The business was established in December 2015 for the purpose of restoring and building steam engines along with related projects. It quickly built a reputation and established itself in the industry.
In 2018 the decision was made to invest in CNC milling machines allowing the company to provide subcontracting services. Within a year, after further investment, mill/turning capabilities were offered for the first time.
Today, AJ Cook Engineering supplies a diverse range of high-precision components to the automotive, aerospace, medical, photonics and scientific sectors. The business is regularly approached to undertake niche challenging projects.
Operationally, it makes effective use of a variety of Haas milling and turning machines and works with a wide variety of materials – including exotics such as Invar, various grades of stainless steel, nickel alloys, aluminium and plastics.
Since attaining ISO 9001:2015, the organisation has doubled its operations and is on track to achieve significant growth again this year. Maintaining strict quality standards throughout the business is fundamental to its manufacturing philosophy and vision. Caitlin Howell has been appointed as engineering coordinator, managing all aspects of quoting, job scheduling, cost and quality control, allowing the business to grow and enhance customer relationships.
However, the company was experiencing issues with residue build up on components and machines and consequently approached Chem Arrow Europe for a recommended solution.
Chem Arrow specialises in providing innovative solutions to complex metalworking issues and recommended trialing its latest e4 technology coolant – ArrowCool SOL-835-H. The new e4 technology uses a combination of performance-enhancing esters and proven technology to optimise productivity and component finishes, even in areas of extreme hard water.
AJ Cook Engineering trialed the new fluid on one of its milling machines and noted significant improvements in terms of cleanliness and quality plus a marked reduction in hard water deposits on components. Additional benefits of improved surface finish, reduced top-up and increased tool life means the company will convert all machines to the new grade.
‘To say we are impressed is an understatement,” enthuses managing director, Alistair Cook. “Coolant is something that is often overlooked when talking about part quality and finish but the addition of this new formula has transformed our component finishes.
“We deal with a wide variety of materials and while we can't accurately measure our tool life, we have noticed that over long batches of parts and job to job, our finishes don't deteriorate and the tooling looks as good as it did when we received it.
“We occasionally process large batches of 7000 series aluminum components and have noticed staining in the past with our previous coolants. However, since changing to the new ArrowCool product, this is no longer an issue meaning we are not wasting time washing down parts in between different ops to prevent discoloration.”
He continues: “On a personal note, as an eczema sufferer, previous coolants caused irritation and sores. The new product from Chem Arrow leaves me with none of these problems. All in all, we are very pleased with the new formula and will be converting all our machining centers over in the coming months.”
Since moving across to the new grade, AJ Cook Engineering has reported improved operations as a direct result of the e4 technology coolant resulting in significant cost savings due to zero rejection of parts, reduced coolant usage, improved part quality and enhanced overall customer satisfaction.
James Mitchell, area sales manager at Chem Arrow Europe comments: “We have built an excellent relationship with AJ Cook Engineering and it's been a pleasure to see their business go from strength to strength and be able to work alongside them in achieving their objectives.
“We are pleased that the time invested in our latest e4 technology fluids is delivering exceptional results. It's great to help our customers achieve cost savings alongside improved quality and reliability in these difficult times.”