When our client came to us for help, they already had a system in place for the drilling of Aston Martin Rapide windscreen wiper arms. With high levels of scrap, Presbar Diecastings a Manchester based Aston Martin tier two supplier, needed a replacement fixture in double quick time. With the original budget spent, the cost of the fixture would have to be kept to a minimum.
Our approach was simple and pragmatic, a hallmark of our manufacturing engineering approach. We used standard parts for the clamping elements to ensure easy and low cost maintenance. We applied our knowledge of Single Minute Exchange of Dies philosophy to the datum location of both components and fixture-to-machine; thus ensuring rapid set-up times. We designed the fixture to hold four wiper arms at any one time. A 400% increase on the single part fixture previously used. The fixture could also hold left or right hand variants or a combination, allowing reduced tool inventory, reduced set-up and improved flexible manufacturing operations.
Working with one of our toolmaker partners we delivered the fixture on time and to budget. Our client happily reported that scrap has all but been eliminated and the fixture has given many hours of reliable and trouble free service, helping them turn a commercial headache into profitable work