MAN
A growing demand from customers for lightweight, miniaturized products has led a unique manufacturing collective to invest heavily in developing its micro machining capability.
The Midlands Assembly Network (MAN), which includes Advanced Chemical Etching (A.C.E.), Alucast, Barkley Plastics, Brandauer, FW Cables, Mec Com, PP Electrical, SMT Developments and Westley Engineering, has completed a flurry of orders recently for clients looking to reduce the size of components.
The power generation, semi-conductor and medical sectors appear to be the dominant markets specifying smaller dimensions and more exacting tolerances, with the OEMs in automotive and primes in aerospace also making noises that this is the direction they are moving in.
“Micro manufacturing has the potential to be a massive area for MAN,” explained Rowan Crozier, Sales and Marketing Director at precision presswork firm Brandauer.
“Each company offers a different engineering solution, ranging from electrical control systems and tooling to PCB assembly, wire harnesses, specialist fabrication and injection moulding.”
He continued: “The beauty of the network is that customers can tap into the capabilities of one, two, three or all of our members to meet their manufacturing requirements.”
One such example was a recent order to produce a miniaturised surface mounted contact in copper for a customer in the semi-conductor sector.
Advanced Chemical Etching completed the prototype work to ensure the feasibility of the part and, once that was sampled, tested and approved, Brandauer undertook the volume production.
This involved embracing new technologies to develop progression press tool components that could meet the exacting tolerances required, an activity that could eventually lead to the installation of micro wire EDM and micro machining capabilities within the next two years.
“By using MAN, the customer was able to keep pre-production and volume work with one source, ensuring quality and security of supply,” continued Alan Rollason, Chairman of A.C.E.
“We were also able to add value, through design for manufacture (DFM), at the prototyping stage and, importantly, take some costs out of the process.”
Investment has been a major part of the MAN approach, with Brandauer spending £750,000 on two high speed Bruderer presses and A.C.E. channelling £1m into increasing capacity and the development of a new ‘world first’ etching process with micro capability.
Barkley Plastics has also just installed its first micro moulding facility, which allows the company to mould components with an unparalleled accuracy up to a weight of 1.2g with a 5 tonne clamp pressure.
The machine with full servo drives has a built-in clean room and Hepa filter and is capable of moulding products from watch gears to micro medical components.
“We exhibited at Micro Machining Live last September and the response to our offer was fantastic, with lots of new leads generated that we’re currently working on,” explained Matt Powell, Sales and Marketing Director at Barkley.
“In order to make the most of these opportunities, we’ve just launched a new website www.man-group.co.uk and appointed a dedicated business development manager to work through the pipeline of enquiries.”