Engineering Capacity November 2020 Digital Edition

FOR MANUFACTURERS ABOUT SUBCONTRACTORS

November 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS | FORMING & FABRICATION | AEROSPACE & DEFENCE

Safe Solvents outsources manufacturing and more to ICEE Managed Services

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FOR BUYERS OF CONTRACT MANUFACTURING SERVICES Visit our online edition for breaking news, jobs, events, features and searchable directory. www.engineeringcapacity.com Editor: Andy Sandford editor@engineeringcapacity.com Sales Manager: Arfan Qureshi sales@engineeringcapacity.com Tel: 0207 241 4627 Graphic Design: Dave Blake blakey@djbdesign.co.uk Printer: Holbrooks Printers Limited Norway Road, Portsmouth PO3 5HX Engineering Capacity is published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November SUBSCRIPTIONS Engineering Capacity is available free of charge to UK buyers and suppliers of subcontract manufacturing services.

For non-qualifying readers, annual subscription rates are as follows for 6 issues posted to addresses in: UK £60.00; Europe £80; Rest of the World £100 You can request your copy and sign up to our free weekly email newsletter on our website or contact us via subscriptions@engineeringcapacity.com www.engineeringcapacity.com Tel: O1737 270 648 Published by: Engineering Capacity Ltd Abbey House, 25 Clarendon Road Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QZ United Kingdom Registered in England company no. 10567217 ISSN 0306-0179 COMING UP IN OUR JANUARY 2021 ISSUE Machined Components, Laser & Waterjet Cutting, Casting & Forging, Heavy Engineering, Additive Manufacturing, Electronics Please send editorial for consideration to editor@engineeringcapacity.com There is no charge or cost involved with having your editorial included in the magazine or on our website

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NOVEMBER 2020

Editor’s View Are we up or are we down? Lockdown continues but a vaccine may be on the horizon. Trump leaves the White House (kicking and screaming) and the reality of Brexit draws ever closer.

Other than studying tea leaves or finding a reliable oracle, how are we supposed to know what happens next?

The latest figures from Qimtek’s Contract Manufacturing Index give some hope of an upturn, but most of the data relates to the period before the current restrictions.

If the lockdown has merely put everything on hold, then the signs are good. The market has been on an upward trend and there are indications of pent-up demand.

But there is no doubt that the manufacturing sector is hurting. Friends of mine tell me that it is only the CBILS loans and furloughing that are keeping them going.

Many good companies (and no doubt many bad companies) may not make it through to the ‘sunlit uplands’ of a possible post-Covid world.

For the majority who do survive, the watchwords will be agility and flexibility. When the whole world is being disrupted there is less resistance to disruptive thinking, technologies and business models pushing themselves to the fore.

Just looking through the pages of this magazine the same themes seem to keep recurring: automation, light-weighting, additive manufacturing, electric vehicles, sustainable energy.

The other major shift has been the adoption of cloud technologies across vast swathes of our personal and business lives. Collaborative working by day, Zoom drinks with friends in the evening.

And increasing exposure to digital cloud solutions has opened our eyes to the potential that they can unlock to transform traditional businesses.

What were until recently ‘future’ technologies are becoming the new normal.

To quote the Italian novelist Lampedusa: “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”

Andy Sandford, Editor

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Contents November 2020

26 CASTING & FORGING

News

Features

06 Green foundry team 06 New leadership at

13 Aerospace & Defence 06 Engine supply chain order

European association

Shielding cuts rework

08 Green turned parts 06 Qualiturn switches on

18 Forming & Fabrication 06 Alpha’s automation advantage

sustainable power

08 New metal facility 06 Kloeckner Metals UK is relocating its Thames Wharf site

09 NHS fabrication donation 06 Tadweld has provided aluminium staging for a Yorkshire renal unit clinic

10 Plugged in to Cluster 06 Alucast looks for electric vehicle opportunities

11 Zapping Covid with UV 06 CHH CoNeX is helping to reduce the risk of coronaviruses 4

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Robot laser metal deposition

6 INDUSTRY NEWS

26 Casting & Forging 06 Additive innovation in die-casting

Front cover picture shows Safe Solvents’ Design Engineer Kyle Dooley with the company’s Shockwave Pro 3000, a powerful industrial ultrasonic cleaning machine made for the company by manufacturing contractor ICEE. The machine uses APWF Ambimization® fluid and 3000 watts of energy to create microscopic bubbles. Jetted at the workpiece, the bubbles in the fluid release localised energy upon impact, a highly efficient cleaning combination designed to blast all dirt and grease out of the smallest crevices. See page 24

29 Composites 06 Swapping diesel for hydrogen 32 Measurement & Testing 06 Shaking up battery testing 34 Additive Manufacturing 06 Metal printed plane spare 39 BTMA Directory

NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | INDUSTRY NEWS

Subcontract market bounces back The latest Contract Manufacturing Index for the third quarter of 2020 shows that the subcontract market bounced back strongly in July and August after the Covid-19 shutdown and was 151% up on the previous three months.

Fabrication was particularly strong, 344% higher than the previous quarter and representing 58% of the subcontract market.

The CMI is produced by sourcing specialist Qimtek and reflects the total purchasing budget for outsourced manufacturing of companies looking to place business in any given month.

Commenting on the figures, Qimtek owner Karl Wigart said: “There were signs at the end of the second quarter that a recovery was on its way and these have been confirmed by the latest figures. The third quarter of The continuing restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have seriously disrupted the timetable of planned trade exhibitions.

Having first of all been postponed April this year until January 2021, the MACH manufacturing technologies show will not now run until April 2022.

Subcon, which was postponed from June this year and then to September this year then again to January 2021, when it was planned to run alongside MACH, has now been

NOVEMBER 2020

2020 is the best since the first quarter of 2019 and over 150% higher than the previous quarter.

“Most of this upside came in July and August and we saw a slowdown in September.

However, we know several large companies have projects

coming up but everything is taking a bit longer than normal with the manufacturing workforce partly working from home.

So we expect the next few months to pick up again from the September numbers.”

8 qimtek.co.uk

Trade show update further postponed until September 2021.

The Southern Manufacturing Show, which moved from its regular slot in February to avoid clashing with the postponed shows, is now due to go ahead as planned at Farnborough International from 20 to 22 April 2021. The Advanced Engineering Show, which had been due to take place at the beginning of November this year has now been rescheduled for November 2021.

Following the postponement of Automechanika Frankfurt until

September 2021, the UK edition of Automechanika will not now return to the NEC until June 2022.

Internationally, the Swiss high precision show EPHJ will now take place in June 2021 at Palexpo, Geneva. The French subcontracting event, MIDEST, will take place as part of Global Industrie Lyon in March 2021, and Subcontratación will take place at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, Spain, from 1 to 3 June 2021.

8 bit.ly/ECshows

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INDUSTRY NEWS | Engineering Capacity The European Foundry Association (CAEF) has appointed a new executive team as the industry recognises its important role in the ‘Green Revolution’.

Roberto Ariotti (Italy) was appointed as the new Chairman of the Executive Committee, taking over from Luis Felipe Villas-Boas (Portugal) at the completion of his term of office.

During his tenure as the first chairman of the Executive Committee, Luis Felipe had successfully commenced a strategic review of the work of the CAEF, which had resulted in additional resources being made available to the Association, enabling a revision of the website, an increase in the information supplied to the Member Associations and greater engagement with the European Commission, EC. Indeed, the Association had also been proactive in its engagement with EC to ensure that the industry’s role as a vital supplier during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as being very active in ensuring that the industry was fully engaged and represented during the on-going BREF revision. This was appreciated by the more than 25 attendees from around Europe, all of whom joined the meeting virtually for the first time in the Association’s history.

In thanking the meeting for electing him as the new chairman, Roberto reflected that as the 4th generation in his family’s iron foundry in northern Italy, a company that supplies the wind energy sector, he was looking 6

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Green foundry team

forward to continuing the work that Luis Felipe and the Secretariat team had started. “It is vital that we confirm our industry’s reputation as a ‘solution provider’ for the Green Revolution we are about to experience. Our industry is an integral part of the circular economy but we need to increase our visibility and get this message across to policymakers as well as to the general public via the mass media – this should be a win-win situation. Our industry is facing significant change, but castings remain fundamental to the supply chain for e-mobility, renewable energy and sustainability programmes and we know that metals are infinitely recyclable.

“At the same time, we need to ensure the competitiveness of the European Foundry Industry, through R&D, innovation and embracing digitalisation, and show the industry’s importance for regional employment; this will

8 Roberto Arriotti, Director of Fonderie Arriotti s.p.a, is the new Chairman of the European Foundry Association

require continued engagement on environmental and H&S matters”.

Other Members of the Executive Committee include Wilfrid Boyault (France), Witold Dobosz (Poland), S. Koray Hatipoglu (Turkey), Pam Murrell (UK), Ignacio de la Peña (Spain), Max Schumacher (Germany) and Luis Filipe Villas-Boas (Portugal).

Dr Pam Murrell said, “even though the UK is leaving the European Union, it is clear that we face some common issues and as industry associations, we need to work together to ensure that foundries remain part of the solution as we transition to net zero carbon and that the sector is attractive to young people who want to be part of an industry that can make a difference globally.”

8 caef.eu NOVEMBER 2020

Microscopy and analysis _material formulation examination

’s on premise, dedicated metallurgical laboratory helps our customers to feel more conďŹ dent. We examine all possibilities, compare various properties, and advantages/disadvantages of dierent material combinations to ensure that product integrity; material composition, component design and service life are considered.

Perhaps the most valuable role is in aiding customers to help them to avoid potentially expensive mistakes. This is a free service, available to customers of AWS at the quotation stage and through to production. This work begins at the concept or initial design stage with advice on the selection of appropriate materials and geometries suitable for the rotary friction welding processes.

www.kuka.com

T: 0121 505 9970 E: sales.uk@kuka.com

INDUSTRY NEWS | Engineering Capacity Qualiturn Products Ltd can now offer customers green turned parts produced using sustainable energy thanks the installation of solar photovoltaic panels at its new factory in Hertford.

The company has installed 381 panels on its roof with the capacity to produce max 135kW. Managing Director Nick Groom says that typical demand in the factory is around 120 to 140kW, so in ideal conditions, with the sun in the right position and no cloud cover, it could meet all the factory’s power needs in peak sun hours.

Nick says he was looking for green initiatives for his customers, and identified electricity consumption as being his major source of CO2 emissions and expenditure.

“Every kilowatt I generate is a saving and it is also good for the environment. If I am producing my own energy it means there is less need to burn fuel in power stations. That means greener turned parts with a lower carbon Kloeckner Metals UK has completed the purchase of a site in Thurrock, Essex to develop a new metals processing facility.

Part of the global Klöckner & Co Group, Kloeckner Metals UK boasts 14 business units across the UK and is one of the leading multi-metals processing suppliers in the UK. The substantial investment into the new site was needed to support the relocation of the existing site at Thames Wharf,

8

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Green turned parts

footprint and a greener supplier for customers to buy from.”

He says that in the first two weeks of installation the panels saved the 1,221kg of CO2, the equivalent of planting 56 trees.

The money savings also allow Qualiturn to be a more efficient and cost effective supplier.

“We are obviously approaching winter now and on a cloudy day I may only be producing 23 kW, but that is enough to keep one machine going.

And if you consume the electricity you produce yourself it is far more viable than selling it back to the grid. I have saved £860 in the two weeks that the system was installed.

