KS Composites provides ringing endorsement of Belotti CNC machine tools

Innovation, experience and excellence: these three core principles are at the very forefront of everything KS Composites does, setting the company at the pinnacle of the composites industry.

Trading for almost 40 years, KS Composites is a respected leader in the design, manufacture and supply of advanced composite tooling (patterns, moulds, jigs, scale models) and components, serving a wide array of industries including automotive, aerospace, rail, marine, defence, sports and leisure.

As the manufacturing landscape is experiencing a constant evolution, KS Composites’ main purpose is to remain at the forefront, providing precision and innovation in machining solutions and final products. Guided by this approach, the company took the opportunity to revamp and update its machinery shop when it moved facilities in 2019, investing heavily in three Belotti CNC 5-axis precision centres with large envelopes, intended to machine a range of materials from low density foams, through to composites and light alloys.

The new state-of-the-art CNC machine shop now includes:

• one Belotti FLA 4018 for resin patterns milling
• one Belotti FLU 2617 for the prototyping and manufacturing of patterns and moulds and tooling boards resins
• one Belotti MDL 4036 for the machining of light alloys moulds and the trimming of large-size carbon fibre components, including chassis for the automotive industry

Operating predominantly in the automotive, aerospace and motorsport markets, KS Composites now works with the latest materials including a range of prepreg fabrics such as carbon, glass, Kevlar and phenolic.

The overall procurement was overseen by Belotti Export Sales Department and Robert Lornie, operations & technical sales manager of Cannon Shelley - Belotti’s official distributor for UK. Lornie also coordinated the installations and the start-up phases of the three machines.

“KS Composites’ strategic partnership with Belotti stands as a testament to our commitment to delivering excellence in machining capabilities,” stated says Jamie Smith, managing director at KS Composites. “As the manufacturing landscape continues to evolve, we remain at the forefront, providing unmatched precision and innovation in machining solutions.”

Dan Johnston, business development at KS Composites added: “Leveraging the technical abilities of the Belotti machines and pairing this with our own in-house expertise creates a very versatile and agile machining department within the business. We were able to really demonstrate this throughout the Network Rail FLOW bridge project in which the large working volume coupled with the accurate and repeatable machining ensured the modular approach to the design was successful. We look forward to continuing pushing the boundaries and exploring new sectors in which we can exploit the machines’ incredible capabilities.”

For the Network Rail FLOW bridge project, KS Composites manufactured the bridge spine made of composite materials. This was the first of Network Rail’s innovative new low-carbon, lightweight and affordable pedestrian bridges, opened in Shropshire as a replacement for a dangerous level crossing. The name FLOW bridge is an acronym for Fibre-reinforced polymer, Lower cost, Optimised design, Working bridge – but it also references the sleek and modern modular design. This prototype demonstrated the versatility of composite materials in construction on the railway.

KS Composite usual clients also include F1 teams and prestigious car and Hypercar manufacturers, as the American Hennessey Performance, to name one of the most recent collaboration. The all-new Hypercar Venom F5 has a special frame that can be defined as a state-of-the-art carbon fibre monocoque built with the collaboration of specialists at KS Composites using Belotti CNC centres.

The integration of Belotti's CNC solutions into KS Composites’ operations has yielded numerous benefits (declared by KS’s team):

• Increased production efficiency: Belotti's high-speed machining capabilities have significantly reduced production cycle times, allowing KS to fulfil orders faster and more efficiently.
• Consistent component quality: The precision and accuracy achieved through Belotti's machining centres have elevated the quality of KS’ components, meeting and exceeding industry standards.
• Adaptability to complex projects: The versatility of Belotti's machines has empowered KS to take on complex projects with intricate geometries, expanding its market reach and capabilities.

Belotti technologies for composite materials machining will be on display at JEC World 2024, Paris March 5-7 (hall 6, stand G61), along with samples and final products manufactured by prestigious clients.

www.belotti.com

www.cannonshelley.com