HS2 contract for Stanton

HS2 confirmed that Derbyshire-based Stanton Precast has been awarded a major contract to deliver three innovative ‘green tunnels’ for the high-speed rail project in a move that is set to create up to 100 local jobs. Four miles worth of tunnel will be built in thousands of sections at the Ilkeston factory before shipping to site and assembling at three locations in Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, to reduce disruption and improve efficiency. In total Stanton will produce more than 13,290 tunnel segments to form the three green tunnels.

For further information
www.stantonprecast.co.uk

Seco hosts virtual aerospace event

With the value of collaboration in the pursuit of innovation in mind, tooling specialist Seco and its technical partners recently hosted Aero Inspiration Through Innovation (ITI), drawing more than 1439 registrants. Demonstrations showcased wire-arc additive manufacturing for Inconel blisks; on-machine broaching; tools and strategies for finishing wing pylons; automated machining of aluminium A-frames; additive/subtractive manufacturing of blisks; and five-axis machining of aluminium structural parts. Furthermore, industry panel discussions and seminar topics covered digitalisation, sustainability and automation.

For further information https://is.gd/ocacuz

Balancing solutions suit SWD Precision

In 2019 Accretech acquired the SBS Balancer Product Range. In the two years since, the synergy between the brands has resulted a range of benefits to global manufacturers, not least in the area of grinding.

Alongside many other machine tool and inspection applications, Accretech provides high-precision in-process gauging that delivers real-time measurement during grinding cycles. SBS is a specialist in the field of grinding wheel balancing and grinding process monitoring. Both Accretech and SBS products are available as OEM equipment on new grinders or as retrofit solutions to existing machines.

A prime example of a precision grinding company that relies on both Accretech and SBS products is Tamworth-based SWD Precision.

Having recently ordered a universal grinder from Timeline Machine Tools, managing director Stephen Drew travelled to central China to observe the production and assembly of his new machine and pass it off. Although the universal grinder featured an Accretech in-process gauging system, to further expand the machine’s capabilities, the decision was made to retrofit an SBS balancing system.

In consultation with Accretech UK it was decided that an SBS non-contact, automatic balancing system, consisting of an SB-5500 controller, an external balance head and an acoustic emission monitoring system card, would constitute the ideal solution. The compact SB-5500 controller features an all-digital electronic design and has a large, high-resolution detachable display.

Pointing out the benefits, Drew says: “We produce precision ground components for motorsport and other equally demanding sectors involving short production runs. It therefore helps that, in addition to increasing our grinding throughput and saving set-up time, our new SBS balancing system is ensuring part quality by automatically balancing our grinding process to an accuracy of 0.02 µm.”

For further information
www.accretech.eu

£8m sales and technology boost

A UK designer and manufacturer of cooling and HVAC products to the transport sector has sealed a string of new contract wins that has seen it take sales past pre-Covid levels. Birmingham-based Grayson Thermal Systems has bounced back from the pandemic after securing more than £8m of orders from customers including ABB, Solaris, Skoda and Wrightbus. Group turnover has now risen to £32m supported by the creation of more than 40 new jobs.

The company’s new Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) is proving extremely popular with its core bus and coach market, as well as other customers in the off-highway commercial vehicle and rail sectors. This ‘plug and play’ technology helps to regulate the temperature of electric vehicle batteries.

For further information www.graysonts.com

Select Committee visits manufacturing leaders

Members of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee visited the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to hear about how research and innovation is creating new jobs and boosting economic growth across the West Midlands. The committee met with Clive Hickman, chief executive of the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, and Katherine Bennett CBE, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. The group toured the MTC’s Antsy Park campus to see first-hand the advanced research and development work taking place across the site.

For further information www.the-mtc.org