Housed in a newly refurbished building, supported by a grant from Birmingham City Council, the department provides high-vacuum heat treatment, using modern furnaces of different capacities for flexible, cost-effective thermal processing of both high volume and small batch metal components.
Seven new positions have been created at the Birmingham site as a direct result the new investment. "We are fortunate in having a good variety of work from different industry sectors, including aerospace, motorsport, power and nuclear suppliers," Tim Pelari, site director, explained. "This gives us the stability to continue to invest for the future with new degreasing facility to be installed early in 2015 enabling the company to offer a sub-contact service and plans for a new vacuum temper furnace later in the year. The range of projects allows us to maintain an interesting and balanced workflow and be confident that we can maintain levels of employment into the future."
There are seven vacuum furnaces on site ranging in load capacity from 250Kg to four tonnes. This includes one of the largest furnaces in the UK accepting loads of four tonnes and over 2.7 cubic metres. Each furnace is scheduled at pre-determined intervals for Temperature Uniformity Survey (TUS) to ensure that it complies with the relevant System Accuracy Test (SAT) as part of Wallwork's continuing compliance to specifications in the aerospace and automotive industries.
"We are problem solvers," Pelari added. "It is rarely just a case of following a specification, we like to understand how, where and why the component is to be used so we can provide the best technical treatment. This approach may lead to an immediate cost reduction, where a heat treatment has been over specified, for example, or longer term savings where a better process improves performance or endurance to reduce life-time component cost. Our on-site laboratory staff, with extensive metallurgical expertise provide complete documentation for quality assurance and traceability."
The department can handle anything from small pressed or machined parts to large forgings. Operating 24/7 and supported by a company owned and operated vehicle fleet, many orders are turned around in a single shift and returned to customers the day following collection, it is claimed.
Wallwork also operates from locations in Manchester and Cambridge in order to provide a complete nationwide service. In addition to thermal processing the company also offers advanced surface coatings to Nadcap accreditation. These services are supported by a well-equipped research and development department, staffed by highly trained scientists and technicians.
