Spring, bent wire form and
assembly manufacturer,
William Hughes, has installed
an automated passivation
plant at its UK HQ in Dorset.

The move will cut the leadtime
incurred by subcontracting
this requirement
and enable the company to
provide another Nadcap
process for aerospace clients.

The machinery was
designed and made to William
Hughes’ precise needs and
offers optimised control of the
process in line with AMS 2700.

Shaun Tattershall, special
processes manager, says:
“This helped with our plan to
gain a Chemical Processing
Nadcap accreditation. We
have also achieved Honeywell
approval for passivation, and
we appear on their approved
processing supplier list.”
The plant performs ‘fluid
transfer’, moving chemical
solutions from holding tanks
into the main processing unit
as required. The process is
automatic and PLC controlled.