William Hughes is a leading UK aerospace components manufacturer, supplying complex spring and wire form sub-assemblies for aircraft platforms, wearable apparatus and UAV manufacture.
AS9100-certified and Nadcap-accredited for chemical processing, heat treatment and materials testing, we serve major OEMs and Tier 1s including Honeywell, BAe Systems, Lockheed Martin, Meggitt and Eaton Aerospace.
Our manufacturing model is built around flight-critical performance. We operate as an engineering partner, integrating directly into R&D workflows to support rapid development, iterative prototyping and compliance with geometric, functional and contamination thresholds with aerospace ultrasonic cleaning and specialist kitting.
The Demands of Flight‑Critical Manufacturing
Our role extends beyond manufacturing, we operate as a collaborative development partner where we proactively identify and solve the failure points that compromise repeatability, fatigue life or compliance.
Using exotic aerospace-grade alloys such as Inconel, MP35N and titanium, our facilities deliver closed-loop CNC manufacturing, including coiling, robotic MIG/TIG welding, and 100% inspection using in-line vision systems. This integrated capability supports both conventional aerospace assemblies and specialist wire fabrication aerospace manufacture, from miniature UAV components to heavy-duty aircraft actuator springs.
We routinely support performance alignment via in-house fatigue testing, PPAP documentation and aerospace ultrasonic cleaning to remove trace-level contamination and support insulation resistance or surface integrity targets.
Read our Aerospace Case Study here of a spring for a safety critical aerospace non-return valve:
For procurement teams balancing supply chain risk with increasing technical scrutiny, William Hughes offers a proven model for reducing variability, accelerating validation, and safeguarding compliance, without compromise to lead time, flexibility or traceability.
Meeting the Challenges of the Aerospace and UAV Supply Chain
Our work in aerospace spans multiple critical systems and we give aerospace and UAV customers the agility to solve design challenges early and the assurance that component quality will hold under real-world conditions.
Our technical investments provide measurable risk reduction in aerospace and drone supply chains, including such applications as :
Aerospace Breathing Apparatus Component Manufacture and Cleaning
In addition to our core aerospace assemblies, William Hughes provides a specialist capability for manufacturing and cleaning components used in aerospace breathing apparatus.
Using our ISO Class 7 cleanroom, we deliver manufacture of precision wire assemblies for oxygen delivery masks, regulator housings, and LOX-compatible fittings, followed by validated cleanroom-grade ultrasonic cleaning. This process ensures compliance with stringent aerospace contamination controls, verified through particulate inspection to sub-micron levels.
All breathing apparatus components are hermetically packaged post-cleaning to maintain integrity until installation, safeguarding against airborne contamination during assembly and service. For aerospace OEMs and Tier 1s, this means a reduced risk of in-service breathing system failure, streamlined procurement through single-source supply and assurance that every breathing apparatus component meets both mechanical and cleanliness standards.
Re-validation For Legacy Springs or Components
Where build rate increases require revalidation of legacy components, or minor design revisions affect forming or welding feasibility, our prototyping and test facilities allow us to requalify components at speed, often without interrupting series production. Our clients remain in full control of their design data, while our engineering teams support rapid DFM input, material review and specification compliance from pilot through to PPAP and serial supply.
Welded and Overmoulded Sensor Retainers for UAV Flight Control
For inertial measurement units (IMUs) and gyroscopic sensor frames, overmoulded bent-wire retainers are frequently used to position and secure delicate assemblies. We can manufacture these components to precise positional tolerances using CNC wire bending, TIG welding, and post-weld ultrasonic cleaning. This ensures frame integrity, vibration resistance, and cleanliness, without compromising sensor calibration or electromagnetic shielding. Our ability to integrate these processes under one roof streamlines procurement and derisks performance failure during flight testing.
Aerospace Ultrasonic Cleaning of Flight- and Sensor-Critical Components
Residual manufacturing contaminants, metallic particles, weld flux and surface films pose a latent reliability risk in flight control systems, particularly where sensor interference or mechanical wear may result. William Hughes operates Nadcap -compliant ultrasonic cleaning systems designed to meet aerospace cleanliness standards for both precision wire forms and spring components.
Aerospace Kitting and End-to-End Traceability
William Hughes also provides dedicated kitting for aerospace, allowing procurement teams to consolidate multi-part subassemblies with full traceability and batch-specific documentation. From overmoulded bent wire forms to heat-treated torsion springs, all parts are supplied with Nadcap-aligned process control and APQP frameworks as standard.
Across our UK and European sites, automation underpins repeatability, from servo-controlled forming through to robotic assembly and post-process ultrasonic cleaning cells. This ensures every component meets our customer’s specifications for dimensional tolerance, cleanliness, and fatigue life, whether supplied as a discrete part or part of a kitted assembly.
Proven Capability in Aerospace Assemblies
Our aerospace manufacturing begins with collaborative engineering, working alongside design and stress analysis teams to develop components that integrate seamlessly into the overall assembly. CNC wire forming technology allows us to produce complex geometries with repeatable precision, while our in‑house tooling capability enables rapid prototyping and production tooling modifications without reliance on external suppliers.
For aerospace procurement seeking to reduce risk without adding lead time or complexity, William Hughes offers an established, low-variability manufacturing model. We protect your critical path by offering:
- Early-stage engineering input to reduce design-failure risk
- Agile prototyping with integrated fatigue testing and material review
- Scalable automation and process control across all production sites
- Cleanroom-grade aerospace ultrasonic cleaning and Nadcap-accredited processing
- Consolidated kitting for aerospace subassemblies with full documentation
We welcome collaboration at any stage of development. Our teams work directly with our customers’ engineers to ensure every component, from UAV cable retainers to pressure valve springs, are developed, validated and delivered with control, speed, and full compliance.
Talk to our aerospace engineering team today about your next wire fabrication aerospace manufacture programme.