UK Precision hopes to bowl over competition (Video)
1 min read
UK Precision, a precision engineering company based in Somerset, has helped business man Frank Thorogood develop and engineer polypropylene prototypes of his cricket ball bowling tool, Sidearm, for the Barclays One Small Step Competition.
Endorsed by world class cricketers Graham Gooch and Paul Grayson, Sidearm provides a batsman with quick, accurate, swinging and seaming deliveries with little effort, replicating all the rhythms and trajectories of a real bowler.
UK Precision was approached by Mr Thorogood after prototypes from China failed to reach the required quality.
Applications engineer Emlyn Jones from UK Precision explains what was involved: "Although at first glance the product looks like a simple piece of engineering, it was actually a lot more complicated and needed six or seven set-ups in order to successfully manufacture the prototype."
UK Precision used Solid Works software to view a 3D model of the product and then fed the information into a computer aided engineering programme to execute a virtual machining process that would generate the machine tool programme. The work was then carried out on a Yang 1000 vertical machining centre, using a variety of workholding devices.
Mr Thorogood hopes that the outcome of the Barclays competition, to be announced on 15 July 2010, will enable him to start the manufacture of up to 10,000 Sidearms over the next 12 months.
Related video: The Sidearm in action
