Capital Equipment News July 2018

The space expansion project has allowed the company to install the latest washing technologies.

to handle the big components. The space expansion has also allowed us to install the latest washing technologies, such as ultrasonic cleaning,” says Yorke. He adds that the benefit of ultrasonic cleaning is the improvement in turnaround times. Previously, it would take 7-8 hours to get a cylinder head clean, and with ultrasonic cleaning technology, that task is now done in just an hour. Tech and skills While each region has its own problems, Yorke reasons that some of the challenges are just global. One that will always be a global one is skills shortage. “We are trying to bridge that gap in-house through our own apprenticeship programme. We currently have five apprentices on the floor, of which two are female, and they are the first female apprentices to come through the system,” he says. “The only way to sustain what we do from a skills perspective is to train our own people.” Speaking of some of the new engine trends that have largely informed Metric Automotive Engineering’s tooling regime, Yorke says compared with the old generation of engines, today’s motors come with smaller machining tolerances, while sizing and clearances have also gone a lot tighter. Apart from sizes, Yorke says new technologies in today’s engines are one of the major drivers behind the company’s investments. He reasons that new engines require some different machining

To bridge the skills gap, Metric Automotive Engineering has established its own apprenticeship programme.

processes and some of the standard, conventional machining procedures don’t make the grade anymore. For example, one of the processes employed by Metric Automotive Engineering is circular interpolation. “We now use circular interpolation, which is programmed through our CNC machines to machine tapered bores and extra wide landings to surface finishes and flatnesses that exceed OEM requirements,” he says. With circular interpolation, instead of

the spindle rotating in the middle of the bore, it now moves in an arc around the bore. “These are some of the accurate machining processes that allow us to meet the new tolerances of the new engines. We also use laser to check and record alignment, bend and twist, as well as straightness. Due to the length of the blocks and the accuracy required, you can no longer record these metrics using a straight edge and a filler gauge,” concludes Yorke. ❂

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JULY 2018 27