Service

We are one of Europe's most respected and leading specialists providing workholding machining solutions and bespoke rotary & prismatic fixture designs.

Accuracy, consistency and repeatability to 0.012mm are why our components are utilised by the worlds largest manufacturers in Aerospace, Rail and Automotive technologies.

Standard order of PTG Mandrel

The request for quotation is usually received by e-mail normally from current and familiar user of PTG equipment.

Details of the dimensional sizes of the component, style of mandrel, and sleeve are taken.

The design will be withdrawn from the 3D cad system (as all standard designs are stored) and a drawing produced usually the same day, the quotation (as these are standard products costs are known) and drawing of the mandrel solution are transmitted back to the customer. Who will usually accept the design on receipt and an order is placed via e-mail.

If the customer already has an account the order will be added to the customers 30 day account.

A simple order for an extra sleeve for a mandrel can be supplied within two days, the sleeve will fit a mandrel already supplied.

Special application

The project is started by either of the following methods:

• The customer contacting PTG by phone or e-mail
• Technical sales manager discovers a project in which PTG can assist with a design.

Second stage is information gathering by a visit to the customer by our technical staff. This visit is to establish if the potential project /design is suitable for PTG to develop, and subsequently provide a quotation and manufactured solution.

Information is gathered from the potential customers technical staff regarding the machining process in order to provide a correctly located workholding solution, this can be achieved either on the shop floor or within an office environment.

The shopfloor route

This process usually commences by viewing the components and subsequent requirements of the project, at this point, the kind of machine tool to be employed can usually be viewed and any workholding currently employed can be examined. The consultations then usually adjourn to an office to view technical drawings.

The office route

The secondary route involves a visit to technical officers within the company and a presentation is given or technical drawings are viewed to establish the process and capability requirements. An in depth consultation regarding the complexity of the design and any potential workholding problems can be examined.

Once (by either route) PTG technical staff are confident that a design and solution can be offered and by either taking or having by e-mail delivered technical drawings of the component to be manufactured, or in some cases the stage process, the information can then be passed back to design in Bristol for initial appraisal.

Once received in Bristol the project is given a reference number and all information regarding the project is collated and a designer allocated to the project.

An initial concept design of the mandrel or fixture is then produced on a 3D cad system and a drawing of the workholding solution is passed back to PTG technical staff who will visit the customer again to discuss the solution in depth to ensure that there are no “grey” areas and that all dimensional tolerances can be achieved by the workholding solution proposed.

(The solution may be a manually operated device, or actuated by independent hydraulic or pneumatic power, in many applications the mandrel or fixture is connected to the machine tool and is actuated by the machine tool itself either by the control system or a mechanical movement for example the movement of a drawtube on a CNC lathe.)

Once this concept has been accepted by the customer a full dimensional drawing and model are produced and are transmitted to the customer for approval along with a quotation for manufacture.

If further discussions are required or an explanation of the operation of the supplied design, PTG staff will return to the customer and liaise with the technical engineering staff to transfer the information required. Subsequent to this, the design is then accepted and an order placed direct on PTG in Bristol.

Once an order is in place the GA drawings are drawn up and transferred to PTG manufacturing in Plymouth who will manufacture the complete design.

The completed order is then dispatched to the customer direct, if PTG technical are required on site to assist in the set up or operation of the equipment they are on hand to assist.

A follow up call is made after installation to ensure that the manufactured solution is performing well.

Time taken from initial contact to quotation is normally three weeks for a complex design, simpler solutions will be accomplished in a shorter period.