Francis Birketts’ heritage is a foundry producing copper and nickel based castings up to 40 kgs in weight. Nowadays, the foundry activities for FWB are looked after by its sister Company – Meighs & Westleys.
However, the large volume and breadth of castings resulted in finish machining requirements and it is this experience and expertise which sets FWB apart from its competitors.
We have a well invested armoury of CNC lathes and vertical machining centres accommodating a variety of size envelopes ranging from 50mm to 700mm. The skill of machining castings is heavily focused on work holding; our experience and technicians utilise a variety of techniques to try to minimise any upfront tooling.
We are able to advise on material selection by utilising our Group’s metallurgical knowledge and we are able to accommodate all forms of NDT and material validation. Wide-ranging alloys include all heat, wear and corrosion resistant materials, which are supplied regularly for the following applications: diesel engines, valves, pumps, defence fighting vehicles, naval warships, submarines, and petrochemical plants.
Our Group’s strategy is to finish machine what we cast because it provide certainty to the supply chain and adds value to our customers. All components are measured and validated by a combination of mobile and fixed CMM measuring equipment, digital micrometres, digital shadow graph and surface finish testing machinery.