Strutt switches from manual to CNC

Strutt Engineering, a family-owned business in the heart of the Peak District, specialises in the manufacture of hydraulic grabs used in the scrap handling, quarrying, waste recycling and excavation sectors.

The company recently switched away from manual machining with the introduction of an XYZ SLX 425 ProTurn CNC lathe, which has since been supplemented with the arrival of an XYZ 1000 LR CNC vertical machining centre.
“The combination of the two CNC machines has seen significant improvements in quality; we’ve been able to bring much of the work back in-house, thereby eliminating lead time and logistics issues,” explains managing director George Strutt. “One of the biggest benefits is the improvement in health and safety and housekeeping. With the machines totally enclosed, risk to operators is drastically reduced, while the environment is kept much cleaner as the swarf and coolant is fully contained. In switching from manual to CNC we’ve moved the company forward and introduced a degree of future-proofing.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

DIT grant supports Metalex exhibitors

Metalex 2019, which will spans 64,000 sq ft of exhibition space at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Thailand, is set to take place on 20-23 November 2019.

In 2018, the largest machine tool and metalworking technologies show in Southeast Asia attracted 99,998 visitors.
To support participation at the 2019 event, DIT is sponsoring the show with grants of £2500. Therefore, a stand in the fully furnished Great Britain branded pavilion measuring 9 sq m will now cost £2965; a 6 sq m stand £2326; and a 12 sq m stand £6884. UK SME companies looking to grow their exports outside the EU and up to six countries within the EU should qualify for the funding, including experienced exporters. The cut-off
date for applications is 26 July.
For further information https://is.gd/ugunib

AFRC in €4.25m machining project

The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) has been named as the UK spoke in a northwest Europe project designed to transform the machining sector, helping 1300 SMEs to stimulate turnover and employment through the uptake of Industry 4.0 technologies.

A three-year project funded by Interreg, ‘Machining 4.0’ has received an investment of €4.25m. The project will help boost growth for SMEs within the machining sector, which despite an annual turnover of €24bn, has suffered due to a lack of innovation and increased competition from low-wage countries over the past five years.
Within the UK, the only partner is AFRC, with the other nine participants based in countries across northwest Europe, including lead partner Sirris, headquartered in Belgium, and a further eight across France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland. Some 1000 of the 1300 SMEs targeted will receive knowledge on innovative manufacturing technologies. In addition, around 250 will be encouraged to experiment with new technologies and collaborate with research and development partners, while a further 50 will receive intensive business support.
For further information www.strath.ac.uk/research

MMMA Metalworking Village

The MMMA Metalworking Village at MACH 2020 (20-25 April, Birmingham NEC) already has 23 members confirmed as exhibiting, with more set to follow.

At around 650 sq m, the MMMA Metalworking Village is the fourth largest in the entire exhibition halls. At present, members companies present will include: Esprit Automation, Cotswold Machinery, Worcester Presses, Bruderer, Schuler, Presscare, TMA, Roemheld UK, Industrial Clutch, Kaller Springs, Press Techniques, Helm, Anton Saws, QualiMach, Wilson Tool, Pressform Machinery, Ortlinghaus, Decade, Group Rhodes, Oerlikon Balzers, Voith Turbo and Formit.
For further information www.mmma.org.uk

Lantek tie-up with BCAM

Lantek has entered into a collaborative agreement with the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM).

The agreement reached by both organisations focuses on developing new models of applied mathematics and algorithms that will enable metal-forming industries to reach high levels of efficiency in their calculations.
BCAM was conceived by the Basque Government, the University of the Basque Country and Ikerbasque in 2008, and is supported by the Provincial Government of Bizkaia and Innobasque. The organisation currently has a staff of over 90 researchers, who work in areas from data science to mathematical modelling.
Throughout industry it is becoming increasingly necessary to resolve situations where the calculation of machining and the optimisation of material consumption is highly complex. As a starting point, the collaboration framework aims to explore new avenues for approaching parts nesting.
The goal of Lantek is to constantly improve its nesting methods, and this collaboration will result in the development of an advanced algorithm that achieves the optimisation of 2D nesting from different potential approaches. Researchers from the computational mathematics group at BCAM have extensive experience in geometric modelling and optimisation, and are pouring their knowledge into the Lantek collaboration with the following objectives: to design an efficient algorithm for the optimisation of 2D parts nesting; to design discreet pairing measures; to improve the current method, which uses the representation of areas (pixels), through the representation of boundaries; and to develop software that both increases the speed of calculations and optimises material management.
This agreement with BCAM opens up the possibility of approaching the improvement of sheet-metal parts nesting from new and innovative directions, which may bring about significant advances, contributing to the efficiency of the industry.
For further information www.lanteksms.com