New and Used CNC Machine Tools - C DUGARD Ltd , UK - News - Smart Moves at BOWMILL

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C DUGARD Ltd
75 OLD SHOREHAM ROAD
HOVE,
EAST SUSSEX
BN3 7BX
ENGLAND
TEL: +44 (0) 1273 732286
FAX: +44 (0) 1273 203835
Email: info@dugard.co.uk

Smart Moves at BOWMILL - INCREASED AIRBUS ORDER

Following notification of an increase in

order quantities from a major customer, specialist aerospace subcontractor, Bowmill Precision Engineering, knew it had to react fast to meet new delivery schedules. Within five weeks of placing an order with C Dugard of Hove, Sussex for two Dugard Eagle 660 and two Eagle 850 vertical machining centres, they were delivered, installed and commissioned at the company’s Poole headquarters. However, according to engineering director Mick Epps not only did Dugard impress him with its delivery, it also succeeded in helping to ‘reshuffle’ 24 existing machines on Bowmill’s factory floor to best accommodate the new Eagles and optimise component flow without disrupting production.
For the past three years, Bowmill has been supplying Messier-Dowty with kits of machined landing gear components for the Airbus A320 programme. Each kit consists of 68 parts, all machined from solid, such as slave links, up-lock bolts and complex brackets which have to be delivered in batches of 12 every 10 days on a Kanban system. Such has been the success of the contract, significant endorsements have been given by the customer for Bowmill achieving 100 per cent on-time deliveries. Recently Messier-Dowty asked Bowmill to quote for machining a previously fabricated component that was to be added to the kit. Not only was Bowmill able to beat any competitor’s price, but its capability provided a factor that helped the custome

r decide to retain the business in the UK rather than outsource to the Far East. Then in tandem with winning the additional part, the company also received notification of an acceleration of the A320 programme with the delivery rate increasing to 16 kits every 10 days. Explains Mick Epps: “We recognised immediately that we required three additional machining centres and as we had recently very successfully installed a Dugard Eagle 660 machine we had no hesitation in returning to the same supplier for the next orders.
The subsequent order for one four-axis Dugard Eagle 850 and two Dugard Eagle 660s, of which one had four axes, was enhanced by the addition of a further Dugard Eagle 850 fitted with a 10,000 revs/min optional spindle to help ease capacity difficulties when machining parts, such as barometric flight control components. At the same time Bowmill also ordered a pre-owned Jacobsen toolroom grinder and part-exchanged a Quasar horizontal machining centre that was handled through Dugard’s used machinery operation in Hove. Within five working weeks Bowmill had its first machine on site and within the next week all of the machines were installed and commissioned. A key element in the machine selecti

on was footprint. Space at Bowmill is at a premium and so the compact nature of the Dugard Eagles, being 2,000 mm by 2,060 mm for the 660 and 2,360 mm by 2,060 mm for the 850 version, was paramount. Says Mick Epps: “To optimise component flow and make the best of the floorspace, Dugard worked with our people and moved 24 machines. We decommissioned on a Thursday morning and by Monday morning we were back in production which we all reckon was an incredible achievement.
Following a 35-year history Bowmill has grown to become a £4.5 million turnover business employing 65 people. The company is a member of the Society of British Aerospace Companies and the West of Engl

and Aerospace Forum. Last year it won the WEAF Overall Competitiveness Improvement Award, in part thanks to its planned programme of investment. Concludes Mick Epps: “This latest project is a further excellent example of our capability to respond to customer needs, and Dugard’s record of its machine installations with us and the effort they are willing to put in by way of support is so very helpful in enabling us to achieve our objectives.”

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