romcastor wheels to handles, the components, standards parts and machine accessories industry has
remained relatively stable in its product offering across nearly 70 years. This has been for good reason, as the design concepts behind many of these parts remain as important today as they did in the past – whether they’re used in a food production factory or to adjust a modern camera tripod. New product designs and materials
have emerged since WDS Components was founded in Leeds in 1952, originally called the Woodside Die Sinking Company, but the most significant changes have taken place within the manufacturing and design processes. The significance of these practices has enabled customers to design, manufacture and bring their products to market more quickly, and at more competitive prices. To maintain pace with customer requirements, WDS has progressed its own technology and practices accordingly.
Perhaps the most significant development has been the automation of production. At outset, WDS used manually operated lathes, which formed the basis of metal cutting technology. Plug board auto lathes were the next advance, before Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology as we know it today emerged, with WDS investing heavily from the mid-1990s. CNC machines have enabled not just automated mass production, which has contributed to greater product availability at lower cost, but also a rise in consistency of production, which has reduced wastage and improved end product build quality. This is crucial for OEMs supplied by WDS that demand standardised production at sites across the globe. Today’s WDS CNC machinists are still trained
in the skills of proving the design concept, although modern software that ensures aspects such as collision avoidance helps create a faster set-up. At the same time, WDS retains its traditional lathe machinery and expertise, which remains useful for one-off or limited run manufacture of parts originally created on a manually operated machine.
era, WDS used the drawing board as the tool for product design, however by the 1980s the company was an early adopter of Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology. For WDS, the introduction of CADmeant faster design, whether for completely new products or for new versions of existing designs. The advantage for customers was that it helped bring products to market more quickly, and it dramatically sped up their own process as WDS’ CAD drawings could be integrated directly into their designs. In the 1980s, customers received 2D CAD
model drawings fromtheWDS CADalogue, posted on 3.5” floppy discs. The graphical interface enabled users to browse an on screen catalogue and download 2D DXF or DWG files to integrate into designs in software packages such as AutoCAD. Fast forward to the mid 90’s, WDS adopted 3D CAD when SolidWorks was first introduced and it has kept pace with every software version thereafter. Being positioned at the forefront of the SolidWorks software and supply chain has enabled WDS to work closely with some of the world’s largest engineering companies that are amongst its customer base. Today, WDS provides over 20,000 3D
CAD images, covering almost its entire product range, and these are free to download from
wdscomponents.com. Compatibility is offered across a range of nine CAD packages, including niche packages for automotive and aerospace. In addition to CAD, in the last ten
Despite the growth in the international
supply of standard parts, WDS has continued to manufacture components onsite by retaining a highly skilled workforce and investing in the latest manufacturing technology and techniques. Manufacturing on-site enables greater control over stock, meaning that customers aren’t at the mercy of potentially long shipping times, especially for high volume orders. On-site manufacture also means greater control over product design, whether to meet customer demand and the ability to create bespoke items, or to create an exacting specification developed by WDS’ R&D team. An in-house capability also ensures quality of design and materials used, as well as greater confidence in production and its control. Combined with in-housemanufacturing,WDS
also partners with international suppliers when beneficial tomaximise stock volume, as well as for some components notmanufactured on-site, such as plastic-based items. To enhance stock holding, theWDS headquarters includes large warehouse facilities, and this enables the company to carry high stock volume across nearly all of its 20k-plus catalogue of parts. This provides same-day despatch for virtually all items, as well as enabling competitive pricing.
The way products are designed is the othermost significant shift in the component and standard part industry. Like all industrial businesses of the
36
years WDS has also introduced Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) inspections to measure manufactured parts and components to the highest levels of accuracy. As well as enhancing manufacturing accuracy, particularly for industries such as aerospace which requires exacting standards, it has given engineering customers greater confidence for their own designs.
Through the internet,WDS’ businessmarket has also changed, and today the company exports worldwide. Carrying 98% of products in stock enables same-day despatch across the globe and some parts are even location-specific designed, such as the range of inch-size items typically required for the North American market. While
wdscomponents.comprovides tools to
select and purchase single or high volume orders of components from anywhere in the world, and new technology has enabled the company to make more products faster, the demands of the industry’s customers largely remain the same. High quality, fast availability and competitive prices are still the most important criteria. The combination of experienced staff and new expertise will enable WDS to deliver these benefits into the future.
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