EDM a Necessity

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As an end-to-end precision engineering, design and manufacturing business, Raysun Innovative Design is a company that provides services right the way from initial concept design, through prototyping and project management, on to manufacture and testing. 

The Rugby-based company was founded to do two main things, one side of the business is a tool room with its own design and manufacturing facility that specialises in jigs fixtures and tooling for the aerospace industry, the other division is a ‘fast make’ service that rapidly produces development parts in small quantities for gas turbines. 

The Need For Speed

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Pemberton Engineering is enjoying 25% more throughput since investing in the latest Sodick wire EDM technology. The introduction of a VL600Q from Sodi-Tech EDM at the company’s Wolverhampton facility is driving greater productivity in the manufacture of automotive press tools, jigs and fixtures.

Founded in 1984, Pemberton Engineering has been specialising in toolmaking ever since. Initially focusing on small press tools for the lock industry, which was still flourishing in the Black Country during that time, the company soon shifted its emphasis to the automotive sector. From large tools for truck and tractor components, Pemberton Engineering has evolved into an established supplier of high-precision press tools, including complex progression tooling, to tier-one and tier-two automotive manufacturers.

Young Entrepreneur starts Subcontract firm with a pair of machining centres

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Shortlisted for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2021 and a finalist in 2020, 27-year-old Alun Cheung attended Farnborough College of Technology and then spent a few years working for a nearby composite components manufacturer. After spells at two contract machining firms, in April 2018 he decided to start his own subcontracting business, SLAC Precision Engineering Ltd 

At a time when his friends were buying their first houses, Alun used the money he had saved to rent a factory unit in Basingstoke and put a deposit on a Hurco VM5i 3-axis vertical machining centre (VMC). It allowed him to take on work that could be machined within a 457 x 356 x 356 mm working volume and he quickly established a loyal customer base within the aerospace, automotive, medical, and oil and gas industries. Jobs so far have been mainly in aluminium, stainless steel and nylon, although virtually any material can be machined.

A Pressing need for Automation

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Mitsubishi Electric and local system integrator AR Controls have provided a winning steel sheet press automation solution to Unipres, a major player in the global automotive industry. The upgrade allowed the car part manufacturer to significantly increase the uptime, productivity and energy efficiency of its transfer press, while also empowering operators to have greater insight and control over the production processes.

In its facility in Sunderland, Unipres produces around 560 tonnes of steel press-formed automotive components for global manufacturners, such as Nissan and Honda. In order to keep pace with production demands, the company needed to upgrade its factory automation. 

The pressed parts are produced by using a fully automated, continuous multi-die stamping process. Metal sheets are placed in a multi-axis transfer press, where they are automatically moved across different stations. Each station uses a specific die to press the object into shape. As the metal sheets go through the various die stations, more details are added to their design, until they reach their final form.