The ultimate high technology showcase
This report comes with the February 2012 issue of The Manufacturer www.themanufacturer.com
Organised by The Manufacturing Technologies Association – www.mta.org.uk
- one gauge, many applications
at: See us g: facturin u n a M n 8 and, outher
S
Stand
Q4
Hall 5,
sta
2012 MACH nd 5640
Nothing compares to Equator™
Nothing compares like Equator™
The unique new Equator™ is a versatile alternative to traditional gauging, offering inspection of an unprecedented variety of manufactured parts. It has been developed and proven on the shop-floor with industry-leading gauging users in multiple industries and applications.
Benefits which can be gained by using Equator™ include: • Reduced gauging costs • Robust shop floor measurement process • Reduced production bottlenecks
To see Equator in action visit www.renishaw.com/gaugingapps or scan the code
Renishaw plc New Mills, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 8JR United Kingdom T +44 (0)1453 524111 F +44 (0)1453 524901 E uk@renishaw.com
www.renishaw.com
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 03
The advantage of collaboration
A By Graham Dewhurst, MTA Director General
E d i t o r ia l
This report was researched and written by Will Stirling for The Manufacturer w.stirling@sayonemedia.com
Contributors Paul O’Donnell, Head of Public Affairs, MTA podonnell@mta.org.uk
Gordon King, MTA China representative gking@mta.org.uk
Tom Moore, Reporter, The Manufacturer t.moore@sayonemedia.com
De s i g n
Art Editor Martin Mitchell
martin@opticjuice.co.uk
SALES
Sarah Hough
s.hough@sayonemedia.com
Elann Carel
e.carel@sayonemedia.com In order to receive your copy of the The Manufacturer kindly email b.walsh@sayonemedia.com, telephone 0207 4016033 or write to the address below. Neither the The MTA or SayOne Media can accept responsibilty for omissions or errors. Terms and Conditions Please note that points of view expressed in articles by contributing writers and in advertisements included in this journal do not necessarily represent those of the publishers. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the journal, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent of the publishers.
Elizabeth House, Block 2, Part 7th Floor, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NJ T +44 (0)207 401 6033 F + 44 (0)207 202 7488 www.sayonemedia.com. Copyright © SayOne Media 2012.
s you read this, the UK’s engineering-based manufacturing industry is gearing up for MACH 2012 – the biggest manufacturing technology exhibition held in Britain. It is the place to see all the latest in terms of the machinery, equipment and applications that enable modern manufacturing to take place. Over 20,000 visitors will see over 5,000 tonnes of working machinery exhibited by some 400 companies. It is a huge show and an exciting time for us here at the Manufacturing Technologies Association, which runs it. It’s an exciting time too for our members. So far the sector has not really seen the slowdown that has affected other parts of the economy, even within the world of manufacturing. Engineering-based manufacturing is holding its own with historically strong levels of demand for our products. Britain’s manufacturers compete internationally and need impetus to thrive in tough times. That’s one reason that the MACH Exhibition is so important. It gives the industry a shot in the arm and enables us to come together and, yes do business, but also to interact with each other and begin the sorts of collaborations that are so valuable and in which I believe the UK is really strong. In some ways our competitive advantage is not a technological advantage (although that can be first class) and it’s certainly not the advantages of scale. Rather it is the advantage of collaboration, of being able to access a wider network, something which it seems to me manufacturers in the UK are particularly good at. I’m delighted that The Manufacturer is running this supplementary preview. It demonstrates commitment to the sector and an understanding of how important events like MACH are. I know that there is a lot of good stuff contained within, with some features on big developments but I know too that the team won’t have left out some of the smaller but still interesting,
MACH 2012 Expecting over 20,000 visitors. 450 exhibitors. 5,000 tonnes of live machinery on show. 20,000 sq ft of floor space.
sometimes very interesting, companies that we welcome every two years to MACH. Many of those smaller companies are helped every year by the MTA, perhaps through access to our networks, reliable legal advice and/or marketing support. Or perhaps they are companies who join us in overseas trade promotion. This year we have helped our members to exhibit in China, Germany and India. You can find out more about China in particular on p16 in an article by the MTA’s China Representative Gordon King.
MACH gives the industry a shot in the arm and enables us to... interact with each other and begin the sorts of collaborations that are so valuable and in which I believe the UK is really strong Pre-registration is open now at www.machexhibition.com. It’s the best way to keep up with all the latest about MACH 2012 so as you get the best out of your time in the Halls. So enjoy this preview, take careful note of things you’d like to find out more about and we’ll see you at the NEC between the April 16 and 20! Graham Dewhurst
Director General The Manufacturing Technologies Association
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 04
Storming 2011 can’t last but UK market still bullish
M
The International Monetary Fund put the dampers on this optimism on January 23, downgrading the UK growth forecast in 2012 to a paltry 0.6% from 1.6%. In fact this was more in line with MTA and Oxford Economics’ own forecast for growth of 1%. This is still higher than Germany (0.3%), weighed down by its euro crisis obligations, and far better than GDP for the whole eurozone, expected to fall by 0.5%. The MTA’s 2011 Machine Tool Forecast, published in November, predicted growth in UK machine tool sales of 3.3% in 2012. Flat compared with the storming 29.4% growth it forecast for 2011, but still encouraging given the macro economy. This number allowed for some kind of default event in the eurozone, but what effect does the IMF downgrade have on the forecast? MTA’s statistician Geoff Noon expects this to be small. “Our forecast in November followed a turbulent period in the eurozone with speculation of Italy’s default. While risks are still very real, the situation has stabilised. We don’t expect the lower growth forecasts to have a big effect on our projected 3.3% growth, even if Greece has to perform a controlled default. This would change, of course, if other countries were forced to leave the currency.”
any MTA members had a thumping 2011, driven by strong recovery in manufacturing production in the first three quarters. Such record sales can’t last, says Will Stirling, but providing the eurozone avoids a meltdown the manufacturing technology sector will outperform the economy.
