Member Article

Brandauer passes 1.5bn components as it looks to put Southern Manufacturing & Electronics under the ‘Micron’

A leading independent stamping and presswork specialist is proving that the ‘best things in manufacturing come in small packages’.

Brandauer, which employs over 60 people at its state-of-the-art factory in Birmingham, produced more than 1.5 billion components last year that were accurate to a tolerance of 20 microns – the best performance in their 156-year history.

The firm has invested heavily in high speed press technology, a wire edm cell and the skills of its workforce to help it grow the number of small and technical parts it produces by over 10%…equating to more than £1m in sales.

Typically, customers are looking to purchase electrical steel laminations that are used in engines for electric cars, in aerospace projects and innovative renewables technology.

Brandauer has just launched a new video called ‘What is a Micron’ to capitalise on this trend and this will be on displayed on Stand H200 at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2018 (6-8th Feb).

“A human hair is 50 microns thick so that gives you an idea of the parameters we are working towards,” commented Graham Allison, Technical Sales Manager at Brandauer.

“Increasingly, our customers are taking on more technical projects and these require small parts, often in very difficult materials to process, such as 316, 304, 301 stainless steel and many non-ferrous materials like brass and a variety of copper alloys.”

He continued: “We are perfectly set up to handle these and we have already secured two new contracts already in 2018. Southern Manufacturing is an ideal event to showcase our capabilities and meet potential clients from multiple sectors.”

‘What is a Micron?’ film is set in the heart of Brandauer’s 45,000 sq ft facility in the West Midlands and uses machining engineer Steve Clorley to put the size into context against a backdrop of processes, machinery and manufacturing skill.

The four-minute video, which has already had nearly 500 views, takes the viewer through the importance of producing to exact tolerances, some of the materials involved and the end applications. It also features digital animation of the tooling process.

Graham concluded: “We’ll also be showcasing EloPin® press-fit technology at Southern Manufacturing, which allows the solderless connection of terminal pins to a PCB.

“The aim is to produce millions of components every year for customers involved in automotive electronics and those looking for increased efficiency and robustness in interconnects.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .