AMRC gets green light in northwest

South Ribble Borough Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council have granted permission to the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to build and equip a £20m state-of-the-art facility in a landmark location at the heart of the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone, one of four zones that make up the wider Lancashire Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Cluster.

The 4500 sq m facility, which will have a focus on vehicle electrification, battery assembly and lightweighting technologies, is being built with capital funding provided through the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP)’s Growth Deal. In addition, a £2.5m revenue grant from the European Structural Investment Fund (ESIF), matched with £1.6m from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult), will secure the creation of a high-performing technical R&D team that will work with manufacturing companies and their supply chains.
For further information www.amrc.co.uk

Broadbent Stanley and Fermat in agency deal

Czech Republic-based Fermat Group has signed an agency agreement that will give Broadbent Stanley the exclusive UK rights to the full range of Fermat’s large-capacity horizontal floor and table mills, as well as its grinding machines.

WFT 11_Lipník Nad Bečvou 3.7. 2018
FOTO : PATRIK UHLÍŘ

Box-way, heavy-duty, horizontal boring machines from Fermat range in size from 1200 mm to 28,100 mm in the X axis, with up to 6000 mm in the Y axis. Similarly, the company’s grinding machines provide extensive capacity, with between-centre distances of up to 6000 mm and a capability to grind parts weighing up to 5000 kg.
According to Broadbent Stanley, the company will be focussing its sales activity for the Fermat product range on the oil and gas, rail, power generation, marine, and yellow goods sectors. “The addition of these products to the Broadbent Stanley portfolio means we are the only company offering European-built, heavy-duty, large-capacity mills and grinders in the in the UK and Ireland,” says Graham Thomas, managing director.”
For further information www.broadbentstanley.co.uk

Framo Morat increases process reliability and quality

Framo Morat GmbH, a specialist in gear wheel and drive technology based in Baden Württemberg, is relying on grinding technology from Junker.

“We’ve been working with high-precision technology from Junker for a decade now,” confirms Alexander Denz, head of industrial engineering at Framo Morat. “As part of our growth strategy, we continue to develop our core skills – for cylindrical grinding operations we are much better positioned in terms of quality and process reliability. The two ‘Lean Selection’ high-speed grinding machines from Junker play a significant role in this.”
Junker’s two cylindrical grinding machines have proven their high speed in single or multiple-shift operations. Framo Morat wanted an economical and, above all, flexible machine concept which could fulfil all grinding assignments – from one-off production to the manufacture of small or large volumes. The machines are equipped with CBN grinding wheels and operate at peripheral speeds of up to 140 m/s. Some of the benefits of these machines include longer tool service life and extended dressing intervals.
“We grind diameters from 8 to 80 mm for shaft components with teeth, and component lengths of 40 to 460 mm,” says Denz. “Our production batch sizes range from 200 to 2000 workpieces per year. The new machines give us more flexibility with the peel grinding process, as opposed to grinding with corundum, as there is no need to change the grinding wheel between different workpieces.”
Notably, the high-speed grinding machines also deliver better quality by producing the entire outside contour in a single clamping set-up. The integrated measurement devices in the collar and longitudinal position are key control and monitoring systems during grinding.
For further information www.junker-group.com

Ricardo installs spiral bevel grinder

Investment by Ricardo in gear-manufacturing machines has improved productivity and extended capability, as the recent investment of £1.5m in a Klingelnberg spiral bevel grinder underlines.

The Klingelnberg equipment is now installed and commissioned at Ricardo’s Midlands Technical Centre in Leamington Spa, and is producing components of precision and quality for the current range of motorsport and sports car transmissions being made by the company, while simultaneously supporting the development of a new series of products destined for market release in the near future.
In addition, the company has acquired new design and quality assurance capabilities through software upgrades such as the KIMOS (Klingelnberg Integrated Manufacturing of Spiral Bevel Gears) software package from Oerlikon.
Dick Elsy CBE, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, recently toured the Ricardo Midlands Technical Centre to see the new equipment in action, and said: “It’s great to see Ricardo at the forefront of digital manufacturing with investment in adaptive machining. Their new spiral bevel grinder is already delivering great results in terms of process capability and productivity improvement. I was very impressed”.
Ricardo Performance Products MD Martin Starkey, adds: “The investment in manufacturing technology and software, including the purchase of the Klingelnberg grinding machine, has enhanced Ricardo’s capability to design, analyse, manufacture and inspect bevel gears with a closed-loop system. This willingness to invest underlines our commitment to digital manufacturing development, and the new technology is a key enabler in supporting our customers with more advanced solutions, meaning they can look forward to even higher standards of product quality and shorter lead times.”
For further information https://ricardo.com/

Kellenberger K100 released

Hardinge Group company Kellenberger has released its K100 for medium and high-technology grinding operations. The K100, which was on show at the recent EMO exhibition in Hanover, was equipped with a WeFlex automatic loader to demonstrate the flexibility of the modular concept and its suitability for operating in automated, high-volume factory environments.

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In terms of functionality the K100 platform delivers a diverse range of configuration options for a wide range of grinding operations. Thanks to the modular solution on one common platform – and the new assembly concept designed to reduce throughput time – it is possible to optimise production costs for the machine and ensure an attractive price-to-performance ratio.
The user-friendly and ergonomic design of the machine is based on a new, simple operator guidance system with an intuitive 19” touchscreen panel. K100 machines are equipped with the latest Fanuc 31i CNC controls, optionally available with newly designed cycle programming or workpiece-related graphic programming.
Three important features distinguish the K100 machine series: the collision-free compact wheel-head solution; an enhancement of its performance parameters; and the service-friendly machine design concept.
The new tandem wheel-head is a compact construction featuring a motor spindle. A reinforced casing accommodates larger grinding wheel diameters for internal grinding, while a choice of 10 wheel-head variations allows the optimum layout of the machine based on the components to be processed.
Enhancement of performance parameters include higher grinding wheel drive power for increased productivity, a newly designed Z guideway for precision profiling and a C axis with direct drive for greater precision when performing non-circular grinding.
For further information www.kellenberger.com