Visual Edgecam benefits for aerospace subcontractor

Murray provides a range of cockpit instrumentation, fuel management components, electronic tags and helicopter transmission parts through a variety of manufacturing processes including CNC machining, turning, thread rolling and pressing. Products are subjected to almost 100 per cent inspection, so it is critical that they are high precision. The company's Matchmaker and BostoMatic mills and lathes are all run with Edgecam and when it needs components to be manufactured by wire erosion, Murray Productions know that Edgecam will also drive its subcontractor, Beadle Precision Engineering's Fanuc machine. "We've been using Edgecam and its predecessor for 15 years," says Murray Productions' managing director Warren Bell. "We wonder now, how we ever managed without it. Previously, we would spend days programming at the machine, and not know we'd made an error until the tool crashed into the job." Both he and his machine programmer, Dave Arnold, particularly like the visual aspect of Edgecam. "The solid model helps, because instead of seeing a line move around the screen, we can actually see the chuck and the tool coming over and it gives us collision warnings. "We have never had a collision since we started using Edgecam. Now we only spend a few hours a week on the program, giving us much more time to do other things. The operator follows the path right the way through on the computer screen, and he can liaise with the programmer and ask for amendments before the program is finalised." The company, based in 6,200 ft² premises at Hayes in Middlesex since 1972, works mainly with aircraft-quality aluminium, but also makes components in stainless steel, brass, copper, bronze and titanium, for customers such as: GE Aviation, AgustaWestland Helicopters and Meggitt Sensing Systems.