“Qualiturn Customers can now purchase greener, low carbon subcontract turned and milled components. Helping them to purchase responsibly and helping towards their own company environmental goals.

8 qualiturn.co.uk

New metal facility completed London, which, over the years, became too small for the business’ needs.

Peter Whiting, CEO of Kloeckner Metals UK: “This new investment is an important milestone in Kloeckner’s strategic plan to establish ourselves as one of the leading supply chain partners in the UK. It is a truly exciting time for us as we continue to expand our business

both through value added products & processing services and implementation of digital technologies. The new site, and its state-of-the-art equipment, will significantly increase our capabilities and allow us to deliver our mission of ‘getting you the products and services you need when you need them.’”

8 kloecknermetalsuk.com

NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | INDUSTRY NEWS Tadweld has manufactured and donated aluminium staging to York Teaching Hospital that will be used in a Renal Clinic Outpatients Unit.

The donation comes shortly after the Tadcaster-based engineering firm announced a change in ownership with Richard Byfield, Iain Leedham, Kevin Wheelock and Paul Rose acquiring the company.

Under its new ownership, Tadweld is developing a comprehensive corporate social responsibility programme, with this announcement marking the first of many contributions to the local community.

The specialist engineering firm works with some of the world’s largest businesses and brands –

NOVEMBER 2020

NHS fabrication donation including Guinness, Nestle and Diageo – providing innovative steel solutions and installing time-critical platforms and walkways which are often the base for significant production line investment.

With a large proportion of 8 Paul Rose, the new Chairman and Director of Tadweld

Tadweld’s customers being in the food and drink sector, the company plays a vital role in these supply chains and has continued to operate throughout the COVID-19 crisis – wherever safe and possible – and the team were keen to support other local organisations in need during this time.

Tadweld’s new Chairman and Director Paul Rose said: “Tadweld has been a cornerstone of the local community since it was founded in 1978. We’re delighted that we’ve been able to use our engineering capabilities to support the NHS at such a critical time.”

8 Tadweld.co.uk

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INDUSTRY NEWS | Engineering Capacity Alucast is looking to build on £1m of electrification contract wins by joining a new EV cluster.

A recent £2.5m investment in its new CNC machining shop is paying off for the company, with the new technology paying a pivotal role in helping it secure new contracts in the electrification sector.

The independent aluminium foundry is using its increased 5-axis capability and Magmasoft® casting simulation to develop and produce a range of complex casings and housings for high profile car makers across Europe.

Some of these products are liquid cooled and feature complex core designs, requiring high integrity castings that must be leak proof and finished with the latest machining techniques.

Whilst it is early days, the management team at the Black Country manufacturer is expecting volumes destined for electric powertrain/vehicles to account for 25% of its turnover going forward and this is one of the reasons why it has decided to join a new UK cluster featuring Balluff, Brandauer, C-MAC SMT and PP Control & Automation.

This group, which collectively employs over 400 people and boasts sales in 35 countries, will offer a single-source supply chain solution for electric motors, drivetrain components, battery cells, casings and housings, transfer laminations, PCB assemblies and wider infrastructure services.

“Our engineers have been working with the car makers and tier 1s on a range of new 10

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Plugged in to cluster

development parts that can be used in electrification,” explained Tony Sartorius, Chairman at Alucast.

“Casting is a great way of giving a component strength, whilst helping to reduce weight by using aluminium. We also have all the technologies you need in-house, including the four main casting processes, prototyping, finishing, 5-axis CNC and design input through industry-leading software.”

He continued: “Over £1million of orders have already been secured in this field and we believe we can at least treble this through our involvement with the electrification cluster that has been born out of the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN).

“It gives us expertise across a range of ‘in-demand’ manufacturing disciplines and the capacity to take on significant projects, not only in automotive but in other sectors where electric power could be key.”

MAN’s ‘Electrification Cluster’

was launched in August with a major digital marketing campaign and dedicated E-brochure that details the group’s capabilities and supply offering.

This is being reinforced by a number of educational videos and potential seminars where they will aim to unpick some of the common challenges facing companies involved in this industry.

“We are delighted to welcome Alucast to the cluster and are already working with it on a number of exciting new development projects where its knowledge of housings and casings is coming to the fore,” added Richard Halton, Business Development Manager at C-MAC SMT, a leading independent provider of complex, high reliability electronics and system assemblies.

8 alucast.co.uk NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | INDUSTRY NEWS Electronics manufacturer CHH CoNeX is helping to produce an ultra-violet air steriliser that could significantly reduce the risk of coronavirus infection.

It is collaborating with air sterilisation specialist Pathogen Solutions on the design and production of Medixair, a portable air sterilisation solution that is proven to eliminate airborne viruses and bacteria.

The patented product, which is the result of 15-years’ development work, was initially derived to help combat hospital acquired infections and Pathogen Solutions now wants to ramp up production.

Following extensive testing over the past few years, the solution has since been installed in Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow among other healthcare environments across the UK. Now, as the world takes action to improve infection control processes, Medixair is playing a significant role, since coronaviruses shares the same morphology as other viruses which the solution eliminates.

There is substantial evidence to indicate that SARS-COV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can be passed from person to person in tiny droplets called aerosols, which travel through the air and accumulate over time. Medixair combats this by providing 24-hour airborne infection control. The 110-watt unit employs high intensity ultraviolet light to decontaminate the air within indoor environments.

The portable machine works by drawing air into the unit and NOVEMBER 2020

Zapping Covid with UV

exposing it to UV light which is a proven method for killing bugs. The clean air is then recirculated back out of the unit. When deployed within medical wards or other indoor settings, the device can provide an additional and effective level of support against infection.

Tim Hughes, managing director of CHH CoNeX, the company responsible for the assembly of Medixair units, commented: “Medixair operates differently to typical fogging machines and uses UV light to clean the air. This method has been used for infection control for several decades. In fact, back in the 1980s

researchers found that UV lamps were effective in preventing transmission of tuberculosis and similar technology is now being recommended for use in combatting Coronavirus.

John Burrows, director of Pathogen Solutions, added that Medixair is already in demand across the world. “In addition to interest from domestic customers, we also have demand for Medixair from Indonesia, the Philippines and Europe. Products such as this are going to play a key role in keeping indoor areas safe in our new-normal.”

8 chhconex.com

Visit our website or contact us for a quote or advice

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Trade Leads from the EIA

PEOPLE | Engineering Capacity

The following FREE OF CHARGE trade leads for the UK engineering industry are currently appearing on the Trade Board pages of the Engineering Industries Association at www.eia.co.uk Ceremonial accoutrements (UK) The supply of ceremonial accoutrements consisting of various items (including but not limited to: swords and scabbards, sporrans, feathers and plumes, aiguillettes, etc.) over a 4-year period.

Reference: 34731 Closing Date: 10/12/2020 Carbon steel pipes The national oil company of Kuwait is looking for a supply of carbon steel pipes.

Reference: 34904 Closing Date: 27/11/2020 Stainless couplings A Dutch manufacturer of a corrosion free, stainless steel coupling to connect steel pipes is looking to expand and seeks agents or distributors. The coupling are suitable for different streams such as: gas, water, oil, air, etc. and mainly used for pipes used above ground. The company is looking to expand and seeks new agents or distributors.

Reference: JV1434 Closing Date: 04/12/2020 CNC machines A German SME is looking for commercial and distribution agreements for CNC engraving and milling machines.

Reference: JV1438 Closing Date: 06/01/2021 For more information please email head.office@eia.co.uk quoting reference number.

Please remember to use due diligence in responding to Trade Leads. Engineering Capacity provides you with the above information in good faith, but is unable to accept any responsibility or legal liability arising from any use of these leads.

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Danielle George MBE is the new President of The Institution of Engineering and Technology. A professor of radio frequency engineering at Manchester University, she hopes to use her term to get more young people interested in engineering and technology.

Helen Blomqvist has been announced as the new President of Sandvik Coromant where she was previously Vice President of Product Management and Research & Development. She holds two patents and in 2018, she was awarded Sandvik Coromant Leader of the Year.

Jon Fredrik Baksaas the former CEO of Telenor, has been appointed as DNV GL’s new Chair of the board. Lasse Kristoffersen will take over as Vice Chair. Experienced in the maritime industry, he is currently the CEO and President of Torvald Klaveness Group.

Matt Stevenson has been appointed as Operations Director Cockayne Systems, a joint venture between Edwards Engineering and DPS Group. The company is a leading manufacturer of cask filling and disgorging solutions, controls and meter calibrations for the whisky industry.

NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | AEROSPACE & DEFENCE Tooling specialist Cube Precision Engineering has won major orders from prime and tier one aerospace companies.

Cube, which can handle from single op prototype tooling up to complex multi-stage tooling suites, has picked up more than £675,000 of orders over the last two months despite the industry suffering from the effects of the pandemic.

The firm’s ability to deliver quality products on time was instrumental in securing the work and its engineers are now offering additional support in improving the process and manufacturing methodology.

This has helped it bring all but two of its 42-strong workforce back from furlough, with a number of new opportunities across automotive and advanced engineering in the pipeline.

Neil Clifton, Managing Director at Cube Precision Engineering, commented: “2020 had got off to a great start and we were all set for a record year, until Covid-19 took hold and a lot of projects were stalled or put on hold indefinitely.

“Like all of manufacturing, we’ve had to pivot our operations, but importantly we have managed to continue working throughout the pandemic, including making parts that went into a machine that was being used to make face masks.”

He continued: “We have also been looking at how we convert new opportunities during the crisis and this has resulted in us securing additional aerospace work with two strategically vital customers.

“This is more than double the revenue we were expecting and NOVEMBER 2020

Aerospace tooling orders

came about thanks to the way we engage with our customers, working with them to deliver the best manufacturing solution, rather than build to print. The experience of Kevin Davis, our Aerospace Account Manager, has been vital in this process.”

Employing 42 people, Cube Precision Engineering can handle tooling of all sizes, boasting a lifting capacity to 35 tonnes and pressing capacity of 1000 tonnes.

The company provides prototyping, design, simulation, manufacturing and full inspection, giving high profile customers across the aerospace, automotive, d

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d re cc

ow

defence and rail a single-source solution for its complex tooling requirements.

It has recently invested £300,000 on an MTE BF3200, a new state-of-the-art multi-axis CNC milling centre that will support development/low to medium work for a host of UK and international clients.

Neil concluded: “Our tooling produces parts that go into some of the world’s most efficient jetpowered aeroplanes, luxury vehicles, off highway trucks and, in some cases, decorative furniture for superyachts.”

8 cubeprecision.com

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Manufacturers of High Quality Mill-Turned Parts

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AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | Engineering Capacity The Nasmyth Group has won a multi-million pound contract from Incora to manufacture machined components for new and aftermarket aerospace engine components across a range of platforms and including legacy engines.

The seven-year contract will be carried out by the Nasmyth Bulwell team at its manufacturing facility in

Engine supply chain order Pinxton, Nottinghamshire and Nasmyth Group’s manufacturing team in Asia.

Nasmyth Bulwell specialises in the manufacture of solid machined solutions including precision parts, kits, airframe assemblies and sub-assemblies using the latest

SPECIALIST MANUFACTURERS OF ENGINEERED PLASTIC COMPONENTS • Latest technology one-hit machining • Standard plastics • Engineering plastics • High performance plastics • Complex components • Assemblies • Flexible batch sizes • High volume capability

Automotive

Marine

Medical

Industrial

Consumer

Retail

Construction

Utilities

Tel: 01920 830 018 Fax: 01920 830 028 sales@plasticturnedparts.co.uk

www.plasticturnedparts.co.uk Plastic Turned Parts Ltd. Unit 2-5 Whitehall Farm, Walkern Road Watton at Stone, Nr Hertford Hertfordshire SG14 3RP

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Plastic Turned Parts

CAD/CAM technology to interface with customer design teams.

