BAL Group offers our skill and experience at the design stage of a project ensuring a cost effective solution based on extruded features which can reduce the amount of fabrication / machining required.

We work with you to solve problems or improve performance, saving money and material where we can, and passing on these benefits to you. Our team can advise you on how to make your components easy to produce, at the lowest possible cost.

At BAL Group we use Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) programming which is performed off-line. We can either receive drawings or models from CAD systems or work with you to prepare and assist with design options.

For heatsinks and LED cooling we offer thermal performance both theoretical, at the beginning of the design concept and fully tested including thermal imaging at the prototyping stage, giving you confidence that the product will fulfil its potential.

If your project requires prototypes we can produce these within short lead times and we can also advise on and assist with any design modifications. Contact us today to discuss how BAL Group can help you with your aluminium extrusion, machining, finishing and assembly requirements.

Our recent purchase of the adjacent building has created an additional 50% extra space allowing the creation of a modern, integrated manufacturing facility as well as increasing our warehouse capacity.

With over 40,000 square foot of space we offer stockholding facilities to our customers of both fully finished components or long lengths of aluminium extrusion.

The batch size can be as small or as large as you need and we will supply it in scheduled batches or you can call it off as you require. We can supply from stock to most areas in the UK within 24 hours.

As well as the obvious financial advantage this also frees up your space that would otherwise be used to store stock.

In addition to metal sourcing we can also manage the metal on your behalf on a free issue basis depending on your requirements.

All our metal, both owned and free issue is stored inside where it is protected by an alarm system and is fully covered by our insurance.

BAL Group has an extensive range of fully and semi-automatic extrusion saws with the capacity to cut a wide variety of aluminium extrusions to short and long lengths as required.

Our wide experience in handling aluminium enable BAL Group to supply straight or mitre cut extruded profiles accurately to tight tolerances.

Our sawing cutting capabilities are one of the most extensive in the UK and we can either manage your supply from extrusion or on a free issue basis.

We recognise the removal of sharp edges is of vital importance. All our cut extrusions are deburred as standard to increase the safety of handling components during assembly.

BAL Group’s deburring facilities include:

• Rasamat orbital deburring machines
• Brush deburring
• Manual deburring
• Vibro deburring
• Etch deburring
• Abrasive wheel deburring

We have extensive expertise in deburring aluminium extrusion profiles and aluminium components. All our cut extrusions are deburred as standard to increase the safety of handling components during assembly. This also removes slithers of

Machining  plays a major part in most aluminium extrusion component work where the detail cannot be added to the extrusion design itself.

BAL Group has an extensive range of CNC machining centres, milling machines, multi- head drilling and tapping machines to enable components to be manufactured to a very high quality at competitive price.

The choice of machine is determined by:

• the number of components to be manufactured
• the batch quantities
• the machining detail involved
• the quality requirements
• the tolerances required

We can offer free issue machining or can manage your supply from extrusion through to finished component.

BAL CNC Machining

BAL Group have 14 machining centres, all  Bridgeport CNC machining centres with Heidenhain TNC 530i control.

At BAL Group we believe this offers a combination of the very best machines available in the marketplace supported by the most up to date programming system – enabling high machining speeds whilst ensuring the best contour accuracy.

Our full range of Bridgeport CNC machines

CADCAM technology

Our CNC machining centres are complimented by CADCAM “featurecam” technology enabling fast, automated programming   and is capable of programming 3 D profiles.

We can receive drawings or models from CAD systems for direct input to CNC machinery, or work with you to prepare and assist with design options.

We work with our customers to solve problems or improve performance, saving money and material where we can, and passing on these benefits to our customers.

Continual investment

We invest in and expand our technical capability to ensure that quality is maintained and new efficiencies achieved. This year, for example, we invested in a new state of the art CNC work centre with 4 controlled axis to increase machining size capabilities.

The machine is set up for the machining and fabrication of long length aluminium extrusions with a capacity of 250mm widths and 6m lengths.

