First off
The first piece is measured in full against the drawing before the run continues. Nothing is assumed from the setup sheet.
Shift board · 06:00 to 14:00Sample data
Line 01 · Press
0 parts/hr
RunningLine 02 · Weld
0 parts/hr
RunningLine 03 · Finish
0 parts/hr
ChangeoverLine 04 · Pack
0 parts/hr
RunningGAUGE ROOM
Tolerance is a temperature problem too.
Steel moves as the shop warms. Set a bore and a shop temperature and see whether the part still passes at the gauge.
Limits 23.98 to 24.05 mm. Measured 24.020 mm at 20°C. Passes. Gauge it cold and it still passes.
PLANT LIST
What is on the floor.
Eleven machines, three of them under five years old. Capacity is listed as the part we can hold, not the table size the brochure quotes.
| Machine | Type | Capacity | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doosan Puma 2600SY | CNC turn-mill, sub-spindle | Ø 340 × 700 mm | 3 |
| Haas VF-4SS | 3-axis vertical machining | 1,270 × 508 × 635 mm | 2 |
| Matsuura MX-330 | 5-axis simultaneous | Ø 330 × 300 mm | 1 |
| Studer S33 | Cylindrical grinder | Ø 250 × 1,000 mm | 2 |
| Bridgeport manual | Toolroom mill | Setup and one-offs | 2 |
| Zeiss Contura | CMM, gauge room | 700 × 1,000 × 600 mm | 1 |
QUALITY
Five checks before it leaves.
In process
Operators gauge every tenth part and log it. The trend matters more than the reading: a drift is a tool wearing, and we change it before it fails.
Final
Sample size by batch, on the CMM, with the report generated from the actual measurements rather than a template.
Paperwork
Material certs, inspection report and works order filed together. Traceable from the delivery note back to the bar.
Packing
Machined faces oiled and separated. Most transit damage is parts rubbing against each other in a box.
ISO 9001:2015EN 10204 3.1 certsUKAS calibrated gaugesPPAP on requestMaterial traceability, 10 years
RECENT WORK
Three job cards.
WO-4471Rail
PartBrake caliper pin
MaterialEN24T, hardened
Quantity2,400 / year
Tolerance±0.008 mm
Lead10 days, call-off
Held on a call-off schedule since 2021. The tolerance is tight because the pin runs dry, and the drawing had it wrong the first time.
WO-4518Marine
PartPump housing
Material316 stainless
Quantity180 / batch
Tolerance±0.02 mm
Lead12 days
Five-axis in one setup rather than three operations. Saved four days a batch and removed the fixture that was causing the ovality.
WO-4602Energy
PartValve seat
MaterialInconel 625
Quantity40 / batch
Tolerance±0.005 mm
Lead18 days
Slow, expensive material that punishes a worn insert. We quote it with the tool cost visible rather than buried in the hourly rate.
QUOTING
Send a drawing, get a price in hours.
PDF, STEP or a photograph of a napkin. If it can be turned, milled or ground, we will tell you what it costs and when it lands.
Fifty pieces for turned work, twenty for milled. Below that the setup dominates the price and you are better served by a prototype shop, which we will happily name.
Yes, on a call-off schedule. We machine the year's quantity in two batches and hold them here, so a repeat is a delivery note rather than a lead time.
We stop and ring you. Roughly one drawing in twelve has a dimension that cannot be held with the others, and finding it before the first cut is the whole job.
3.1 certificates on every batch, filed against the works order for ten years. Ask for a cert from 2019 and you will have it the same day.
Our own gauge room, on calibrated equipment, with the report attached to the delivery. We do not mark our own homework on safety-critical work, where we use an external lab.