SITE MAP | DISCLAIMER     EMAIL:  info@thomasengineers.co.nz   PHONE: + 64  9  9485793   HOME SERVICES ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS CASE STUDIES CONTACT US MECHANICAL & PRODUCT DESIGN    |   PROCESS ENGINEERING    |     HEAVY VEHICLE ENGINEERING       |     LIGHT VEHICLE ENGINEERING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING & PRODUCT DESIGN INDUSTRY CAPABILITY COMPONENT AND PRODUCT DESIGN PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS DEVELOPMENT (JIGS & FIXTURES) FAILURE ANALYSIS (FORENSIC ENGINEERING) PRODUCT TESTING REPORTING MECHANICAL STRUCTURES MACHINE DESIGN     WE CAN OFFER FULL PROJECT MANAGEMENT RESOURCES FROM DESIGN TO DELIVERY TO COMPLEMENT YOUR EXISTING ORGANISATIONAL RESOURCES. PROTOTYPE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CAPABILITY   At  THOMAS engineers Ltd, nearly twenty years in the following disciplines ensures a strong skill base and the ability to apply insight as well as problem solving aptitude effectively in the development of products and solutions for many industries :   INDUSTRY Project Management. Heavy and Light Steel Design / Fabrication (Vehicle / Plant / Equipment). Automotive component design (light and heavy vehicles). Automotive component manufacturing process development (chemical and mechanical). Animal-health product process development - Liquids processing and filling, capsule assembly machines, wire forming machines. Pesticide manufacturing process development - Liquids and powder filling operations. Structural mechanical design - Vehicle Chassis, component and process framing. Special Purpose Vehicle Applications. Vehicle Certification & Design to NZTA requirements (All classes - MD / NA / NB / NC etc) Vehicle Safety Systems and Seatbelts (Motorhome / PSV / passenger cars / Vans / Taxis). Disability Adaptive Control Systems (PSV / Vans / passenger cars / Taxis). Dry bulk material handling systems / pneumatic conveying for: Flour mills. Aluminium foil waste removal. Wood-chip removal in saw-mills. Dust and fume extraction in virtually any industry. Our resources include :   2-D draughting 3-D modelling Hand-sketching A range of electronic calculation techniques and Finite Elelment Analysis (FEA). We are able to provide you with a vast range of experience, insight and effective communication and implementation.   Contact THOMAS engineers Ltd for professional service including project management from concept to commissioning. BACK TO TOP COMPONENT AND PRODUCT DESIGN   COMPONENT DESIGN and PRODUCT DESIGN is a strong capability at Thomas Engineers Ltd, nearly twenty years in the following disciplines ensures a strong skill and insight level as well as significant achievement: Project Management. Heavy / Light Steel Design / Fabrication.  Automotive Component Design. General Chemical and Mechanical Manufacturing Process Development. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Process Development. Structural Mechanical Design. Steel and Plastics Paint Process Development. Dry bulk material handling systems for: Flour Mills. Aluminium Foil Waste Processing. Wood-chip Removal in Saw-mills. Dust and Fume Extraction. Coal Processing. The PRODUCT DESIGN process is typically : RESEARCH : (Performance requirements, price,standards, patents, materials, operating conditions, user profiles.) CONCEPT : (Conceptual and general sketching of requirements and key aspects for "FORM, FIT and FUNCTION". At this stage the anticpiated load path/s are also considered and quantified for the engineering stage. The general boundary conditions of the product are key to a successful evaluation during the engineering stage.) ENGINEERING : (Development of 3D model for establishment of key dimensions and analysis / calculation.) PROTOTYPE : (Production of sample for confirmation, "use evaluation" and testing, jigs & fixtures.) PRODUCTION : (Issue of final manufacturing drawings and Quality Assurance documentation, process commissioning.) PRODUCT DESIGN involves particular skills to ensure           At Thomas Engineers Ltd we achieve success through: Detailed and effective written as well as verbal communication. (Important in the design review and also implementation stages.) Flexibility. Attention to detail and the establishment of accurate parameters. Extensive skills network to cover all disciplines and aspects, enabling project management. Detailed knowledge of Quality Assurance system requirements and documentation.(Including VDA6 and ISO9001.) It is important to ensure that whatever product (and related process) is required, the result is a cost effective and “fit-for-purpose” product and that meets all necessary requirements. BACK TO TOP PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT Prototype development is an important step in the design process, leading on from the conceptual and design stages, giving rise to the testing and tooling stage. By this time the general parameters will have been established for performance and quality and testing can begin if there are performance specifications to be met.   If initial testing is required and successful, and the prototype fulfils all the required parameters then tooling and “first off” components from the tooling stage can be produced for dimensional evaluation and standards testing where it may be required. In general, only off-tool samples are submitted for testing or evaluation to required standards. Where design or product changes occur during the process, testing is to be re-done.   Our resources are formulated to provide you with a vast range of experience, insight and effective communication and implementation. Contact THOMAS engineers Ltd for professional service including project management from concept to commissioning. BACK TO TOP   PROCESS DEVELOPMENT (JIGS & FIXTURES) In order to ensure efficent production in areas such as "Single Minute Exchange of Die" (SMED), "CANBAN" and "Just In Time" (JIT), production fixtures and jigs are vital to provide the means for personnel to achieve production goals and capacities, as well as provide means for effective storage and transport. An extensive experience base, particularly within the automotive industry, provides Thomas Engineers Ltd with the resources to develop these key items to implement into your production environment as well as transport infrastructure.