Anyone who thinks manufacturers are a dour lot should have researched this report. Enthusiasm was palpable, with record sales figures here and ‘our best year ever’ there. 2011 was very strong for machine tool manufacturers and distributors, fuelled partly by a resurgent automotive sector and a civil aerospace sector that never really felt the recession. It’s a world trend, as the MTA says that global sales are expected to increase by almost a quarter on top of last year’s 21% rise. Companies like Renishaw, Joseph Rhodes and Yamazaki Mazak are bullish about prospects for 2012, with the caveat that it probably won’t match 2011’s riches. Tubebender manufacturer Unison expects more bumper growth, managing director Alan Picking postulating that tube-bending machines may lag the general machine tool recovery.
UK End-User Industry Output 140 130
Metal Products
Machinery
Motor Vehicles
Aerospace
120
Index 2008=100
110 100 90 80 70 60 50
Source: Office for National Statistics, seasonally adjusted volume index, calculations by MTA Note: Data for individual months can be erratic without being indicative of a trend
Home and away
However for many, Europe is a big worry. Most of the Japanese cars built in the UK are shipped to Europe, and many expect the automotive sector to flatten in the second half of 2012. MTA’s own forecast of UK machine tools sales shows a contraction in the second half. What can help in a flat market? Some companies are looking beyond Europe. In January managing director of Star GB, Bob Hunt, visited India. He says his company can offer machining solutions that the Indian engineering base can’t match yet. Why? Because of the value-added to the product by UK technicians who have consistently ‘engineered’ more performance from standard machines. For indigenous UK manufacturing technology companies, export controls need to be further relaxed. Joseph Rhodes exports products to about 30 countries, and CEO Mark Ridgway has appealed to UK Trade and Investment to increase the speed that export licenses are processed. The world is too fleet of foot and too competitive – even for specialist equipment – to make international customers wait three months just to secure an export license. Back at home, capital allowances, the bête noire of British engineering firms, are now 100% in six enterprise zones for plant and machinery bought between April 2012 and March 2017. No zones are south of Sheffield, or in Scotland. The government has been loath to increase capital allowances, partly for fear of favouring one sector, manufacturing, over others. If so, a more compromising approach would be to provide 100% allowances in all 11 enterprise zones (or 22 by 2015), and even to extend that to deprived areas that kiss these zones. Such action would give UK customers more confidence to invest in the type of high-end machines showcased at MACH, which will help them to secure more contracts that feed the demanding platforms for growing companies who the UK hosts, such as Airbus, Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls-Royce. Will Stirling, The Manufacturer
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 05 –––
MAVICSIT––– STA H ND
Mills CNC
544 8
2011 in review
“2011 was an excellent year for Mills CNC – the best in the company’s 39-year history. Sales performance (by value and volume) was up on 2010 and even on 2008 which, up until now, had been our best year to date. Despite the bad weather experienced in January 2011, the beginning of the year was hectic for us and this followed on from a very busy second half of 2010 which we believe was a direct result of our stand at the 2010 MACH Show. It was noticeable that after the Q1 start to 2011 there was no let up in demand. Even the traditionally quieter months of August and December were unusually busy. For the first time in the company’s history we sold over 450 machines in the UK and Ireland.
The Doosan brand
We believe the depth and breadth of the Doosan range means that it is attractive to a wide cross-section of manufacturers. Customer’s machine tool decision-making is influenced by a number of interrelated factors. The technical specification of a machine is clearly important – but in many cases machine specifications will be so similar that they are not the main determining factor. It’s been noticeable that manufacturers and customers we deal with are looking for more from their machine tool supplier, and that a partnership relationship is actively being sought by many companies, as opposed to a supplier relationship. This is something we strive to offer at Mills CNC.
Doosan Lynx 220LMSA with 5” chuck/51mm bar capacity
Despite certain parts of the media ‘doing the UK down’, I am positive about what the year has in store for Mills CNC. The drive and determination, ingenuity and sometimes stubbornness of UK manufacturers and of UK manufacturing bode well for the future. We are taking this attitude to MACH 2012 and have booked our largest ever stand at the Show (Hall 5 Stand 5448). We are unveiling new machines at MACH and are taking 16 machines to the event – a massive undertaking for us, but one that demonstrates the importance of MACH to our company.
Despite certain parts of the media ‘doing the UK down’, I am positive about what the year has in store for Mills CNC
Customer base
Mills CNC customer base is large and diverse, and is made up of sub-contractors right through to Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers and OEMs. Owing the depth and breadth of machines we can supply and support 2 – and 3-axis lathes and turning centres; mill-turn centres; vertical and horizontal machining centres; 5-axis machines; horizontal borers and vertical turning lathes. We can also provide machine tool solutions for manufacturer’s operations in the oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, defence, medical and automotive sectors, among others. The oil and gas sector is a buoyant sector, and the large-capacity Doosan machines we provide in conjunction with our turnkeysolutions approach has helped us to capitalise on the opportunities in this sector.
2012
Our forecast for 2012 is more of the same – certainly the beginning of the year has started well.
