Aciturri group: high-precision machining

Aciturri is a group of companies with national implementation that offers solutions of engineering, machining and aeronautical Assembly of high value-added sectors, automotive, electronic and power generation. The four companies that make up, mechanized Ginés, Spasa, Castle Aero and Index share a number of central services and are characterised by the relationship between their activities. This fact allows them to offer an integral service of quality to the market.

Aciturri group, through its companies, is an actor of the first order at the international level in different technological businesses. The Group companies produce parts and aviation structural systems, design and build dies and moulds for precision and offer engineering services in the field of automation of processes of production and renewable energy.

Aciturri group is made up of four companies that offer complementary services with high added value to the market:

• Mechanized Ginés, dedicated to precision machining, manufacturing tooling and prototyping and manufacture of moulds and dies for precision.
• SPASA, specializing in aerospace machining, aircraft subsystems and mechanisms.
• Castle Aero, which carries out the design, manufacturing management, installation of mechanisms electro-mechanical and Assembly of components and structural subsystems for the aeronautical sector.
• Index engineering services, which offers services of automation, instrumentation and engineering of renewable energy.

The headquarters and operational base of the company is located in Miranda de Ebro (Burgos), although two of the companies of the group, engineering and Castle Aero Services Index, have recently moved its facilities to the Industrial area of berries, also in Miranda de Ebrowhere they have a flag of 2,740 square meters, fully equipped for the accomplishment of their engineering projects. Facilities include heated temperature in the enclosure, paint room, area clean and room of sealing.

In an effort to search for continuous improvement, all the companies of the Group Aciturri are certified under the ISO 9001 standard, as well as under the most demanding of its sectors of activity rules. Thus, for example, in Spasa it machines from the minimum up to 1800 mm with minimum tolerances and maximum precision, guaranteed by a strict quality control. To this end, the company has the following certifications: Pecal /Aquap 120, 900 Hegan, ISO-9001/00, ISO 14000 (in process), EN 9100 (in process), certified by Eads Casa.

Also, the Aciturri group attaches primary importance to the development of r & d activities, through which pursues its current process innovation, as well as the development of new business lines. The core values that are searched at the corporate level are the orientation to the customer, through its satisfaction; the guidance to the achievement, through the competitiveness and profitability and flexibility to the demands of the market; the development of the people, by encouraging the professional and personal development of employees and promoting the attitude of teamwork; innovation and creativity, to participate in the development of their environment and ensuring the permanence of the company at the time.

The development of r & d activity is vital in the strategic area of the group as a source of knowledge and technology generation. This activity, developed with the clear objective of producing its own quality technology, focuses on the main production lines, in order to improve or integrate new processes and/or products.

The main lines of action are those listed below:

New manufacturing technologies
The strongest of the Group Aciturri productive activity focuses on high-precision metal machining. This sector is in continuous progress given the great innovation in fields such as materials and treatments and the general need to reduce costs and production time. In this sense, r & d activity is basic in the maintenance of competitiveness through continuous updating of production processes (machine tools, automation, computerization, etc.) and the definition of new strategies for machining, both with new materials such as processesthat can extend the offer to an increasingly demanding market.

Aerostructures
The aviation market is a sector in constant change and expansion due to the increasingly strict requirements of consumers and environmental measures. As a result, it is a sector in which to be competitive is necessary to keep abreast of new developments both aircraft and production processes. To this end, the Aciturri group participates actively in r + d projects, both in design and manufacture and Assembly, which are aimed at the development of new aircraft or improvements on existing ones.

Applications of new materials
The incidence of new materials elastomeric or metal lightened constitute a key factor in the global marketplace, resulting of vital importance to know them and know work to develop new products which, no doubt, eventually replacing the old of heavier and more limited benefits. Currently, the technology of the group does not address growth or testing of new materials, focusing more on the search of applications of materials in development, and to support research on them through joint projects.

Process automation and robotization
To maintain levels of competitiveness, there are many companies who invest a great effort in reducing production time by automating the most basic and common processes. These automation processes, which in turn lead to an important professional development of workers, require a specific often design in search of appropriate solutions. In this regard, the group develops r & d activity in the search for these specific solutions both for productive activities as non.

Renewable energy sources
The implementation of sustainable development is a global necessity that each day takes greater role in the world, not only through private but also to Community requirements initiatives. Although actions in this context welcomes countless sectors, the activity of the Group focuses on the research of the use and deployment of energy systems based on renewable resources such as wind power, solar, or produced through hydrogen-based fuel cells.