Nasmyth says that excellence in engineering and technology up to 5-axis machining has positioned Nasmyth Bulwell at the forefront of precision machining, producing quality assured components in steel, aluminium, Nimonics and super alloys. Nasmyth Bulwell serves its global customers by combining UK manufacturing and a supply chain in Asia. This offering provides options in terms of cost, quality, delivery, risk mitigation and relationship.

Incora, formerly Wesco Aircraft and Pattonair, is a leading provider of supply chain management services to the global aerospace and other industries. Incora incorporates itself into customers' businesses, managing all aspects of supply chain from procurement and inventory management to logistics and on-site customer services.

Eddie Jones, Director of Nasmyth Bulwell, commented: “This contract builds on our existing partnership with the Incora team. We look forward to strengthening that partnership as we work together on this new contract.”

Andrew Jones, Chief Procurement Officer of Incora added: “This contract solidifies our longstanding relationship with the Nasmyth Group and we look forward to continuing to grow our partnership to provide best in class solutions to Incora’s customers.”

8 nasmythgroup.com NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | AEROSPACE & DEFENCE Production control software has played a crucial role in the success of a subcontracting business over the past 21 years by managing requirements for its aerospace customers.

Automatic Industrial Machines Ltd (AIM) started utilising PSL Datatrack production control software back in 1999. The company could not have envisaged then that the system would still be playing a crucial role within the business some 21 years later. The ongoing enhancements to the system keep it up-to-date, maintaining the customer’s investment and providing stable business management. It continues to provide all necessary controls for AIM's complex production needs, especially for customers in the aerospace industry. AIM’s aerospace capabilities include one-off jobs, small to medium batch work, long-term customer contracts and the manufacture of complex sub-assemblies.

With its ability to manage the entire production process, from the generation of quotations right through to final invoices, PSL Datatrack has given AIM greater control over all aspects of its business. Live status updates, the provision of management information including full breakdown of machining costs and reporting on individual customer turnover means the company can continuously assess the strengths and potential weaknesses of its business model.

Working in the aerospace sector (the company has ISO 9001 NOVEMBER 2020

Their AIM is true

and AS 9100 accreditations alongside various customer approvals) means traceability is paramount. The production control software that deals with customer orders and production processes must therefore be watertight. PSL Datatrack stores all historic transactions relating to the production of any component for any customer. This includes full traceability of all materials and subcontract services, indepth route cards, inspection reports and the generation of Certificates of Conformity (COCs).

Information is readily available for any client or external audit and AIM has received praise from a number of customers for the system it has in place. “We've been told we set the traceability standard for some of our customers' other suppliers. That is great news not only for us, but also for PSL Datatrack in the way that they have helped us achieve this recognition," say Managing Director Rob Kendall.

AIM's ability to quickly quote and process a large number of orders has been central to the company's success which has seen steady growth since establishment in 1972. PSL Datatrack enabled it to achieve this alongside handling calculation of all costs from suppliers, including materials and external processes such as anodising.

Material costs are automatically tracked and updated, if necessary, for future quotation and purchasing purposes. AIM has seen the number of live part numbers it deals with rise from around 120 to 900 and has evolved towards producing smaller batches. With more part numbers and the requirement to produce components in aluminium, carbon fibre, steels and titanium, the need for well-maintained production control software with ongoing development to provide new features is critical.

8 psldatatrack.com aim-ltd.net www.engineeringcapacity.com

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AEROSPACE & DEFENCE | Engineering Capacity

Strategy and growth rewarded Electronics design and manufacture specialist Jaltek systems has picked up a Make UK Business Growth and Strategy regional award.

Luton based Jaltek won the award in the regional heats of Make UK’s national manufacturing awards programme.

The awards, which recognise excellence among manufacturing companies in seven categories, as well as five Apprentice categories, were held virtually at an online ceremony for the Midlands and East of England.

Jaltek, has designed and manufactured electronic systems across a wide variety of sectors, including aerospace, energy, medical and security, for over 30 years.

Judges of the Business Growth and Strategy category said that they were “impressed with the clarity of the company’s primary growth

strategy; offering a service to small disruptive businesses. The financial outcomes were impressive and they showed positive collaboration with Universities.”

Steve Pittom, Jaltek’s Managing Director commented on the win saying; “We feel honoured and thrilled to have won in this highly competitive category. It is a whole team effort that has led us here and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone. Not only the Jaltek team but also our customers and suppliers. Jaltek has evolved and grown significantly in recent years.

Aerospace Oil & Gas Nuclear Defence

PRECISION ENGINEERING www.thomas-brown-engineering.co.uk Tel: 01484 548903

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Automotive Electronics Hi Fi

Industrial & High Volume Machining

As part of this we have transferred some of the skills and expertise employed in serving the needs of our larger customers to support smaller enterprises. The team has relished the opportunity to work with new disruptive technologies and partner with high- potential start-ups. The culture within our business is collaborative, enabling and always open to meeting new challenges and I’m excited to see what we do next.”

Charlotte Horobin, Midlands Region Director for Make UK, said: “These awards are a testament to the dynamic companies and individuals working within engineering and manufacturing. The sector has been at the heart of delivering during the crisis and as we rebuild our economy there will be a bright future for companies and individuals that make the most of their talent.”

As a regional winner in their category Jaltek will go forward to attend online national judging in early December with results being announced in January 2021.

Jaltek Systems is a leading AS9100 and ISO 13485 accredited UK contract electronics manufacturer focusing on low to medium volume, high mix product profiles for a range of industries.

Its services include conceptual design, PCBA layout, fast turnaround NPI, manufacture and test of PCBA’s and final product assembly. Using advanced systems Jaltek supports products throughout their lifecycle, offering a single service or complete solution.

8 jaltek.com NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | AEROSPACE & DEFENCE MetLase has engineered and manufactured a customised gas shield that will cut welding rework at a major aerospace engine manufacturer.

The Sheffield-based company took just two months from the customer’s initial enquiry to design and manufacture the shield for controlling argon delivery within shielded welding. This prevents oxygen or water vapour affecting the quality of the weld.

Using precision laser cutting technology and patented joining methodology, the Rotherhambased company identified an engineering grade metallic foam that dissipates the argon gas in a precision manner, providing an almost perfect inert atmosphere for the process.

It also developed a digital enhancement, which has the ability to provide constant information and alerts prior to the welding taking place.

“This was a significant challenge for our team, but one we relished as it also gave us the opportunity to ‘prove-out’ some new joining techniques we had developed, whilst integrating digital technologies into the mix that deliver a game-changing solution to the welding process,” explained Jon Ham, MetLase’s lead engineer on the project.

“The aerospace industry has stringent quality standards to meet and we had to find an answer that would produce welding performance better than 10 parts per million and could be used across numerous civil engine variants.”

NOVEMBER 2020

Shielding cuts rework

He continued: “Innovation and pushing the boundaries of engineering is what we do best and I’m delighted to report that our gas shield provides a significant reduction in welding rework, which saves considerable time and cost.”

MetLase, which is a joint venture between Unipart and Rolls-Royce, is now looking at ways where it can customise the solution for other aerospace customers, with the firm’s standardised manufacturing process meaning it could take just two weeks to provide a bespoke ‘shield solution’.

The introduction of sensors in the system is another example of how the company is keen to embed digital technology into more mainstream manufacturing techniques to deliver digestible and, importantly, actionable data.

One example is the ability to understand how equipment is performing by continually measuring properties and monitoring sensor outputs so

earlier positive interventions can be made.

Richard Gould, Business Development Manager at MetLase, commented: “Our digital products, which currently include Digital Gauge, Smart Bench and Smart Cell, have to deliver bottom-line benefits to our clients, who operate in the automotive, aerospace, construction and renewables sectors.

“This involves taking traditional manufacturing principles focusing on assembly, bonding, measuring, workholding and assembly workstations, and exploring how we could digitise them in a way that would allow them to provide their core function whilst also gathering data.

“For us, digital manufacturing is not a standalone entity. Instead, it should be a critical aspect of the process and operation, and it should revolve around data and, specifically, digestible, actionable data.”

8 metlase.com www.engineeringcapacity.com

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FORMING & FABRICATION | Engineering Capacity Tube manipulation and pipe bending subcontractor T&T Tubecraft has increased capacity with the installation installed of a new Unison all-electric 130 mm diameter multi-stack CNC tube bending machine.

This is the third Unison tube bender to be purchased by T&T Tubecraft since 2014. It joins a 50 mm Unison Breeze machine and a 100 mm Unison Breeze multi-stack model that are in daily use at T&T Tubecraft’s Woking-based facility.

“Of all our tube benders, our 100 mm Unison machine is easily the busiest,” comments T&T Tubecraft managing director, Ross Turner. “Ironically, when we purchased the 100 mm Unison machine back in 2015, we didn’t have a vast amount of work for it.

This quickly changed, however, as we gained the ability to take on new projects. The new 130 mm machine will increase our capability even further, both in terms of capacity and the ability to tender for an even greater range of projects. We expect it to be of particular interest to customers in the aerospace sector.”

The 130 mm tube bender is particularly suited to bending exotic alloys such as titanium and Inconel, as well as super-duplex stainless steels. Able to push bend tubes of up to 6.2 metres in length when in standard mode, it also features a hitch-feed facility, whereby the machine carriage retracts by the length of the next feed, enabling mandrel bending of tubes of up to 8.7 metres long. As a result of this capability, T&T Tubecraft believes that, out of all 18

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Bigger bending capacity

The all-electric architecture and automated Unibend software-controlled setup of our Unison machines offers major advantages over hydraulic machines

‘‘

UK tube manipulation subcontractors, it may provide the longest bending range.

Multi-stack tool holding allows the most complex of parts to be formed in one uninterrupted manufacturing cycle, while Unison’s bar code scanning system ensures that only the correct tools are installed while also configuring the machine automatically. The standard-fit rise and fall pressure die means that tools of very different radii can be used on a part within a cycle.

The power of the machine allows high quality thin wall bending, even on high yieldstrength alloys such as Inconel.

The 130 mm machine has been networked to T&T Tubecraft’s CAD facilities and a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) for

verifying bend accuracy and design conformity. The tube bender can be programmed manually or from CAD data using industry-standard IGES or STEP files, while data obtained by the CMM from the first manufactured part can be used to make automatic adjustments to the machine prior to commencing a manufacturing cycle.

“The all-electric architecture and automated Unibend softwarecontrolled setup of our Unison machines offers major advantages over hydraulic machines,” continues Ross Turner. "Bending accuracy and repeatability are dramatically improved. We achieve right-firsttime manufacturing for repeat subcontract work and typically expect even the first bent trial component at the start of a project to be very close to what we are looking to achieve. Machine configuration is also rapid, typically only taking 15 to 20 minutes. As a subcontract tube manipulation company, we also quickly get to hear how well new machines are viewed by our teams. Unison machines are very well received by our workforce.

Unison’s Unibend operating software is exceptionally intuitive, meaning much faster programming and accelerated training for new staff members.

Our operators consider the Unibend control system to be exceptionally user friendly.”

