press was designed around existing tooling. To complement this existing tooling, AMOB designed a bespoke table and tool alignment system within the press.
This C-Frame press, with adjustable top, bottom, and working area limits, includes an advanced touchscreen operating system, to which a variable speed ram (among many other features), can be programmed. This variable speed capability is essential in the forming of titanium. Additionally, and most critically to SABB, the machine has individual ‘tool change’ settings This in part allows for swifter tooling changeover operations and more efficient production runs. In Senior Aerospace Bird Bellows’ case, over 60% time saving!
‘We’re very happy with the support up until now, and I am confident that AMOB will fully support SABB in the future’ commented Rich Bailey.
‘It has been a pleasure to assist Senior Aerospace Bird Bellows in the modernisation of their manufacturing process. To be able to save them so much time in production runs has huge implications on the ways in which their business can operate going forward’, said Service & Start-Up manager Rob Manners. He continued, saying, ‘I look forward to seeing the company grow more with this new investment in their arsenal.’
