The daily Post

Time and speed matter a lot to the team at Boyce Precision Engineering. With large orders
to fulfil for our clients in the aerospace, medical and pharmaceutical, and automotive
industries, we’re always on the clock, working hard to make sure that we deliver our products
to our clients on time. But for Air Ambulance NI, speed and time are matters of life and death.

As a Northern Ireland company, we’re delighted to be able to support the work of Air
Ambulance NI as they strive to provide a world class helicopter emergency service and
outstanding critical care for the people of Northern Ireland, where and when it’s most
needed.

Air Ambulance NI was born out of a need to provide an integrated road and air response
emergency medical system for the 1.8 million people of Northern Ireland who inhabit an area
that is 14,000 square kilometres in size.

Although launched less than a year ago in July 2017, the service has proved its worth many
times. The team quickly came to the aid of an 11 year old County Down boy called Conor who
suffered a head injury in a farm accident. Once the expert medical team had stabilised Conor
at the incident site, he was airlifted to Belfast in an eight minute flight that would’ve taken
almost an hour by road. This time saving significantly reduced the potential long term effects
of his injury and Conor has since made a remarkable recovery.

Air Ambulance NI operate 7 days a week in daylight hours, and can get to anywhere in
Northern Ireland within 25 minutes. The annual cost to run the service is £2m.
Brian Boyce, Director of BPE said:

“The Air Ambulance NI team provide a vital service, which is already proving to be a huge
asset to the people of Northern Ireland in times of distress. We’re proud to be able to
financially support the emergency response team and we hope that many others will continue
to do so as well, to enable them to keep doing the great work that they do.”

If you’re interested in supporting Air Ambulance NI to keep the team airborne, email the team
on info@airambulanceni.org for more information on what you can do to help.

Boyce Engineering recently received a visit from DUP MLA Carla Lockhart, DUP party leader
Arlene Foster MLA and the Chief Executive of Invest NI, Alistair Hamilton.

Brothers, George and Brian Boyce gave the group a tour of our workshop and office facilities,
where they were able to see first-hand the size of our team, the superior quality of our
equipment and the overall scale of our operations here in Magheralin.

This was a great opportunity for us to brief our visitors on current projects we’re working on,
particularly our work in the aerospace industry in Northern Ireland and worldwide. We were
approved as an aerospace supplier a few years ago, and awarded the SC21 Bronze Award
through the 21st Century Supply Chains Programme. The programme recognises SMEs in the
aerospace and defence sectors who have made operational improvements, reduced
overheads and improved their growth potential.

We highlighted the ongoing growth we’ve experienced in recent years, both in workforce
numbers and our order book, and discussed our continued growth plans for the business.

Speaking after the visit Ms Lockhart said: “I want first of all to thank the staff and management
of Boyce Engineering for hosting us and to Arlene and Alistair for taking the time to visit.
“This was without doubt a very worthwhile visit and one which shows the ongoing success of
locally owned businesses in Upper Bann.

“Boyce Engineering is continuing to prosper and grow under the management team and have
been recognised within the industry for their expertise.
“I want to congratulate George and Brian for their ongoing success and wish them well for
their expansion going forward.

“This was a very timely visit and I trust that this visit will help profile and showcase the worldclass
businesses we have in Upper Bann.”

If you’re interested in exploring how Boyce Precision Engineering could assist you, please get
in touch with us to arrange a site visit.

The Kerr family from the village of Annahilt, near Lisburn are a running team known as ‘Team
Kerr. They consist of parents, David and Sandra and their son, Aaron.

Aaron was born with chronic renal failure which resulted in a kidney transplant in 2010 at the
age of 13. Aaron received his new kidney from his father David. It was a perfect match and
he has made great progress since. However, in addition to his kidney condition, Aaron has
been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and a chromosome disorder and is confined to
a wheelchair. Aaron is also non-verbal and uses body language as he has no formal means of
communication. But Aaron’s family have found a way to enable Aaron to enjoy sport and the
great outdoors. Aaron loves to experience the feeling of the wind in his hair that able-bodied
runners feel and he does this through assisted running.

Team Kerr are now well-known faces in Northern Ireland’s running scene and have competed
in many races both locally and further afield, doing much to raise awareness of the benefits
of assisted running for disabled adults and children.

In May the Kerr family hit a proverbial ‘bump in the road’ after Aaron’s running chair broke
down, putting a halt to their training and race participation plans for a number of months.
After an online appeal, Team Kerr raised £3,500 towards the cost of a new chair for Aaron
and identified a local company that could help them to build it – that was none other than
our team here at Boyce Precision Engineering!

Whilst designing wheelchairs is not an everyday occurrence at Boyce Precision Engineering,
we are passionate about sport and helping people in need so we were only too willing to rise
to the challenge and help to get Team Kerr back on the road. Our Director, Brian Boyce who
also does a bit of running in his spare time got to work on designing a new running wheelchair
for Aaron and the Kerr family were thrilled with the results.

