A chance partnership between manufacturer Sarginsons Industries (
www.sarginsons.com) and an aerospace student has led to a first class project being delivered — one that further developed aluminium casting and aerospace technology.
Coventry-based Sarginsons, which specialises in complex sand casting and low-pressure die casting, was approached by Coventry University student Saif Arif to sand-cast a bell-crank component for a control column used on military Harrier aircraft.
The 23-year-old re-designed the bell crank to demonstrate that the component could be both stronger and more efficient if it was made hollow.
Mr Arif said: “I came up with the idea of using design software to optimise a bell crank off a military aircraft. I considered using CNC machining to make the component, but the machine at the university couldn’t accommodate the design. Instead, I approached local manufacturing companies. Sand casting was one of my initial ideas, as it seemed capable of accommodating my complex design.
“I was seeing a dead end and needed some help, when Sarginsons said it was happy to help with the project. There were a few adjustments I had to make to my design, based on input from the company.”
After conducting real-time casting simulations with its Magma software, Sarginsons was able to refine the design and manufacture a product that was 33% lighter than the standard bell crank.
Mr Arif said: “I’m delighted with the final outcome. I managed to achieve a first for the project, and it’s great to have helped create an on-going working link between Coventry University and Sarginsons.”
Sarginsons’ David Hayden said: “The company has extremely strong links with academia, and we are currently working on R&D projects with six universities on behalf of a number of automotive companies.
“We welcomed the opportunity to support one of Coventry University’s aerospace students, and we were impressed with Saif’s ingenuity and application. The component we helped him produce ended up being five-times stronger than the original — and much lighter.”