£100,000 investment boost at ACE

Telford-based Advanced Chemical Etching (ACE) has invested another £100,000 into increasing its capacity to target new opportunities in precision engineering.

ACE, which employs 60 people at its base on Hortonwood, is taking delivery of an additional cleaning machine in the next few weeks that will give it the capability to deliver more than 2000 etched sheets every day – a major rise from the 350 it produced in 2018. “Our pre- and post-cleaning machines have made us so much quicker,” says Ian Whateley, managing director.
“This latest investment gives us the flexibility we need to scale volumes up quickly when required.”
For further information https://ace-uk.net/

Over 15,000 attend Advanced Engineering

Advanced Engineering 2019 wrapped up for another year on 31 October, after welcoming over 550 exhibitors and more than 15,000 attendees, a 5% rise from the previous year. The event showcased more technologies and product innovations than ever before, particularly with the introduction of its Medical Device Engineering Zone.

Mike Duffield, regional sales manager at one of the show’s exhibitors, Renishaw, found the new Medical Device Engineering Zone to be particularly profitable. “Renishaw has exhibited at Advanced Engineering for a number of years because it has always been a great opportunity to network and get high-quality business leads,” he says. “The addition of the Medical Device Engineering Zone has helped us to forge new business relationships and showcase the range of potential applications that our products can help to fulfil.”
For further information
www.easyfairs.com/advanced-engineering-2019

Compcut 200 exceeds expectations

The Materials Testing Team at the Bristol-based National Composites Centre (NCC) has recently completed a year-long trial of the Compcut 200 composite plate saw with positive results in terms of overall performance, usability, adaptability and technical precision.

Sharp & Tappin’s Compcut 200 is the latest and smallest model in the Compcut range of composite plate saws. The machine is proving popular with test centres and R&D teams, who recognise and value its compactness, technical performance and affordability.
The NCC was already making use of a large, bespoke Sharp & Tappin plate saw and had approached the company to explore options for a smaller, more flexible unit that could meet an increasing internal demand for speedy small sample cutting across a range of material types, while fulfilling a comprehensive set of technical and operational criteria.
Small batch sample cutting at NCC had previously involved manual cutting with inherent accuracy issues, and a time-consuming administration process to arrange the operation.
The results of installing the Compcut 200 have proved positive, with the machine meeting and exceeding the Testing Team’s expectations, citing success factors such as ease of use, a fully enclosed housing, speedy operational processing, and high precision and cut quality. NCC’s team is now able to react more swiftly to meet R&D and urgent testing requirements, and can increasingly offer quick turnaround sample cutting services to other teams within the organisation.
Ben Sharp, Sharp & Tappin managing director, says: “By the nature of their work, the team at the NCC had a very precise and specific set of criteria for establishing a more effective sample cutting operation, and the success of the Compcut 200 more than justifies our faith in this most effective compact composite plate saw.”
For further information www.sharpandtappin.com

Lantek in HSG tie-up

A collaboration agreement has been signed between Lantek and the multinational HSG Laser Group.

Under this agreement, HSG will make it possible to integrate the Lantek Expert CADCAM solution with its different fibre laser cutting machines, which are available in power outputs up to 12 kW. “The sheet metal and fabrication sector is at a critical moment and must take a step towards digitalisation,” says Lantek CEO Alberto López de Biñaspre. “Companies need to interconnect their machines, processes and plants around the world using technologies that allow them to meet production needs in real time.”
For further information www.lantek.com

Sawing technology on show

At Blechexpo 2019 in Stuttgart earlier this month, MEBA shone the spotlight on its recently upgraded MEBAeco 335 DGA-600, which the company describes as the flagship of double-mitre technology.

MEBAeco metal bandsaw machines are based on a modular system that has been continuously developed. The system is the platform on which customers can assemble their individual machines, aligned to specific sawing targets. From a simple, semi-automatic straight-cutting machine, to a patented fully automatic double mitre saw, everything is said to be possible.
The MEBAeco 335 DGA-600 has features such as electric saw feed with ballscrew, or the patented double mitre system which ensures the right angled tension of the material.
Thanks to the frequency-controlled AC drive, the saw blade speed is infinitely variable from 15 to 150 m/min. The continuous use of recirculating ball bearing guides makes the MEBAeco automatic saws smooth, highly loadable, low maintenance and backlash-free. In addition, MEBA double-mitre bandsaws allow the processing of different angle and length combinations.
MEBAeco also makes no compromises when it comes to automation. For a completely automated sawing process, MEBAeco machines can be linked with material storage, as well as infeed and outfeed logistics. Automated production lines for steel structures can be implemented in conjunction with beam drilling rigs, sandblasting rigs, engraving equipment or welding robots.
Cross-linked sawing MEBAconnect solutions are used to good effect in the MEBAeco 335 DGA-600. This machine is equipped with a networkable, ergonomic panel control with various option packages. The packages enable the setting of sawing programs in work preparation, the import of sawing programs from CAD with DSTV interface and data export, or facilitate the extended MEBA Teleservice for remote maintenance.
For further information www.meba-saw.com