UK introduction for Comat with AGS

Advanced Grinding Solutions of Coventry has struck a partnership with the Italian filtration system manufacturer Comat.

Chris Boraston, MD at AGS, explains the rationale behind the new joint venture: “We’ve been importing a wide range of grinding and finishing machinery into the UK for decades, and have previously relied upon the choice of the machine builders that specify filtration units for their machines. This has worked reasonably well, but has proven to be problematic in recent years because either UK-based support for the filter units was non-existent or, if it was, we found it increasingly difficult to get good and fast support. This is because most UK-based distributors of filter systems are usually excluded from the purchasing process as filters are mostly bought turnkey directly from machine makers.”
It transpired that Rollomatic, which is AGS’ biggest agency and supplies many tool grinding machines into the UK every year, was working closely with Comat. AGS was therefore given excellent references for its systems and subsequently arranged to visit the company, which is based near Milan.
Comat manufactures super-filtration systems that deliver ≤2-3 μm filtration quality, making oil cleaner than new, unused oil. Importantly, this occurs throughout the entire working cycle, while minimising lifetime running costs and maintaining maximum coolant consistency.
Importantly for AGS and its UK end users, Comat filter systems use the company’s ‘Intelligent Performance Technology’, which allows remote monitoring in real-time during the manufacturing processes to ensure that optimum filtration quality is obtained at all times. Of course, remote diagnostics is part of this offer and overcomes most of the issues AGS had with other filter units. Furthermore, depending upon the model, the Comat filter units can be monitored, controlled and optimised by integrated controls, or externally by PCs, tablets or smartphones.
For further information www.advancedgrindingsolutions.co.uk

Fastener Exhibition & Conference 2019

The Fastener Exhibition & Conference is an event dedicated to providing an international showcase of market leading fastener and fixing technology. The show is Britain’s biggest stage for suppliers of fastening and fixing solutions, creating a dedicated space for an industry which is instrumental in the success of so many sectors.

The Fasteners Expo takes place on the 11th and 12th September, at the NEC in Birmingham; a 2-day event, showcasing the businesses’ best and brightest. The show will feature 100 exhibitors, displaying the cutting edge of fastening and fixing solutions, as well as 50 seminars led by the current pioneers of the industry.

The Fasteners Expo was created with the intention to give this huge and growing industry a platform to not only continue its growth, but to display the groundbreaking advancements being made within the industry. With brands such as, ZaGO Manufacturing Co, ARaymond, Zygology, and Rotor Clip Ltd exhibiting their latest innovations, the Fasteners Expo will highlight the current market leading products, available now.

Alongside the exhibitors, you will have the chance to learn directly from experts currently shaping the industry from the forefront. Paul Briskham of Atlas Copco will be discussing the latest riveting and rivbonding approaches for aluminium car bodies, while Andy Taylor of OnTheTools will lead a seminar on how to make Facebook work for construction, to name just a couple. Clearly then, the Fastener Exhibition & Conference is a valuable 2 days for every industry expert!

As a dedicated event for professionals in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, and manufacturing industries, this will be the best opportunity for you to network with like-minded individuals from across multiple sectors. You’ll experience the true cutting edge in fastening technology, and learn directly from the individuals pioneering the sector.

Overall, the event will be an incredible chance for visitors to form new relationships with new suppliers, ensuring that the coming year will bring huge profits for your business. Clearly, the value here, for you and your business, cannot be overstated.

Not only that, but your one ticket will give you access to the four other complimentary shows, which will be running at the same time These include the largest recycling and waste management exhibition in Europe, RWM, as well as the crucially important Future Resource Expo, Contamination Expo, and Flood Expo.

Don’t miss out, and join us at the Fastener Exhibition & Conference, taking place on the 11th and 12th September at the NEC, Birmingham. Get your tickets, which are freely available from this link here, today.

Gear-grinding centre installed

A leading European producer of helical and spur tooth pinion gears has selected a GTG2 gear-grinding centre from Holroyd Precision to test-grind a range of specialised gears and tooth forms.

Developed purposely for grinding precision spur and helical gears, worms, screws and rotors of up to 350 mm diameter and 160 mm gear face width, Holroyd GTG2 grinding centres use what is described as a unique machining system to achieve accuracy to DIN 2 levels and beyond.
Steven Benn, Holroyd’s regional sales director, says: “The customer required a machine capable of grinding a variety of gears to exacting tolerances. Products to be manufactured include spur and helical gears; gears with end tip relief and root fillet radius; worm tooth forms such as ZA, ZI, ZK and ZN; worms with sunken tooth forms; and dual lead forms with both cylindrical and tapered roots. The GTG2 was selected for its versatility, reliability and accuracy – the latter achieved through high levels of on-board machine intelligence and a machining process developed to compensate for helical twist.”
Helical Twist occurs when helical gears are ‘lead crowned’ to improve meshing and reduce noise and wear. Lead crowning varies the amount of material removed from the flank of a tooth, across the face width, by causing the tool motion
to deviate from a true helix.
The problem is that ‘in-form’ grinding has the undesirable effect of causing the profile of the tooth flank to vary across the face. Particularly in high precision and low noise applications, this variation affects gear wheel performance by concentrating loads on particular areas of teeth during meshing.
GTG2 machines correct this problem by calculating and controlling additional motions of the wheel during the grinding operation using dedicated software written by Holroyd engineers.
For further information www.holroyd.com

MTA names vice president

Andrew Hodgson, strategic lead – digitalisation at Siemens, has been named by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) as its vice president.

Hodgson has been a member of the MTA board for a number of years, and chairs the association’s technical committee, which looks at activities in advanced manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing, automation and industry standards.
“We look forward to working closely with Andrew in his new position, especially in relation to the enormous opportunities for increased productivity in UK manufacturing brought about by accelerating digitalisation,” says James Selka DL, CEO at the MTA. Hodgson adds: “The MTA works hard to both represent and inform members in a fast-changing manufacturing environment. I look forward to working even closer with James Selka and his team, ensuring we continue to progress as an association and accurately reflect the diverse range of technologies we champion.”
For further information www.mta.org.uk

MRT foundry construction progressing

Construction is now well underway on the new foundry of MRT Castings in Andover.

With 60% more space than the company’s current die-casting area, this purpose-built, 20,000 sq ft additional facility is only 100 yards from the existing site and represents an ambitious new chapter for the company. After several years of sustained growth, MRT realised that it had outgrown its current foundry and needed to invest in a new site. In addition to relocating all of its existing foundry machinery to the new building, the company will be investing in new equipment and capabilities that will provide a platform for the next phase of development.
For further information www.mrt-castings.co.uk