Investment in the future
British companies are investing – but in many instances the decision-making process has become compressed. Where previously companies may have invested to improve or expand capability or capacity for the future, increasingly the decision to invest will be made when capacity has reached breaking point. This means that the need for customers is urgent and that delay in supply isn’t an option. Our large after-sales and support operation means that we can get the machine delivered and installed quickly at a customer’s site and, through our training services, can ensure that our customer’s operators can start using the machines as quickly and as safely as possible. We also have our own CNC finance department, so access to finance for Mills customers is usually fairly straightforward. More importantly, we can design the finance package to suit their individual needs. So for Nick Frampton manufacturers not sitting on lots of instantlyManaging Director, Mills CNC available cash – we can point them to alternative funding sources. Mills CNC experienced the
The MTA
The last budget wasn’t positive or negative with regards to manufacturing, but was fairly neutral. UK manufacturing will grow by becoming more efficient, more effective and by continuing the innovation we see in our customers. The UK government needs to do more to encourage investment and promote this growth. I hope the MTA’s lobbying continues to shout this message and that someone is listening”.
best year in the company’s 39-year history. Sturdy growth is partly due to a buoyant oil and gas sector, but also a wide ranging customer base. The company predicts that growth in 2011 will spill over into the first half of 2012.
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 06
––
SIT–
I –––V
H MAACND ST
5410
Yamazaki Mazak UK 2011 in review
“2011 was even better than we anticipated. We achieved more than we had forecast and posted record results. We cover all markets and they were nearly all buoyant at the same times, and throughout most of the year. Sales rose by as much as 170% on some machine classes (see graph). Overall sales in the UK and Ireland are up 60% on 2010. About 60% of sales were to subcontractors and 40% to manufacturers. Before 2011, subcontractors were having a bad time, but last year they were at capacity very early on. Some posted record months from the middle of the year onwards which kept us very busy.
Tony Saunders UK Sales Director
US-parent companies who were just holding back on investment. When they released that, independent subcontractors were back in business. They invest a lot of money in these machines, Graph title: Mazak UK’s sales, % change 2010 to 2011 because the components are high quality and high tech.
Record year for UK sales in 2011 following a bleak 2008/2009.
2012
UK-made VTC800/30SR fixed table vertical machining centre proves best seller. Manufacturing high volume components, once offshored, is back in vogue for 2012.
Our biggest sector is aerospace and that was buoyant for us all year. Automotive, including motorsport, was a sector that took off last year. One driver of growth was the launch of the McLaren road car, especially work done on the engine – we were included in a number of those programmes. We’re an official supplier to McLaren Racing, but the road car is a separate entity. Even so, we had a relationship with it already through the engine supplier. We experienced a big increase in horizontal machining centres last year, predominantly making blocks and cylinder heads. We took more orders last year than for the past 10 years.
Over the years we’ve won this position in the market and people are recognising our machines for their benefits
Models and markets
Mazak’s Integrex i-400S
It’s been the best year ever for products developed at Mazak Europe in the UK. Our European Engineering Department has designed options on machines and new models from the ground up. The most successful is the VTC-800/30SR, fixed table vertical machining centre which can be five axis too – popular with subcontractors as an adaptable machine because they often don’t know what work is coming up. Designed and launched in the UK, it’s now been adopted by Global Design and is built in the US and Japan. We also sold a lot of large high value machines from our E-series range, the big multi-tasking machines – aerospace and oil and gas largely drive this. The majority of oil & gas OEMs in Scotland are owned by
I don’t think growth can continue at the same rate as now, but we still expect to have a very busy year. There’s a renaissance in some sectors, particularly in high volume components, and we’re starting to see these return from countries such as India and China. This will drive interest in machines suitable for such work. There are many reasons cited for so-called ‘backshoring’, but the fact is the UK is a very competent manufacturing base. If people invest in the right machines and processes, they will always beat some foreign competitors.
The MTA and business environment
The MTA tries as hard as ever, but it’s a hard task for them to make progress on some issues. Bigger capital allowances would certainly make a big difference. Mazak has a finance wing so we’ve had no problem in getting suitable finance for customers. If the company itself is not strong enough to meet lending criteria, it’s a problem. It’s hard to spot a trend in financing methods for machines – we occasionally get asked for a form of rental finance. We’ve not seen adoption of pay-by-the-hour because it is complicated with machine tools because of their capital value and they’re worked hard. The other big issue is selective grants in certain areas, for training or for capital purchase. Often the customer tells us the grant is his route to purchase. They can’t order a machine until the grant is approved and there can be issues with the lead time. There are regional pockets where grants are available and often it doesn’t seem to be fair. More information is needed to explain who supplies these grants and if you are eligible or not”.
FREE site survey - call to arrange today!
Big just got bigger...
www.nederman.co.uk
Why choose Nederman?
Nederman Ltd now includes Dantherm Filtration. Nederman’s leadership in air cleaning systems of up to 15,000 cubic metres has been enhanced by Dantherm Filtration’s specialisation in high volume systems, to 500,000 cubic metres and beyond.
• Single point of contact for your project • More products and solutions, for more industry sectors • Complete in house expertise • Outstanding product performance and reliability • Full projects capability, delivering turn-key solutions • Comprehensive aftersales support
The global market leader in industrial air filtration.
For further information, or to arrange a FREE site survey, please contact Nederman on 08452 74 34 34 Nederman Ltd 91 Seedlee Road, Walton Summit Centre Preston, Lancashire PR5 8AE Tel. 08452 74 34 34 info@nederman.co.uk
now including:
–––
MAVICSIT––– STA H ND
524 4
Nederman makes improvements at BAE Systems Nederman, an expert in eco-efficient production systems, recently completed a project review for a fully integrated and automated swarf recovery system for BAE Systems to recover aircraft-grade titanium. Integrating this type of system is relatively new in the UK, but Nederman’s global presence meant that it had the capabilities to create the best solution. Suction stations feed the swarf via laser level sensors into the vacuum pipes. The vacuum system has two pre-separators that dump the vacuumed swarf and coolant into two crushers. Once crushed, the material is passed down to the hopper of the hinged belt conveyor to a SS3-50
skid-mounted centrifuge processing system. This processes 300-500kg/ hour of titanium swarf through the first conveyor up to a vibrating screen that ensures no parts or brushy swarf can reach the centrifuge. Nederman’s centrifuge process to separate the oil/coolant from the swarf is highly efficient, resulting in as little as 2% rest humidity in the processed material, and a greater revenue return for the customer. Once the centrifuge has separated the oil/coolant, the swarf exits the plant room building by conveyor, climbing to roof level where it is distributed via automated pneumatic chutes into large swarf skips situated on weigh station load cells. The pneumatic chutes have laser level sensors to determine whether skips are present and also to dose the swarf evenly over the length and breadth of the 25Cu yard skips.