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          BACK TO TOP FAILURE ANALYSIS (FORENSIC ENGINEERING) At THOMAS engineers Ltd we can provide an exceptional capacity for establishing causes of failure of components or assemblies and  machinery. Causes such as manufacturing or design faults can be established through appropriate analysis and detailed in appropriate reports. These activities can lead to an effective design process to ensure that the component or product is refined or re-developed to ensure proper performance. The manufacturing process is then also modified to suit the component where required. FAILURE ANALYSIS can be as simple as utilising hand and electronic calculation methods through to utilising modelling and finite element techniques and even physical testing of components in simulated re-constructed events. Simulated constructed events are often required where hand / electronic calculation or Finite Element Analysis is simply not accurate enough or may indeed be too time consuming.   The key and skill in any event is to ensure that all parameters including loads, load-paths, times and many other attributes are correctly and accurately defined and simulated.   Contact THOMAS engineers Ltd to discuss any requirements you may have. BACK TO TOP PRODUCT TESTING   PHYSICAL TESTING is the optimum method to determine the performance of any product wherever it is practical and also cost effective. Many industries use this method to ensure that their products conform to required international standards with regard to performance and also quality.   Often products are developed or designed which have no specific industry standards directly associated with them and in these instances either an existing standard or set of standards can be used as a basis to formulate an “in-house” company standard or a completely new “company standard” is formulated.   Internationally recognised standards can certainly be developed in conjunction with recoginsed standards organisations where required but this is a time consuming and costly exercise.   THOMAS engineers Ltd has had experience in developing a wide range of test equipment, to required standards of performance, for the automotive and pharmaceutical industries, developing equipment such as the following: SALT-SPRAY CORROSION TESTING facility – to recognised automotive standards. STONE-CHIP TESTING equipment – to recognised automotive standards. Capsule dissolution testing equipment – to “in-house” developed standard. Vehicle-secured transportation rack – to company “in-house” developed standard. The above projects are all commercially sensitive and so no details may be disclosed.   We at THOMAS engineers Ltd have a unique ability to formulate test procedures also for equipment or products not yet covered by any existing standard, contact us to discuss your product DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING REQUIREMENTS. BACK TO TOP REPORTING The formulation of a report after analysis, testing or physical evaluation of components, systems or assemblies is a vital key to quantifying performance attributes. They generally summarise all parameters involved in preparations, calculation / evaluation and results. All aspects are correlated to ensure that the customer has an appropriate summary of the entire product, process or system evaluation. This provides a valuable reference for future company personnel as well as training and problem solving. It also provides a bench-mark tool if product or process changes are required in future and can lead to a very valuable resource for creating empirical data. Our resources are formulated to provide you with a vast range of experience, insight and effective communication and implementation.   Contact THOMAS engineers Ltd for professional service including project management from concept to commissioning. BACK TO TOP MECHANICAL STRUCTURES THOMAS engineers Ltd has the ability to design and develop small to medium sized mechanical structures in the applications of: Vehicle Chassis (SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE / PSV / CRANE TRUCKS / AMPHIBIOUS / Classes NA, NB, NC, TC etc). Special Purpose Equipment. Support Structures - Plant and Equipment. Process and Manufacturing Frames / Jigs & Fixtures. Lifting Frames / Lifting Booms. Our resources are formulated to provide you with a vast range of experience, insight and effective communication and implementation. Contact THOMAS engineers Ltd for professional service including project management from concept to commissioning. BACK TO TOP MACHINE DESIGN   THOMAS engineers Ltd has the ability to design and develop small to medium sized machinery and processes. A vast range of experience and associations provides a most capable resource for your manufacturing and development requirements.   A further significant capability is problem solving of many different machine operations and processes. Keen insight and experience provide resources for accurately quantifying raw-material and labour inputs, machine function and product outputs. Sometimes high-speed camera equipment and other similar resources provide valuable understanding of existing problematic dynamic processes.   Our resources are formulated to provide you with a vast range of experience, insight and effective communication and implementation. Contact THOMAS engineers Ltd for professional service including project management from concept to commissioning.     home | services | engineering nz | case studies | contact us | links | site map | disclaimer THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED ON 17 FEBRUARY 2010 BACK TO TOP Disclaimer : Every effort has been made to ensure that details on this web-site are correct, no item or detail  on this web-site should be used or implemented for any purpose without first consulting THOMAS Engineers Ltd to discuss the application. All items are copyright. Copyright © 2009 - 2010 Thomas Engineers Limited. All rights reserved.