Spain places order for Eurofighter Typhoons

A major new order by Spain to expand its frontline fleet with 20 new Eurofighter Typhoons underlines the importance of this aircraft’s role as the backbone of European defence. The announcement, which was made at the recent ILA Berlin International Air Show, will see the number of Typhoon aircraft in Europe increase to 545, delivered or on order. BAE Systems leads the overall design, development, manufacture, upgrade and support for Typhoon aircraft in the UK. The company is responsible for manufacturing more than a third of the components for every Spanish aircraft, including the aircraft’s front fuselage and tail, under a contract worth in excess of £500m.
For further information www.baesystems.com

Free online courses at the Grinding Academy

United Grinding and Titans of CNC, a manufacturing group of part-makers, influencers and educators, have collaborated to launch the all-new Grinding Academy. Much like Titan’s existing machining and aerospace academies, the Grinding Academy will offer free online courses that teach and train the next generation of machinists. Titans of CNC has four United Grinding machines on its shop floor in Texas: a Blohm Panomat XT profile grinder; Studer Favorit and Studer S41 cylindrical grinding machines; and a Walter Helitronic Vision 400 L tool grinder. These will be the first machines used to create content for the Grinding Academy.
For further information www.titansforgrinding.com

AWI donates to Acorns Children’s Hospice

A leading hospice that cares for more than 900 families every year is the latest recipient of the ‘Wired for Good’ campaign run by Alloy Wire International (AWI). The UK manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire has donated £7500 to the crucial work of Acorns Children’s Hospice to help it continue providing respite, short breaks, end-of-life and emergency care across its three locations in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester. Bosses at AWI have been long-term admirers of the charity and the way it provides a homely environment where children can take part in a range of fun and therapeutic activities, from arts and crafts sessions to hydrotherapy.
For further information www.acorns.org.uk

Change of CEO at GTMA

This year marks the GTMA’s 80th anniversary and provides an opportunity for a new and exciting chapter after CEO Julia Moore handed over the reins to her successor, Dr Alan Arthur, on 1 July. Arthur joined the GTMA in January 2020 as chief technical officer and brings with him a working knowledge of trade associations and a strong background in engineering, which will be a great asset to the GTMA. Says Moore: “It’s with enormous pride that I leave the GTMA, taking many happy memories of a wonderful career gathered over the past 25 years, and say a fond farewell to the terrific team of directors at the GTMA and its members.”
For further information www.gtma.co.uk

Product innovations for the future

Combined friction stir welding and machining processes, scalable manufacturing for micro-technology and high-productivity twin-spindle machining – are just three of the new product innovations by the Chiron Group that are now available in the UK from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

High dynamics and stability, plus a large working chamber with a twin-spindle concept and a spindle distance up to 1200 mm – this is the 22, 25 and 28 series from Chiron. Offered by ETG, Chiron says that the new machines are primed to set a new benchmark in terms of productivity and precision in this size range – and they are demonstrably doing so already. As an example, a DZ 25P that has been in use for two years in manufacturing structural components for the automotive industry. All in all, this turnkey solution has provided “a stable and high-precision process with greatly increased output in comparison to the previous system”, according to the customer.

In addition to double-spindle applications such as battery and e-motor housing manufacture, these new series are fully capable of massive machining applications starting with solid blocks. The extremely stable portal design forms the basis for high precision while the well-thought-out working area and user ergonomics enable flexible integration of a wide range of automation solutions for production process reliability.

In another development, the Chiron Group and ETG are now offering a manufacturing system for the micro-technology sector that provides high-precision automated machining of workpieces with maximum dimensions of 50 x 50 x 50 mm.

Finally, by combining FSW and machining, Chiron is developing a forward-thinking innovation. The first projects are already underway at a technology partner company, resulting in the first turnkey machining centres such as the MILL 2000.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com