Quality assurance

We work to the customer’s exact requirements so whether its prototype parts or large batches, all parts are machined to CAD and quality checked to allow the greatest accuracy and highest quality.

The quality department uses up to date measuring equipment including CMM technology and also offers APQP quality tools to control quality and support its customers.

Our Mitutoyo CMM measuring machine (located in a self contained room and temperature controlled)  is accurate to within 3 microns
X= 1000mm Y= 800mm Z= 600mm

On many occasions if the machining is quite simple then aluminium extrusion or components can be punched at very competitive rates, especially if high volumes are involved.

BAL Group’s range of presses include fly and power presses which combined with in-house tool making, makes us very competitive and able to respond to short lead times.

• Power Press: 3 off x 50 tonne
• Manual fly presses

We can offer fully finished aluminium components ready to use by the customer with no additional work required.

Our finishing facility offers:

• Polishing either bright or satin finish
• Flatbed polishing
• Powder coating of components, including masking
• Powder coating long length extrusion up to 7 metres long
• Anodising – black, silver, gold and colour anodising.
• Chemically brightening
• Bead blasting (offers a complimentary all over finish to aluminium)

Our in house tool making facility offers speedy and competitively priced tooling. Fully maintained by our very experienced toolmakers.

The Directors and Management team at BAL Group are focused on providing goods and services that meet or wherever possible exceed, the expectations of our Customers.

This philosophy is achieved by providing the leadership and example required to carry this process throughout the organisation.

The business is certified to the requirements of the Quality Management System, ISO 9001: 2015, with certificate no FM51223, issued by our partners at BSI.

If specified and agreed in advance, we have the capability to deal with most of the requirements of Automotive (TS16949) and Aerospace Standards (AS9100) with particular reference to:

• APQP
• PPAP
• SPC
• FMEA

Extrusions are generally supplied from Aluminium Alloy 6063T6 unless otherwise specified and profile tolerances are matched with the requirements of BS EN 755-9.

Other machining tolerances can be agreed in advance along with requirements for post manufacturing processes, such as Anodising, Painting, etc, and full dimensional reports can be generated where necessary via our Co-ordinate Measuring Machine.

BAL Group has been designing and supplying heatsinks since 1996 and has a comprehensive range of standard profiles, many of which are held in stock.

As a global supplier, BAL Group recognises the need to offer thermal solutions which include the design of custom profiles to meet its customers’ exact requirements for thermal performance and cost effectiveness.

As well as offering thermal solutions, BAL Group can physically test heatsinks within a range of ambient temperatures, using either dummy loads or stand alone devices such as LED Light Engines.

After testing we produce a data sheet which allows our customers to have the confidence that the choice of heatsink, or custom designed profile, is suitable for the specific device. This can save valuable time and resources in design, development and implementation.

Data sheets for our standard range of heatsinks are available on the website.

If required, BAL Group can offer samples of standard profiles, generally free of charge for cut-to-length samples. For fully machined and finished samples there may be a charge.

BAL Group offers the assembly of aluminium components using various methods of bonding which includes:

• Double sided adhesive tape
• Oven cured single or two part adhesive
• Two part air cured adhesive

BAL Group can assemble components to a sub-assembly state or fully finished assemblies.

This includes packing and labelling to your specifications including fitting and handling instructions and can be delivered  direct to your customer if required.

This improves your lead times, saves costs of handling & storage and reduces your working capital requirements.

In house or free issue
Our assembly service generally involves combining aluminium components which we have made in house with a variety of bought in components.

However we also give customers the option of sending us components on a free issue basis.

Assembly operations include:
• Mechanical jointing
• Adhesive bonding

We supply sub-assemblies or full assemblies for various industries and undertake small, medium and large batches of work.

Industries we have worked in include the leisure, medical, building, radiant panel, bonded fin heatsinks, office furniture and lighting industries.