Vericut Force brings 20 % tool cost savings per part to leading turbine part manufacturer
TOOLS, PLANT & EQUIPMENT MACHINING SMARTER
VERICUT
Vericut Force brings 20 % tool cost savings per part to leading turbine part manufacturer
ELE Advanced Technologies, a leading UK manufacturer of turbine parts for the aerospace and power generation sectors, is tapping into the benefits of Vericut Force software to reduce its cost of consumables( cutting tools) by an impressive 20 % per component. This is in addition to cycle time reductions of 11 %. Together, these savings mean ELE Advanced Technologies is on track to achieve a return on investment( ROI) of less than 12 months, keeping ELE competitive with key customers by mitigating the current economic environment where manufacturing inflation & cost pressures remain high.
With its state-of-the-art, 180-employee headquarters and manufacturing facility in Nelson, Lancashire, ELE Advanced Technologies has grown considerably from its origins in 1955 supplying parts to local industry. Today, the tier-one supplier’ s global customer base includes blue-chip multinationals such as Rolls-Royce, Safran, GE Aerospace and Siemens.
Privately owned since a management buyout in 2000, business is currently strong at ELE Advanced Technologies, where adjoining land allocated to support further growth could soon come into play. The current site in Nelson has been home for the past three years, initially providing an extra 40 % of shop-floor space. However, heavy investment quickly saw the space filled.
Multinational facilities While the UK facility produces hot gas path products such as turbine blades, nozzle guide vanes and seal segments, the circa £ 25 million turnover company has an additional 40-employee facility in Slovakia that is responsible for parts like turbine housings. Components manufactured by ELE Advanced Technologies extend in size 25 to 1,000 mm long, spanning all turbine needs for the aerospace and power generation sectors and providing notable market differentiation.
“ We have many niche processes aligned to turbine part manufacture, such as STEM drilling [ nitric acid erosion ], capillary drilling and fasthole EDM drilling,” explains Technical Director David Dudley.“ There’ s also creep-feed grinding, twin-wheel grinding and VIPER grinding on our 50,000 ft ² shop floor, alongside several EDM machines and four-axis horizontal machining centres. We work a three-shift, 24-5 system on weekdays, plus a weekend shift.”
ELE Advanced Technologies is a long-standing user of Autodesk PowerMILL 3D CAM software and Vericut verification software, the latter helping to avoid collisions and protect both expensive machines and components.
“ Our team of manufacturing engineers added the Vericut Force module in summer 2025 as we were looking to reduce the cost of our consumables,” says David Dudley.“ We’ re seeing year-on-year cost rises passed on by our suppliers, while we also experience pressure to provide customers with cost reductions. We knew Vericut Force could offset some of these cost challenges through cycle time reductions and, more significantly, by extending tool life.”
Exotic alloys
For its rough milling processes, ELE Advanced Technologies relies heavily on special solid-carbide cutters designed to machine exotic metals like nickel-based superalloys and titanium. These engineering materials feature properties that help withstand the extreme operating
100 PECM Issue 77