In the aerospace industry, compliance with standards is not just a requirement in manufacturing, but a culture embedded in every aspect of a business. With accreditations that include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and AS: 9100, as well as multiple OEM approvals, ensuring high workspace standards is imperative at Senior Aerospace Weston.
Working primarily with OEMs like Rolls-Royce, Airbus, MTU Engines, Spirit Aerosystems, and many others, the company manufactures a variety of aerofoil and aerostructure components for various platforms in the commercial aviation market.
Founded in 1937 and acquired by Senior plc in 2011, the Earby-based manufacturer is now part of an FTSE 250-listed group with over 6,800 employees in 12 countries.
As part of a global group in the top echelons of aerospace manufacturing with 3 to 5-axis machining and grinding, CAD/CAM, assembly, NDT, surface treatment, robotic polishing, and much more – achieving high standards is critical.
Gary Bell from Senior Aerospace Weston, says: “Here at Senior Aerospace Weston, we believe in maintaining good, orderly, clean standards, housekeeping, and a good working environment. A clean working environment is essential to ensure that we produce our high-specification components.”
Providing more detail on the machine shop, Bell added: “We make a variety of aerospace components for different aircraft programmes and work with a range of materials. This is predominantly aluminium, but we also work with titanium, bronze, nimonic, inconel and steel.
“We have lots of different types of CNC machining centres with 3, 4, and 5-axis machines. Each machine is specified to manufacture certain types of components, and this is why we have such a wide variety.”
CLEARING THE MIST
With Filtermist extraction units, including the FX6002 and FX7002 on 58 of the company’s machine tools, it is imperative that oil mist is extracted from the machines.
Bell notes: “The type of high-speed machining that we undertake produces oil mist that needs removing from the working environment. Our first thought was to look at the industry-leading standards, and Filtermist was the name that first came up.
“We engaged with them straight away, and they were extremely helpful in giving us some advice and support. They were able to come on-site and carry out a free survey so that they were able to specify exactly what equipment would be available to support our needs.”
The company operates machine tools from leading manufacturers such as Matsuura, DN Solutions via Mills CNC, Grob and Hermle among others on-site.
Bell continues: “In total, we have 58 Filtermist extraction units. Some machines require multiple Filtermist units to be installed to ensure the volume is extracted quickly and efficiently.
“We have a huge variety of machines, and the Filtermist units are flexible enough to accommodate the different types, sizes and requirements of those machines.
“We have machines that are large in scale, so we needed something that was able to extract from all those different types of scenarios effectively.”
Discussing the maintenance requirements and the ongoing relationship with Filtermist, Bell said: “The beauty of the Filtermist system is it is easily serviceable, so we can specify whether the Filtermist units are standalone or mounted to the equipment. They are easily accessible for the service engineers to come in and replace any components effectively and quickly.”
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Bell explains the Filtermist units are fitted with F monitors, which are a really easy-to-use system and, the operators can see at a glance using the traffic light system whether there are any issues with the effectiveness of the extraction.
Using the globally recognised ‘traffic light’ system of coloured warning lights to alert machine operators when the unit needs servicing, the F Monitor measures velocity pressure to check the airflow through the Filtermist oil mist collector is correct.
The Bluetooth-enabled F Monitor 2 measures airflow and time, and the F Monitor 2+ also monitors vibration and motor temperature – making it even easier to identify when the Filtermist unit needs servicing.
For existing customers, the F Monitors can be retrofitted to the complete Filtermist range and are available as an optional accessory on all Filtermist units.
Concluding on this ease of use and maintenance, Bell states: “We can hold a small stock of Filtermist equipment on site, and our maintenance teams can react and make sure that the equipment is kept in a serviceable, well-maintained and efficient manner.
“Maintaining and keeping clean working areas is vital to ensuring that we can continue to supply good quality parts - a clean workshop goes hand in hand with being a leading aerospace manufacturer.”