Engineering
Engineering and industrialisation
Machines do not make a part right. The decisions taken before the first chip is cut do — process route, fixturing, tool path, simulation and the inspection plan.
New part introduction
An NPI function, not an improvisation
ESM operates a dedicated New Part Introduction and industrialisation process with a named owner. Every new part number goes through the same defined sequence, and the outputs — process sheets, fixture drawings, CNC programmes, control plan and FAI file — become the production standard.
Concurrent engineering is applied: manufacturing, quality and supply chain review a new part together rather than sequentially, which is how manufacturability problems get found while they are still cheap to fix.
Technical review of the definition
3D model and drawing analysis, tolerance and GD&T review, material and specification check, identification of key characteristics.
Design for manufacture feedback
Where a feature drives cost, cycle time or risk, we return a documented observation to the customer before quoting — not after the first non-conformity.
Process definition
Operation sequence, machine allocation, datum strategy, stock allowance and the split between machining, fitting and external processes.
Fixture and tooling design
Workholding designed for rigidity and repeatability, tooling selected for the material and the feature set, critical fixtures validated by FAI before release.
CNC programming
CAM programming directly from the customer 3D definition, with toolpath strategies chosen for surface integrity and cycle stability rather than for headline cycle time alone.
Programme verification
Programmes are verified in simulation against the fixture and tooling model before they reach the shop floor. Collisions are found on screen, not on the machine.
First-off and FAI
Setup validation, first-article manufacture and the FAI file, built during industrialisation rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Transfer to series
Standards frozen, operators authorised, control plan issued, cycle and setup times measured and loaded into the ERP capacity model.
Digital chain
From the customer model to the released part
CAD
CATIA · Siemens NX
Native handling of customer definitions, fixture design and manufacturing aids.
CAM
Mastercam
Programming for 3, 4 and 5-axis centres, with post-processors maintained per machine.
In-machine probing
Renishaw and Heidenhain probing, laser tool setting
Part and tool probing on every centre. Datums are measured, not estimated, and tool condition is checked in cycle.
ERP and MRP
Odoo Enterprise
Work orders, routings, load and capacity by machine and by labour, concession records and traceability.
PLM
Odoo PLM
Engineering change management and version control over manufacturing data.
Tooling management
Presetting bench and tool identification
Individual tool identity, controlled regrinding and preventive maintenance on critical tooling.
Engineering team
People who have stood at the machine
The engineering and development function covers methods, programming, industrialisation and tooling: nine methods and programming engineers working in CATIA and Mastercam, five design engineers, fifteen engineering workstations. It sits next to production, not above it — programmers see the consequences of their choices on the shop floor the same week.
Competence is managed formally: training plans, a versatility matrix, individual authorisations and post-training effectiveness evaluation. Partnerships with Tunisian engineering schools specialised in aeronautics feed the pipeline.
Want a manufacturability opinion before you release the drawing?
Send us the model at design freeze rather than at quotation. It is the cheapest engineering hour you will buy.