Dad David said: “Brian put in a lot of hard work and late nights to design and build Aaron’s
chair, something we very much appreciate. He listened to all of our ideas and requirements
and came up with a chair that works for both us and Aaron. Having someone local build the
chair made life a lot easier for us, and it was great to pop down and watch the progress.
Aaron’s old chair was from the US.”
David said he could also really notice the difference between Aaron’s old chair and the new
one.

“It is so much more comfortable. It is a little bit higher and a lot stronger. It is made of a
strong but very lightweight steel. We are an awful lot more confident out on the road. Before
we had to take the wheel off if we had a puncture. We would have to lie the chair on its side,
and Aaron has to sit in it. We once had to do that on the Sydenham bypass. It was very
difficult. Now we have a new jack to help with punctures.

Aaron has just completed the Dublin Marathon in his new running chair designed by Boyce
Precision Engineering. Team Kerr have also set up Aaron’s Army, a registered charity, which
raises money for running chairs for other families in similar situations so perhaps we will one
day build another chair for another assisted runner.

The Kerr family have given our prototype assisted running chair its own name – they’re calling
it ‘Team Kerr Mark 1’. We hope it helps them to hit the mark with their running targets!

You can keep up-to-date with the running adventures of Aaron’s Army by following Team Kerr
on their Facebook page.

Machines Matter. To maximise the quality of our output and stay at the forefront of our
industry we need not only the best team of engineers, but also the best equipment available.
It is our commitment to quality that led us to bring the first 5 Axis Hermle C250 to our
workshop in Craigavon, just 20 miles south of Belfast.

We provide bespoke engineering solutions including prototyping and tool and mould
production for a number of industry sectors including aerospace, automotive and the medical
and pharmaceutical sector. The introduction of the C250 is a great addition to our workshop
and enables us to extend our capabilities to include 5 axis machining, alongside our 3 axis
machining capabilities.

To help us to make this decision we headed off to the Hermle Open House in Gosheim,
Southern Germany in search of the perfect machine to add to our already extensive collection.
It was important to us to see the machine in action and meet members of the Hermle Besser
Fräsen team in person.

George Boyce, Managing Director, Boyce Precision Engineering said:
“This will be our first 5 axis machine, so it was a big decision for us. I had extensively
researched the options before going ahead but the Open House allowed us to see the
machines and how they were built, which gave me the confidence in the quality of the
machine. Price and after sales support were also important considerations and on both counts
we felt confident in the Geo Kingsbury offering.”

Hermle machines offer a wealth of capability and there are a number of reasons which made
this a good investment for us.

Mechanical Precision
The dimensional accuracy of the milled parts is essential to ensure that the products we
design and manufacture function effectively. Hermle machines boast the highest levels of
mechanical precision and are put through intensive performance tests before being sold
which gave us confidence in their ability to meet our needs.

Reliability
Hermle machines are reliable, with minimal interruptions even on long runs. This is an
important consideration for any team as downtime is costly.

Long-term Accuracy
Production cycles can run over long periods and we will produce millions of items from the
same machine over time. Accuracy needs to be maintained over time for quality assurance.
Hermle machining centres not only meet, but often exceed standards laid out in DIN/ISO
10791.

5-Axis Benchmark
5-axis machining is beneficial for milling complex components where both speed and
precision are required. Hermle machines offer great agility due to three of the axes being in
the tool itself and the other two in the swivelling rotary table. This enables milling and turning
to take place at the same time, which reduces the need for retooling or moving components
to another machine. Anything that can save us time, saves money and helps us to stay on
track to meet the tight deadlines we often work to.

Good Customer Service
Hermle are recognised for their excellent customer service, whether in providing
maintenance plans, spare parts or user training. This gives us great reassurance, particularly
given the large investment we’ve made to purchase the machine and partner with them to
maintain it.

We’ll soon be putting the Hermle C250 to the test!

Boyce Precision Engineering have just increased Capacity once again by taking delivery of a Doosan LYNX 220LY MILL TURN LATHE. The machine has been installed on the run up to Christmas, and BPE engineering is looking forward to further expansion.

Boyce Precision Engineering are delighted in becoming an approved supplier for the aerospace sector. Director, George Boyce is delighted with being placed on the approved supplier list so soon after becoming accredited with SC21 Bronze Award.

“We’re delighted with the news, it’s a great boost for BPE Engineering, the hard work put in to achieve SC21 Bronze Award is showing dividends.”

https://youtu.be/E6O0z-_djb0

BPE have now installed a fully functional CMM. Using a multi-axis head and the most up-to-date PC-DMIS software available.
This new machine is kept in BPE’s own dedicated Quality Lab and can measure as accurate to +/- 0.004mm across the 1m length surface.

