At Kemlows we have a number of services that collectively offer a ‘one stop shop' to our clients - taking them from design to delivery of the finished products - with every service needed along the way provided or controlled in-house.

Success or failure of any product will depend on its individual component designs.

Kemlows have a wealth of casting design experience to call upon to support our customers requirements. The length of service within the casting industry, enjoyed by the Kemlows team, allows them an unequalled knowledge of novel solutions to employ, when needed to solve complex casting issues.

By careful attention to detail it is possible to create tooling and component design that minimises cost, while enhancing manufacturability.

Successful, trouble free supply, is a function of this initial design input. If you send us your design we can advise you, make recommendations, and define the options available that will create a successful product first time, every time.

VAVE tehniques are employed within Kemlows to seek out cost reductions.

The ongoing demand for better products at lower price does not and will not stop. To help meet this continuous customer objective Kemlows study the cost/benefit equations of various production/design options at the earliest opportunity.

Customer designs, are carefully considered before recommendations are put forward to them, that will reduce the cost or improve the casting performance of the finished product.

For example, by the use of modern tooling techniques and by utilising the 'net shape' qualities of pressure diecastings, the final assembly design of this housing ultimately replaced 47 various components with 3 zinc castings.

See example to the left.

The aluminium casting line at Kemlows is constantly upgraded to embrace the latest casting technology.

The Frech machines are specified and installed with the latest electronic controls able to generate precise shot profiles every time. The minor variations within the system are captured every shot. Micro adjustments are then automatically undertaken by the machine control that maintain exact casting condition profiles.

This ensures repetitive casting quality control will be achieved each and every time the die is loaded onto the machine.

The casting capability across the eight machines with locking forces from 125 to 640 tonne enables Kemlows to produce parts from a few grams to 8 kg shot weight.

The Zinc line at Kemlows and the experience of the team goes back to the very start of the company. Since those early days the technology has been upgraded as new equipment replaced old. The latest specification hot chamber machines are employed to produce consistent quality castings time after time. The special properties of zinc based alloys, their castability and low melting point, allows very close tolerances to be cast, eliminating machining to all but the tightest controlled dimensions such as bearing bores.

The finishes that can be applied to zinc based castings is legendary from raw polished to gold plating and every option in between.

The lower cost of tooling associated with zinc casting alloys and the extended die life makes this alloy choice ideal for certain options. Half a million shots are regularly being achieved before tooling requires refurbishment or replacement, this, together with its finish plating options, close tolerances achievable, plus its intrinsic weight ensures there will be a steady future for this alloy and casting system.

When component design demands post casting machining operations, these can be undertaken in house on the existing CNC machining centres. Where volumes or complexity fall outside Kemlows range of machines then sub contract through specialist machining organisations can be used and managed by the production control department.

The option to have a fully dedicated casting and machining cell is always available dependent on economics.

CNC machine.

Over the past sixty years, that Kemlows has been producing casting based components, many finishing requirements have been undertaken. These range from de-burring, polishing, painting and plating, consequently a wide range of in house ability has been built up over these many years.

When parts are subcontracted for finish coating a confidence has been established in the preferred suppliers Kemlows use for such operations. These out sourced activities are closely controlled in line with customer quality control systems.

Where assembly is required this presents no problem for the Kemlows production team. From ingot through to casting, machining, finishing, and final assembly into the display box ready for shelf display, this is all available through Kemlows.

A one-stop ability to manage the project from design detail to despatch and all stages between is part of the Kemlows commitment.

The on site tool room maintains customer tools in first class order. The storage of all customer dies is in the main building, this ensures the tooling is kept in an optimum environment, free from condensation and corrosion damage. Every tool is inspected and prepared by the tool room prior to and after each production run. The close liaison between the production team and the tool room personnel provides a precise exchange of information between these key activities. This translates into better maintenance of the tooling and is a key part of Kemlows delivery of quality thanks to tooling ready for production and defect free.