Learn The Manufacturing Process of Commercial Gym Equipment from a UK Supplier

WESTON SUPER MARE, U.K. - March 10, 2015 - PRLog -- Stages of Gym Equipment Manufacturing Explained

3D Modelling can be carried out using numerous pieces of software in order to create accurate drawings of any product. There are many benefits to using 3d modelling when custom making gym equipment including

Tight tolerances

Before any production takes place when we make a computer generated custom piece of gym equipment we can ensure we work to a high specification and that all parts will work when assembled. This helps to increase the quality for the custom and lower costs by reducing costly errors.

Heavy Duty Equipment

In order to ensure we follow the values of our company slogan ‘Where Strength Meets Engineering’ we design the strongest equipment crafting it using high strength materials. By using 3D Modelling we are able to ensure specific weights are achieved for the equipment by assigning material densities to each part that has been drawn.

Stress Analysis

Stress and impacts form part of daily life for gym equipment and ensuring our equipment is built to take this is vital for us. We use stress analysis tools in order to ensure welds and structure can handle the heavy weights thrown at it day in day out.

Product Specification

Once a 3d model of our product has been created we then move onto one of the most important factors in creating custom gym equipment. The bill of materials  BOM is essentially a spreadsheet filled with information about that piece of equipment including part numbers and sizes, part quantities and bolt types as an example. Most people don’t realise how many individual parts are involved in creating what looks like a simple piece of equipment.

When producing a BOM we produce a set of part numbers for each part ensuring the specification has been listed. This then forms a list which can be referred to when market prices of steel or components fluctuate enabling us to offer the best price for the highest quality.

Once we have produced our initial BOM assigning part numbers to each individual drawing we then create sub assemblies. Sub Assemblies are groups of parts which are welded or fixed together and form part a part of the final product. Generally we limit every product to no greater than 8 sub assemblies.

Prototyping and production

Once our Bill of materials and 3D Model/s have been finalised we are ready to start prototyping. First we produce a set of annotated production drawings for our engineers which show a front view, side view, top view and orthographic view. The production drawings include sub assembly numbers and part numbers and show areas of welding, sizes of holes and steel dimensions.

Accuracy

Ensuring cuts and straight and at the perfect angle are problems that could be faced in early production.  Simply having an angle that is out by just 1 degree or mm can have a large impact on the final appearance especially when designing products over long lengths. For example if you cut a 5 meter length of steel at 89 degrees instead of 90 degrees over a greater distance the anomaly becomes greater resulting in huge gaps. Look at the example below, the two left hand sections sit exactly 50mm apart at the base and are cut at 90 degrees. The two steel sections on the right are exactly 50mm apart but the left hand section has an 89 degree cut instead of 90 degree. When the sections are placed on a flat surface the 1 degree difference in the cut represents 137mm gap at the top, a difference of a whopping 87mm!

When producing high quality gym equipment investments need to be made in high quality industrial machinery to ensure the customer receives the very best equipment. At Kustom Kit we only purchase the very best equipment in order to ensure we produce the very best gym kit. Investments into our workshop are ongoing but in order to create the best facility we make use of the following machinery

Welding

Using high quality materials doesn't mean you get a high quality finish so its imperative your welder has a good knowledge and is using high quality equipment suitable to create a strong weld. Our facility uses Pow Con Industrial welders which are known for their excellent reliability and high power. We can comfortably weld over 10mm steel plate allowing for exceptional penetration and strength.

Mill

A mill when used to its full capability is capable of a range of tasks including shaping of parts and removal of material layers and is vital in accurate production of our gym equipment.

Lathe

A lathe is used to turn and shape cylindrical objects such as tube and bar. We use our lathe to create parts that require tight tolerances or accurate shaping. We can produce chamfers and radius’s in order to reduce stress points or increase aesthetic appeal.

Bandsaw

A high quality bandsaw is vital in order to create straight accurate cuts. We use a high quality industrial saw which features a feed roller and a measure roller at the rear. This ensures steel stock enters the machine at the perfect angle creating accurate cuts quickly and efficiently.

Laser cutting

We make use of Trumpf laser cutting machines which use a high powered laser beam which heats the material cutting it to a tolerance of just 0.1mm. With a capacity to cut up to 20mm thick steel this is an exceptional piece of equipment

Press Brake

A press brake is used to fold materials to a specific angle. We make use of a Bystronic Expert machine made in Switzerland to accurate fold material up to 3 meters long using up to 320 tons of pressure.

Once our initial prototype has been made we are able to test it’s functionality. If the gym equipment passes our testing process we then confirm the 3D model and our Bill of Materials and move to the next stage of production which is the colour coating process.

For more information visit the Kustom Kit website http://www.kustomkitgymequipment.co.uk

Manufacturing video from the Somerset workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOf_4jeCg6o