Why Choose Kingfisher?
Materials
First Class Material Selection.
Whether it is mild steel, stainless steel, nickel copper alloy, brass or phosphor bronze, we only select high quality materials from ISO 9001 accredited and ethical sources.
Machining
We design and produce our own form tools used on multispindle automatic turning machines. This provides consistent and repeatable machining.
Consistency is vital for high volume automated processes.
Hardening
Steel grease fittings require hardening to meet the relevant standards. Our specialised process provides an extremely hard surface to protect the fitting from the steel jaws of the grease coupler. This process also provides superb performance of our self forming threaded fittings. The hard surface of the fitting can form a thread in very tough materials, where other manufacturers fittings can fail.
Springs
We design and manufacture our own springs for optimal performance.
When a spring is coiled, huge stresses build up in the material. If used untreated, the spring would collapse under the pressure of grease rendering the fitting useless.
We stress relieve all springs to ensure the spring returns to its original shape and the ball of the fitting returns to the surface, preventing contaminants from entering the fitting.
This also gives extensive service life for the fitting.
Our fittings are batch tested to over 8,000 p.s.i. to check the integrity of the spring.
Traceability
Our robust QC system allows for full traceability throughout the production process right back to raw materials. All parts are labelled with a unique trace number which is linked to all processes, inspection records and material certificates.
Certification
We hold certificates for all materials including bar, spring wire, balls and plating. They are held on record for a minimum of 10 years and are available on request for all fittings supplied.
Material certification is vital in the aerospace and military sectors.
Plating
All mild steel parts are electroplated to provide excellent corrosion resistance. Standard parts are zinc plated with a trivalent passivate finish. This gives a shiny silvery appearance. This meets the corrosion requirements of the relevant grease fitting standards and also conforms the RoHS, REACH and ELV European Directives.
Limited stocks of zinc plating with a yellow chromate finish are available on request.
Zinc Nickel is available for special order to provide extra protection. Cadmium plating is also available under special licence for aerospace and military applications.
Automotive
In order to meet some of the IATF 16949 automotive requirements, we can produce PPAP, PSW, FMEA and ISIR documents to ensure product approval and compliance. 8D Corrective Action Reports can also be produced, but hopefully will never be needed.
PPAP – Production Parts Approval Process.
PSW – Part Submission Warrant.
FMEA – Failure Mode and Effect Analysis.
ISIR – Initial Sample Inspection Report.
Recycling
Waste materials are recycled where possible. Metal turnings have the oil removed on site and are then sent to be recycled. The oil that is removed from the turnings is cleaned by us and reused on our turning machines. Cardboard, paper, plastics and other metals are segregated and sent for recycling.
