Airframe Designs has tripled in dimension following a profitable £40,000 funding in 3D scanning know-how, backed by the digital adoption programme. The aerospace engineering specialist additionally launched a brand new manufacturing division and expanded internationally with the Made Smarter adoption programme’s help.
Based mostly in Blackpool, Airframe Designs used a £20,000 grant to take a position £40,000 in a high-tech 3D laser scanner. This allowed the corporate to precisely scan and reverse engineer plane elements, look at injury, and streamline design and manufacturing processes. The preliminary funding laid the groundwork for the corporate’s devoted 3D division which has since expanded to incorporate a sophisticated scanner with photogrammetry capabilities, permitting the corporate to work on large-scale components like full airframe buildings.
“The know-how and innovation that the scanner brings is game-changing,” stated Jerrod Hartley, CEO of Airframe Designs. “The help from Made Smarter has been unbelievable and actually accelerated our plans. With out it, we wouldn’t be within the place we are actually.”
With these new additions, Airframe Design was in a position to quickly develop. With a tripled headcount (in comparison with 2022), rising to 33 plans so as to add 20 extra over the following two years. The brand new division produces a whole lot of components a yr, with this doubtlessly rising to over 1,500, yearly. Moreover, the scanning know-how has unlocked new service areas like recreating advanced digital-twin geometries that help injury assessments.
Airframe Design is finalising a significant six-month undertaking with a big Center Japanese service. The undertaking goals to reverse engineer and manufacture damaged or worn cabin inside plane components which can be now not supported by OEMs or are exhausting to supply both shortly or affordably.
Donna Edwards, Director of the Made Smarter Adoption Programme, stated, “Airframe Designs is a robust instance of how digital know-how, backed by focused help, can drive innovation, resilience and progress in UK manufacturing. By embracing 3D scanning and additive manufacturing, the enterprise has not solely remodeled its operations but in addition created high-value jobs and opened up new world markets. I encourage different SMEs to observe Airframe’s lead and discover how Made Smarter might help them take their subsequent step towards digital transformation.”
About Airframe Designs
Airframe Designs was based in 2009, offering structural evaluation providers to the aerospace business. Throughout the pandemic, the corporate made a strategic shift, diversifying into manufacturing, particularly additive manufacturing. In consequence, Airframe Designs shifted focus to offering an entire turnkey resolution, from design and evaluation to manufacturing.
