Boasting strong supply chain management capabilities. Ford Aerospace has the ability to source and manage suppliers, providing a range of specialist products and services including: Raw material, tooling, castings and forgings, heat treatment, surface treatments, testing, machining and complete supply.
This is an example of a Trunnion Assembly as manufactured by Ford Aerospace. The product was machined, treated, painted and assembled to the customer specification through a combination of in house process and specific supply chain management.
This shim, like many others which we produce, will be manufactured in the CNC milling section. The program for this part will be designed on the latest CAD/CAM software offline, before being transferred to the milling machine to be manufactured in one operation, reducing the need for multiple setups, saving time and allowing lead times to be reduced for the customer.
.
This housing is a component which Ford Aerospace will be producing in large quantities in the future. In order to make this feasible, we have developed a lean manufacturing process which combines and reduces the number of operations required, allowing a more efficient work flow from start to finish.
Our spacers are produced within the CNC turning section, being manufactured complete in one operation due to the machining capabilities that we have. Starting with a raw billet, we machine the part down to the required size and profile before drilling the external holes, all from one setup.
This pressed plate is an assembly of three components. It incorporates a solid plate which is punched from a sheet, as well as two additional pressed components. These parts are treated, painted and part-marked as per the customer’s specifications, providing a high quality finish which will be visible when used in the final product.
The Link is one of many vital parts we manufacture at Ford Aerospace. Being a vital part, the strict process from raw material purchase all the way to final dispatch is mutually agreed with the customer and followed exactly in accordance with their specifications. Ford’s capability is trusted by major OEMs to manufacture a range of flight-critical components.
This End Cap is produced in the CNC milling section and is manufactured in two operations. The milling of the outer profile and the inner features form one operation, followed by the backing off of the part to the correct thickness. This component also received treatments at a subcontractor, as per the customer’s requirements and is painted upon return.
This is one of the many parts which we produce in the CNC Turning section in high volumes and is one of the standard parts that we can offer to our customers, once a price plan has been agreed. The part will be turned from a raw bar, with the external profile being produced before being drilled and then parted off. Parts are then inspected to the customers’ requirements both before and after treatments, with either a sample or 100% inspection being carried out.
Washers are a common component found passing through our shop floor due to the capabilities we have – either turning them from solid bar, or pressing them from sheet material. The method used will depend upon the customers’ requirements, with the addition of chamfers and other operations, such as heat treatments or painting, available upon request.
This housing bush was produced to the customer’s strict specification, which included dimensions with small tolerances, in order ensure that it would fulfil its purpose of joining two further components together. As the part would be visible when in use it was important to ensure that it was painted which would allow it to be aesthetically pleasing, but also to protect the item.
This oil level indicator is initially pressed from sheet material as a blank, using our dedicated aerospace presses. The profile and text is milled onto the face of the blank due to the importance of its positioning, which could not be achieved using other manufacturing methods. The indicator is then sent out for plating and painting to protect the component during its operational life, as it will be constantly immersed in oil.
This part is particularly complex to make, as it must be milled so that the fork is complete and then transferred to a lathe to allow the remaining bar to be turned down to size. It is thread rolled in order to produce a high quality thread and is then sent out to subcontractors for treatment processes.
Despite this collar appearing to be a simple enough part to manufacture, however the dimensions are very tied-up, with limited tolerances on the length, thickness and diameters. For this reason the part must be manufactured undersized to allow the additional treatments to bring the final dimensions in line with the customer’s requirements.
This special washer has been manufactured to a Ford Engineering drawing which contains dimensions that differ to the customer’s original request. This is due to the additional treatment processes which the part must go through in order to allow it to conform to the relevant specifications. These treatments bring the final dimensions of the component in line with that of the customers’ requirements.
+44 (0) 191 454 0141 [email protected]