8 tubecraft.co.uk NOVEMBER 2020

FORMING & FABRICATION | Engineering Capacity Investment in automated material handling and storage at Alpha Manufacturing has removed work in progress from the factory floor and boosted capacity and efficiency.

The company has expanded its four-bay automated material handling and storage system to a 10-bay system that houses more than 600 tonnes of material and part-processed items.

The STOPA system now has 207 available pallet spaces and runs 62m down the centre of Alpha’s factory near Stafford and serves machines including Trumpf laser cutting, punching, combination laser/punch and bending machines.

The completion of the STOPA marks the culmination of Alpha’s journey to automation and its ‘smart factory’ vision, delivering competitive advantage for both the company and its customers.

Plans for the large-scale installation were first set out in 2015. The aim was to make Alpha Manufacturing the UK’s foremost precision sheet-metal fabricator in just five years, doubling turnover in the process. With the completion of the STOPA system extension in July 2020, the total investment is close to £4 million, securing Alpha’s position as one of the most technically advanced factories in the industry.

Part of the Bri-Stor Group of companies, Alpha Manufacturing is a privately-owned business established in 1989 that specialises in sheet-metal fabrication. Over 150 people are now employed at the firm’s 20

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Alpha’s automation advantage

65,000ft2 facility, where a range of materials are processed in thicknesses from 0.5 to 25mm.

Sectors served include automotive, retail, electronics, agriculture, construction, street furniture, security, healthcare, horticulture and petrochemical.

The STOPA system improves daily business at Alpha in a number of ways. For instance, it has allowed the company to automate stock storage, movement and transfer between machines, with all raw sheet metal stored in the towers and called out at the touch of a button.

This capability has had a hugely positive affect on Alpha’s performance with regard to both efficiency and capacity.

“One of the biggest benefits is removing all WIP (work-inprogress) from the shop floor,” states Rob Eley, Commercial Director. “There are no more pallets of parts, or need to transport those pallets around the factory using forklifts. The STOPA

has led to massive improvements in efficiency, as well as reductions in costed manpower resources.

Furthermore, tasks such as stock control and management are now significantly easier.”

Managing Director Paul Clews adds: “We’ve achieved everything we set out to do and more, and this final investment will take us to our goal in terms of automation and efficiency. We’re not unique in buying the best machinery; a lot of companies have high-specification technology. However, we aim to differentiate in our operations, through the highest levels of efficiency and productivity. The STOPA system provides the ability to identify, locate and deliver any piece of sheet steel, punched/laser part or folded subassembly to any location at the touch of a button. In doing this, we dramatically reduce the amount of waste from our processes in terms of people movement and component transportation.”

8 alphamanufacturing.co.uk NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | FORMING & FABRICATION Samuel Taylor Limited (STL) has been selected alongside three other leading low carbon technology innovators to participate in the UK pavilion at The Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo at the Messe Stuttgart, Germany in May 2021.

The pavilion is managed by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), in partnership with Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Department for International Trade, SMMT and Innovate UK. STL’s involvement follows the announcement in early 2020 by the Redditch-based metal contact and precision stamping specialists of a significant contract win to support vehicle electrification, a first in what represents an area of significant potential growth for the company.

The Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo is run alongside The Battery Show Europe, creating Europe’s largest H/EV and advanced battery technology trade fair. Attended by more than 400 international suppliers, the event is a leading meeting place for powertrain technology.

STL manufactures precision stamped components and assemblies, specialising in the sophisticated bonding of bimetals within the development of battery busbar technology for electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles rely on robust electric motor drives, largecapacity battery packs, power inverters, and efficient distribution of power from charging source to NOVEMBER 2020

Low carbon innovator

battery and then throughout the vehicle. Busbars, which comprise a system of electrical conductors for collecting and distributing current, provide the means to efficiently distribute power to the cells themselves and onto the vehicles’ various subsystems.

STL said: “ We will be proudly flying the flag for UK industry at The Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo. This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate our ground-breaking technologies to international investors and prospective customers.”

STL will join Autocraft Solutions Group, Eatron Technologies and TWI Ltd on the pavilion representing British industry and showcasing their latest innovations.

Jo Evans, Strategy & Performance Director at the Advanced Propulsion Centre, said: “Our International Events Programme is helping the next generation of low carbon innovators gain a foothold on the global stage, showcasing the latest product developments. This complements our funding programmes, increasing awareness of emerging technologies and how they are the heart of the UK’s green revolution.

We look forward to Samuel Taylor Limited joining us on the UK Pavilion at The Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo”.

8 samueltaylor.co.uk

From design, sampling and technical support to manufacture, Simpson Springs & Pressings Ltd provide the complete service.

Tel: 0118 978 6573 Email: sales@simpsonsprings.co.uk

www.engineeringcapacity.com

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FORMING & FABRICATION | Engineering Capacity ASCO can now offer a wider range of machining, coating and repair services following the installation of robot-based laser metal deposition and hard-facing system from CNC Robotics.

Based in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and with a second site in Dubai, ASCO offers a comprehensive service incorporating CNC precision machining, fabrication, surface coating, diamond grinding and superfinishing repair technologies. As well as having an extensive machine shop equipped with CNC lathes and machining centres, the site includes specialist coating equipment, including unique systems specifically designed for the company’s processes. All manufacturing at the company is supported by an in house metallurgical laboratory for testing coatings to international standards and CNC co-ordinate measuring machines for dimensional inspection, ensuring that precision components can be certified to be within microns.

Laser-metal deposition and hard-facing cladding allows coatings such as tungsten carbide, Stellite and Inconel to be deposited with a significantly lower and more localised heataffected zone (HAZ), even with materials that are difficult to weld.

This means that the process has minimal impact on the mechanical properties of the substrate material and reduced potential for distortion and damage to the chemistry and structure of the base core 22

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Robot laser metal deposition

material. In addition, the small melt pool that is formed enables the processing of very complex geometries in a single set-up, when depositing protective surfaces, undertaking repairs or creating near-net shapes.

The ability to work with very complex shapes is supported by the flexibility of the robot cell. The robot offers six-axis movement, while specially designed work holding adds a further three axes, giving the potential for nine-axis operation. In addition, a novel

head can be fitted to allow the internal cladding of bores up to 2 metres in length and down to 55 mm bore size.

The main challenge for the system resulted from the variety and complexity of the shapes being processed at ASCO Engineering since the laser has to be as near as possible to 90° to the surface of the part. This was overcome with a KUKA robot that includes very few restrictions on its range of movements.

While the new system has been used predominately for adding coatings to new parts, it has also proved valuable in component repair. For these projects, repair material is typically laid down in layers of up to 1mm per pass and then ground back to give the final surface. Dependant on clients’ requirements ASCO is, in reality, able to clad to any thickness.

The main benefit of the new NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | FORMING & FABRICATION system is the consistency of the results. Many of the coating materials used at ASCO Engineering are very expensive blends that are needed to give the necessary corrosion resistance and wear resistance. Many of the parts made by the company are used in demanding applications in the oil and gas and power generation, mining and aircraft industries where any failures can lead to costly losses in production.

Andy Deegan, Chairman at

ASCO believes that the system has made their company more versatile than any equivalent supplier in Europe, creating the ultimate one-stop-shop.

He says: “The robot system is at its best when we are working with batches of parts. We can process the first part, confirm that it is dimensionally accurate and carry out full laboratory checks on the surface integrity. Once we know we have set the correct parameters for the first part, we

can rely on the repeatability of the robot to ensure that the rest of the batch will be equally good. “The repeatability also helps us to ensure on-time delivery. After the first part has been completed, the time the robot will take to repeat any task is very predictable, which makes scheduling easy. If we can guarantee high quality and offer on-time delivery, clients won’t have any need to go elsewhere.�

8 ascoeng.com

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NOVEMBER 2020

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SPONSORED FEATURE

A better way to clean parts Innovation is often driven by regulatory change. Take a commonplace but key process in workshops, factories and manufacturing plants industrial parts cleaning. Mainly to protect the environment, traditional cleaning solvents such as trichlorethane and other hydrocarbons are being phased out. This often creates a big problem for production management.

In contrast, entrepreneur Tom Sands regards new legislation as an opportunity. With a background in chemicals engineering and related product development, he has not only devised a brand new, environmentally-friendly and market leading parts cleaning fluid, but also created a thriving business to develop the market, Safe Solvents (SSEL).

What’s more, based on the technological advance, he and his team designed a machine to make best use of it, as a result patenting a novel process, Ambimization®. It effectively separates all waste particulates and oils, facilitating proper disposal. The innovation means SSEL is enabling customers to achieve greater efficiency, higher productivity and increased throughput from an often overlooked but vital industrial process.

But Sands also faced a problem - the core business of his company is devising, managing and exploiting intellectual property (IP), not designing machines and manufacturing. At first SSEL contracted out

production to a small engineering company but as sales and the product range grew, it became clear a larger contractor had to be found, with comprehensive resources to support planned business expansion.

A complete solution from ICEE To develop his company, in 2018 Sands brought in Aspremont, a venture builder that enables founders of innovative IP companies to achieve their full potential. To work with SSEL’s team, the venture builder seconded a professional with a well proven track record in creating and executing successful go-to-market strategies for early-stage enterprises, Ben Reid.

Reid explains: “We take a business from start-up to scaleup. When it’s a start-up, everything revolves around the founder. Working with the first contractor was absolutely fine when Tom could be involved in

Safe Solvents’ cleaning systems in use at Carwood Motor Units, a remanufacturer of diesel fuel injection, electrical, and turbocharger systems for all types of vehicles

everything. He knew how it was designed, built and what parts went into it. He could resolve any issues that arose. But when Tom and I discussed moving to a scaling strategy, it was very obvious that – to support big expansion ambitions and higher volumes - going forward we had to look at new resources.”

ICEE Managed Services was selected because it has years of successful experience designing, making, fitting out, installing and maintaining its own core product range – robust and high quality, bespoke sheet metal electrical equipment enclosures for the telecommunications and transport sectors, plus solutions for other industries.

The manufacturer also possesses strong industry accreditations and quality control

SPONSORED FEATURE procedures, all complemented by experienced project management and modern, leanbased manufacturing and administration systems. This was vital for SSEL as customers include Formula 1 and major manufacturers in the automotive industry supply chain. Whether the order is one machine or many, delivery deadlines cannot be missed.

But ICEE soon proved to be more than simply a passive contractor. SSEL regards it as a highly valued innovation and technical production partner, actively collaborating and contributing to product and process improvements.

A vital partner for innovation First, ICEE converted the customer’s existing drawings into its Solidworks 3D CAD system.

Each product was valueengineered, refining design for manufacture and perfecting quality and reliability. In effect, this work produced a second generation of machines, embodying all the feedback and field experience SSEL had gained over several years, coupled to ICEE’s knowledge of supplying complete solutions.

Sands explains: “The rigorous nature of doing that forced us to look hard at the design, components and functionality.

ICEE were incredibly helpful. I hadn’t really thought of them as a specific prototype shop, but there’s no doubt they have an inherent skill set [in that area], enabling our processes to be incredibly iterative and productive.” He says they fed their ideas and experience into the process, not just from a theoretical but also a practical,

shopfloor perspective. “They have been integral at finessing the final versions of each of those machines. I suppose we hadn’t really thought of them as being a technical partner, but that’s what they are really.”

He points to a design example, a mechanism on an ultrasonic SSEL machine. Actuators lift a workpiece support platform locked inside the cleaning fluid tank. Because of the way it was originally designed and the weight it carries, it was not smooth in operation. ICEE solved the problem with a ball-bearing mechanism and replaced a flat steel plate with an aluminium version, which reduces weight that has to be lifted.

