Tritech Precision Products : Hi-tech Tritech
Published : September 2006
Located in Wales, Tritech Precision Products is a world class manufacturer of investment castings. Erik Hendry looks at the company and its industry
Established for over 20 years and now with 220 employees, the privately owned Tritech Precision Products is one of three constituent parts of the Tritech Group, the others being Tritech Engineering Solutions and Tritech Alkast Products. It is a world leader in the esoteric field of investment casting and enjoys the status of ‘preferred supplier’ to major aerospace and defence customers supplying aluminium, stainless, carbon and heat-resistant steel castings, as well as cobalt and nickel castings. Since 2004 the company has added vacuum casting of high temperature superalloys to its portfolio of services, these capabilities being supported by 3D CAD modelling, solidification simulation and rapid prototype.
It is appropriate that Tritech Precision Products has many customers in the aerospace sector since the investment casting process came into its own following the invention of the jet engine. Originally the engine blades were machined but casting came to be seen as a cheaper and more efficient alternative.
Tritech specialises in producing difficult and complex castings in aluminium and steel. It is perhaps ironic that, despite establishing itself at the very top of the scale in terms of technological expertise, Tritech still has to battle to maintain margins. This reflects the intense competition between major aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing, both of which are Tritech customers. Another complication brought about by the company’s very high standards of customer service is the decrease of batch sizes. This emphasis on low volume areas of production has required a sharp eye for keeping inventory levels and lead times to an absolute minimum. This process is one area where lean manufacturing techniques have been applied successfully.
Tritech is not a company that will stand still for very long. It is keen to be more than simply a castings company – albeit a world class castings company – and is constantly seeking to add to its service capability and move closer to being a one-stop shop across a range of industrial sectors.
Already, Tritech Precision Products offers a comprehensive product range. Apart from investment castings from steel and aluminium and vacuum casting of nickel, cobalt and super alloys, very high standards of CNC machining are available from Tritech Engineering Solutions: a division which has grown to occupy 26,000 square feet of space and is now organised into six lean manufacturing cells.
Investment castings produce near to net shape configurations but still need to be machined to a fine finish. Tritech Engineering Solutions also provides 3D CAD modelling and solidification simulation. Rapid prototyping is another valuable Tritech product. The models can be used for design verification and interpretation as well as costing, die design and CMM inspection programming. Kitting and assembly have reached sophisticated levels with Tritech able to supply whole families of component parts in kit form on a just-in-time basis. A natural application of this wide range of ability is the Tritech project management service where Tritech staff manage a project from concept to assembly.
A historical overview of the investment castings industry would see its origins in the ancient craft of lost wax casting, used for thousands of years to produce jewellery and sculpture. Investment castings now account for a value of some 15 per cent of all UK cast metal production. Nickel and cobalt base super alloys account for 50 per cent of total output by value, steel of all types account for 35 per cent, aluminium for about 10 per cent with copper and titanium alloys making up the remaining five per cent.
Despite the resilience and adaptability of the industry, the process does face threats from alternative materials and processes, including other precision casting processes. Super alloys have remarkable temperature capabilities but further developments are limited by the melting points of nickel and its alloys. To an industry so reliant on cast nickel base super alloys; aluminide, intermetallics, oxide dispersion strengthened materials and engineering ceramics are a threat.
The investment casting industry appears to be a very uncompromising environment with casters responding with ever greater endeavour to the rigorous demands of other industries. And to become a world leader in this field speaks volumes for the abilities of Tritech Precision Products.