THOMPSON CELEBRATES BUMPER CROP OF NEW ORDERS

Friction welding machine manufacturer Thompson continues to defy the economic downturn with a glut of new orders worth more than £5 million.

The flourishing Halesowen-based company has been chosen to supply its award-winning equipment and a range of associated engineering services to component makers in Asia, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

Truck parts manufacturers in China have ordered two machines with another three models destined for a construction machine maker's factories in Italy and Australia.

Thompson puts its success down to the efforts of its dedicated workforce including its eight-strong sales and customer service team, who clinched the deals for the crop of new orders all in a single month.

"In spite of the tough economic climate, we're delighted to have secured this impressive amount of new orders, which includes some from existing customers who remain loyal because of our track record for quality equipment and high levels of customer support," commented Peter Lovegrove, Thompson's operations director.

"This latest success also shows that our determination to invest heavily in our core values of people, products, presence and partnerships continues to pay off, even in the most challenging trading conditions," he added.

Thompson produces machine for world's largest auto axle maker

A Thompson friction welding machine capable of producing more than 150,000 truck axles a year has been installed at the world's largest automotive axle maker in China.

Thompson, the Halesowen-based manufacturer, has also used the world's strongest industrial robot, a KUKA Titan, for the automated component loading/unloading operation at Fuwa's factory in Guangdong Province.

The heavy-duty robot undertakes a series of tasks using a specially-designed, dual-purpose end effector, which means it can hold a trio of unwelded parts at the same time as it unloads a 160kg welded axle assembly from the machine.

After loading the set of components to be welded in to the system, the robot places the finished assembly on to an output conveyor before returning to the input conveyor to pick up its next batch of parts.

Fuwa's Vipan Bhalla said Thompson had been chosen for the project because of the superior build quality, performance and reliability of its truck axle friction welding machines.

Thompson produced the machine in a double-ended design so that two welds can be performed simultaneously to join the fabricated steel banjo to a pair of turned spindles.

Other special features of the machine include a centring bung, a special device for securing the components in position so that tight tolerances can be achieved, as well as a shear flash removal tool.

"This is one of our largest automation projects to date and represents the first time that we have integrated such a heavyweight robot model with a friction welding system," explained Nick Edge, Thompson's global sales manager.

THOMPSON TARGETS MORE SALES SUCCESS IN THE AERO SECTOR

Award-winning friction welding machine manufacturer Thompson has signalled its ambitions to further build on its success in the aerospace market with the appointment of a dedicated sales manager for the sector.

Simon Jones, who joined the Halesowen-based company in 2005, has been promoted from his role as head of sales for Asia to the new position of global aerospace sales manager.

His responsibilities not only include developing new business for Thompson's well-established range of rotary friction welders, but also its new series of linear friction welding machines, which are specially designed for joining aero components.

Rob Stevens has succeeded Simon as Thompson's Asia sales manager and was previously global business development manager at NIS, a specialist integrated engineering company. A graduate in manufacturing engineering, he has also worked for Rolls-Royce and Siemens.

"The creation of a dedicated aerospace sales manager position underlines Thompson's commitment to further expanding its presence in the worldwide aerospace market, a key objective for the company following the development of our new linear friction welding machinery," explained Nick Edge, Thompson's global sales manager.

Thompson, the holder of a Queen's Award for Enterprise (International Trade), says its linear friction welding equipment can produce components at a fraction of the cost of other traditional manufacturing methods. Visit www.linearfrictionwelding.com for more details.

Leading independent research organisation, The Welding Institute, has just ordered an E20 linear machine for its facility in Cambridge and will use it for welding a variety of aero parts such as blisks in a selection of materials including titanium, nickel and aluminium alloys.

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Midlands based Thompson is choice of TWI for linear friction welding task

Midlands based Thompson is choice of TWI for linear friction welding task

THOMPSON IS CHOICE OF TWI FOR LINEAR FRICTION WELDING TASK

The Welding Institute, one of the world's leading independent research organisations, has ordered a Thompson linear friction welding machine to further develop its materials joining technology expertise for the aerospace industry.

The Cambridge-based establishment is set to take delivery of the E20 model from the award-winning manufacturer early next year and will use it for welding a range of parts such as blisks and airframe structures in a variety of materials including titanium, nickel and aluminium alloys.

Announced at the Farnborough International Air Show, the order marks another milestone in Thompson's development of a range of linear friction welding machines. It recently produced the world's first commercially-available linear friction welding machine, the E100, for joining parts up to 10,000mm.

