Loadpoint Precision Engineering Ltd – Air bearing manufacturer partners with Dugard

Phil Baker, Director of air bearing manufacturer Loadpoint Precision Engineering, has the immense pleasure of going to work each and every day in Wimborne, Devon, that part of the UK which is universally acknowledged as area of outstanding natural beauty.

For those with a passing knowledge of that part of the UK, Phil’s Dorset factory location is in fact just a couple of miles from the stunning 100 year-old heathland golf course that is to be found at Ferndown Golf Club.

Phil has been successfully carrying on business as an air bearing manufacturer for some 20 plus years with an engineering service for the manufacture of high quality metal components and parts. As a point of business principle, Phil’s machine shop conforms to a traditional form of manufacture, having both machining centres and turning centres and his engineering workload being equally divided into 50% milling and 50% turning. At Loadpoint Precision Engineering, machined batch quantities are never allowed to exceed 25, which is entirely consistent with their business ethos of milling machines for milling and turning machines for turning.

With the assistance of his team of experienced long-serving engineers and apprentices, the company’s specialty is in machining parts for the Air Bearing Industry and it is Phil’s proud boast that there is nothing that the Loadpoint Precision Engineering team cannot manufacture. They do not assemble the air bearing, they just do the machining then the parts are passed on to other specialist companies for grinding and assembly.

Loadpoint Precision Engineering is also very well regarded in the motorcycle and commercial industries due to their ability to create bespoke components for individual needs and budget, at prices that are always competitive. They positively encourage clients to come to them for one-off engineering work and they are equally happy to sub-contract for other businesses, with a promise of a truly reliable service that guarantees quality products.

Typically the parts manufactured throughout the company vary in steel type but are mainly non-ferrous, Stainless Steel (the toughest grade being 440C) – they also use Titanium and Deva.

In support of growing the businesses machine-inventory over recent years, Phil has invested a significant amount in Dugards machines. Phil’s personal experience of Dugards has been that the machines handle the materials well and do not vibrate when being pushed to machine faster.

Their current Dugard machine inventory includes:

In respect of his decision to commit so much financial investment to Dugard machines Phil Baker had this to say: “I invest in machinery when the business demands it. Often this happens quickly and decisions have to be made quickly. In addition, machines may need to be delivered and installed equally as quickly and Dugard have always delivered. Additionally, I do not need to invest in multi axis machines as my batch quantities are very low and the functionality of the controls on both my lathes and machining centres make it easier to simply adopt a more traditional form of manufacture; a lathe for turning and a mill for milling.”

In conclusion, let’s leave a clearly contented Phil with the final word on Dugard as a valued technology partner: ‘”Dugard offer me an exceptional turnaround in both service and sales; they’ve impressed me from day one!”

For more information on the work being done at Loadpoint go to their website www.loadpointprecisionengineering.co.uk

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