China Complex Parts Blog

Being an ISO-certified, long-proven manufacturer of components for aerospace, we at Ardel wanted to inform our blog readers on one of the more recent trends in aircraft design.

We’re not talking about the fact you have to pay for your “complimentary” audio headset on most flights these days. We’re talking about reducing the overall tonnage of airplanes in order for them to attain greater mechanical performance and efficiency.

Before there was geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (or GD&T for short), manufacturers relied almost entirely upon linear dimensioning to achieve standardization of parts.

Linear dimensioning is simply the practice of measuring a given distance to the most exact possible degree of accuracy. It was during the Second World War that GD&T was first discovered and applied. A British inspector of submarine torpedo parts, a man named Stanley Parker, discovered that certain components which wouldn’t normally seem qualified for military specifications were actually fit to be used in torpedoes. Instead of throwing the parts away as would normally be done, Parker realized that if the components were mated together with other parts to a reasonable degree of tolerance, then they still met the requirements of military specifications, and were good to go. Naturally, this saved Parker time and effort in the fast-paced business of providing for the British Royal Navy.

Since our company’s inception, we’ve made it a priority to round out our capabilities so we can perform even better for the industries we serve.

To that effort, we’ve purchased a formidable array of top-of-the-line CNC machinery equipment for all types of applications. CNC horizontal mills, CNC vertical mills, CNC turning/Swiss screw machines, high-performance saws, wire EDM machines, and state-of-the-art computerized design and logistical technology are all part of our arsenal. 

As our machinery numbers have gone up, so have our quality control and inspection processes , all of which contributed to our receiving an ISO 9001 certification not so long ago.

You might think, what with our website and our long-running social media presence, that our company has some extensive background in the advertising industry. Well, if you’d thought that, you’d be correct. While we try simply to report the facts and figures in regards to our own company – and simply let our capabilities do most of the real “talking” – we’ve done some serious manufacturing work on behalf of… well, advertising companies. In fact, one of the most prominent agencies in the Twin Cities advertising world habitually contracts us to build the framework for in-store fixtures and drive-thru banner stands.

First off, we’d like to thank those who have thus far been taking the time to read our blog.

It’s been a good many months since our first entries about Swiss screws and aerospace engineering, and we’re glad that many of you seem to be taking the time to examine what’s happening at our company beyond simply placing an order. Sometimes it really is a thought that counts, especially when that thought proves to be of practical value to someone out there in Cyberland. We certainly hope what we’re writing has been useful for our viewers – both clients and casual readers alike.

Our new quality control manager, Michael Koch, has done his fair share of optimizing production processes. Michael began his QC career at a mid-sized medical device OEM in the Twin Cities, where he learned the twin sciences of efficiency improvement and process improvement. He then went on to work for a number of automotive and aerospace companies, where he became well-versed in making sure that all fabricated parts held up under intensive scrutiny, and that these parts had the tightest tolerances and highest levels of consistency possible. He came onboard with us at Ardel some five months ago, and has already proved himself invaluable when it comes to such skills as CMM metrology.

As part of an ongoing discussion about the various materials (both metallic and thermoplastic) that we work with at China Complex Parts, we would like to discuss our experience working with PEEK polymer thermoplastics. 

Since PEEK – the acronym stands for Polyether ether ketone – is such a structurally robust thermoplastic, unusually resistant to high thermal concentrations, high pressure, and high levels of corrosion, it is sought after by performance-intensive industries of all stripes. 

Its uses in pistons for automotive engines, biochemical and analytical chemical separation processes, and even subatomic particle accelerators are all well-documented. Its expensiveness and its relative scarcity place it beyond the price-range of a lot of clientele. Usually the province of 1st tier suppliers, major international companies, and well-established research universities (as well as national and state governments), PEEK is something we excel at in several of our own fields of expertise.

Ardel can say with empirical certainty that our business traffic has picked up considerably. 

Whatever these unforeseeable times have in store for our country; whether we are still in the midst of a recession, a Great Recession, a recovery from recession, or a “dead cat bounce” that will ultimately lead us back into yet another stretch of recession; whatever the case may be for America, we at Ardel can say with empirical certainty that our business traffic has picked up considerably. 

New companies and clients in sectors we previously had little contact with seem suddenly to be knocking at our gates, asking for engineering advice, input, and – of course – our time and investment in their individual projects. We’ve been more than happy to oblige. Without naming any names, aerospace orders seem to be flocking our way, as are orders from companies involved with precision metrology. Word seems to be getting around that our engineering staff and state-of-the-art machinery aren’t just idle social media chitchat; that in fact these things are measured capabilities we are more than able to back up with results.

In what many considered a surprising move, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently appeared on NBC’s Today Show to announce a new feature that would soon be available for all the social media platform’s users to share: their organ donor status.

Apparently Mr. Zuckerberg’s medical student girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, inspired him to instigate the new social media status, since it would be an extremely easy way for those in need of a medical transplant to seek out a potentially life-saving donor. Previously, those searching for organ transplants would have to slog through a months-long, nebulous process that oftentimes involved them sorting through long miles of bureaucratic and insurance company red tape, or would even lead to less scrupulous customers shopping for organ transplants on the international black market.

Titanium is, without question, one of the most fundamentally important metals of 21st century construction.

Not only does titanium have cutting-edge applications in defense (the titanium hulls of US and Russian naval submarines, for instance) and space exploration (much of the metal that goes into government and commercial satellite technology is either titanium or a titanium-derived alloy), but it’s also become a critical component of today’s medical industry. The 81st element in the Periodic Table has attributes that make it indispensable for use in reconstructive surgery, dental implants, cardiovascular devices, and external prostheses.