Honing renaissance

Established in 1927, the company has its headquarters and factory in Cheltenham and is run by owner and managing director, David Arthur. "I am pleased to say that, partly as a result of introducing innovative NC machines equipped with the latest Siemens control to take the 'black art' out of honing, our turnover grew by over 50% in the year to June 2011,” he reports.

"Manufacture of a larger variety of tooling and abrasive consumables also contributed to this success. Our goal is to double the size of the business over the next three years as a platform for moving even more strongly into global markets in the second half of the decade.

Mr Arthur is supported by his executive team and a dedicated workforce that has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the honing business. The customer base is extensive and incorporates international engineering names that have standardised on Delapena products for their honing requirements. This loyalty from its customers, that globally number in excess of 20,000, is a result of the company's commitment to providing all of its users with an engineered solution for their requirements. Delapena's commitment to the global market place has resulted in a joint venture in India and a subsidiary in the USA.

Manufacturing resource planning software has been installed to streamline this important function and the last financial year saw further capital investment that added two vertical machining centres and a CNC lathe to the shopfloor and strengthened the design department with new CAD software.

The introduction of Lean manufacturing and six sigma methodologies, amongst other benefits, has seen significant reductions in component manufacturing times through re-engineering for CNC production.

Virtually all components for the honing machines are now produced in-house rather than subcontracted, resulting in high quality parts, lower costs and shortened leadtimes, giving full control over availability. Sheetmetal fabrication for the machine build is also carried out onsite. All of the tooling including 'specials' is made internally, not only for Delapena machines but for other manufacturers' honing equipment as well.

One of the latest new products is the high precision E2000S-XL long series, small bore honing machine for fully programmable processing of gun barrels and other tubular components. A machine is currently in build for a rifle manufacturer which will reduce a five hour manual honing cycle to a 21 minute automatic operation.
The established E1000S and E2000S NC models are now equipped with the latest Siemens Simatic touchscreen control and remote diagnostics. A larger E3500S vertical machine has been introduced for accurate and repeatable honing across a wider spectrum of vertical applications. All of the machines are available with automated component loading/unloading options.

There is still brisk demand for manual honing so Delapena has retained its Speedhone and Tubehone horizontal machines, while the vertically acting Powerhone is popular for such applications as honing ships' engine cylinder liners, compressor housings and aircraft components.

Mr Arthur believes that the future for Delapena looks auspicious for two reasons. First, the company is a leader at the forefront of the design and manufacture of precision honing machines, combining the experience and track record of an 84-year-old company with modern, forward thinking manufacturing practices.

Second, the honing market itself is increasing due to the need for parts to be manufactured to ever higher accuracy. Expensive internal cylindrical grinding is being replaced by faster, less costly hard turning, which is often followed, or even replaced, by honing to achieve tight dimensional tolerance and fine surface finish.

Delapena's business encompasses: the design and manufacture of accurate and repeatable honing machines and accessories; stocking of consumables and honing oils for rapid delivery; design, manufacture and refurbishment of standard and special tooling including many legacy tools for which drawings are still held; pre and after sales support, including applications engineering, customer training, spares and service; and commitment to the ongoing training of its own personnel to ensure a high level of expertise for the future.

Delapena
www.delapena.co.uk