Nederman Suction Station TZ80X
The oil/coolant and fines created in the process are then pumped from the first hopper conveyor and centrifuge to an HDT tank, which then passes through a tramp oil coalescer to clean the coolant. It then goes back to the HDT where, once a high level signal is received, it will empty into an IBC 1,000-litre bunded tank. Nederman designed a HMI (human machine interface) to control and monitor the process and installed safety features to meet the stringent requirements within the UK aerospace sector and at BAE Systems, in accordance with the project brief.
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 08 T–––
ISI –––V
StarGB
H MAACND ST
5350
2011 in review
“[After Christmas 2010] our customer base came back with a vengeance. That surprised us twofold: it was off the back of a pretty gloomy picture, and also prices were seriously affected by the euro and yen exchange rates for importing. We then had a very quiet period at the end of September and October, which we had anticipated at some point in 2011. We doubled our efforts, hosted an open house and then secured 11 orders in November which more than made up for an abysmal October. We went on to secure an exceptional nine orders in December. With exchange rates, Mervyn King, Robert Peston and all the others working against [the industry], we can only pat manufacturing on the back in 2011. Overall, 2010 to 2011 sales were up 23 per cent.
What does that pattern reflect?
Bob Hunt
Managing Director, Star GB UK manufacturers have become more trimmed – jobs are coming back from China.
Exploring
Now the euro exchange rate has helped enormously and we’ve encouraged customers to get into Germany, France and compete with them because it’s commercially viable for these people to come to the UK and save money
Delivery of machines from Star Japan has not been as fluid as in the past. Japan had a lot of stock at the end of 2007/2008, they didn’t want to get caught out again so have been cautious in increasing production. As we start this year this doesn’t look like improving. It would be good to have more stock because we’ve had to make compromises to help some people.
Customer base
Aerospace could take a bigger chunk of business in 2012 and nuclear will start to play a part. Several of our customers are involved in the nuclear sector. If a proper nuclear programme kicks off I would expect it positively impact upon our business. Based on my assessment that customers are investing in top end technology, I would expect growth of two to three per cent in 2012. The euro exchange rate has helped enormously and we’ve encouraged customers to get into Germany and France to compete with them because it’s commercially viable for these people to come to the UK [to buy] and save money. A lot of them
Wants MTA to become more representative of the manufacturing fraternity.
opportunities in I tend to ignore spikes. It may have been India. Says Star how we responded to events in October. GB gets more I’ve searched for the reason for the general out of standard success, and concluded that over the past equipment. 2-3 years, in a contracting market, some of our customer base has disappeared. This is inevitable; not everyone can win in these conditions. Remaining customer have said that if we’re going to be serious about manufacturing in the UK for the next 20 years, we have to be at the forefront of technology. They’ve advanced their programmes to invest in the best equipment money can buy. They then become very competitive with worldwide competitors. Our guys are now competitive: they’ve trimmed, they’ve embraced lean manufacturing techniques, they’ve bought the latest technology and they have fuelled the demand for machine tools.
Flow of stock
Projections for 2012
Our customers are mainly subcontract manufacturers, which accounts for 50-60%. On balance, the OEM market has an automotive bias, but also aerospace, medical and renewable energy. Transportation has taken a leap forward – High Speed Two will reflect positively on orders, if the government responds properly and awards the train contract to a UKbased manufacturer regardless of sovereignty.
Star’s SW-20 sliding-head lathe
have done that. I’d like to see more, and as it comes downstream others will follow.
The MTA’s work
A decision we made three years ago to remain in London was because of its proximity to Parliament for regular representations – in my presidency I almost became recognised by the security at Portcullis House because I was there so often. The MTA has to become more representative of the manufacturing fraternity. We moved over from being the Machine Tools Technology Association to the new MTA about 10-years ago, and it’s more evident to the Board today that we need to get the manufacturers as well as the machine tool traders as members as well. Better representation will give us a wide, more powerful voice. We must attract small companies with perhaps 10 employees, to help the. We’re working hard to put in a membership fee structured on separate benefits they can build up to over time.
Opportunities
I went to India recently. I showed engineering firms a selection of precision-made parts and asked whether they can make them this well. Yes, I could sell machines to India, whereas the Japanese find India quite a tricky market to export to. Let’s suppose that the answer is yes – that raises the bar for the next stage of development in our machines, where we in the UK already add a lot of value to the standard machine.”
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 010
at
Standing out MACH
2012
Tom Moore picks out some of the best products on display at MACH 2012 in Birmingham, taking you on a whistle stop tour of the latest in engineering-based manufacturing.
Open Mind
Igus RX E-Tube
Igus’ range of RX E-Tubes are fully enclosed and feature smooth, domed outer contours for maximum protection against debris accumulation, oil, high humidity levels and temperature extremes. The covered pin/bore connections and stop dogs
––– ISIT
401 4
CH
are concealed on the inside of the E-Tube to protect against chip penetration. Commenting on the RX energy tube range, Justin Leonard, director at Igus UK, said: “All chips, whether coarse or tiny, fall off so that the cables and hoses within are almost one hundred percent protected.” The RX E-Tube is well-suited to short, selfsupporting lengths such as those found inside machine tools. It is easy to open and includes an inner separation system that has three vertical separators and a horizontal shelf for the safe and separate routing of cables and hoses, as well as reducing abrasion.
