C. Brandauer & Co Ltd are one of the largest contract presswork and stampings companies in Europe, manufacturing precision metal components for customers around the world.
With press tools used in the production process being subject to frequent refurbishment and replacement, leading to higher manufacturing costs, Brandauer decided to partake in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment (CEBE) in order to create and design a completely new generation of innovative tool design concepts.
We were very excited about the potential of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership project with Birmingham City University from the start and it soon became an important part of the company's future technical development.
Brandauer, based in Birmingham, are a presswork and stampings company, manufacturing precision metal components for customers around the world. The company offers a complete range of services required for the supply of pressed metal components: from prototyping, design and in house tool production (or a specialist tool transfer service). Brandauer’s achievements also recently led them to be recognised with the Queen’s Award for Industry.
As with all high volume metal component manufacturing, a significant cost of production is in the press tools used for the stamping processes. Press tools are subject to wear, and usually need refurbishment or replacement, which adds to the overall manufacturing costs.
In order to overcome this challenge, Brandauer looked to Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment for knowledge and development in this area. With this support they aimed to create a completely new generation of innovative tool design concepts through the application of advanced material and design processes.
Birmingham City University suggested a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), an Innovate UK part-funded project that sees a graduate and lead academic from the University work with a company to improve their knowledge and skills.
In order to support this, the project required a sound understanding of current material forming processes and a knowledge of advanced computational models for predicting the behaviour of high speed, close tolerance metal forming and cutting actions that are commonly used within high volume precision metal component forming.
Using Birmingham City University’s expertise in this area, the technical teams worked together to explore novel materials and design concepts that were able to extend the life properties of the tools. The concept designs were then prototyped and tested thoroughly before being offered to the market as part of the company’s service offering.
The successful delivery of the KTP has enabled Brandauer to extend the life expectancy of its tools and given them the ability to continue to develop further advanced designs and concepts. The project also helped to embed advanced design and material knowledge into the company’s technical teams enabling them to advance the company’s technical capability independently.
Other benefits have included:
If you’re a SME or larger businesses from any sector looking to develop a competitive edge from business support, funding and R&D activities with university experts and specialists, we invite you to enquire about a KTP at BCU.
Please send us an enquiry and we will contact you to discuss how we can help.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a UK-wide programme that has been helping businesses for the past 45 years to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK Knowledge Base.
Join 1600+ monthly newsletter subscribers to receive the latest business support blogs, events, funding opportunities and more…
Join 1600+ monthly newsletter subscribers to receive the latest business support blogs, events, funding opportunities and more…
