A continuous improvement (CI) programme implemented by gear-manufacturing specialist Gibbs Gears at its facility in Stoke Mandeville is helping the company to increase productivity levels and overall efficiency, improve manufacturing flexibility and secure more orders — especially from within the global aerospace sector.
It supplies customers with parts used in wing surface actuators, engine controls, epicyclic fuel pumps and thrust-reverse units — to name but a few.
A key element of the CI programme, which was introduced 18 months ago and is on-going, is a project to rationalise and streamline the company’s manufacturing operations, systems and processes.
This involved undertaking an in-depth audit and analysis of the company’s machining capabilities and capacity, as well as a comprehensive review of its existing machine tools, ancillary equipment and investment decision-making procedures, with the aim of making them more effective and better aligned to the company’s future machining needs.
One result of this project has been Gibbs Gears’ decision to make Doosan fixed-head lathes and turning centres — supplied by Leamington Spa-based Mills CNC Ltd (
www.millscnc.co.uk) — its preferred supplier of turning technology.
The audit undertaken by Gibbs Gears into its existing machining capabilities revealed ‘typical’ issues familiar to many component manufacturers.
Managing director Reece Garrod says: “Our machine shop comprised a myriad of different machine tool makes and models that we had acquired over the years. These machines — with their different capabilities, capacities and controls — limited our manufacturing flexibility and affected our speed of response.
“Of particular concern was our ability to seamlessly transfer programs and parts between machines; and because machine operators were more familiar with — say — just one or two machines, we couldn’t always deploy staff where they were needed most.”
Strategic decisions
On the basis of the audit, Gibbs Gears made a number of strategic decisions. With regard to the company’s turning operations these included: sliding-head lathe work for small high-volume part production would be out-sourced rather than handled in-house; in-house turning operations would focus on the use of fixed-head lathes and multi-tasking turning centres; Fanuc control systems and machines equipped with them would become the standard; and Doosan lathes and turning centres from Mills CNC would become the preferred turning platform.
Mr Garrod says: “Our previous experience of Doosan machines and Mills CNC has been positive. In March 2012, we invested in a box guide-way Puma 2600SY lathe with a sub-spindle and Y axis. This machine helped us to improve part accuracies and repeatability, as well as achieve superior surface finishes and significant reductions in set-up times and cycle times.
“We have since bought three more Doosan multi-tasking lathes — a Lynx 220LSYA in October 2014, followed by a Lynx 220LYA and Puma 2600LY in April this year. All four lathes are being used to machine gear blanks and work-holding fixtures — and they haven’t missed a beat since being installed.”
Already AS9100 Rev C-accredited, Gibbs Gears has recently invested in the latest CMM gear inspection technology and advanced CAD/CAM software; the company has also embarked on a joint business venture with a leading Indian manufacturer. The benefits include: being able to supply ‘regionally based’ customers with high-precision aerospace components such as gears and splined shafts; and having the additional capacity and capability to manufacture higher volumes of routine and standard parts for the international market.
Furthermore, the company is continuing to implement ‘lean manufacturing’ best practice across all of its operations; and under the stewardship of lean-manufacturing manager Paul Stevens, Gibbs Gears has introduced SQDCI (safety, quality, delivery, cost and inventory) to help monitor the company’s key performance indicators relating to manufacturing.