Aerospace Machining and metal cutting

Murray Productions Ltd

Address : Silverdale Rd., Hayes, Middx., UB3 3BN England

Sales Contact : Warren Bell

Phone : 0208 573 4354

Fax : 0208 573 0152

E-mail : warren.bell@murray-productions.co.uk

High flyer benefits from Matchmaker expertise

Based in Hayes, Middlesex, Murray Productions is a small company with some pretty big customers. With 11 staff and a turnover of around £1 million it is a direct supplier to companies that include GE Aviation and AgustaWestland.

Managing director Warren Bell attributes the company's success to the high level of quality and delivery service it provides. In order to support and enhance this service, machining specialist alloys, Murray Productions has invested in two new machine tools from Matchmaker: a Mini Mill 610 vertical machining centre and a Matchmaker Super Slant 200S two-axis CNC turning centre.

Westland has been a customer since 1960 and Smiths Aerospace (now GE Aerospace) since 1968. As Mr Bell explains:

"They don't stay with the same people unless they have a good relationship with them. What we offer is that we can deliver on time to the quality they require. For GE, for example, we have to deliver 98% on time (and in full) within a five day working window and a maximum of five working days early; with a minimum of 99% on quality."

"The machined parts we do for GE are fairly small items, maybe 12mm by 15mm, with some as small as 6mm by 8mm, and some of the tolerances are pretty hairy. Some of the aircraft instrument parts we make are eventually fitted with ruby bearings and they have to be in line within microns across the part, and we are doing these in batches of 300 at a time. We can do multiple setups of that kind of job on the Matchmaker Mini Mill.

Combining a small footprint with a big aerospace milling capacity, the Mini Mill 610 has traverses of 610mm (X) by 305 (Y) by 460 (Z) and an 8,000 rpm BT 40 spindle. It has a cast construction with hardened and ground slideways and Fanuc control.

The majority of the work that Murray Productions is currently doing for Westland is helicopter components such as gearbox liners, bushes, plugs and inserts for the repair and maintenance of helicopter gearboxes. These are aircraft turned parts on the Matchmaker Super Slant 200S lathe, with second ops such as cross-hole drilling and slot milling carried out on the Mini Mill 610.

The helicopter gearbox casings are magnesium castings around the size of a car and cost around £1 /4 million pound each. Rather than replace the whole gearbox, when a bearing seatings are worn it is bored out and a steel liner inserted into which the new bearing is fitted. With successive replacement cycles the bored out holes get bigger and bigger, so the liners come in a number of sizes.

The biggest of the gearbox components is a 9in diameter ring that is faced and machined on the internal and external diameters on the new Matchmaker lathe. This is fitted with an 8 in chuck as standard, but on this machine the jaws have been extended to take larger diameters.

Warren Bell says that there is plenty of clearance to swing even larger parts, and adds that it is a powerful machine. It needs to be. The gearbox liners are made from aircraft steel, with the blanks cut by water jet. The parts are rough machined to within 3mm of the final size all over the surface and then heat treated before final machining in the hardened state:

The Matchmaker Super Slant 200S turning centre has a 462mm working length, 52mm through spindle bar capacity and features a hydraulic tool turret, programmable tailstock

and Fanuc controller. It was supplied with a magazine bar feed that means the machine can run unmanned, leaving the operator free to do another job.

Matchmaker M/C Ltd Tel: 01372 384180 www.matchmakermc.co.uk

Once the specialist alloys machining process is completed by Murray Productions aerospace precision engineers, who also produce pressings and sheet metal components by punching, spark erosion and thread rolling complete the capabilities roll call.

Please don't hesistate to contact them on

telephone 0208 573 4354 and ask for Warren or Darren.