KME upgrades Kerf plasma cutter

Littleborough-based Ken Mills Engineering (KME) Ltd has upgraded its Kerf plasma cutting machine with a new and larger RUR2500p. Replacing its predecessor, the new RUR2500p has an 8 x 2 m bed and a more powerful and precise Lincoln Electric Spirit II 275 A plasma unit with the very latest Ultrasharp cutting technology.

Alluding to why the company replaced a machine that has delivered exceptional performance levels, director Andy Mills says: “Our components are primarily small-to-medium batches that are cut from single sheets, which rarely exceed the 4 m bed length of the previous machine. We recognised that by increasing the bed length we could load one side of the machine while parts are being cut on the other end of the bed. This pendulum loading has effectively eliminated non-productive set-up times and reduced overall production times by an additional 50%.
“The new Kerf RUR2500p has the very latest Ultrasharp cutting technology and this has improved the precision and surface finishes of the profiles and holes we cut,” he continues. “Additionally, there is less cleaning, no secondary hand finishing and less dross from the process.”
As well as offering precision levels in the ±0.5 mm range, the Lincoln Electric Spirit II plasma unit has the capacity to pierce materials up to 35 mm thick.
Concluding on the benefits of the machine acquisitions, Mills says: “In combination with a new press brake, the Kerf machine is saving us upwards of £250,000 a year in subcontract costs. Added to this, we are saving around £150,000 a year in material, and there are fewer transport costs as we don’t deal with subcontractors.”
For further information www.kerfdevelopments.com

New team

With business rapidly growing, Master Abrasives has set up a new applications engineering team to support customers in a range of applications.

The team will focus on providing assistance to those interested in mass finishing and grinding machines, and other technical products such as precision abrasive finishing tapes and diamond grinding wheels. The applications engineering team will be led by Ian Meredith, who has many years’ experience in the bearing industry and subsequently the diamond dressing tool and abrasive industry. He will be supported by technical sales representative, Martin Stevens, and customer service team member, Kelly Warrington.
For further information www.master-abrasives.co.uk

Growth fund

Clay Cross based N&R Needham has been awarded £52,425 from the University of Derby (via its Invest to Grow fund) to invest in new machinery that will broaden its measuring capacity and allow the company to take on work that it could not have inspected previously.

Joe Needham, N&R Needham

The initial funding has already been used to purchase and install a CNC CMM. Since then, N&R Needham received further Invest to Grow funding that has been used to purchase and install a CNC turning centre, and provide training for current employees.
For further information
www.derby.ac.uk/business-services

Record-breaking steel supports

The William Cook group, based in Sheffield, has cast the first of up to 50 record-breaking steel supports for a flagship new viaduct to be employed by the Paris Metro system.

A cast steel column is being developed to support the 600m-long viaduct and elevated metro station in a multi-million project led by French architect Marc Mimram and the Parisian transport agency RATP. Weighing in at as much as 12 tonnes and up to 7m tall, the columns are the largest castings ever poured at William Cook’s Sheffield foundry.
A pair of full-size prototypes has already been cast by the company.
For further information www.william-cook.co.uk

£15m pledge for engineering education

Universities Minister Jo Johnson has announced funding of up to £15m to support the establishment of a new higher education provider specialising in high-quality engineering courses.

The New Model in Technology & Engineering (NMiTE) aims to become the first new ‘greenfield’ university in the UK for 30 years, addressing the growing need for engineering talent in sectors such as advanced manufacturing. NMiTE is taking a radical approach to training the next generation of engineers, including having a 50:50 gender balance target, 6-12 month integrated work placements, and recruiting graduates from non-traditional backgrounds.
For further information www.gov.uk