The Luton based company supply the setting masters to automotive customers, and it is of the utmost importance that the masters supplied are the exact sizing replicas of the finished components. In order to achieve this accuracy, the components have to be precision ground from D2 tool steel hardened to 62 Rc using Pact Engineering Ltd’s Studer S30 CNC Grinding Machine. Accepted tolerances for the setting masters are extremely tight, with limits held at + - 0.001 Micron on length and diameter.
Every component that is then manufactured by the customer needs to be checked to ensure that it conforms to drawing tolerances, and the setting master provided by Pact Engineering Ltd. Any differences in size between the manufactured component and the setting master would result in the rejection of the component. The accurate manufacture of the setting masters is, therefore, absolutely crucial to the entire process of component manufacture in order to ensure that they meet the exact, very limited, tolerances required by the automotive customer.
When making the setting masters, Pact Engineering Ltd had to be sure that their sizing was correct and conformed to the international UKAS standard. In order to do so, bespoke setting rings were made to set the gauges with, ensuring accuracy every time. These setting rings then had to be sent away to be checked by an external calibration company and issued with a UKAS Certificate.
Pact Engineering Ltd now ensure the correct measurement of their setting rings using a variety of different sizing methods, including the Bowers Ultima 20-50 set, and a CNC CMM Aberlink co-ordinate measuring system. The Ultima 20-50 from Bowers Group is the perfect instrument for the accurate confirmation of the diameter due to its simple lever operation and constant measuring force, ensuring ease of use and repeatability.
Once the setting masters are complete, they are checked to an even higher level using a ZEISS CNC co-ordinate machine by Pact Engineering’s customer. Since the introduction of the Bowers Ultima into the process, the components have passed the rigid tolerance tests with flying colours. As the value of 6 setting masters is approximately £15,000, Pact Engineering Ltd is incredibly pleased with the results. Managing Director Steve Banfield said:
“Here at Pact Engineering Ltd, we pride ourselves on being able to provide precision component manufacture to the very highest level. I am sure that some companies would steer away from these challenging limits; but we thrive on being able to achieve the near unachievable.”
Based in Bedfordshire, Pact Engineering Ltd offers a wide range of modern sub-contract engineering services. The company prides itself on its state of the art equipment and highly skilled workforce, which enables it to supply complex components and products that meet extremely close tolerances. In addition to machining complex components for the automotive industry, Pact Engineering Ltd also specialises in the following key industries; aerospace, Formula 1, gas and water pump industries, pharmaceutical, medical and special purpose food handling sectors.