"The linear process offers many benefits for aero component makers in comparison to machining parts from solid billets. In particular, it provides significant opportunities to save vast amounts of raw materials and substantially reduce buy-to-fly ratios.

"Thanks to the Institute's decision to update its linear friction welding equipment, TWI members will soon be able to learn more about the advantages of this highly-capable process which has been used by jet engine makers to join safety-critical components for more than 20 years," explained Nick Edge, Thompson's global sales manager.

Thompson's E20 linear friction welder, which has a 20 tonne forging capacity, features an open platform design, making it flexible for joining a wide variety of parts typically used in the aerospace sector, but also in other markets including automotive and power generation.

Equipped with Thompson's latest software for data capture and weld monitoring capabilities, the machine is suitable for joining similar/dissimilar materials in almost any shape from rings and blades to fans and square metal contactors.

"TWI is delighted to be working with Thompson to further explore the exciting opportunities offered by the linear friction welding process. The value and impact of this technology is rapidly increasing, especially in the aerospace industry," said Dr Mike Russell, manager of TWI's Friction and Forge Processes Group.

NEW MANAGER FOR SUB-CONTRACT WELDING FACILITY

Friction welding machine manufacturer Thompson has appointed a new manager to head up its sub-contract friction welding service and expanded the operation by adding a new machine.

Jayne Shimwell, who has worked in Thompson's sub-contract department for 15 years, works with a 10-strong team at the Midlands-based facility, which is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe.

The new 150 tonne friction welding machine, built by Thompson's engineering team at its headquarters in Halesowen, features new environment-friendly, low power consumption drives and a new linear track system for more streamlined operation of the weld head unit. It is designed for joining components such as axles, piston rods and drill pipes.

This new technology, together with the inclusion of special forge clamps and an extended back stop facility, is designed to further improve weld quality and finishing of parts, said Jayne.

"More businesses are using our sub-contract facility not only for friction welding components for small, medium or large production runs, but also for development and research purposes," she added.

The new equipment brings the total number of friction welding machines in the facility to 12. The machines are capable of welding a huge range of components in varying diameters and lengths and in a variety of dissimilar materials such as stainless steel to carbon steel and copper to aluminium.

Thompson's investment in its sub-contract facility coincides with a boom in orders for its friction welding machines, which are in high demand from many sectors including the oil and gas exploration industry.

Thompson has also unveiled the first model in a new range of linear friction welding systems that are designed for use in the aerospace and power generation industries.

Further details on Thompson's sub-contract friction welding services are available online at www.thompsonfw.co.uk or email sales@thompsonfw.co.uk.


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Linear Friction Welding

The Linear Friction Welding Process

Up until now, friction welding could only be used on joints that had at least one round part but Thompson’s innovation means the process can be used on almost any shape. The advantages of this solid state process also mean that similar and dissimilar materials such as aluminium and copper can be completely joined, no filler material is needed and the parts do not melt so better parent material properties can be achieved.

Linear friction welding works on the basic principles of rubbing 2 pieces of material together until the surface gets hot enough to become plastic and join together. This principle has been used in rotary friction welding by Thompson for over 50 years where one part is spun against another, heat is produced and the parts are forced together. The basic parameters mean that oscillation replaces rotation but the remaining characteristics are very similar to rotary welding.

Whatever the size of the part, the weld times are similar in speed because the linear process, unlike the rotary method, ensures that friction occurs throughout the weld surface The largest linear friction weld undertaken by Thompson to date had a weld time of around 4 seconds.

The flash of excess material formed during the weld will expel from the joint line in an even plane and show the number of oscillations that have occurred during the weld. This can be removed by hand or automatically on the machine.

Check out http://www.linearfrictionwelding.com/ for more information

LINEAR FRICTION WELDING SOLUTION FOR JOINING AERO PARTS

Thompson will showcase its linear friction welding solution for producing a range of titanium aero components at a fraction of the cost of other traditional manufacturing methods on stand B10, Hall 4, at theFarnborough International Air Show.

The award-winning machine manufacturer says the linear process can be used to make tailored blanks, which eliminate the need for vast amounts of raw material usually associated with machining components from solid billets.

Thompson says these pre-formed components offer typical savings of 70 per cent and adds that its work with some of the world's top aircraft makers has already identified a number of parts that show potential multi-million dollar savings in material.