Ben Reid highlights an important business detail: “Other key benefits include reduction of production time, from eight weeks to a target of four weeks, so that’s quite significant. That’s because we are not assembling, yet thanks to the level of transparency offered [by ICEE] there’s much more timely sight of their production and delivery progress.”

Tom Sands sums up: “From

Part of a range of high performance cleaning machines, the Safe Solvents Typhoon 450, made for the company by manufacturing contractor ICEE, is available in three options and replaces traditional sink-on-drum, manual cleaning machines

my side - the coalface on design and development - I’m seeing ICEE as an innovation partner, so when we go in there and I say this is what I want to achieve, this is what we’ve got so far, they have helped us get to a perfect product quicker than before. There is no doubt about that. In short, they are as much an innovation partner as simply a manufacturing and assembly company.”

8 For more information please contact: ICEE Managed Services Ltd. 20 Arnside Road, Waterlooville Hampshire PO7 7UP Telephone: 02392 230 604.

Email: sales@icee.co.uk Web: www.icee.co.uk

CASTING & FORGING | Engineering Capacity Welshpool based foundry Castalum is using metal additive manufacturing technology to produced advanced die-casting moulds.

CastAlum is an aluminium foundry using high pressure die casting and squeeze casting to supply a range of engineered components for the automotive sector, with 90% of all production being for export.

Investment in new technology and a greater understanding of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, through a 9-year programme of research and development, means that CastAlum is now the first company based in Wales, outside of a university, to independently run a powder bed selective laser melting, SLM, machine.

Back in 2000, the site was a greenfield development, with only one customer. The company now offers cast and machined, or fully assembled and tested parts as required by the customer. Indeed, over 20 years the company has built up to a diverse customer portfolio, supplying castings to the automotive industry. The company now has 10 high pressure casting cells ranging from 1100 tonne to 2200 tonne and 3 squeeze casting cells, alongside 14 3-axis machining centres. Components manufactured by the company go into vehicles produced by VAG, FCA, BMW, Ford, Porsche, Mercedes, JLR, AML and other prestigious marques.

By 2014, the company was already an early adopter of AM technology, working closely with an 26

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Additive innovation in die-casting

Italian company developing conformal cooling techniques in tool steel, with promising early results. “With the good came the bad” explains CastAlum AM Engineer, Rhys Jones. “Despite the overall equipment efficiency, the variables in tool life and high part costs where simply unjustifiable in a competitive commercial business - something had to change.”

However, the potential benefits that additive manufacturing could

bring to HPDC were too great for CastAlum to simply ignore.

Successfully securing a collaborative R&D award with InnovateUK in 2018 allowed the company to accelerate progress with the technology and work to iron out the early issues.

“The parts that we look to produce on the SLM printer aren’t the traditional 3D printed parts that most of us are familiar with, with lightweight lattice structures and NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | CASTING & FORGING thin walls. The parts that we need are large, dense parts that are capable of withstanding the harsh environment of high pressure die casting,” explains Rhys.

“The SLM process really consists of micro-welding. The machine lays down a thin layer of powder (in our case it’s 40 microns thick) and then the laser superheats the powder, fusing it to the layer below; layer by layer the part is formed. With our large, bulky parts, the more the laser has to melt, the more welding splatter and smoke is generated. This dirties the build chamber over time and can potentially degrade the quality of the part as it is built up this is where we need to work smarter to overcome this issue and maintain part quality,” he explains.

The first step in making a tooling insert on the printer is consider its geometry and determine if it can be built on a SLM printer. Tooling inserts naturally have draft angle for releasing the casting out of the die, this suits the printing process as this means that the geometry is self-supporting and can build without support. The next task is to lay out the cooling channel, and tie this in with the company’s process department and inhouse toolroom, capture their feedback and model it in.

“As all our 3D modelling is caried out in house, this allows us to be very flexible and dynamic when it comes to design changes, we can make the small changes needed to optimize performance” says Rhys. “We use file preparation software from Renishaw to lay out the build and NOVEMBER 2020

set the build parameters. The printer runs largely independent for the entire build, only needing brief operator intervention to look after the powder. Once we are all happy with the design, we can print it and our builds tend to run from around 80 hours to 120 hours, depending on the part size.”

Once the build has finished, the powder is removed from the part, and it is then taken for final machining. The parts straight off the printer have a rough finish, unsuitable for use in the casting process, so to overcome this the company adds a small machining allowance and a 3-axis XYZ mill to fully finish the parts providing a much better surface finish and ensuring the dimensional accuracy of the parts.

Through the Innovate project, the team at CastAlum worked closely with experts from Coventry University whose role was to develop methods of calculating the amount of cooling needed at each point of the casting, to allow a much more efficient and uniform cooling of the mould and greater optimisation of the process.

Rhys also notes that his team “were very lucky to be able to work with engineers at

Renishaw’s solution centre, based up in Stone, where we had access to Renishaw’s considerable AM knowledge. The solution centre allowed us to learn how to use the new technology in the safety of their facility.

Through this collaborative team approach, our increased understanding of conformal cooling, combined with the ability to implement and use this knowledge has now enabled the team at CastAlum to change what was thought feasible”, he added.

Key to this was the company’s “Forward Focus” ethos which drives change, as customer needs grow, to meet the new challenges of Electric Vehicle (EV) and Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) technology.

Rhys is excited about the future.

“We now have a wealth of experience and data that we are confident will enable us to support the development of lightweight casting technology without sacrificing properties or durability.

We continue to develop additive manufacturing for the foundry industry, developing a number of process solutions to meeting world class quality standards and provide solutions to customers” 8 castalum.com www.engineeringcapacity.com

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COMPOSITES | Engineering Capacity

Space bound composites Pentaxia has been selected by Moog Inc. to design and manufacture complex tooling and subsequent composite components for the Small Launch Orbital Manoeuvring Vehicle (SL-OMV) project.

The SL-OMV is designed to deploy CubeSat constellations and

guide small satellites to their final orbit. The first SL-OMV will be supplied by Moog Inc. to Lockheed

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Martin as part of the UK Spaceflight Programme, supported by the UK Space Agency. The lightweight vehicle is a propulsive device to be used on rockets dedicated to the launch of small satellites.

“Pentaxia is delighted to be chosen by Moog Inc. to develop and manufacture critical structures for this exciting Space project. This is Pentaxia’s first major step into the Space sector and the tooling and component requirements are extremely challenging. Nonetheless, it demonstrates our expertise, reputation and “can-do” attitude in the global composite industry.

Our team are truly world-class in their respective fields from tooling design and composite material knowledge, right through to manufacturing finished structures. The SL-OMV project is a great opportunity to showcase this expertise and anticipate it to be the first of many future projects working closely with Moog” said Pentaxia’s Sales Director Tim Ollier.

Pentaxia will design and manufacture all tooling and composite activities in-house, offering a turn-key deliverable solution to Moog Inc. 8 pentaxia.com NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | COMPOSITES

Swapping diesel for hydrogen Permali has won UK Government funding to develop a lightweight composite solution that will allow existing diesel-powered buses to be retrofitted with zero-emission hydrogen powertrains.

The objective is to rapidly develop an affordable green technology alternative that can accelerate the ability for the UK to meet its net zero emissions target.

The funding has been awarded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) through the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN). The Permali R & D team, located at the company’s main site in Gloucester, will be working on this development project in collaboration with leading hydrogen and fuel cell specialist company Arcola Energy and the UK National Composites Centre (NCC). The partnership project is initially aimed at buses, but the new technology concept should be transferable to a wider range of vehicles, such as heavy-duty goods vehicles, trains and even aircraft.

Permali will work in close collaboration with the NCC to design and manufacture the proof of concept system. Arcola Energy will integrate and test the system with the hydrogen cylinders to achieve regulatory compliance and fit the new system to a double decker bus. The NCC approached Permali knowing their extensive experience in handling complex projects and proven track record in the F1 automotive, aerospace, defence, rail and energy sectors NOVEMBER 2020

as a highly responsive provider of advanced materials solutions.

The project focus for Permali will be on the development and production of a low-cost, lightweight composite system which will structurally support the hydrogen fuel cylinders. The target for the Permali development team is to halve the weight of the current metallic hydrogen fuel tank structure and to increase energy storage by 25%, while still providing the required structural performance to meet the vehicle road safety standards.

Permali’s Sales & Marketing Director, Fraser Rankin, commented: “This is a fantastic

This is a fantastic win for Permali demonstrating the ability to create an innovative solution within a short time frame and to the complexity of the project requirements

‘‘

win for Permali demonstrating the ability to create an innovative solution within a short time frame and to the complexity of the project requirements. Our dedicated and loyal team have been instrumental in the funding win and I’m excited to see Permali’s influence on a breakthrough project which contributes towards the UK’s carbon neutral goal.”

Hydrogen fuel provides a highly efficient zero-emission alternative to diesel. It is especially suited for buses which operate on longdistance, high-capacity routes. By retrofitting existing diesel engine buses with hydrogen powertrains, bus operators will be able to cost effectively run zero emission fleets, with a combination of retrofitted hydrogen powered buses for longer routes alongside electric battery powered buses for shorter routes.

8 permali.co.uk www.engineeringcapacity.com

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COMPOSITES | Engineering Capacity Component manufacturer Rockwood Composites has grown its turnover almost ten-fold in the past ten years and grown its workforce six-fold.

This has included over 50% growth compared to last year in the midst of huge uncertainty for the engineering and manufacturing sectors. Rockwood has gone from strength to strength recently in the face of the pandemic increasing turnover strongly and continued recruiting throughout with a 20% increase in staff in the last six months.

Rockwood designs and manufactures composite components using out-ofautoclave techniques, compression and bladder moulding of pre-preg composite material in metal tooling. It delivers cost effective solutions to technically demanding problems, showcasing first class quality components, promptly delivered into a wide range of sectors.

Mark Crouchen, Managing Director of Rockwood Composites, said: “Within the last 10 years, we have vastly expanded our services.

We are proud to have worked with so many OEMs across the defence, aerospace, nuclear and marine sectors, to name but a few.

“The relationships that we have built with our customers over the past decade enables us to provide an excellent service. We work closely with customers and strive to over-deliver on product quality and cost effectiveness, providing continual process improvement for cost and performance optimisation.”

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Ten year success story

Rockwood has been supplying a wide range of industries, including aerospace, marine, defence and nuclear and has established a proven track record of delivering complex structures.

The company aims to continuously invest in innovation to ensure customer satisfaction, developing new methods when no off-the-shelf product is available, such as manufacturing a high voltage (HV), high stress, electrical insulation systems for cryogenic applications using high pressure moulding (HPM) of prepreg composite and polyimide film, to overcome existing products’ limitations.

This innovative technology has been applied to a new fusion reaction power generation system where the integrity of the HV insulation is a critical element in

the construction to inhibit electrical short circuits within cryogenic high-power generation systems.

The press moulding process enables faster cycle times and produces high quality components which require a minimum of finishing. Rockwood started with one press and one CNC. It now has nine presses of varying sizes to cope with a wide range of components and five CNCs. Mark Crouchen said: “The Rockwood technical and development team has gained expert knowledge and experience in the field of composite materials and manufacturing processes over many years of designing, developing and manufacturing composite components for a wide range of highly specialised applications.”

