Bike part manufacturer Works Components has installed a robotic drill to increase its productivity, and help it keep up with the recent raise in cycling across the UK.
According to the Staffordshire-firm, to address its expanding product and customer portfolio it required new machinery to keep pace with the growing demand.
“Lockdown resulted in a boom for cycling, not only in the UK but across the world. Huge numbers of people took it up as a hobby having never owned a bike before, while many existing cyclists were shopping for new bikes and components,” said Rick Hughes, owner of Works Components.
“As a result, we have witnessed a massive increase in orders, and not just directly from end-users – which has historically been our route to market. We are now working with a number of shops and manufacturers to provide parts for full bike builds, which on top of existing orders has necessitated an upgrade on our production capabilities.”
Works Components facility was already at capacity, resulting in the decision to opt for new machinery that would be capable of delivering increased output, without taking up more room in the factory.
Owing to its high capacity yet small footprint, Works Components invested in a Fanuc ROBODRILL α-D21LiB5 vertical machining centre, with a 24,000rpm spindle and DDRiB fourth-axis rotary table.
“We identified the ROBODRILL as being a machine that could be fitted into our fairly tight space, all the while delivering the performance levels we needed to keep pace with large orders that were coming in,” Hughes added.
The new drill enables Works Components to produce parts at twice the speed of its previous machine. This has proven vital in meeting large orders from its new commercial customer-base, all the while continuing to supply directly to end-users, the company said.
Furthermore, the new machine will also facilitate the production of a new component, a push-bike pedal that further increases Works Components’ portfolio.
Hughes said: “For now, it is helping us to catch up with an influx of orders, but the intention is for it to produce our upcoming new pedal. Its rapid cycle times and versatility, especially in how the CNC is able to facilitate precise part creation, are fundamental to our development as a business.”
