Record-breaking apprentice intake

BAE Systems will take on 800 apprentices in the UK in 2020, the highest number ever recruited.

The recruits will join one of more than 25 apprenticeship programmes across the company’s air, maritime, land and cyber divisions, benefitting from tailored schemes that combine recognised qualifications with on-the-job training. BAE’s latest apprentices will work on programmes that include developing future combat air technologies for the Royal Air Force, and Dreadnought – a new generation of submarine for the Royal Navy that will replace the current Vanguard class.
For further information www.baesystems.com

Anticipation builds for Expo Manufactura

Taking place on 11-13 February in Monterrey, Mexico, Expo Manufactura 2020 will host a wide range of industry solutions and innovations, as exhibited by national and international companies.

Indeed, it is anticipated that more than 350 exhibitors will fill 17,246 sq m of floor space at the show. In addition, over 13,350 visitors are set to attend Expo Manufactura, while a comprehensive conference programme is also scheduled.
Across the three days of the show, over 500 machines will be demonstrated in real time, with over 160 of these machines weighing more than 300 kg. Included among the machine types on display will be those for milling, turning, waterjet cutting, laser cutting, plasma cutting, welding and additive processes, to list but a few.
For further information www.expomanufactura.com.mx

Control choice for rotor mills

Three CNC control/HMI configurations are now being offered by Holroyd with its helical rotor production centres.

Until now, Holroyd has provided its own, in-house-developed CNC and HMI systems. However, to provide customers with greater levels of choice when specifying their rotor milling centres, the company now also offers both Siemens and Fanuc controllers as standard-fit alternatives to its own CNC.
The proprietary CNC system from Holroyd is partnered with Bosch motors and Bosch Rexroth digital drive systems, while both the Fanuc and Siemens controllers have been engineered as ‘complete systems’, and are supplied with their respective drives and motors. The controls have also been developed alongside a proprietary Holroyd HMI that has been designed to replicate the functionality and simplicity of programming with which users of Holroyd CNCs will be familiar.
Holroyd’s Siemens CNC/HMI option benefits from a large 300 x 525 mm screen and incorporates a user manual as well as all maintenance drawings relevant to the machine in question. Other features include a ‘soft button’ panel that can be ‘swiped’ to reveal further programming options or additional machine information.
Also available are optional CCTV cameras that can be specified to assist operators during machine set-up, while newly developed ASUB cycles allow users to select set-up routines that can then be activated through the handheld unit. Twin helical vacuum or hydraulic pump screws can be easily manufactured thanks to auto-positioning of the helical paths. In addition, the newly introduced flow guide style programming allows the operation to start, stop and even omit sections of the program while the machine is in cycle.
For further information www.holroyd.com

Siemens introduces AM Path Optimizer for NX

Siemens Digital Industries Software has launched Additive Manufacturing (AM) Path Optimizer, a beta technology integrated in NX software, to help customers solve overheating challenges and help reduce scrap and increase the production yield of powder bed fusion manufactured parts. This latest extension of Siemens’ end-to-end AM solution feeds the digital thread, informing each step of the industrialised AM process.

Building on the Simcenter Additive Manufacturing Process Simulation solution announced in November 2018, AM Path Optimizer complements Siemens’ strategy for the digital twin of the manufacturing process and addresses errors originated from sub-optimal scan strategies and process parameters. These can lead to systematic failures due to overheating, which can cause scrap and inconsistencies in component quality.
Siemens has had success demonstrating this beta technology with Trumpf as a partner.
“With the AM Path Optimizer, Siemens and Trumpf can push the industrialisation of additive technologies further forward,” says Jeroen Risse, AM expert at Trumpf. “In our demonstrations we saw an improvement of geometrical accuracy, the elimination of re-coater errors caused by overheating, as well as a more homogenous surface quality. Also, the scrap rate is expected to be reduced significantly.”
The technology uses a novel approach, combining physics-based simulation with machine learning to analyse a full job file in few minutes before execution on the machine. In addition, the system can help reduce printing costs and enable the printing of components that are nearly impossible to achieve today.
“AM Path Optimizer will have a great impact on the use of AM for powder bed fusion manufactured parts,” states Zvi Feuer, senior vice president of manufacturing engineering software at Siemens Digital Industries Software.
For further information www.siemens.com

Open Mind adds AM to hyperMILL

The latest addition to hyperMILL CADCAM software from Open Mind is the Additive Manufacturing suite, which is designed to satisfy the requirements of industrial 3D printing processes. As a universal software solution, hyperMILL – together with this option – will provide efficient hybrid processing with simultaneous additive and subtractive processing on a single machine platform.

hyperMILL Additive Manufacturing opens up an array of flexible options for DED (directed energy deposition) and WAAM (wire arc additive manufacturing) processes in terms of five-axis simultaneous processing. Both laser-based powder nozzle machining heads and wire arc additive manufacturing can be controlled using the software for selective material deposition, as well as conveniently programmed and automatically simulated for collision avoidance.
Open Mind’s hyperMILL suite now allows the potential of additive manufacturing to be exploited using powder-bed fusion (PBF). If 3D-printed parts do not offer the desired precision, or support structures have to be removed, the components can be machined afterwards by means of five-axis machining. Even hard-to-reach areas can be machined in a secure manner using hyperMILL, says Open Mind. As an integral part of the process chain, the CADCAM system supports reworking of this nature. The printed components are analysed, milled to size and examined.
Additive and subtractive manufacturing processes are increasingly being combined in a single machine tool for hybrid manufacturing. With this in mind, hyperMILL now enables users to program the cladding and the milling routines together. True-to-detail application and removal simulation, as well as stock tracking between individual machining steps, assure process reliability.
For further information www.openmind-tech.com