Check it out!!

Boyce Precision Engineering are among a number of Northern Ireland companies who have been awarded an SC21 award through the 21st Century Supply Chains Programme at the recent Farnborough Airshow. The SC21 award recognises SMEs in the aerospace and defence sectors who have made operational improvements, reduced overheads and improved their growth potential.

BPE and a number of other local companies participated in the programme, gaining silver and bronze awards, and were congratulated by Economy Minister, Simon Hamilton who had this to say:
“SC21 is a UK business excellence programme for aerospace and defence companies run by ADS, the trade organisation for companies operating in the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space sectors. It encourages best practice and increased competitiveness among Aerospace and Defence companies operating in the supply chain”.
Mr Hamilton also paid tribute to Invest NI, BE Aerospace and Bombardier Belfast:
“Invest Northern Ireland, BE Aerospace and Bombardier Belfast all play a key role in supporting local companies participating in this programme and Northern Ireland’s Partnering for Growth Strategy continues to be the focus of those working in the industry. Invest Northern Ireland remains committed to ensuring that the local aerospace sector has a supply chain that can grow its capabilities in the high-technology, high-value areas where our industry needs to compete.”

Dr Leslie Orr, Manager ADS NI is also very positive about our local aerospace supply chain.
“Northern Ireland has a very strong aerospace supply base. This is indeed great news for Bradfor, IPC Mouldings and RTA Ireland and the other award recipients. SC21 recognition is a valuable accolade that will only strengthen the relationships these businesses have with their customers but adding to the strength of the aerospace sector in the region.”

George Boyce, Managing Director of Boyce Precision Engineering is delighted with his team’s efforts which saw them being awarded a Bronze Supply Chain award and is confident that they will continue to make ongoing operational improvements to enhance their operational effectiveness and maintain good relationships with their customers in the aerospace sector.

Precision Engineering is all about precision! There’s no room for error in production – even a
fraction out and a product’s performance will be reduced, or the product simply won’t be fit
for purpose. It’s vital to make sure that production matches the design specification first time
and every time.

We’ve invested heavily in inspection and quality monitoring equipment and developed our
own inspection facility on site, containing a wide range of high performance and high
specification calibrated inspection equipment, to enable us to complete tasks with precision.
The following state of the art equipment is available in our workshop.

Digital Calipers
A digital caliper measures internal and external distances with greater accuracy than manually
operated versions, which are cheaper and don’t need a battery but require you to have very
good eyesight instead! Digital calipers are easier to read due to the digital display and we can
press the inch/mm button to switch between metric or imperial measurements quickly and
easily

Digital Micrometers
Digital micrometers can take extremely accurate measurements in both metric and imperial
units to 0.0005 inches and 0.001mm, removing the risk of error in manually reading the
measurements. A data output connection allows them to be connected to a computer and
the data store electronically in a spreadsheet.

Digital Bore Micrometers allow our team to accurately measure the inside diameter of a
hole, cylinder or pipe.

Digital Height Gauges enable us to measure the height between two points accurately, with
options to switch the readings between inches and millimetres.

Slip Gauges are the accepted ‘standards of length in various industries. These tools allow us
to produce precision lengths with the greatest degree of accuracy.

Pin Gauges to determine the acceptability of diameters of drilled or machined holes.

Thread gauges to determine the pitch of a thread on a screw or in a tapped hole. Metric and
imperial measurements can be made.

CMM Machine – our Coordinate Measurement Machine enables us to accurately measure
and verify geometrical tolerance and the dimensions of a product.

We’ve invested a considerable amount on a Sheffield Discovery D-12 CMM which can
accurately measure and verify geometrical tolerance and dimensions previously verified using
traditional methods. This enables us to validate our internal manufacturing processes with
ease. The D-12 CMM comes with the most up to date software available, PC-DIMS CAD DCC
Measurement Software and is recognised as the world’s leading coordinate measurement
machine software with over 50,000 seats in place worldwide. It is also the favourable choice
of software within the Aerospace industry therefore we can collaborate on the chosen platform
within this industry sector.

• Stock Reference – GB100031
• Make & Model – Sheffield Discovery II D-12
• Year of Manufacture – 2008
• CMM Type – DCC
• Specification (CMMA): – 5.0 + L / 200 μm
• Measurement Range: – 508 x 914 x 406 mm
• Overall Dimensions: L 1699 x W 1025 x H 2265mm + Desk 1200 x 800

If you’re interested in working with us and would like to inspect the lab in person, please get
in touch with us to arrange a site visit.

Boyce Precision Engineering working closely with tool and machine suppliers ensuring that we have the best equipment onsite. This then makes us more competitive and increases our efficiency and product quality.