A new 17,500sq ft factory was opened in October by the Burnley-based sub-contractor BCW Engineering (
www.bcw-engineering.co.uk), and a similar unit is being built next door, specifically to drive the firm’s expansion in the aerospace industry.
The extra floor area will bring the total factory space occupied by BCW in Burnley to more than 100,000ft2. The company’s latest two buildings and the acquisition of three new machines — two large-capacity machining centres and a co-ordinate measuring machine (CMM) — represent an investment of over £1 million.
One of the machining centres — a Japanese-built five-axis Makino MCD 2016 horizontal-spindle twin-pallet model — is noteworthy for being one of only four such machines in the UK (the other three are housed under one roof in the South West).
Interestingly, BCW’s technical director and group engineering director both worked for another aerospace sub-contractor, where this Makino machine was previously installed.
Together with engineers from Track Machine Tools Ltd (a division of BCW Engineering) and supported by the service department at Thames Ditton-based NCMT Ltd (
www.ncmt.co.uk) — Makino’s sole UK agent — they undertook the refurbishment of the MCD 2016 over a 10-week period.
The machine, which further confirms BCW’s position as a notable player in the aerospace supply chain, has a work envelope of 2,000 x 1,600 x 1,300mm and a rotary table that can accept workpieces weighing up to 10 tonnes.
The 50-taper spindle with through-spindle coolant is rated at 50kW 15,000rev/min, making it ideal for machining aluminium ‘structurals’ for aircraft.
Indeed, when the machine was built in 2007, it was specified for the manufacture of Airbus ‘gear ribs’, which is why it was also fitted with a 99-position tool magazine, as well as a 25deg angle head positioned by a 360deg C axis and exchanged with the assistance of a semi-automatic powered head changer. Linear scales are fitted in X, Y and Z for high precision positional feedback to the Makino MPC-2/Fanuc 16MC control.
Operation of a similar machine may be viewed at the Web site (
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGYAekRupb4).
A Dahlih DCM 3216 gantry-type three-axis vertical-spindle machining centre with a 3,000 x 2,000 x 1,600mm work envelope and a large Wenzel gantry-type CMM complete the latest round of investment by BCW, which has continually invested heavily in plant, personnel and infrastructure since its launch in 2002.
This latest equipment joins many smaller prismatic metal-cutting machines and turn-milling centres in other BCW factory units that are producing parts for aircraft engines and landing-gear equipment, as well as safety-critical items — all machined from a variety of materials.
Operations director Trevor Cassie says: “Manufacturing aircraft parts has always been a key focus at BCW, as evidenced by our accreditation to AS9100 Rev C in 2010.
“We also hold many customer-specific approvals, including those from Safran and BAE Systems since 2008, Aircelle a year later, Messier Dowty in 2012, followed by Wesco Aircraft, Unison GE and — most recently — GKN Aerospace, which we gained in August 2015.
“The North West is home to the largest aerospace cluster in Europe, adding over £7 billion to the UK economy, according to The North West Aerospace Alliance, of which we are a member.”