Colourful Can-Do Attitude: A Journey to Canning Machine Perfection
When Carnaud Metalbox (https://cmbe.com/ ), a leading manufacturer of canmaking machinery needed a partner to develop the highly complex components used in their new reformat™ Decorator machine, CLE were their first-choice engineering partner due to our experience and track record
Our solution was to develop highly efficient machining methods for two tightly toleranced and complex castings, which play a vital role in the assembly which precisely controls the position of the can when it is being printed at speeds up to 2000 cans per minute.
“Clitheroe Light Engineering are an important supplier in CMB’s supply chain, who we partner with to develop critical components for new can making machinery.
An example is the ‘Mandrel arm housing’ from the new CMB reformat™ Decorator. we required a precision machined part made from a casting, and Clitheroe delivered a quality product on time which was key to the successful project.
Daniel Egerton, Head of Technical, CMB”.
Finally, when the customer had a supply chain problem that impacted production, CLE provided flexibility by delivering machined parts to the customer on a daily basis to ensure they could continue with their assembly and testing. This service saved them time and freed up working capital allowing them to focus on their core capabilities rather than the continuous headache of problem solving supply chain issues.
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Previously they used a aluminium housing which was manufactured from a casting. The expense of producing castings and the uncertainty of foundry production in small batches meant that an alternative solution was needed. CLE worked with the customer to resolve their issue by reverse-engineering the part so that it could be manufactured from a solid billet.
The CLE team provided a turnkey solution to this issue by designing and producing a part in-house. This required producing a CADCAM software 3D model, precision tolerance turning operations, complex five-axis machining, hard anodising, manufacturing and assembly of a bush and pressure testing the final sub-assembly.
Once a sample batch of parts were completed, the customer attended to review and sign them off at CLE. Our engineers then forwarded full dimensional details to the customer’s design team and they were able to update the technical drawings to match.
With the customer’s design team supervisory oversight, CLE handled the entire supply of this part from material procurement to delivery of finished parts ready for final assembly. We have since seen repeat requirements in varying quantities from one off to several hundred. We are able to manage any variation in requirements and deliver conforming, reliable precision products thus significantly reducing the customer’s previous supply chain issues. CLE also holds stocks of finished products to facilitate unexpected peaks in customer demand.