–– T–
SLM250
SI
Renishaw
5
5666
ISIT –––
VI ––
ST
Around 90% of all CAM strategies are traditionally based on M assumptions ideal for working in STAACH ND what is primarily a ‘flat’ world. The new 5-axis contour offset roughing and finishing feature incorporated into hyperMILL saves an enormous amount of time when creating CAM programmes for parts with curved hub surfaces. The new machining strategy in hyperMILL turns the curved surface into the standard surface, allowing the tool to work at any point at an angle of 90 degrees. The new feature enables the use of all types of cutting tool to be used, such as end mills, ball nosed end mills and conical milling tools. Since the tool adjusts itself perpendicularly to the hub surface, there are hardly any undercuts. “With sample parts that I have processed with this strategy, I have seen programming time that was previously at two to three hours shrunk down to just a few minutes. In one case five hours turned into a mere five minutes. This is truly a quantum leap,” explained Peter Brambs, product manager at Open Mind. –––V
– A M AND 0 ST 64
H MAACND
–––V
hyperMILL CAM package
Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing technology that uses a high powered ytterbium fibre laser to fuse fine metallic powders together to form functional three dimensional parts. SLM enables the mass customisation of components to produce lightweight structures for industrial and medical applications.
Siemens Industry Automation and Drive Technologies Sinumerik 828D
The product combines CNC, PLC, operating and axis control functions for six CNC measuring circuits into one compact unit, which is designed to fit any operator panel housing. The system software is tailored to address the needs of complex turning and milling machines for shop floor applications. The Sinumerik 828D is capable of full graphic, high-level language command or ISO programming, making it appropriate for job shops around the world. Complete with intelligent kinematic transformations, an efficient tool management system and 80-bit precision, it is suitable for single part and small batch, as well as large-scale series production. Maintenance-free with no fans, hard drive or backup battery.
––– ISIT
H MAACND
–––V
ST
5580
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 011
Seiki Systems
––– ISIT
H MAACND
–––V
ST
5345
Seiki Shop Floor Data Collection Software (SFDC)
Tornos MultiSwiss 6X14
The MultiSwiss bridges the gap between singlespindle and multi-spindle lathes. It is equipped with 6 sliding headstock spindles that use torque motor technology for barrel indexing. Its ultra-high speed makes it possible to – –––VISIT–– achieve near cam driven H C A M multi-spindle cycle times. STAND “The new barrel is a world first on a multi-spindle turning machine,” said Rocco Martoccia, product manager at Tornos. The main benefits are its ergonomic design that provides excellent access, easy control and flexibility that enables rapid set-up and changeovers. With completely open access at the front, the design enables the operator to get inside the machine. The product provides homogeneity of production compared with the manufacture of the same part on several machines.
A robust works order data collection solution allowing shop floor jobs to be started, finished and paused, also recording good and scrap part counts and scrap code reasons.
5659
Renishaw Equator
–––VISIT–––
MACH
STAND
5640
Equator is a new alternative to traditional dedicated gauging systems. It can be preprogrammed for multiple parts and reprogrammed for design changes within minutes. The gauge weighs 25kg and requires single phase power, with no costly compressed air supply. The intuitive operator front-end software requires little or no training and the optimised ratio of working envelope to machine footprint means Equator can be set to work in even the most crowded of factory spaces.
Vollmer UK Loroch Ekostar 500
––– ISIT
H MAACND
–––V
ST
4019
A totally new concept for metal cutting circular saw blades up to 500mm diameter, the new Ekostar 500 for resharpening, re-toothing and chamfering of high speed steel (HSS) and solid carbide saw blades offers vari-pitch toothing for chip breaker grooves. Blade clamping at the point of grinding enables the processing of saw blades from 140 to 500mm with the same clamping flange. This saves the operator time as he/she does not have to keep changing the blades for different jobs. Additionally, the Loroch Ekostar 500 incorporates the Loroch Easy-Touch system for fast and easy programming. Vollmer will have engineers available at MACH 2012 to discuss its machine tools.
Seiki Work Queue Manager software enables scheduled works orders to be displayed directly on the shop floor for each workplace resource, providing the operator with forward visibility of the planned workload.
Engineering Technology Group
Handtmann HBZ CompactCell 200/100
A 5-axis horizontal machining centre optimally adapted for work pieces up to 2 x 1 meters (option 3 x 1 and 4 x 1 meter). The use of highfrequency spindles with powers of up to 75 kW and speeds up to 30.000 rpm as well as high travel speeds and accelerations ensure extremely high metal removal rates. The key factor of the HBZ – M ––V CompactCell is the compact ST A ISIT– CH –– machine design resulting in a AND minimal floor space foot for a machine of this capacity.
53 10
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 012
Joseph Rhodes
The metalforming arm of Group Rhodes 2011 in review
“China has been a strong export market for us with this technology. COMAC is working on the C919 single aisle jet to compete with Airbus and Boeing equivalents. We’ve supplied the majority of the superplastic forming and bonding technology into China for this project. We’ve been blessed with projects from BAE Systems – the Eurofighter and the F35, so we’ve been able to invest in a lot of equipment. Two superplastic forming and bonding (SPF) machines installed at Salmesbury very recently are worth several million pounds each. It’s been a strong year for the business, because our products are heavily differentiated – there are only three companies in the world making this specialist equipment.
