When OKW Enclosures’ general manager Ian Cox saw a LCM Prima Inserter self-clinch sheet metal fastener installation press being demonstrated at an exhibition, he knew this was a machine that could really benefit his business. With a six tonnes rating, the machine - available exclusively in the UK and Ireland from Northern Precision - allows fasteners to be easily inserted into either box- or C-type workpieces and it will handle materials from 0.5 to 6mm thick.

Ian Cox regarded it as an ideal solution for OKW Enclosures, a specialist fabricator of light-gauge metal casings for electronic applications. ‘It was so much quicker and easier to operate than anything we were using,’ he says. ‘What appealed to me especially were two things. First, it was very fast and simple to change the sizes of the inserts - so, all the issues that usually arise when doing this are removed, and the changes can be made without interrupting the process. ‘The other feature that caught my eye was that the machine doesn’t have a foot pedal. It automatically strokes as you push the component and the sliding tool arrangement back in under the head of the press. That makes it so much better for the operator. If you’ve got a long-running small job, for example, you can sit at the machine and not get fatigued by trying to use a foot pedal all the time. I thought that one day, that would be a really good addition to have.’

 He had already been talking to Northern Precision the independent market-leading supplier of fasteners and special-purpose turned and cold-formed parts, after seeing the demonstration at the Southern Manufacturing and Electronics show. What he needed was the additional business that would justify the investment - and, in mid 2007, that came through. ‘We won an on-going contract that involves a lot of inserts. Northern Precision offered us a machine on trial and, once they'd installed it at our factory (in Fareham) the test results were very impressive. So, it was a foregone conclusion that I would buy the Prima Inserter.

 ‘The machine is brilliant; our people have commented how much faster it is to process parts through it.’ How does it compare with competitive products? ‘To be honest, I didn't look. Once I saw what the Prima Inserter could do, I knew it was the right choice. It proved itself when we trialled it, so there was no need to shop around. And, in terms of cost, it was already competitive anyway.’ Looking ahead, he believes OKW Enclosures may be able to use other features the machine offers. In fact, a range of accessories transforms it into a flexible production aid to suit a wide variety of applications: ‘We will certainly look to take advantage of these, where the need and opportunity arises.’
 
Accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2000, Northern Precision supplies the NP brand of self-clinching fasteners, rivet bushes, sheet nuts, high-strength and broaching fasteners, weld nuts and studs, cage nuts and blind rivets, as well as special turned and cold-formed components to customer requirements.