Aerospace engineers move to bigger premises at Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone

An aerospace engineering firm based near Blackpool Airport has moved to bigger premises as it plans expansion.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Airframe Designs arrived at the airport enterprise zone in 2019 and has now moved into a larger office at the Pavilions.

Airframe Designs offers engineering design services into the aerospace, defence and space sectors, providing agile and efficient CAD design and stress analysis solutions to customers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

More recently, it has entered the additive manufacturing sector after the acquisition of a new FDM printer and is now securing contracts within the North-West Aerospace sector for the production of 3-D printed parts.

The team from Airframe Designs at their new premises in BlackpoolThe team from Airframe Designs at their new premises in Blackpool
The team from Airframe Designs at their new premises in Blackpool

The firm’s printed parts services are being complimented by the capability to scan parts using a portable 3-D scanner and to import geometry into its CATIA v5 CAD software.

These scanning services support reverse engineering and the validation of geometry for new part production. The firm also supports aircraft or rotorcraft surveys with the ability to scan and record a local area within the airframe to collect 3-D geometry that later supports the design change or repair process.

Throughout the pandemic AFD said it had seen market shifts with the focus pivoting away from the civil aerospace sector, badly hit by the fall in demand of passenger traffic, towards defence and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) special mission platforms.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

By pivoting, the business said it has been able to maintain revenue and also be better prepared as the pandemic recedes. The move will allow AFD to grow to a team of between 15-20 engineers in the next three years.

The new facility offers a higher level of security infrastructure and an enhanced IT network, bolstered and accredited with Cyber Essentials Plus, JOSCAR (the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register), and AS9100 (the Aerospace Quality Management System).

Chief engineer Jerrod Hartley said: “These are exciting times as we have recently added new revenue streams to the business to sit alongside the existing and successful Stress Analysis cost centre.

“Embracing new and innovative technologies such as Additive Manufacturing and 3-D Scanning is enabling AFD to grow the business in new directions and enter a wider array of sectors and markets.”

Related topics: