£3m for machinery research programmes

The University of Huddersfield’s Centre for Precision Technologies will be receiving £3m of funding over the next five years to lead major research programmes designed to drive advancements in machinery design and performance. The news follows the Government’s recent announcement that over £100m of new investment through its Strength in Places Fund will support five new regional programmes. One of these is the West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester based Advanced Machinery and Productivity Initiative, known as AMPI, which consists of 10 partners, including the Centre for Precision Technologies.

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Tools for machining OCTG products

Tooling manufacturer Paul Horn is expanding the range of products it supplies to manufacturers of equipment for machining pipes and sleeves used in oil and gas production, as well as to end users. The cost-effective OCTG (oil country tubular goods) machining solutions for use in API- and GOST-compliant – as well as premium joint applications – focus on ease of use. According to Horn, standard and customer-specific tools deliver a productive edge over other tools in the areas of handling, service life and cost per threaded connection.

The tool systems are available with standard machine interfaces including VDI, polygonal shank and round shank holders, and as solutions that are flange-mounted on turrets. They are adapted to suit the production process, from manual loading through to full automation. Both the screw clamp and ground geometries of Horn’s S117 and 315 systems, together with carefully matched tool holders, enable effective chip management.

There are no expensive parts such as chip breakers or shims to install, allowing customers to make savings when procuring tools. The two systems use substrates and coatings for the inserts that are tailored to the machining conditions, resulting in significant improvements in both cutting performance and tool life. Accurate interchangeability provided by the precision insert seats reduces the number of tool adjustments needed after changing inserts.

During thread cutting in API- and GOST-compliant applications, the S117’s numerous teeth enable the number of cuts to be minimised. The 315 system has three usable cutting edges, leading to cost optimisation. Horn says it is a good choice for premium joints that permit no more than one to three teeth per cutting edge.

For further information
www.phorn.co.uk

Game-changing manufacturing solutions

A research project driven by the NBT Group, Northumbria University and Senseye has been awarded over a quarter of a million pounds to evaluate new and emerging ‘smart’ technologies, helping to digitalise and transform manufacturing supply chains. This award is part of £18m of funding grants from the Digital Supply Chain competition, which forms part of UKRI’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Made Smarter innovation challenge. The Digital Supply Chain competition supports the development of innovations designed to help supply chains become more productive and sustainable.

For further information
www.northumbria.ac.uk/business

Duratomic stainless steel turning grades

As Seco’s patented insert coating technology Duratomic enters its second decade, the company has released three new grades specifically for stainless steel turning. Among other things, the new TM grades offer customers used-edge detection technology, resulting in increased productivity.

More than a decade ago, Seco R&D specialists realised that it was possible to harness nanoscience and develop highly sophisticated coatings with thermal and chemical resistance properties that could be extremely strong and durable – at an atomically thin level. The result of their work was a patented insert coating technology that brought a combination of wear resistance and edge toughness to maximise insert grades in the prevention of cracks and breakage. Seco called it Duratomic.

“There are different ways to manipulate the various parts of the coating, and different translations of upper, bottom and centre layers for various usages. Knowing when and how to do it is what I would call the essence of Duratomic,” explains Mikael Lindholm, product manager – general ISO turning.

Today Duratomic has gone from strength to strength and is present in turning, drilling and milling applications.

“Seco Tools has always been expected to provide exceptional grade performance,” says Lindholm. “We recently released our Duratomic MP2501 and MP1501 milling grades, as well as three new grades within turning – TM1501, TM2501 and TM3501 — which are specifically for stainless steel turning.”

All these new Duratomic grades feature the company’s most recent generation of the technologies, with the possibility of access to chrome used-edge detection. The Duratomic TM turning grades improve productivity in a range of materials, from easy, often austenitic stainless steel to demanding high-alloy super-duplex stainless steels.

For further information
www.secotools.com

Bowers Group extends sponsorship

Bowers Group is extending its sponsorship of the University of Wolverhampton Racing (UWR) team to include the team’s Morgan Plus Four cars into the 2022 season. Acting as Morgan’s factory works team, UWR has converted two Morgan Plus Four models from road cars into fully prepared racing vehicles. Having signed a new five-year partnership agreement with Morgan Motor Co in March, the University of Wolverhampton is now on track to offer a racing programme that will further improve the student experience.
As part of its extended sponsorship, Bowers Group will provide the University’s School of Engineering with a range of metrology tools and equipment to aid the students in their learning. The equipment not only provides the best footing for the team’s precision measurement needs, but enhances the learning of students by offering access to tools that will be at the heart of their future careers.

For further information
www.bowersgroup.co.uk