Manufacturing
Aside from being one of the UK’s largest suppliers of micro drive systems, we’re also a leading precision gearbox manufacturer with expertise to deliver custom gearbox solutions in-house. This capability gives us full control and complete autonomy over how we manufacture our products and the quality standards we uphold.
EMS have the capability to produce UK manufactured solutions starting from component manufacture and procurement right through to assembly and test of individual product in various batch sizes.
Using our in-house stock management, gear and component manufacturing, inspection, assembly and test, EMS can realise the whole manufacturing process delivering drive solutions straight to your line.
Our Spur, helical and worm gear production is carried out using dependable Mikron manual machines, which have been the work horse of EMS Manufacturing since its inception. These now work alongside state-of-the-art CNC gear cutting systems – including the Affolter AF90 and AF160. These newer machines enhance part consistency, allowing for lights-out operation to significantly increase production capacity.
In-house tooling and gear manufacturing ensures complete control over the supply chain, ensuring precision and repeatability, as well as the ability to match components for optimal system efficiency and performance. Using driven tool CNC lathes means that complex parts with a variety of features, such as worms and complex gears, can be manufactured in a single operation, reducing machining time and improving component integrity.
While all of our solutions are manufactured at our facility in Poole, we also work with a small, trusted network of UK based subcontractors to produce specific components. This could include high-volume gear blanks and parts that require specialised processes outside of our in-house scope. This blended approach ensures both flexibility and quality while maintaining tight control over lead times and part traceability.
Although gearing is the heart of a custom gearbox or drive system, they need to be accompanied by additional components to complete a solution. This includes housings, shafts and interfaces.
Our advanced suite of in-house machining centres allows us to close this loop. EMS has a comprehensive range of CNC Mills and Lathes, with varying capabilities and capacities to cover the size and complexity variation needed for our diverse industry base.
This includes:
EMS has made significant investments in factory automation and robotics to advance the precision, consistency and scalability of our manufacturing processes. As an early adopter of automated solutions, we have integrated robotics and smart tooling into both assembly and testing stages, ensuring highly reliable build quality for our custom drive systems and miniature motor solutions.
We rely on a range of automation tools that improve product consistency and quality. We have taken advantage of automation in three key areas:
These key areas are also supported by the use of enhanced metrology equipment, including CNC CMM, non-contact optical shaft scanner and CNC vision system.
With the capability to run overnight operations, our facility maximises machine uptime while allowing skilled technicians to focus on high-value peripheral tasks such as prototype development, tooling optimisation and process validation. This shift not only increases throughput but also supports agile manufacturing and faster response to drive system design changes or short lead-time orders.
Design decision and manufacturing techniques are often influenced by projected production volumes and are considered early in the concept phase. EMS supports a wide range of application volumes, including low-to-medium runs starting in the low hundreds.
For large volume applications EMS can support and manage components that have been designed to cater for lower piece price tooled components such a high pressure die casting and injection moulding.
EMS works with a number of trusted suppliers to design and optimise tooled components to offset piece price with tooling investment and can ensure quality through a number of post-processing methods.
The assembly process is a critical stage in delivering high-performance motion systems. Our dedicated assembly team is responsible for integrating precision manufactured components into tested final products for customers across demanding sectors including medical, aerospace and automation.
To ensure the highest standards of build quality and performance, our Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protected area is designed for the safe handling of ESD-sensitive components, such as micromotors and encoders. This stringent control of electrostatic conditions ensures that delicate components are not compromised during the final assembly and test phases.
As part of our commitment to quality and precision manufacturing, EMS provides bespoke end-of-line (EOL) testing as the final quality assurance step. Our EOL testing capability means we minimise errors, reducing the cost of rework and returns, ensures regulatory compliance and guarantees customer satisfaction.
EOL testing is fully integrated into customer-specific assembly cells and is tailored to meet the precise performance and compliance requirements of each application. To ensure the optimal solution without any defects, our EOL testing enables us to:
By implementing high-precision, application-specific testing protocols, we ensure all products meet stringent regulatory requirements — a particularly critical aspect for medical, aerospace and mission-critical applications.