Respect for the environment is present in all the activities that are carried out in the Aciturri group companies. Although production generates clean waste (turnings, shavings, etc.), its collection and treatment is conducted by managers authorized through the project "Platform logistics for the management of the waste" of the technological centre of Miranda de Ebro. The next challenge in the environmental policy is certified by the ISO 14001 standard.

Aciturri group is also aware of the need to protect the safety and health of its staff. For this reason, has a service of prevention alien in order to apply the principles relating to the protection of workers established by law 31/1995 of occupational risk prevention. This service develops and maintains updated the Manual on the prevention of occupational risks, and each of the companies of the Group puts it into practice and runs towards the improvement. The main aspects of this manual are the management of the prevention of occupational hazards, accidents, assessment of risks and preventive planning, industrial hygiene, ergonomics and psycho-sociology, plan of self-protection against emergencies and training of workers.

If now the Group had in mind acquire a machine tool, equipment of milling or centre of machining, what search is greater flexibility and agility in the changes of processes for machining parts. "Would avoid this a great waste of time," claim. On the market of turning-milling centres, Aciturri has not yet located a center that has the possibility of changing the tools without having to stop the machine.

Aciturri group figures prominently at the international level in different technological business, thanks to the projects that develop their businesses.

• Aerofive. Development of specific processes of mechanization of high speed for the aeronautical sector (non-profit program of the Ministry of science and technology; 06-2000-06-2003).
• Lubrijet. Machining assisted by Jet of oil at high pressure (program of the Department of industry of the Basque Government intek; 12-2001-12-2003).
• Industrial applications of micro - and nano-technologies. Line 4 of the development agency of the Junta de Castilla y León; 5-2003-5-2004.
• Silencer. Significantly Lower Community Exposure to Aircraft Noise (5th European framework programme; 04-2001-04-2005).
• DART. Development of an Advanced Rotor for Tilt-Rotor (5th European framework programme; 03-2002-03-2005).
• Trisyd. Tilt-Rotor Integrated drive System Development (5th European framework programme; 05-2002-05-2005).
• Awiator. Aircraft Wing with Advanced Technology OpeRation (5th European framework programme; 07-2002-07-2006).
• Design, manufacture and testing of modular moulds for moulding of Pallas in great length in compound Material. Program of the Department of industry of the Basque Government intek; 07-2002-07-04.
• Study of shock absorbers systems based on metallic foams for aerospace and aeronautical sectors. Line 4 of the development agency of the Junta de Castilla y León; 09-2002-09-04.
• Aircraft structural components based on metallic foams. Line 4 of the development agency of the Junta de Castilla y León; 04-2003-12-2005.
• Process design optimization of a cell of machining by EDM. Line 4 of the development agency of the Junta de Castilla y León; 03-2002-03-2003.
• Design and manufacture of a machine's deposition of multicabezal thread. Line 4 of the development agency of the Junta de Castilla y León; 03-2002-11-2003.
• Nanotechnology and its application to the storage of H2. Line 4 of the development agency of the Junta de Castilla y León; (11-2002-11-2003)

Aciturri group participates in the design of some parts with the customers and also performs the processes of the pieces and concurrent engineering. To this end, it has CAD programs such as Catia V4.2.1 - 3D, Solidworks, Unigraphics 14 and Autocad 14, and programs such as Goelanc, Wintutor, Gibbs, Catia and Unigraphics CAM.

In Spasa have machining various structural parts of Embrear 145 and 170 as, for example, ribs of aluminium, Flap Tracs, caps fuel, etc.

In the tank of water of the A 380, Spasa carried out two tanks by air and is responsible for the supply of material and commercial, concurrent engineering, manufacturing and Assembly, sourcing and manufacture of mechanized elements, formed sheet metal, Assembly and design of elementarythe forming of sheet metal, the management of commercial, equipment of different subsets, Joint Assembly and the design of the Bank of tests and trials.

Also, Castle Aero performs the fittings of zone 2 of the Belly Fairing of the A 380, in particular, design, calculation, documentation, manufacturing of elementary (fittings and hardpoints, titanium, aluminium profiles, basic sheet metal, Assembly of sets)basic equipment and construction of sets.

A 310-300 MRTT is the result of the conversion of a civilian airliner in one of combustible air supply / air receiving aircraft. The MRTT is capable of transferring up to 30 tons of fuel during an operation of track 3, 000nm or 40 tons of fuel to 1, 000nm hours in season 2. SPASA carried out jointly with Castle Aero concurrent customer engineering, comprehensive management of all the products machined from design to delivery of the finished product, including the final processes and basic equipment.