ItÂs not every day a company has the opportunity to contribute to a Mars mission. Knowing that your work is helping others to explore the frontiers of space and uncover new scientific discoveries is something that many can only dream about.
But for Birmingham-based GB Precision, this is exactly what happened. Renowned for its expertise in precision engineering, the company was tasked with machining 10 high-precision components, which are due to be on their way into space in 2016.
The spacecraft will be carrying instrumentation designed to detect a wide range of trace atmospheric gases, many of which are important markers of geophysical and/or biogenic activity. It is into this instrumentation that the components machined by GB Precision will be incorporated.
Now, for all this, this project certainly came with a few challenges. For a start, pinpoint accuracy was essential and the margins for error small. An indication of the complexity of the geometry involved can be given by the fact that each component incorporated approximately 100 different individual features, including cut-outs and reliefs, with a minimum of four datum points on different faces of each component, with a required machining tolerance varying between 3 Â 20 microns. To give you a sense of scale, the largest of the parts would fit within a 90mm cube and the smallest a 30mm cube.
On top of this, the components were machined from RSA, which is a very pure, high-value form of aluminium. ItÂs not a surprise, therefore, that mistakes simply werenÂt an option.
As Paul Turner, Director at GB Precision explains, ÂThis was a very challenging project. Its successful completion depended on a number of factors, all of which had to be right. Obviously the milling machine itself had to be up to the job, plus, the metal cutters had to be very accurate and all the feeds and speeds correct  in this environment, programming really mattered.Â
To help solve these challenges, GB Precision relied on PTC Creo Parametric technology as well as support from Concurrent Engineering to visualise and interrogate Parasolid CAD models. This ensured the most appropriate machining strategy was developed for each component. In addition, it was also used during a later of the process, to develop the 2nd op. fixturing.
GB Precision has been working with Concurrent Engineering for the best part of a decade. Working with Concurrent Engineering meant that GB Precision was able to access experts, who could respond to support enquiries quickly with the answers needed to make real progress.
Read the full story at: http://www.concurrent-engineering.co.uk/gb-precision-case-study