Mark Ridgway OBE Managing Director, Group Rhodes
Only manufacturer of both hydraulic and mechanical presses in the UK now. Good year in 2011 especially for specialist presses (superplastic forming bonding and diffusion presses). BAE Systems’ investment is possibly the largest SPF installation in the world. Greater focus today on working with customers on ‘developing manufacturing solutions’ than building standard products. –––
M VISIT––– STAACH ND
452 4
*High Value Manufacturing Technology Innovation Centre
Sales distribution
The SPF machines skew our domestic sales heavily, because of their value. Our standard price cut means that we get a huge drop off in enquiries, not always in sales. People aren’t asking about the machines, whether they are ours or foreign-made. We’ve seen a shift in terms of some standard component production which will be hard to resolve. As a nation we are focusing on the high technology supply chains now. The market moves so quickly now and you have to be agile to keep up, presses are no different to anything else. For example we’ve worked with Chemring to find a solution specific to their manufacturing needs. They’ve differentiated their products and now need a means of production to be differentiated, to ensure they can make something that no-one else can. SPF and bonding is just one of several areas of development research that we’re looking at new processes and production techniques. Joseph Rhodes’ machine sales by type
The Market
Sales of standard hydraulic and mechanical presses in the UK have fallen dramatically in last five to six years. There are several factors; it’s not just due to the lack of resources to invest. In 2000 we saw a double whammy – many of our customers moved offshore for labour advantages, and we also saw a huge influx of standard products into the UK market from the Pacific-Rim at an attractive price point for customers, even if the longevity of some of those products has since proved to be lower than existing products at the time. At that point we moved away from standard press products – now we work with companies to find manufacturing solutions.
Loyalty in buying British?
Hopefully it’s a business decision – we provide the technology, we do spares and service and we’re UK based. The advantage of that is that, after companies moved offshore they realised the problems that international supply chains can create. Recently, we’ve seen the impact of this with the tsunami in Japan and other natural disasters. Several customers in the UK are now ‘backshoring’ as the costs such as high safety stocks manifest, and the pound is weaker – now about $1.55 – so it’s more expensive to produce in the countries they had been sourcing in. This creates a number of factors acting in favour of bringing manufacturing back into UK, which is what the Government wants.
2000/1 2010/1
Other markets
Renewable energy is interesting, and metal replacement technology. 80% of UK bricks are processed through our machinery at some time or other. The Royal Mint uses our equipment in direct production and also with collector’s coin sector, especially with the commemorative coins for the Olympics. But for circulation coins there’s overcapacity for such coins in Europe.
We’ve seen a shift Where does UK have comparative advantage? in terms of some We recognise that the HVM TIC* is standard component a real step forward; we’ve already production which will joined the MTC in Coventry and are working with them now be hard to resolve. on a particular project. Our business has set up a new design As a nation we are focused on aerospace and focusing on the high wing automotive in Manchester – we do believe these technology centres technology supply are real growth areas. We believe chains now nuclear and low carbon power generation areas have potential. Just look at the way the West is having to recover lost ground that its lost – solar panel technology for example, was shipped out to Asia with LCD screens for computers, we offshored that 15 or 20 years ago.”
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 014
–––
MAVISIT––– STA CH ND
454 0
Unison 2011 in review and the recession
Alan Pickering
Managing Director Only British tube bending machine manufacturer, international customers. Record 2011, 15% growth and £3m sales, also grew in 2010. Finance payments popular even with large companies, deposits have fallen in size, milestone payments are more common today. Export sales to South Africa, the Netherlands and the US. Opened office in Germany in 2011.
“2011 was a record, with sales up 15% on 2010. We had a strong order book going into 2009 but lots of orders suddenly got shelved – it was a “lights out” experience. Sales were evenly spread across our sectors; aerospace, marine, automotive and furniture, this didn’t change in 2011. When auto collapsed, we survived with 75% of our day-to-day business. The aerospace and marine worlds have a much longer view of things. You may have a few years to react to the aerospace sector changing direction. Some of our competition who were too reliant on automotive got hit hard and we have capitalised. I would never want to be aligned to any single industry, which would force you to re-strategise. In aerospace the investment in machinery, in our sector at least, hasn’t been as prolific as it has been. Airbus and Boeing changed their strategy in terms of getting people at TFW to buy-in to their process. The delays and specific faults on the A380, A350 and Dreamliner – many of these supply chains have caught a cold, and it has probably cost some companies their business. These primes have realised that they have to take responsibility for everything [in their supply chain].
Investment climate
We saw a more pragmatic approach to investment last year – taking longer in terms of payback. For example, customers investing a lot of money in machines for making commodity items like wheelbarrows. Owner/managers of businesses are more comfortable taking the view “I don’t need payback in 18-months. Four or five years is fine, because I know this kit will be good in 10-years.” An accountant running a business wants ROI in 18-months. About 90% of machines sold in the last two years have been financed, while before then they were bought with cash reserves. It’s also big companies who you wouldn’t expect to use finance. Cash is king – it’s more important than ever to keep a positive cash position. Historically we’d secure a reasonable deposit for a machine, but customers have been more reluctant. Milestone payments are more common, as people want to mitigate the risk while you finish building the machine. If sensible this system is OK, but receiving payment 90-days from an order cannot work.
In aerospace the investment in machinery, in our sector at least, hasn’t been as prolific as it has been
2012
Touch wood, we expect 30% growth this year. We’ve got the largest order book we’ve ever
Lasers help Unison machines bend tubes precisely
had. Many are existing customers returning, which gives us confidence that, barring a disaster, they’ll be true to their word. We could double our size if things fall right. The automotive market has come back. We have a couple of projects where we’ve worked closely on R&D with customers to devise the best solution. The US has woken up again, it was very poor last year with most of our business in Europe. Perhaps tube bending is slightly behind the cycle, the rest of the world seemed to collapse before we did, and we seem to have lagged in coming out of it as well.
Challenges to growth
The biggest challenge is finding skilled people, especially CAD designers, software engineers, CNC machine operators, fitters and electricians. Scarborough is perhaps not a skills hub but there is a genuine shortage of decent engineers nationwide, which is why we ran Scarborough Engineering Week. This engages the youth, but also shows there are jobs in marketing and accounts in engineering companies. The education system’s engagement with businesses is dire. It seems to be all about ticking boxes and targets rather than getting children ready for work. I’m on the MTA education committee as well.