8 rockwoodcomposites.com NOVEMBER 2020

SPONSORED FEATURE

KUKA’s on premise metallurgical laboratory, undertakes the study, development, design and improvement of processes that transform various metallic combinations into products intended for use in high intensity applications, in industries such as; oil and gas, automotive, power generation and aerospace.

This dedicated metallurgical examination service helps our customers to feel more confident, as we examine all possibilities, compare various properties, and advantages/disadvantages of different material combinations to ensure that product integrity, material composition, component design and service life are considered.

Perhaps the most valuable role is in aiding customers to help them to avoid potentially expensive mistakes.

Achieving a seamless weld/join is critical, as costly incidents can occur when fatigued products enter the manufacturing process, resulting in defective critical parts. Customers are increasingly under cost pressures and can be tempted to take advantage of what may look like very favorable prices for steel (for example) from a new supplier, perhaps from some distant shores.

But cheaper material will not be a real bargain if it does not come up to standard. In fact, the consequences can be disastrous, and the cost implications high.

Rotary friction welding is a solidstate joining process which works by rotating one workpiece relative to another while under a compressive axial force. Some of the components that can be produced include (but are not limited to) drill pipes, truck axles, and engine pistons. Other more tropical components can also be produced from complex material combinations, such as copper and aluminum conductors for use in areas such as power generation.

Product integrity in all areas of production/ manufacture, is

NOVEMBER 2020

Metallurgical confidence

paramount to component performance within their specific applications. It is for this reason that a reliable metallurgical analysis is recommended, pre-production, to ensure that any multiple metallic combinations are not only compatible, but that the strength of the weld thereafter, is sufficient that the component can be used within the application that it is intended.

Rotary friction welding, like any

welding process can have an impact upon the properties of the materials that are being bonded, for that reason, prior to a product being released to market, KUKA can conduct a series of testing and analysis using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) alongside EDAX methods (Energy Dispersive Analysis X-ray) conducted on premise by Professor Kameel Sawalha – Specialist in the examination of the integrity of all types of welding including rotational and Linear friction welding of all types of materials.

KUKA's metallurgical investigations range from straightforward elemental analysis to in-depth studies of failure or fracture mechanisms, a series of visual, metallurgical and mechanical inspections and checks for instance, hardness surveys, micro and macro inspection, mechanical testing including bend testing and tensile testing. We also offer materials selection advice, assessing their suitability for friction welding and recommending improvements where appropriate.

8 www.kuka.com

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31

MEASUREMENT & TESTING | Engineering Capacity

Shaking up battery testing In response to growing demand from the UK automotive industry for advanced battery safety testing, HORIBA MIRA has invested £1.5m in a new Large Climatic Vibration Laboratory and Battery Abuse Facility.

Set to open in October, the new Large Climatic Vibration Laboratory is the UK’s first battery vibration test facility - or ‘shaker’ as it’s known in the industry - to also offer electrical and thermal cycling. It enables battery charging and discharging whilst in use, along with climatic capability, to carry out tests in ambient conditions ranging from -40°C to 100°C. The new twin vibration facility can operate in three axes and has the capacity to vibrate up to one tonne of mass, making it ideal for testing the biggest EV batteries on the market to regulatory standards such as UN38.3 and ECEReg100.

The unique ‘shaker’ is the second part of a recent £1.5m investment by HORIBA MIRA into battery safety related testing, which includes its new Battery Abuse Test Facility (BAT) that opened in July. The BAT facility provides abuse and safety testing at cell, module and pack level, in all-weather conditions, supported by high speed cameras, thermal imaging and gas detection.

This £1.5m investment significantly strengthens HORIBA MIRA’s comprehensive battery development capability, enabling end-to-end engineering and test solutions for cell, modules 32

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and complete battery packs.

The two new facilities answer demand from the UK automotive industry for advanced battery safety testing capabilities, many of which were not previously available in the UK or did not meet the latest industry needs.

In fact, the distinct advantage of the new ‘shaker’ is that it can electrically and thermally cycle a battery during vibration testing and is fully programmable to reflect actual vehicle duty cycles – a unique function in the UK that will help provide test results that are representative of real-world conditions.

Another major benefit of using the Large Climatic Vibration Laboratory is that tests that have traditionally been performed individually can now be done simultaneously. This reduces the overall test duration and the number of test samples required, providing the added bonus of lower product development costs.

Eamonn Martin, Solution Manager for Electrification and Environmental Validation at HORIBA MIRA, said: “The environmental and societal drive towards zero emissions transport has increased the need for more advanced battery engineering and the testing capability to support that. At HORIBA MIRA we’ve been developing batteries and testing them for our customers for almost 20 years, this latest investment complements our existing EV battery development portfolio with additional capability to validate the latest battery technologies.

“Our new Large Climatic Vibration Laboratory, or ‘shaker’ as it’s known, along with the Battery Abuse Facility opened earlier this year, will enable our customers to access a comprehensive range of battery test capabilities – regardless of size, weight and complexity – with the option of a fully managed test service.”

8 horiba-mira.com NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | MEASUREMENT & TESTING Williams Aerospace Engineering has cut turnaround times after investing in a new CNC vision system that has increased measurement efficiency by 96%.

The Baty Venture XT CNC Vision System is used to measure critical precision machined components manufactured at its facility in Northam, Southampton.

The company specialises in 5-axis CNC turn-milling, 4-axis milling, internal and external gear and spline cutting, internal and external grinding, match grinding and honing. Size range from 0.062”- 6” diameter and the business works to tolerances of .002mm (0.00007”) with 1 microinch surface finish.

Components machined by Williams Aerospace Engineering are used in some of the most extreme environments, including the aerospace, defence, nuclear, medical, Formula 1, performance car and commercial markets.

One of the biggest challenges facing Williams Aerospace Engineering was the sheer amount of time it took to measure components and collate all the data for its customers. For example, for a customer with particularly high measurement requirements, it would take the quality department 1-2 days to measure the positions of 2 holes on a batch of 100 cover plates, in addition to having to input data to an Excel spreadsheet to customer requirements.

Since the investment in the Baty Venture XT CNC Vision System, this measurement process can now be completed in NOVEMBER 2020

Faster precise parts

just 2 hours, which is a massive 96% increase in measurement efficiency. The inspection team at Williams Aerospace Engineering is now able to load the fixture onto the machine, insert a part, recall the programme and teach the datum position, completing the batch of the same 100 parts within this much shorter timeframe.

David Fripp, Managing Director at Williams Aerospace Engineering said: “The Baty Venture XT helps to ensure our product quality by giving us a more consistent and repeatable measurement method. Once a program is written, the Venture is far more accurate than our old manual CMM, which is reliant on the points taken by the operator moving the probe by hand, rather than the CNC control on the Baty system. It is very easy to use and the camera resolution is far more accurate than a standard projector using surface illumination.”

Williams Aerospace

Engineering uses the vision system for measuring lengths, radii, rads and angles. The measurements are either taken directly from the part loaded on the machine, or if it is an internal feature, it is reproduced using a rubber compound. The mould is then sectioned and measured on the projector as with an external profile.

David continues: “The Venture gives us the flexibility to measure countersink diameters whilst measuring hole positions on the same part. Due to the camera’s focal length, it is also possible to focus on counterbores or countersinks that are located within a bore and take measurements, rather than take a mould and use a standard projector. We’re very much looking forward to seeing how much more we can achieve with this piece of equipment in the future.”

8 williams-eng.co.uk

Due to the camera’s focal length, it is also possible to focus on counterbores or countersinks that are located within a bore and take measurements, rather than take a mould and use a standard projector.

We’re very much looking forward to seeing how much more we can achieve with this piece of equipment in the future

‘‘

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ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING | Engineering Capacity Addition Design has expanded its range of services with the installation of an industrial additive manufacturing (AM) machine for the batch production of components in a variety of highgrade engineering polymers.

The Prodways ProMaker P1000, housed within a dedicated production suite at the Sheffieldbased consultancy’s facility, is one of only a handful of such machines installed in the UK and will enable the company to support high value manufacturers in the scaling up and quality production of their industrial 3D printed components quickly and efficiently.

The new manufacturing capability complements Addition Design’s existing consultancy, design and training services to provide a complete one-stop shop to help companies realise the benefits of additive manufacturing.

“AM can deliver significant added-value to many businesses 3DPRINTUK can now offer an expanded range of services and materials following investment in new post processing equipment.

The new offering includes PrimePartST flexible PEBA material, a shot peening service to enhance surface finish, it has now unveiled new colour options following investment in new DyeMansion equipment.

Nick Allen, CEO at 3DPRINTUK says, “ Introducing PEBA means we can now provide a flexible, rubber-like material in addition to nylon 12

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Large scale 3D print

in terms of cost and waste reductions and profitability improvements,” commented Ben Smith, Addition Design’s AM Development Engineer. “Our ability to manufacture and supply AM components in engineering polymers such as nylon, glass and carbon fibre reinforced nylon, polypropylene and thermoplastic elastomers, enables us to support customers in getting the best out of the technology, providing a

notable return on investment and boosting their bottom line.”

While 3D printing is more commonly associated with lowvolume production and rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing utilises industrial 3D printing technology for series or volume production of end-use components. AM can deliver production efficiencies and supply-chain flexibility, minimising down time and equipment maintenance.

Addition Design provides specialised consulting, training and component manufacture in 3D printing, tailored to customers’ individual requirements. The company’s objective is to unlock the potential of 3D printing to deliver cost and performance benefits for its clients.

8 addition.design

New colours and services and shot peening means we can provide a superior surface finish than ever before to our nylon parts. Our investment in the new DyeMansion machine, and our traditional exhaustive testing, means that we can now provide parts in blue, green, red and yellow, with more colours to follow. We have now invested over £100K in dying systems, ensuring that we respond to customer demand and continue to provide

the most comprehensive PBF production capabilities in the UK and further afield.”

The Dyemansion DM60 machine completely automates what has until recently been a manual, uncontrollable colouring process for 3D printed parts. The dyes used penetrate to a depth of 200 microns, and the process is totally reproducible, traceable, and works for every part geometry.

8 3dprint-uk.com

NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Satair, an Airbus services company, has provided one of its airline customers in the US with what is believed to be the first certified metal printed flying spare part.

This A320ceo specific part is no longer procurable from the original supplier, thus leading to an alternate solution developed by Satair. The tailored additive manufactured solution reduces the likelihood of an AOG (aircraft on ground) for this specific aircraft, and on a larger level leads to an increased flexibility in part production while meeting the same high quality standards ensured by EASA Form1 certification.

The A320ceo wingtip fences are installed in four different versions – starboard, port, upper and lower.

These parts are A320ceo specific and no longer in production. The spare parts supplier had difficulties providing the cast part.

This led to a regular loss of the moulds, resulting in a potentially high investment cost for Satair to replace the moulds for individual orders. Satair also studied other conventional options such as redesigning the part for machining technology, but the resulting cost and lead-time implications were not competitive.

Felix Hammerschmidt, HO Additive Manufacturing Satair, explained: “We received an order for replacement parts and our AOG procurement department turned to the Additive Manufacturing team for a solution.

After a short pre-assessment, the part was handed over to the RapidSpares design offices at NOVEMBER 2020

Metal printed plane spare

Airbus. Using a new certification process they were able to recertify the former cast part within five weeks and adapt it to titanium, which is a qualified airworthy additive manufacturing material”.

The printing of the wingtip fence parts was carried out at the Reference Manufacturing shop in Airbus Filton. Four parts (full shipset for one aircraft) are printed simultaneously in a build job, which takes 26 hours, to reduce the cost per piece and the printing time per part.

