The Solution
Thompson precision engineered this drill jig which was to be used for an aircraft seat. We were sent the 3D CAD data of the jig, which was modelled as a single solid component. The jig was to be used in the manufacture of aircraft seating, and was to be custom built for an aerospace company.
With the jig being for full-sized seats, machining it from a single piece of aluminium was not a viable option; it would be too expensive for the large block of material, and any problem during machining would have meant the high-value material would be ruined. Therefore, the best option was to make the jig from several pieces of aluminium tooling plate held together by several support blocks at the back. This method of manufacture allowed us to keep the cost down as well as allowing us to manufacture the part on multiple machines at once, saving time at the machining stage. Our CNC engineer was in constant communication with the client to figure out the best possible option for manufacture, and ensure all changes had been approved by the client.
Once the manufacturing method was approved by our client, the 3D CAD had to be updated. This was done by one of our design engineers in our CAD software SolidWorks. The CAD model was split into separate parts and the support blocks added, while keeping the dimensions and features. The new CAD data could then be overlaid onto our client’s original CAD to ensure the accuracy and position of all the components. A complete drawing pack was then produced and passed onto one of our CNC engineers, which allowed the parts to be machined at one of our CNC machining centres.
Final Inspection
Once the separate parts had been assembled together, they were then fully inspected by our inspection department using our CMM machine; this ensures that the finished jig matched the technical drawing within the highly precise tolerances given by the client. A packing crate was custom built for safe shipping of the jig to the client, who was impressed by the fast turnaround and professional of their interaction with us on this precision engineering project.
