“Scottish companies traditionally immersed in the oil and gas sector are increasingly looking to diversify into the high-speed machining of aluminium,” or so says Starrag UK. Taking part in the recent ‘Profitable growth through applied research for Scotland’s manufacturing sector’ event at the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), Starrag UK received “a number of serious enquiries for machines from Scotland-based blue-chip companies”.
These included an oil and gas OEM which is showing great interest in the Scharmann ‘lights out’ Ecoforce solution for automating large-valve machining using a system that would incorporate component transport, co-ordinate measuring machine technology and robot welding.
In addition, a company involved in shipbuilding is also considering, for the machining of large workpieces, Droop+Rein’s kinetic measuring system in conjunction with the SQS self-qualification system and V3D for checking rotational axes with a touch probe.
Visitors to the event also reacted positively, says Starrag UK, to the affordability of the recently-announced Heckert Focus horizontal machining centres (pictured). These “flexible and cost-efficient” machines are designed for general subcontract applications performed by supply chain partners.
At the AFRC event, Starrag displayed a number of machines for aerostructure (Starrag STC 800X horizontal machining centre), aero assembly (Droop+Rein FOGS overhead gantry-type machine), automotive (Heckert HEC horizontal machining centre) and oil and gas (Scharmann Ecoforce horizontal machining centre) applications.
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