High Performance Transmission Products
Ricardo UK Ltd operates from a single site 4,884 sq m (52,570 sq ft) manufacturing facility which houses the associated resource necessary to produce complete transmissions and driveline systems or the separate components for aerospace, automotive, off highway, motorsport and specialist applications. The capability to produce parts wholly in house enables Ricardo to improve product quality and reduce lead times. Combining this with our policy of continual investment in new machinery it further enhances our capability and allows us to meeet and surpass the requirements of the customer.
Ricardo is accredited to BSEN ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 certificate number 0923377/A, and AS9100 certificate number 0923377/B. Our fully equipped QA department operates to the requirements of these standards with all results fully supported by complete documentation and certification.
With continual investment in machine tools and people our dedicated machine shop is able to offer full prismatic facilities of turning and milling as well as wire erosion, shaping, hobbing, spiral bevel-axles, computerised heat treatment, grinding and gear grinding.
Whilst capable of manufacturing quantities from 1 off’s to 1000’s HPTP specialise in LVP and prototype transmission part production.
Turning and Milling
HPTP prismatic machining offers 16 CNC and Conventional Lathes and 17 Milling stations/Machining centres which include 5 axis and both horizontal and vertical capability. The horizontal machines with pallet change capability mean that HPTP are able to carry out transmission case machining.
HPTP have the experience and ability to machine across a wide variety of materials including aluminium, carbon, metal matrix composites, titanium as well as all the specialist steels.
Hobbing and Shaping
As our core business is gear cutting HPTP are able to offer CNC hobbing and shaping. Our investment in the latest Pfauter gear hobbing and shaping technology enables us to stay ahead of the field in all aspects of gear cutting technology. HPTP is able to offer both high productivity and excellent accuracy, resulting in either a first class “Finished Cut” gear, or a perfect blank ready for tooth grinding.
Spiral Bevel Cutting is performed on our Klingelnberg C28P Palloid Spiral Hobbing machine. This specialist machine produces Crown Wheel and Pinions with a Palloid form that produces a smaller and stronger tooth than the cyclo-palloid giving uniform tooth depth over the entire tooth width and a tooth curvature which follows the path of extended involutes or epicycloids, giving high degree of tooth accuracy.
Wire Erosion
EDM (Electrical discharge machining) is also used to form gear and spline profiles. After further recent investment HPTP now operate 2 Agile Charmilles EDM machines.
Grinding
Our capability means that HPTP are able to provide all types of grinding services. Offering optimum tooth profile and the highest quality grading, HPTP are able to provide full form CNC grinding from our Oerlikon Opal 80 CNC Full Form Gear Grinder. It has the capability to tooth grind spur and Helical gears, both externally and internally to a master gear DIN 1 standard and has a range from 1.5 to 16 mod and a maximum of 999 teeth.
The Höfler PROMAT 400 machine means that we are able to offer non helical form or spur gear grinding.
HPTP is also able to provide spline and jig grinding.
For higher volume gear ground parts we have a Reishauer RZ362A CNC Gear grinder.
Where no hob is available and time is of the essence Ricardo has the ability to grind teeth from a solid blank.
Heat Treatment
With 5 heat treatment furnace ovens, Ricardo’s fully computerised Heat Treatment facility operates 24 hours per day. This includes sealed quench furnace technology and we are able to carry out all heat treatment requirements from normalising and carburising to tempering and stress relieving. All of our processes are backed by full laboratory facilities that include Nital Etching. Full certification is offered with all sub-contract Heat-treatment operations. 
Inspection
Our Inspection department is fully equipped to measure accurately the range of components we currently manufacture and to meet the exacting standards that our customers demand. We have at our disposal CMM measuring machines, surface finish, profile and form trace gear graphing equipment showing confirmation of gear geometry and hardness testing capability.