Traditionally a supplier to automotive, electronics and industrial engineering, the €70 million turnover Leipold Group has begun manufacturing connecting elements – in particular, fork joints, rings and bushings made from a range of different metals such as high-alloy steels, titanium and other special alloys – for products including the Airbus A380 and A350.
It produces these articles, many of which feature extremely challenging geometric shapes on machines including the high-performance Sprint 50 double-spindle turning centre by DMG Mori. For the individual machining stages, the company uses custom tools and custom machine elements, which are designed and produced in its own toolmaking department. With three sites in Germany and one in the USA, it has an inventory of 250 production machine tools.
In this process, Leipold has taken responsibility not only for production but also for quality assurance. In a downstream production stage, the manufacturer uses a 3D coordinate measuring machine to ensure quality. The tolerances for boring diameters, roundness and coaxiality are in the micrometer range.
The background to the portfolio expansion is a new partnership with GMT, which makes anti-vibration componentry. Because machining is not one of the core competencies of that aviation supplier, it has outsourced machining production to external suppliers ever since it set up the business division. Previously, GMT tended to award contracts to smaller turning shops. Recently, faced with continuing aerospace growth, it rethought that strategy. Seeking a reliable partner for the production of critical turned parts in high volumes, GMT turned to Leipold.
GMT has a subsidiary in Clifden, County Galway, Ireland, and a sales office in Leeds under the name GMT Rubber-Metall-Technic Ltd.
