Engineering Case Studies

Real projects, stated conservatively.

Timelines reflect normal industry cycles for aerospace, medical and automotive approvals — nothing compressed, nothing heroic. Names withheld per confidentiality agreements; the data is not.

Project · Aerospace & Defence

Flight-Control Brackets

Industry
Aerospace & Defence
Material
Al 7075-T7351
Process
5-Axis CNC Machining
Tolerance
±0.008 mm positional
Quality
AS9100D · AS9102 FAI

Challenge

The incumbent supplier quoted 6-week lead times and struggled to pass the customer's engineering review: the true-position callouts on four Ø12 H7 bores kept falling outside tolerance after heat treat, and every attempt at correction added another week.

Engineering Approach

A machining engineer reviewed the drawing before quoting — no algorithm. DFM change: combine the two 5-axis setups into one, using a probing cycle before the bore pass to compensate for residual heat-treat distortion, eliminating fixture stack-up error between setups.

Result

FAI completed per AS9102 and accepted at first submission. First production batch delivered in 4 weeks; subsequent batches stable at 3.5–4 weeks, roughly 30% under the previous supplier's cycle. TCO improved through fewer fixtures and no repeat-FAI cost.

Project · Medical Devices

Surgical Instrument Collets

Industry
Medical Devices
Material
316L Stainless
Process
CNC Turning + Milling
Tolerance
±0.005 mm slide channel
Quality
ISO 13485 · EN 10204 3.1

Challenge

A European medical OEM was sourcing 316L collets with a ±0.005mm slide-channel tolerance. Batch-to-batch consistency across long-distance supply had been an ongoing risk: incoming inspection rejected occasional lots, and the QA team could not justify reducing checks.

Engineering Approach

In-house measurement on two Zeiss CMMs with a full Gage R&R study on the critical channel; temperature-controlled machining on the shop floor to remove thermal drift as a variable; every shipment accompanied by the CMM report and material certificate per EN 10204 3.1.

Result

Over six months of serial production, dimensional capability (Cpk) on the critical features stayed above 1.33 across sampled lots. The customer's quality team applied their normal process to move the part to ship-to-stock status, reducing their inbound inspection cost — driven by their procedure, not by us.

Project · Industrial Automation

Helical Gear Sets

Industry
Industrial Automation
Material
8620 Carburised
Process
Hobbing · Shaping · Grinding
Tolerance
AGMA 10 tooth form
Quality
ISO 9001:2015 · CMM report

Challenge

A UK gearbox manufacturer specified AGMA 10 helical gears and had repeatedly lost time on design-change confirmations falling into the time-zone gap between the UK and Asia.

Engineering Approach

A dedicated engineer-to-engineer window aligned to overlapping UK working hours for drawing and design-change clarifications. In-house hobbing, shaping and grinding with full process traceability; CMM tooth-form report shipped with every release.

Result

Tooth form and lead error held within the AGMA 10 envelope across releases. On-time delivery of 98.7% sustained over 24 months, tracked in our ERP. No line-down event caused by supply interruption in that period.

Project · Automotive & E-Mobility

EV Motor Housings

Industry
Automotive & E-Mobility
Material
Aluminium (HPDC)
Process
Die Cast + CNC
Tolerance
Per drawing · leak-tested
Quality
IATF 16949 · PPAP L3

Challenge

An EV powertrain Tier 1 needed high-pressure die-cast aluminium motor housings with post-casting CNC machining, under IATF 16949 serial-production requirements — and a supplier who would run APQP properly, not rush to sampling.

Engineering Approach

APQP followed in the normal sequence: process FMEA, control plan, MSA and capability studies completed before tooling approval; PPAP Level 3 package (DFMEA, PFMEA, control plan, MSA, material certs, dimensional layout) submitted in the standard project timeline, not compressed.

Result

The customer's factory quality audit was passed; leak-tightness and critical form tolerances were confirmed on the dimensional layout. The part transitioned to serial production on the agreed schedule — no accelerated approval, the program ran on the timeline their sourcing and quality teams set.

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