Super finishing in the spotlight

From its shared stand at last month’s Southern Manufacturing 2019 exhibition in Farnborough, representatives from Fintek found themselves busy discussing a range of surface finishing requirements. Achieving superior surface finish on components for applications in the aerospace, automotive, motorsport and medical sectors has never been more important.

Reducing friction, extending maintenance intervals, and increasing component life and performance, are desirable benefits when choosing the right surface finishing process.
Offering a range of deburring, edge-honing, fine-grinding and polishing equipment, Fintek works closely with engineers to achieve their design aims and commercial objectives. Cost-effective component surface finishing often takes just minutes, sometimes seconds, and is a repeatable process with a consistency impossible to achieve by hand. On visual inspection alone, finished parts look superior and this is borne out by surface smoothness measurement in the laboratory.
As UK agent for the sales of OTEC Präzisionsfinish drag, disc and stream finishing systems, Fintek provides a service to manufacturers wanting to establish in-house surface finishing. OTEC also offers fully automated systems for inline production, including options for robotic loading and unloading.
Fintek’s own subcontract services use OTEC machines. Choosing the right finishing technique comprising machine, media/compound and processing time is crucial to meet quality and commercial goals. Often, Fintek achieves multiple finishing processes in a single cycle time – for example: deburr, edge round and polish at the same time. Cycle times can be measured in as little as seconds.
For further information www.fintek.co.uk

Citizen appointment

Owen Gibbons has been appointed by Citizen Machinery UK to take over the role of European sales manager with immediate effect.

Based at the firm’s Bushey headquarters, showroom and technical centre, he is responsible for supporting the activities of the dealer network that markets and sells Cincom sliding-head and Miyano fixed-head turn-mill centres into countries around Europe. In addition to the UK and Ireland, Citizen Machinery UK is currently responsible for sales in France, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Africa.
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Get set for IPS 2019

The biennial IPS (International Partners in Steel) trade event will once again be hosted by Kaltenbach at its group headquarters in Lörrach, Germany on 25-28 June.

The 12th edition of this industry event will feature interesting demonstrations of the latest processing technologies, practically oriented seminars, as well as exclusive excursions that are designed to inform visitors about the latest innovations. In addition, Kaltenbach says that the technologies and trends of tomorrow will be on view.
IPS 2019 is the marketplace for steel experts, presenting an attractive support programme that offers the opportunity for successful and effective networking. The programme will include focus areas on: sheet metal, pipe and profile processing; handling and intra-logistics; separating and cutting; surface treatment of metal sheets and profiles; joining, welding and fastening; forming; and tooling.
Around 40 partner companies – leaders in their various disciplines within the steel sector – are also expected to exhibit and present seminars at IPS 2019.
In an area of around 3000 sq m, the latest technology, machines, tools and software will be demonstrated, while new trends and innovations within steel manufacturing, service centres and metal processing, will be discussed. Previous IPS events have seen approximately 3000 visitors attend from around the world, to network and contribute towards discussions on the latest technical developments.
An important aim of the event is to enable those involved in the steel sector to gain insights into new, cost-efficient production solutions.
For further information www.ips-fair.com

10th anniversary of FloForm buyout

A specialist in precision engineering, Dawson Shanahan, is celebrating 10 years since the buyout of automotive component manufacturer FloForm and its plant in Welshpool.

As a business that had been in decline over a two-year period, FloForm finally went into administration in 2009 and 80 jobs were sadly lost. Hertfordshire-based Dawson Shanahan took the decision to purchase the business and all its assets, and made the strategic decision to retain the Welshpool site, reinstating 12 employees. Dawson Shanahan had been in business with FloForm for 30 years, and knew the employees with their skills and expertise, had to be harnessed.
For further information https://dawson-shanahan.co.uk/

Rotech purchases third Cosen SH-4030

Rotech Laboratories has purchased its third Cosen SH-4030 semi-automatic bandsaw machine from UK agent Sawcraft.

The investment was made to facilitate increased production demands at the company’s testing laboratory in Wednesbury. Rotech provides an extensive schedule of UKAS-accredited tests, and is NADCAP certified for cleanliness verification. The company offers a large range of materials testing services to many sectors of industry. Major test work includes failure analysis, product finish testing, microstructural evaluation, mechanical testing and weld testing.
Operations manager David Skeldon, who has worked with Sawcraft for many years, say that “they are very happy with the past performance of the SH-4030 model, as well as the level of service and aftersales support provided by Sawcraft, which made this the obvious saw of choice to purchase”.
The Cosen SH-4030 has the ability to cut up to 300 mm diameter round bar and 400 mm wide plate. Heavy-duty, robust construction makes the saw suitable for applications such as large billets, dies and plate material. Saw features include variable blade speed control, hydraulic clamps and a 3.75 kW blade motor.
The design incorporates an oversize hydraulic cylinder that supports the saw frame with a universal ball joint, accomplishing a smooth and consistent down-feed throughout the entire cutting cycle. Unlike many other semi-automatic models, the SH-4030 includes a split front vice, which is essential for accuracy when cutting small workpieces, says the company.
For further information www.sawcraft.co.uk