Its new E100 machine is specially designed to use the linear friction welding process to join one or more parts together to create larger structures and prismatic shapes. The method produces a solid phase bond with near parent metal properties.

Tailored blanks offer an attractive alternative to machining as many aircraft components have complex shapes such as stringers, flanges and webs added to their basic construction, explained Nick Edge, Thompson's global sales manager.

"In order to arrive at the net finished shape, a significant amount of raw material has to be removed during the machining process and this results in high buy-to-fly ratios of 10:1. Using the linear method means buy-to-fly ratios can be as low as 2:1," he added.

While other technologies such as laser welding and metal deposition remain in the very early stages of development, linear friction welding is an established process that has been successfully used for more than two decades by jet engine makers to produce safety-critical components such as blisks, said Nick.

"The continuing growth in raw material prices and the wider use of difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium alloys means the application of linear friction welding can make a major contribution to lowering production costs."

Thompson's E100 is the first in a series of linear friction welding machines for aerospace applications and complements the Halesowen-based company's range of rotary friction welding machines which are used to produce parts for the automotive, construction machine and mineral exploration industries.

Linear friction welding involves rubbing two pieces of material together while applying a load to produce frictional heat. It can be used to join similar/dissimilar materials in almost any shape from rings and blades to fans and square metal contactors.

Further information on Thompson's E100 linear friction welding machine can be viewed online atwww.linearfrictionwelding.com or emailsales@linearfrictionwelding.com.

Thompson will share its stand at Farnborough with sister company, KUKA Automation + Robotics, who will be demonstrating its latest robotic end effector solutions for aerospace applications.

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PRIME MINISTER IS FULL OF PRAISE FOR MIDLANDS ENGINEERING FIRM

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has praised a Midlands engineering company for putting “British manufacturing on the map” during a visit to its Halesowen headquarters.

He congratulated Thompson, the award-winning manufacturer of friction welding machines, on its export sales achievements and commended its innovation and investment in apprenticeships.

The Prime Minister, who was accompanied by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and Halesowen MP Sylvia Heal, was shown one of the company’s latest friction welding machines, which is being built for a Chinese automotive axle manufacturer.

Mr Brown also took questions from Thompson employees on a range of issues as he visited the region ahead of the final leaders’ debate at Birmingham University.

“I want to congratulate you on coming through a difficult economic period, for the great technological skills you are developing, for putting British manufacturing on the map in every continent of the world and for hiring apprentices even in difficult times,” he told staff.

The Labour leader also praised Thompson for achieving a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, which recognised the company’s remarkable export sales record in the last three years.

Alan Shilton, Thompson’s managing director, said he was delighted to welcome the Prime Minister to the factory and provide an insight into how a Black Country business was flying the flag for British industry.

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WORLD'S OLDEST DRILL PIPE MACHINE STILL GOING STRONG AFTER 40 YEARS

WORLD'S OLDEST DRILL PIPE MACHINE STILL GOING STRONG AFTER 40 YEARS

Thompson is celebrating a remarkable engineering milestone after learning one of its first friction welding machines for producing oil drill pipes is still in use more than 40 years after it was made in the Midlands.

The Halesowen-based firm believes it is the oldest working machine of its type anywhere in the world and is delighted by the discovery, which only came to light when the Indian drill pipe manufacturer Oil Country Tubular ordered a new friction welder for its factory in Hyderabad.

The company plans to continue using its existing Thompson machine, but now needs the additional equipment to boost productivity as a result of the global boom in oil and mineral exploration.

"The longevity of this machine is a tremendous acknowledgement of the engineering skills and quality of workmanship that are still the hallmarks of Thompson friction welding machines today," commented Simon Jones, Thompson's Asia sales manager.

Thompson machines are specially engineered to produce drill rods or heavy-duty oil pipes as they feature extended back stops and special forge clamps for friction welding an unlimited range of pipe sizes and lengths, he explained.

As part of a crop of repeat orders, Thompson has supplied its third friction welder to a Korean manufacturer of drive axles. The company still operates its existing machines purchased 30 and 14 years ago respectively.

Sales of Thompson friction welding machines for producing a wide variety of axles are still flourishing with strong demand from commercial vehicle makers in Europe and the Far East, stated Simon Jones.

Further details on Thompson's rotary and linear friction welding machines can be obtained online at www.thompsonfw.co.uk or email sales@thompsonfw.co.uk. Alternatively, call the sales team on 0121 585 0888.


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