After printing, the part requires different post-processing steps to become an airworthy part, making it a one-to-one replacement for the original part whilst meeting the same safety requirements as the conventional part.

The shipset was delivered earlier this year – making the

airline the first operator with an Airbus metal printed AM spare part. Compared to conventional solutions, total non-recurring costs were reduced by 45% making it a cheaper solution for customers and with a shorter lead-time.

Bart Reijnen, CEO of Satair, added: “Satair is leading the way in providing additive manufactured parts for the aviation aftermarket and we currently have more than 300 part numbers certified for the technology covering every Airbus aircraft family type including tools and Ground Support Equipment.

With more than 7,000 A320ceo family aircraft in service worldwide, the demand for this specific additive manufactured part is likely to increase and with this Additive Manufacturing supply chain now in place, we will be able to produce these parts within a shorter lead-time. Four more customers have already requested that same part following this successful delivery.“ 8 satair.com www.engineeringcapacity.com

35

THERMOFORMING | Engineering Capacity

Keeping it clean for packaging

Cleanroom thermoforming can offer ideal packaging solutions for medical devices, writes Todd McDonald, Director of Sales & Marketing at TEQ The world continues to witness a rapid development in technological brilliance but what must not be overlooked is that the importance of protecting that technology becomes increasingly vital.

Improvements to packaging design are now a necessity. At the same time, there is a demand to deliver products in a packaging solution that adheres to strict specifications while using less production energy and material as well as faster production times.

So, what is thermoforming?

Cleanroom thermoforming is widely used for the production and packaging of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

This method of thermoforming is carried out in an ISO certified cleanroom meaning any particulates circulating in the air are kept to a minimum.

Thermoform packaging is extensively used to safeguard sterile instruments and implants.

This packaging method permits the use of lightweight, clear plastic enclosures that stop 36

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microbial and dust particles from contaminating the sterile item.

They also make possible the product’s secure storage for lengthy periods whilst maintaining the sterile environment.

The benefits of thermoforming This advanced technology has established itself as a preferred option for many industries and applications, including medical devices, with the main benefit of this packaging solution the clear cost efficiency it offers. The stiffness of this type of packaging material also allows for the creation of smaller units and space-saving benefits. The stiff packaging also

offers a barrier to odours and resistance to oil and grease.

Packaging from cleanroom thermoforming also has the capacity to offer advanced protection of medical devices and the importance of this cannot be underestimated as the packaging of medical devices is as important as the product itself. Once the packaging’s integrity is compromised, sterility is lost and the device is ruined. This is why thermoforming is an ideal solution.

Thermoformed plastic packaging can offer several other advantages including: 8 Product Orientation: A nurse may need to quickly confirm a product’s orientation and how to grab it. With a thermoformed tray, a nurse can be sure that the medical device stays securely in place in the intended location so he/she can remove it swiftly and confidently.

8 Handling Assurance: To ensure a device doesn’t compromise NOVEMBER 2020

Engineering Capacity | THERMOFORMING sterility, a nurse needs to control the movement of a device as its package is opened.

A thermoformed package is more likely to ensure there is no unnecessary rotation or accidental removal.

8 Clarity: A nurse can find it beneficial to see and identify the product clearly so he/she can better present the device or see any potential defects.

8 Consistent Opening Experience: Incorporating a good peal area in the package design can allow a nurse an easy access point for pealing the lidding back from the package.

8 Additional Protection: With rigid plastic, a medical device is protected in sensitive device areas. For example, a package can be designed so a syringe will not get depressed.

8 More Ergonomic: A pouch can require both wrists to twist to open, putting repetitive strain on both of the nurse’s wrists. With a sealed thermoformed tray, only one hand is opening the seal while the other is holding the tray in place.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic There are clear signs that the COVID-19 Pandemic is having a significant impact on the design and manufacture of medical devices, equipment and implants.

In these uncertain times medical manufacturers have had to ramp up production to meet heightened customer demand.

Cleanrooms have firmly established themselves as an integral part of the production process as cleanliness can be NOVEMBER 2020

guaranteed in their controlled and sterile environment, preventing potential contamination caused by bacteria or air pollutants.

Companies that make medical devices and the packaging for them have to meet the most stringent regulations from various organisations.

One of them is The ISO (International Organisation for Standardization) which consists of a group of non-governmental bodies operating in 164 countries.

It is entrusted with the power to enforce exacting standards for a range of commercial markets.

In 2016 it published the latest edition of its ISO 13485 which sets out to ensure patient safety by the regulation of hygiene and contamination control in medical product development.

It is generally recognised that the main hurdle to overcome when designing cleanrooms is their ability to deal with any air pollutants. Filtration units are used by manufacturers to control

airflow and stop airborne particles larger than a pre-defined size from entering. A range of devices can make this happen such as ionisers, carbon filters and nonfilter purifiers.

Another approach to preventing cleanroom contamination is by providing a high standard of training for staff and ensuring they wear correct PPE such as gowns, hairnets and overshoes.

Manufacturers are also advised to keep correct supplies and equipment in clean spaces and, where appropriate, dispose of or sterilise them. Regular risk assessments ensure ongoing improvements can be made to foil any new contamination threats triggered by ever evolving technologies.

One thing is for certain, continued innovation and the advance in technology in the medical sector brings with it unlimited potential.

Manufacturers will face the same pressures to cut costs and be even more efficient by introducing more automation on the assembly line, utilising the likes of robots and smart testing.

AI and machine learning can also expect to play a role by boosting quality standards and early detection of any issues.

New developments and a move towards more complicated products such as nanotechnologies and the miniaturisation of devices are another new challenge that has to be faced by manufacturers in an increasingly competitive sector.

8 teqnow.eu www.engineeringcapacity.com

37

VIEWPOINT | Engineering Capacity Why is Agile manufacturing so important for manufacturers during the Coronavirus pandemic? asks Atia Bukhari of Grenville Engineering.

According to Wikipedia: “Agile manufacturing is a term applied to an organization that has created the processes, tools, and training to enable it to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes while still controlling costs and quality.”

We are now living in times that are unprecedented and have forced not only businesses but the wider world to adopt practices never implemented before.

It is now a survival of the fittest and who is ready to adapt to change quickly that is successful.

We can give you a taste of our own experiences and how this has benefited us in times of crisis even more importantly as we face the current Coronavirus pandemic So why is it so important for manufacturers to adopt agile manufacturing?

Culture Company culture can be a make or break situation in times of crisis and the effectiveness of everyone within the organisation understanding what needs to be done is vital A committed workforce can rally round to make sure the company fulfils its objectives through ideas and willingness to adapt to change.

Responsiveness to customer demand A company that adopts agile manufacturing processes can 38

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The need for agility

respond to changes in demand very quickly.

We brief our operational and production staff on a daily basis and make changes on our machines to reflect changes in demand in certain bottleneck areas.

Diversification Businesses that are successful are the ones that can diversify and open up into markets with fluctuations in demand.

Manufacturers have now had to turn their hand to manufacturing ventilators or offering their capabilities in areas outside of their comfort zone.

At Grenville Engineering we have a diverse customer base and ‘don’t have all our eggs in one basket’ which is why the company has grown from strength to strength.

We can quickly identify the areas that show signs of growth and adapt to manage that demand.

Our focus has been supplying parts to businesses within the NHS supply chain to maintain a

consistent supply of essential parts and to keep manufacturing businesses going.

Processes In an agile manufacturing environment, adaptable processes and the need for continuous improvement can be the driving factors for businesses to be successful.

The nature of our work in metal fabrication is bespoke and our processes have to be adaptable to effectively manage how we manufacture but also changes from external factors.

At Grenville Engineering, customer-centric fabrication solutions are at the heart of what we do. We collaborate with our customers ensuring that we produce the most cost effective solution without compromising on quality. We have a combined experience of over 100 years within the industry, which is invaluable for our customers.

8 grenville-engineering.co.uk NOVEMBER 2020

BTMA MANUFACTURING MEMBERS | DIRECTORY

ACSL Precision Engineering sales@acsleng.co.uk www.acsleng.co.uk

Currie & Warner Ltd tonyfox@curriewarner.com www.curriewarner.com

H P C Services Ltd sales@slidinghead.com www.slidinghead.com

Atkinson Engineering sales@atkinson-engineering.com www.atkinson-engineering.com

Davromatic Precision Limited sales@davromatic.co.uk www.davromatic.co.uk

Haydon Precision Turned Parts Ltd haydontool.co@btconnect.com www.haydon-precision.co.uk

Auto Turned Products (Northants) Ltd shad@autoturned.co.uk www.autoturned.co.uk

Dawson Precision Components Ltd. sales@dpc.co.uk www.dpc.co.uk

Herve Engineering Ltd sales@herve-engineering.com herve-engineering.com

Batchflow Engineering info@batchflow.co.uk www.batchflow.co.uk

Dawson Shanahan (Wales) Ltd info@dawson-shanahan.co.uk www.dawson-shanahan.co.uk

JCF Engineering Limited john.felton@jcfengineering.co.uk jcfengineering.co.uk

Cambion Electronics Ltd sales@cambion.com www.cambion.com

DKW Engineering Ltd karl@dkwengineering.co.uk www.dkwengineering.co.uk

KM Engineering sales@kmengineering.co.uk www.kmengineering.co.uk

Cambridge Precision Ltd sales@cambridgeprecision.com www.cambridgeprecision.com

Falcon Engineering Productions Ltd sales@falconengineering.co.uk

M&M Turned Parts Ltd sales@mmturnedparts.co.uk www.mmturnedparts.co.uk

CK Precision Engineering Ltd Info@ckprecisionengineeringltd.com www.ckprecisionengineeringltd.com

GS Brown (Precision Engineers) Ltd malcolm@gsbrown.com www.gsbrown.com

Machined Component Systems sales@machinedcomponent.com www.machinedcomponent.com

CTN Group Ltd charlie@ctn-group.co.uk www.CTN-GROUP.co.uk

G W Martin and Co Ltd sales@gwmartin.co.uk www.gwmartin.co.cuk

Manton Engineering (Bedford) Ltd sales@mantonengineering.co.uk www.mantonengineering.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020

btma.org

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DIRECTORY | BTMA MANUFACTURING MEMBERS

MaS Precision Engineering Ltd sales@masprecision.co.uk www.masprecision.co.uk

Qualiturn Products Ltd sales@qualiturn.co.uk www.qualiturn.co.uk

Tercet Precision Ltd Alex.Burns@tercet.co.uk www.buyturnedparts.com

Muller England Limited sales@muller-england.co.uk www.muller-england.co.uk

Quantamatic info@quantamatic.co.uk www.quantamatic.co.uk

Thomas Brown Engineering Ltd info@thomasbrownengineering.co.uk www.thomas-brown-engineering.co.uk

NC Precision Ltd sales@ncprecision.com www.ncprecision.com

Rodmatic Ltd enquiry@rodmatic.com www.rodmatic.com

TKM Engineering Ltd Sales@tkmengineering.co.uk www.tkmengineering.co.uk

Neida Products Engineering Ltd sales@neida.co.uk www.neida.co.uk

Rowan Precision Limited sales@rowanprecision.co.uk www.rowanprecision.co.uk

Trust Precision Engineering Ltd info@trustprecisionengineering.co.uk www.trustprecisionengineering.co.uk

Normec (Manchester) Ltd sales@normec.co.uk www.normec.co.uk

Salcey Precision Engineering Ltd info@salceyprecision.co.uk www.salceyprecision.co.uk