Capital allowances
The US gets 100% capital allowances. There is a sudden rush at end of 2011 from companies who decide they wanted to make a profit and spend it on new machines rather than give it to tax man. In the UK you can walk around many factories and some of the equipment is very outdated. This tells you historically there’s a lack of investment; without the latest machinery you’re not going to make startof-the-art components or you’ll lose your competitive edge. In general, it’s very short- termist in the UK. You find more companies are willing to sell at the top rather than keep the business in the family. We’re planning a new factory in Scarborough and I expect to buy new machinery as well. I don’t have to justify the investment in 18-months – I’m in it for the long haul”.
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 015 –––
MAVISIT––– STA CH ND
564 0
Renishaw 2011 in review and drivers
“There was a strong market for metrology products in 2011, in the UK specifically, and elsewhere. It was a record year for machine tool companies. I haven’t met anyone [in the MTA group] who has not said that Q4 2011 was strong. Considering the financial weather, advanced manufacturing seems to be doing very well. There is big underlying investment here, from companies like Rolls-Royce who are putting in new factories, Jaguar Land Rover and other UK-based companies have announced significant investments. It is being driven by export demand for these products, despite a weak consumer situation across Europe. The growing middle class in Asia want to travel, they want motorbikes and cars. It’s helping to build confidence in the advanced engineering sector. We’re gaining good traction now with our 5-axis systems, REVO especially. It used to be championed by the aerospace guys, but more recently it has been automotive too – especially for power train – and that’s globally. I understand that Jaguar Land Rover is looking to get to 600,000 units to within three to four years. We generally supply to the suppliers of those primes and we see spikes in demand when such investments are made.
2012
position in ancillary markets alongside more traditional areas. It is not diversification out of markets, but repositioning ourselves. Gauging is new for us, our Equator system (see page 11) is gaining traction and we want to push that – these will be new customers. Retrofit is applying the new 5-axis technologies we have developed, and providing sensor and software upgrades, to existing frames. This increases throughput or might allow the machine to measure things that were impossible with incumbent technology. A new machine may give you better capability, quality, more performance etc. But if you’ve got a relatively inefficient process on that machine then you won’t get the maximum out of it. The upgraded machine offers the ability… to automate, to increase the quality of the process.There is an increasing focus in the UK on automation, productivity and quality. Overall, investment in the UK in technology is low compared with other countries. But the people who are still within the UK manufacturing supply chain certainly understand that they have to raise their game and invest in better operational methods. The evidence over the last two years is that people are investing in the best kit.
People understand that they have to raise their game and invest in better operational methods and equipment, and they have done so in recent years
At the moment it’s looking very strong. None of my MTA colleagues is seeing a fall in enquiries. Invoiced sales are a lagging indicator – they don’t tell you what is going to happen, but certainly enquiries are running high. Export markets are driving much of this. China is very important to us; a lot of our business in Germany and Japan is destined for China. China catching a cold is potentially a bigger concern for us than the eurozone, although the eurozone is clearly worrying. One product that is implemented into equipment for making solar panels fell heavily, as there was a bubble-type effect in the solar panel industry. Segments like this and 3D televisions etc, are cyclical; investment wave, mass manufacture, overcapacity, the market cools. It’s a faster business cycle than the machine tool business cycle.
New markets
REVO surface finish probe - 2011 was a good year
We’re developing several new products in areas that we hope will drive growth irrespective of what happens to the wider market. We’ve ventured into the gauging business, and along with retrofit activities in CMMs, is allowing us to grow our
Financing equipment
Our experience is that companies that do need to fund a five or six-figure sum do have some access to finance through their bank or finance brokers. It is more about convincing them to be confident to invest and when they are they are often able to get the finance.
Government policy
Lobbying government is a tough job. To their credit the Government seems to be listening to organisations like MTA and others – but often parties listen carefully before taking office but are less keen [to affect change] having taken power. On tax breaks we appreciate the need to maintain tax revenues, but we would argue that longer term they’d do better by encouraging more capital investment. The more we can encourage investment in the long term health of businesses which capital and R&D are essential elements of, the more likely it is that we’ll build companies that are globally competitive and drive employment and the UK economy up. The amount of tax that can be saved from these things [low capital allowances] I suspect is much smaller than the income generated from employment taxes”.
Marc Saunders
Director, Group Marketing Services & UK Sales Record half yearly sales to Dec 2011 of £147.1m, expects further growth. Huge investments at companies like JLR driving the equipment sector. Softer growth in China is bigger concern than the eurozone. Ancillary business like gauges and retrofitting CMM upgrades are markets of growing importance.
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 016
Opportunities in
O
China
nce the ‘go-to’ country for low cost volume manufacture, today China’s manufacturing base faces fierce competition from its Asian neighbours. It needs to increase its productivity, creating big opportunities for machine tool companies, says Gordon King, MTA’s China representative.
The Chinese manufacturing sector is going through the same problems as most countries worldwide including: a decline in sales due to global economic worries; rising raw material prices; higher wage demands; and profit margins being squeezed by customers. Yet the forecast for 2012 is still strong growth compared to nearly every other international market. In the last few years Chinese industry has suffered losses to other Asian countries where the overall cost of manufacturing products has become cheaper. This has been caused in many respects by government policies; raising minimum wages, reducing hours in the working week and beginning to regulate companies on health and safety issues whereas before only lip service was paid. The outcome of this has been that companies are now looking to improve their productivity, increase the value of their products and cut costs where possible. This is creating a whole new market for machine tool and integrated systems suppliers. Much of the equipment required is not, or cannot, be manufactured by domestic suppliers. This is because their
for British companies
quality is just not good enough to produce the higher specification products which have replaced some of the low end goods now made in other countries. As a result, the buyers have to look overseas, something they have been doing increasingly in the last 10 years. The following chart shows the yearly percentage increase in imports of machine tools over a ten year period. The data indicates that China, even with its own vast resources, has become dependent on imports with an astonishing 52% rise year on year.
