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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1539.PDF
FLIGHT, 27 November 1953 693 ROLLS-ROYCE EXPANSION East Kilbride Factory Formally Opened by Minister of Supply ON Friday last the Rolls-Royce factory at East Kilbride, near Glasgow, was formally opened by the Minister of Supply, Mr. Duncan Sandys. Many distinguished guests were present, including the Earl of Home, Minister of State for Scotland; Sir Patrick Dolan, chairman of the East Kilbride Development Corporation; Air Chief Marshal Sir John Baker, Controller of Supplies (Air), M.O.S., and Rear-Admiral Caspar John, Deputy Controller of Supplies (Air), M.O.S. A tour of the shops was followed by a second ceremony in which the Minister, from a control panel at East Kilbride, started up an Avon engine at the test-plant 2j miles distant. Sound and vision were relayed back to East Kilbride. In welcoming the guests at luncheon, Lord Hives (chairman, Rolls-Royce, Ltd.) said that when, at the beginning of the Korean war, the company was asked to expand production facilities, they had no hesitation in saying that the expansion should be in Scotland. During the war, 25,000 Merlin engines had been built in the Glasgow area, and an even greater number had been over hauled and sent back in service. Since the war, the company had always employed more than 4,000 people in the area. In proposing the toast of "East Kilbride," Mr. Duncan Sandys said that in his capacity as "landlord of the factory," he could think of no more desirable tenant than Lord Hives. He also said that great things were expected of the by-pass principle incor porated in the Conway engine, in increasing range and reducing operating costs by saving in fuel consumption. In due course, presumably, the Conway will be among the engines manufactured at East Kilbride. The works, which is already in production, is at present handling Avons and Derwents. The factory consists of four main blocks (machining, assembly, process-plant and stores) separated by roads; behind these are a receiving block and the boiler-house, and in front, facing the main road to Glasgow, is a two-storey office building. A canteen and welfare-hall occupy a separate island site. Machine-shop equipment comprises a variety of modern general- and special-purpose tools capable of high-precision work on components ranging from small studs to compressor-shafts machined from forgings weighing 4j cwt each. In the assembly and repair block, engine sub-assemblies are built up separately and then passed to the erecting line, extensive use being made of specially designed stands. Rebuilding of repaired engines is handled on similar lines, and in this section there are very complete Right) Repaired Derwents and—in background—Avons being prepared for despatch. (Below) An Avon in the test-house, the control-room of which is also shown; main items are by Heenan and Froude, Ltd. facilities for stripping-down, degreasing, and crack-testing of parts before they are passed to the inspection bays for visual examination. At the output end of the assembly block are facili ties for inhibiting and preparing engines for despatch. The process block houses a range of hardening and tempering furnaces and a new type of gas-carburizing plant which over comes the familiar problems of scaling. In this section, too, is a plating shop, equipped to carry out a dozen protective and other processes under the control of an adjoining laboratory. Also in the process block is the tool-room, equipped with P. and W. and Oerlikon jig-bores and other precision equipment, and in the adjoining standards room the atmosphere is controlled for both temperature and humidity. A notable feature of the overall layout is the installation of a dragline conveyor, consisting of a chain moving below floor-level and carrying attachments which, projecting through a slot, enable trucks to be quickly coupled to the chain. This conveyor is used for the issue of materials to machine and process depart ments, the transport of part-machined components between blocks, and the transportation of finished parts to the stores. Where it enters or leaves blocks there are automatic air-lock doors which permit passage of the trucks while preventing cold air or dust from entering the shop interiors. A routeing device enables the various destinations of the trucks to be preselected. Though the test-site is sufficiently far from East Kilbride to avoid disturbance to residents, particularly effective silencing equipment is installed at die test-houses. If I H ^& - V • m ^ -fSfcT' ' '"1* ^ktd ft m •mm- jM
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