Wealdpark Limited sales@wealdpark.co.uk www.wealdpark.co.uk

Plastic turned Parts Ltd sales@plasticturnedparts.co.uk www.plasticturnedparts.co.uk

Swissmatic Ltd info@swissmatic.co.uk www.swissmatic.co.uk

Wharf Engineering Ltd sales@wharf-engineering.co.uk www.wharfengineering.co.uk

Precision Component Services Ltd shane@precision-components.co.uk www.precision-components.co.uk

Techfore Turned Parts Ltd info@techfore.co.uk www.techfore.co.uk

Wilco Manufacturing Ltd sales@wilcomanufacturing.co.uk www.wilcomanufacturing.co.uk

Precision Products (Brighton) Ltd ian@precisionproducts.co.uk www.precisionproducts.co.uk

Tenable Screw Co Ltd nigel@tenable.co.uk www.tenable.co.uk

Yorkshire Precision Engineering Ltd info@ypel.co.uk www.ypel.co.uk

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NOVEMBER 2020

BTMA TECHNICAL MEMBERS | DIRECTORY

Arno (UK) Limited sales@arno.de www.arno-tools.co.uk

Filtermist Systems Limited sales@filtermist.com www.filtermist.co.uk

The Amodil Group tkd@amodil.co.uk www.amodil.co.uk

Floyd Automatic Tooling Ltd sales@floydautomatic.co.uk www.floydautomatic.co.uk

Badger Anodising (Birmingham) Ltd sales@badgeranodising.co.uk www.badgeranodsing.co.uk

Bowers Group sales@bowersgroup.co.uk www.bowersgroup.co.uk

Ceratizit UK & Ireland Ltd info.uk@ceratizit.com www.ceratizit.com

Smiths Metal Centres info@smithmetal.com www.smithmetal.com

Kumi Solutions simon@kumi-solutions.com www.kumi-solutions.com

Star Micronics GB Ltd sales@stargb.com www.stargb.com

LNS Turbo sales.uk@lns-europe.com www.lns-europe.com

Stelstocks Ltd info@stelstocks.co.uk www.stelstocks.co.uk

Matsuura Machinery Ltd imichie@matsuura.co.uk www.matsuura.co.uk

Tornos Technologies UK Ltd sales_uk@tornos.com www.tornos.comk

Citizen Machinery UK sales@citizenmachinery.co.uk www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Engineering Technology Group sales@engtechgroup.com www.engtechgroup.com

NOVEMBER 2020

PSL Datatrack engcap@psldatatrack.com www.psldatatrack.com

Wickman Coventry Ltd o.coyne@wickman.co.uk www.wickman-group.com

Optimum Oils cliff.thrussell@optimumoils.com www.optimumoils.com

Wieland-Nemco Ltd. sales@wieland-nemco.com www.wieland-nemco.com

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Qualiturn are a very modern subcontract machining service. We offer CNC precision Turned and Milled components to your specifications and quantities. We work with all sizes of customers, offering the same service to all. Supplying various market sectors across the world.

7 Fountain Drive, Hertford, Herts, UK, SG13 7UB Tel. +44 (0) 1992 584499 www.qualiturn.co.uk

LATHES.CO.UK Lathes.co.uk store.lathes.co.uk - where Manuals, Catalogues Drive Belts Books Accessories & Spares are listed The world’s largest machine tool reference archive. Manuals, Catalogues, Books, Pictures Specifications, Technical Guides Wardlow, Tideswell, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 8RP Tel. 01298-871633 (from overseas: +44-1298-871633) from 09:00 to 23:00 UK time www.lathes.co.uk

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PRECISION ENGINEERING 8

MACHINING (5 AXIS) 8

Mini Gears is a subcontract manufacturer of machined components, gears and racks.

Winner of 17 Industry Awards, it has a global customer base, 35,000 sq. ft. facility and over 100 machines.

Top Gear House, Bletchley Road Heaton Mersey Industrial Estate Stockport SK4 3ED Tel: 0161 432 0222 www.minigears.co.uk

DAWSON PRECISION COMPONENTS Manufacturing precision machined components since 1965 Services include: CNC milling, CNC turning, turn/mill machining, sub contracted services, finishing and project management.

PRECISION ENGINEERING 8

Qualiturn Products Limited

Mini Gears (Stockport) Ltd

Greenfield Lane, Shaw, Oldham, Lancashire, OL2 8QP Tel: 01706 842311

5 High quality precision machined components 5 Trusted technical support service 5 Complete and bespoke service from conception to completion 5 AS9100D & ISO 9001:2015 approved Oldfield Street, Crosland Moor Huddersfield HD4 5AJ T: 01484 548903 www.thomas-brown-engineering.co.uk

Wealdpark Ltd CNC mill-turn facility using Star sliding head lathes with bar capacity up to 32mm diameter.

Miyano and Doosan fixed head lathes with bar capacity up to 65mm.

Hurco vertical machining centre.

Sutton Road, St. Helens Merseyside WA9 3DJ Tel: 01744 22567 www.wealdpark.co.uk

dpc.co.uk REPETITION TURNED PARTS 8

MACHINE TOOL MANUALS 8

CNC PRECISION COMPONENTS 8

JFL are broach and broaching specialists with many years personal experience. We offer a comprehensive broaching service covering keyways, squares, hexagons and special forms.

Unit 2, Deethe Farm Industrial Est, Cranfield Rd, Woburn Sands, Milton Keynes, Bucks MK17 8UR Tel: 01908 585103 www.jflbroaches.co.uk

PRECISION ENGINEERING 8

JFL Broaches and Broaching

PRECISION ENGINEERING 8

BROACHING 8

DIRECTORY | Engineering Capacity

Kirkham Engineering Co Ltd 13 - CNC Sliding Heads up to 1”; 14 CNC Twin Turret Fixed Heads up to 65mm; 5 - Twin Turret Twin Spindle; 5 - Twin Turret with Sub-Spindle and 4 - Twin Turret; 4 - CNC Single Turret Fixed Heads up to 6” Billet.

Centreless Grinding & T/rolling. All materials - Stainless Steel; Nickel Alloys and other exotics a speciality.

Prestwood Place, East Pimbo, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9QE Tel: 01695 727401 www.kirkhamengineering.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2020

TURNING (CNC) 8 Subcontract mill turned parts up to 65mm in diameter from bar and 300mm billet work.

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year half of this In the first has committed to ing Roscomatic investment, includ More than Engineering of 1000 latest Capacity | £750,000 medium-size small to INDUSTRY ation of the axis NEWS the install (SMEs) have d manufacturers 1MSY multibeen given Miyano BNE-5 . business a centre boost turn-mill ing-based months thanks over the last ten company The Worth to a new £9.7m business machinist suppor million parts subcontract The Manufa t initiative. some 1.5 eted ches dispat Programme cturing Growth g from compl lies (MGP), funded ssemb a year – rangin European and sub-a Regional Develo by the assemblies ned castings and Fund (ERDF) pment to large machiparts – and is Economic and delivered by Growth Solutio small turned ing a record has helped achiev companies ns (EGS), 98%. currently the UK to across 13 mins to just ry rate of grow, Martello from on-time delive products and develop been cut new r complex director Joe is driven overcomemins. A furthe nent which ny Managing Keet says: the compa r Seanproduc tion ity 2.5 issues steel compo taking flexibil explains that of constant Cell Leade that ional sly previou weress stainle g ions phy of operat d us them holding by a philoso of lean manufacturin three operat reduced to a “The levels o BNE has hadback.

Thisenable has ning now developmentsupported by machialready led tominutes is in the Miyan reduce jobs, with new inute cycle. ent an additio 11 400, four-m cantly ing £1 techniques, signifi tant, nal to vestm exceed positio 359 ’ often most impornstivity.” expected to single return-on-in setters to investment and an ‘open-liaison times and be Further once -up l produc ongoinne year has s createdfrom freeing g project keeps the million a from the improve overalcomple machi are which comes y new tasks and ted.machi By thenes people strategto date on the He says the£1.6m end July, m other time for each up of grant ium of perfor existing 3-axis arising. ion of lost reducing the workforce replaced beenofmade, utions 10 alumincontrib reduct have and any issuesin tion, four family withedmoney errors We’ve company requir so that a to suppor first-off inspec reloca gottion “We invest ass. te in place andstill previouslyt anothe lot of grants He says: deliver a separa r 2200 firms parts that betwee to and we want risk of setting and the latest n and leadership nownow work in progre g operations beMarch 1MSY and which manuf automation cutting and manag logy turnin and Lorrain ion can techno of the BNE-5 s to come ge of ement, R&D, lean ityacturer le e Holmes, cycle.2019. operat and see production manufacturin it is capabforward The flexibil Chiefe me the shorta er, milling Execut how turn-milling s asthey productivity g, can take ed in oneive Officer its succes toadvant helps to overco require. Howev ofaverag that EGS, produc and capacit key is with three age explain is of would cuttingthe ed: “We are has systems and ve bonus at y, quality assista cycle pped we still need offer. nce skills we A massi part way above of single It’s never on targets tant that sly overla the we per times beenateasier, development.supply chain have set for the as the procesaneou it is so imporown engineers total cycle s isworkp proving that ourselves,tools simult quickiece and the Martin Coats, there is a rt and by to grow our ends oftacan bar up toscope of real appetit both suppor from SMEs nt suppo Operations be tailored our Director at and using e exact for time, to the through consta to maximise EGS, continu needs ofter. support that targeted business same in order the busine firms come so ed: “When diame can bar and training, help The main ss.” to them grow. 51 mm Manufa “The differen 15 kW vestment what eadcturing strategic reviewus they receive a Progra return-on-in we support and kW The fixed-h mme programme ce with our is 7.5Growth from one of was set MGMs that two-ax is that it is upwith our the void e and improve how customers.” to fill determ spindl by deliver both left manufacturin e, Manufa ines what by the o r to ed barriers are spindl Advicedary g experts we delive n to the new Miyan d in the way secon Service (MAS) understand s of 5,000 cturing support is and what the challen who y ordere In additio by tage of um speed advan providi needed to maximng companies ges access to ny has alread help them reach their are facing. special in, have the assista the compa CNC sliding head isted potenti impos revs/m nce They understand to d / super “Since Octobe al. manufacturer the langua nes. The to synch ronisehelp two Citizen grow and ge improv12-station, s centre machi L20-VIII MDs are talking highest barrier r 2016, the l for both e. Ideal for turn-mill and can guide This contro is being with 15% . nes, a Citizenfrequency them on making was ‘Contin achieve ven turrets an 18-stro d through two machi low uous Improv of clients all-dring adecisions, before the right featuring network of followed by ement’, logy) and experie LFV (LFV bringin ‘Enviro techno 2017 specialists nced manuf BER ‘Marke nment cutting on specific g in acturin SEPTEM ting and Market al’ and growth manag vibration ange M16-V will bring g issues are facing 14. ers (MGM) Knowledge’ ations to they’re or opportunities they to industr top-of-the-r (12% each). y specialists , access Citizen install looking initial stage Once the and the opportunity the total has She continu to explore.” to we then bring been completed, ed: “1000 m average grant apply for an acity.co benefic ringcap of £1400, rising iaries is just works with in an expert who maximum the manag the start. www.enginee to a to £3,500 14 ement team address these Support can . be used for 8 manufacturin issues.”

SEPTEM BER 2017 programme.c ggrowth o.uk

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