Farnborough Airshow celebrating its 60th anniversary – and so is Lee Products. The company’s Mike Stotts says: “Not many companies manage to get to 60 without going bankrupt or being bought out!”
Just as Farnborough promotes the links with aerospace technology and high-end motorsport, Lee Products is there too with its motor of innovation in miniature. The company develops miniature precision fluid control components and has had its components used on aircraft such as the A320 and the Eurofighter Typhoon to Formula 1 racecars.
The Lee Plug was the first invention and a novel way to solve the problem of sealing cross-drilled holes without using threads or ‘O-rings’. Over 100 million Lee Plugs have been installed in aircraft flying all over the world and according to the company they have revolutionised the design of system manifolds.
It has also expanded to include restrictors, a wide range of valves from 0.125in to 1in diameter and a range of safety screens including Hi-Bar versions which are machined from solid bar stock and are able to withstand differential pressures of up to 7,500psi without burst or collapse.
Recent additions include piloting and high flow solenoid valves which make use of a patented expandable polymeric sleeve called the Lee Multi-Seal to greatly simplify port layout and significantly reduce the size of the manifold.
Source: Flight International
