Premier Autoclaves recently upgraded two Scholz autoclaves at ARRK Europe’s Nuneaton Composite Centre. Extensive hardware and software upgrades were undertaken on both autoclaves giving complete overhaul in performance and supportability, with only 10 days down-time per machine.

The minimised down-time was ideal for ARRK as their position in the composites market grows ever-stronger and the Nuneaton Composite Centre, in turn, grows busier. Moreover the local, expert and highly reactive support from UK-based Premier gives peace of mind that if technical advice or remedial work is needed (on any brand of autoclave) it’s promptly available.

‘The cost of an autoclave being out of operation quickly runs into significant numbers so if we want to change something in the configuration or there is a problem that we need looking into having experts around the corner is ideal.’ Richard Irons, Composite Engineering Manager, ARRK Europe

ARRK have ambitious plans for the future and have recruited additional technical personnel to support new equipment and company growth. In fact, they have significantly upgraded their whole composite capability to satisfy growing demand, resulting in the business supporting clients in a range of industries from Automotive, Railway, Marine and Aerospace. Premier’s control software provides ARRK with the capability to cater for all of these industries with the utmost efficiency and reliability.

‘The upgrade has certainly opened a few more doors for us in terms of customers. We know that Prodigy is used on other autoclaves that Premier have upgraded to Nadcap, AMS 2750, Boeing and other specifications. Therefore throughout the design process we had the benefit of Premier’s experience, partnering ourengineers, to create a fully compliant machine specific to our customer’s needs.’ Richard Irons

Since installation cures are lean with greatly reduced labour requirement and increased efficiency during ramps. Component quality has improved, software is user friendly and there is greater traceability as Richard Irons explains:

‘Traceability is of great importance for us to ensure part quality is that required by customer or greater. Not only does the software securely monitor and store data 24/7 but it gives traceability as to users so we also have operator accountability for each cure and part.’

If improving the efficiency of your autoclave is of interest please feel free to contact Scott Dyson to arrange a free survey and discussion: scottdyson@premierautoclaves.com