02 September 2010

Affordable excellence!

RT Quaife's Engineering Ltd's commitment to providing affordable excellence to its customers results in a big investment in Doosan's 'affordably excellent' CNC machine tools.

Global, market-leading transmission technology specialist RT Quaife Engineering Ltd has recently invested in 11 (eleven) new Doosan CNC machine tools supplied by Mills CNC Ltd.

The machines were installed at the Company's (two) facilities in Sevenoaks and Gillingham between March – May 2010, and are being used to manufacture a diverse range of RT Quaife's drive-line products (i.e. gearboxes, gear kits, four wheel drive systems, power take-off units and ATB 'Automatic Torque Biasing' differentials etc.) for its motorsport (car and motorcycle), OEM and military vehicle customers...to name but a few.

The eleven new machines (5 x DNM vertical machining centres, 4 x Puma 280 lathes and 2 x Lynx 220B lathes), represent a significant investment and provide RT Quaife with additional machining capacity and improved manufacturing capabilities at both of its sites, and were selected for a number of different, yet interrelated, reasons.

Explains Director, Michael Quaife:

'We initially were only looking to revamp our milling capabilities at our Sevenoaks site because some of our older machines there were increasingly causing us problems (downtime and inconsistent performance), and costing us money (breakdown and replacement part costs).

'We were also looking for a machine tool supplier who we could work with to help develop and grow our Company still further, and the 26 year partnership between Mills CNC and Doosan gave us the reassurance and confidence that Mills would be more than capable of providing us with the long-term future support for our machines.

'We also weren't entirely happy with the service response times we were receiving from the machine tool supplier of these older machines (sometimes we were left waiting for 2 weeks with a machine down!)'

'We had heard of Mills CNC, and had previously purchased a second-hand Doosan machine through a machine tool auction, a few years ago, and were impressed with its performance.'

Selecting the right gear

The search to find reliable, high-performance and cost-competitive machining centres saw RT Quaife approach Mills CNC and other machine tool suppliers to help clarify and determine their exact manufacturing requirements.

From past experience however, it was clear that RT Quaife wouldn't be making any future investment decisions based purely on the price and performance of the new machines.

Remembers Michael Quaife:

'We liked the look, the spec and the performance of the Doosan vertical machining centres that were presented to us...but we were just as impressed with the approach, technical back-up and service that Mills CNC was able to offer as well. A visit to Mills' facility in Leamington was arranged and we were once again impressed us by the depth and professionalism of the support organisation and structures we saw.

'So, in addition to agreeing what our milling investment should be – we also started talking to Mills about improving our turning capabilities at our Gillingham facility – and these discussions (plus subsequent successful and impressive test cut results by the recommended Lynx and Puma lathes), helped persuade us to purchase 6 x new Doosan lathes as well as the 5 x new Doosan DNM verticals.'

Performance

Since their installation the new Doosan machines have been performing well and have vindicated RT Quaife's decision to make such a significant investment.

The reliability of the new machines means that RT Quaife can not only meet its tight manufacturing deadlines and lead times - it has also meant that the Company has been able to ramp up production.

Something that has also been facilitated by the superior cutting performance (i.e. improved accuracies and repeatability's, and reduced cycle times) of the new Doosans when compared to RT Quaife's older machines.

The precision parts and components manufactured by RT Quaife are varied. Batch sizes can be small (prototypes and one-offs), but for some parts (i.e. those for its OEM customers), much higher volumes are required.

The nature of RT Quaife's work puts a heavy demand on its machine tools. There is seemingly an endless supply of work for its motorsport, OEM and after-market customers – and that means that the Company's machine tools have to deliver...day-in...day-out.

Parts are machined from LM 25 castings, forgings and from solid. Part accuracies and surface finish requirements are tight but are not 'impossibly exacting'.

Says Michael Quaife:

'Reliability is of critical importance. We can't afford downtime.

'In addition to our machines having to cope with 'external' orders coming in from customers – they also machine Quaife-designed parts too. So they're in constant use.

'This high level of reliability is what we wanted and expected from the new Doosan's...and this is what they're delivering.'

'We also wanted the machines to be easy to use and maintain...and the new Doosan's have ticked all the right boxes there as well.'

About RT Quaife

RT Quaife provides a unique 'one-stop' solution for customers, comprising integrated design, manufacture and assembly services.

These capabilities, combined with in-house expertise and 'know-how' allows RT Quaife to offer not only performance gear kits, but also highly-customised transmission solutions in both two and four wheel drive formats for a huge variety of vehicles.

Whether straight-cut, semi-helical cut or helical cut, close-ratio, H-pattern or sequential (or even a transmission set-up system that enables a motorcycle engine to be used in a car, RT Quaife can cater for any and every driveline requirement.

This expertise and 'can do' approach is why RT Quaife excels in all of its target markets and industry sectors.

Motorsport

Motorsport is one of RT Quaife's primary markets, and the Company's products are used (and can be found) in everything from GT circuit racing, rally-cross and rallying.

Not surprisingly, considering RT Quaife's motorsport legacy and pedigree, the Company has developed long-term, technical-partnership relationships with many motorsport clients (GT through to F1) that include Caterham, Ginetta and Radical.

OEM business

This same 'can do' attitude exists within Quaife's volume OEM ATB differential program. The Company's 23,000 square feet plant in Gillingham supplies some of the world's leading car manufacturers (Ford, General Motors, Daimler Chrysler) with transmission technology solutions – the most recent of these being the just completed order to supply 11,000 differentials for the acclaimed Ford RS Focus.

Design capability

RT Quaife has a highly advanced 3D CAD drawing office, which uses the very latest FEA software to ensure in-house and customer designs are optimised before any metal is cut.

This design capability, combined with large-scale, long-term investment in advanced CNC machine tools, automated manufacturing systems, state of the art co-ordinate measuring equipment, a whole raft of equipment for secondary finishing operations and a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, enables RT Quaife to consistently out-perform the market.

New Product development

RT Quaife is constantly developing and refining its product portfolio – and regularly launches new products into the market. A recent example of this in the last 12 months is Quaife's new six-speed, heavy-duty, rear wheel drive universal, sequential gearbox (rated to 750bhp) for endurance racing applications.