Away from the mainstream

摘要

While manufacturing aerospace parts is one thing, there is also the requirement to test, and here, too, there's pressure to reduce, for example, aero engine testing cycles to minimise costs and bring forward the revenue earning part of the engine's life. To measure critical factors such as pressure and temperature, one leading aero engine OEM manufactures special-purpose probes that feature an array of sensors .capable of recording and checking different engine attributes. The machining of the complex, hardened steel probe bodies is undertaken by Coventry-based Hi-Tech Aerospace Components (picture, above), which has specialised in machining since its formation in 1981. The company is also AS 9100:Rev 3B accredited and has NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) approval from the US. Hi-Tech is NADCAP approved to undertake wire, die sink and hole drilling EDM operations.