Selected importers by size ($bn) and average annual growth (%)
Source Dunn and Bradstreet
Construction equipment boom
An example of the investment trend is visible at one of the world’s leading manufacturers of yellow equipment. Previously their factory in Tianjin had rows of machines dedicated to producing track links for caterpillar drives, and each machine had an operator loading and unloading the components from mechanical fixtures.
Now an expansion in component demand has led the company to invest in a new factory kitted out with brand new equipment including 36 large twin pallet HMCs from Japan, nearly 30 industrial robots from Germany for loading and unloading the machines and delivering the materials to common pick-up points, and 70 fully automated hydraulic fixtures using clamps from the USA. All of the system integration was carried out by a Chinese company, creating a truly globally sourced solution. In 2010, manufacturing in China grew at 15.7% compared to the economy at 10.3%. In the first nine months of 2011 manufacturing grew at 14.2% against 9.4% overall, with fixed asset investment rising 24.9% year on year. The forecast for the manufacturing sector, which forms nearly half of the country’s economy, in 2012 is strong growth with lots of investment in both infrastructure and capability. On a recent visit to the UK, the Chinese and British Governments tentatively agreed on terms to make bilateral trading easier between the two countries and, although these have yet to make an impact, they will eventually. In China the opportunities exist and will last for the foreseeable future, the capability of British manufacturing skills can meet and exceed the requirements requested. It is down to each individual company to invest the time and effort to succeed in this market.
–––
M VISIT––– STAACH ND
504 2
MACH 2012 PREVIEW 018
–
M ––V
ST A ISIT 53 ANDCH–––
10
Engineering Technology Group to take advantage of MACH opportunity
T
om Moore investigates the benefits of exhibiting at MACH 2012, discussing the upcoming event with Paul Rhodes, chairman at The Engineering Technology Group. The Engineering Technology Group has taken one of the largest stands at the MACH exhibition this year, which runs from 16 to 20 April at the NEC Birmingham. The group will be presenting the latest technological developments from Nakamura-Tome, Chiron, Handtmann CNC and Feeler as well as the integrated support service provided by Engineering Solutions and the workholding and automation expertise of Hyfore Automation. The group plan to use the event to demonstrate how it offers a new way of thinking in the application of high technology manufacturing systems. Each of the machine tool companies in the group acts as specialist supplier with its own team of expert engineers and factory-trained service personnel. Paul Rhodes said: “We are delighted to be exhibiting on one of the largest stands at MACH 2012. It is the ideal opportunity for us to demonstrate our unique approach to machine tool sales that combines the specialist skills of a niche supplier with the strength in depth of a large machine tool company.”
MACH provides an opportunity to show Britain’s manufacturing engineers what companies can offer them in terms of expertise, experience and equipment
INDUSTRY STATS
UK: Industry capacity utilisation & UK machine tool market There has been a £30m increase in the size of the UK machine tool market between Q1 2010 to Q3 2011. Geoff Noon, statistician at MTA, commented that judging by the sharp rise in capacity utilisation, which has a strong correlation with the size of the machine tool market, there is “more to come in terms of machine tool sales.” £mn 130 4 quarter moving averages 120 110
% 86 Capacity utilisation
2011Q3 = 80.5
100
84 82
90
80
80
78
70
76
60 50 40
74 UK MT Market
72
30 70 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Source: Haver Analytics/Oxford Economics/MTA
UK: Manufacturing investment intentions The CBI and BCC, although producing different numbers, both report a downturn in manufacturing investment intentions during 2011. This includes both small large and small spends, so machine tool investment may not decline as much as plant acquisitions, which CBI director-general, John Cridland, recently stated had ground to a halt.
Paul Rhodes, Chairman at The Engineering Technology Group
Indeed, this approach could pay dividends for the group as its large stand may introduce buyers of one brand, to find out about another. MACH provides an opportunity to show Britain’s manufacturing engineers what companies can offer them in terms of expertise, experience and equipment. I can think of no better opportunity for The Engineering Technology Group to do this.” The company will be exhibiting its latest multi-tasking turning centre from NakamuraTome, the WT-150 II, which has a user-friendly PC programming system and brings the benefits of one-hit machining to companies that do not have specialist programming skills. It will also be showcasing the first 5-axis vertical machining centre from the machine tool manufacturer Feeler, and Handtmann’s HBZ Compact Cell, a high productivity horizontal machining system.
Source: CBI, BCC
As companies struggle to cut costs, a mantra of spend to save might be considered. Investment in the latest machine tools (MT) can increase efficiency and reduce waste. Although there is an initial outlay, MT purchases can provide businesses with good (and long term) ROI. The two graphs above correlate strongly, dips in investment intentions syncing with decreasing machine tool sales. This suggests that 2011’s high level of MT sales growth could tail off in 2012. Tom Moore.
The UK’s premier manufacturing technologies event
New Methods New Technologies New Advances New Innovations
event for manufacturing Sponsored by
MACH is the one event to attend in 2012 to see everything NEW for manufacturing. This is your one opportunity to see all the latest products, developments and innovations for your specific sector. Uniquely, MACH is the only manufacturing exhibition in the UK where you can see working machines and live demonstrations all under one roof at one venue during one week. Access to the event could not be simpler - just visit machexhibition.com and register for your Fast Track Entry Pack. Be part of the ONE event for manufacturing in 2012 - visit MACH.
MACH is owned and organised by The Manufacturing Technologies Association