Industry boom creates buzz for SteelFab

With the industrial sector playing a key role in the biggest growth of the UAE economy in over a decade, there is a strong build-up for the region’s premier metalworking, metal manufacturing and steel fabrication industry. Besides economic growth and policy decisions, new industry developments too have put the spotlight on SteelFab, the region’s premier trade event, which has been anchoring the growth of the metalworking industry for the past two decades. Preparations are already underway and bookings and enquiries have started for the 18th edition of SteelFab, taking place at Expo Centre Sharjah on 9-12 January 2023.

According to UAE Central Bank’s Quarterly Economic Review 2022, the UAE economy grew by 8.2% in the first three months of this year and there is a high probability of stronger growth due to increased oil production and a government pledge to double the size of the manufacturing industry. Government initiatives and its move to continue investment in the industrial sector have already started bearing fruit, with more than 200 new factories going live last year alone.
For further information www.steelfabme.com

Games visitors see high-tech manufacturing

Visitors to the recent 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham had the chance to see the latest in high-tech manufacturing thanks to an augmented reality (AR) scheme created by the Manufacturing Technology Centre and the University of Birmingham. Games visitors could access the technology via a QR code that took them into an AR world demonstrating how it is possible to develop factories and industrial spaces digitally before spending a penny on manufacturing equipment. Using a PTC software program called Vuforia, users could experience a 21st century manufacturing environment in a virtual world.
For further information www.the-mtc.org

ITC expands trochoidal tool range

Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) has once again extended its trochoidal milling portfolio with the introduction of the new 6054 end-mill series. Complementing the depth of the company’s four- and five-flute trochoidal ranges, ITC has now expanded its six-flute range with the arrival of the 6054 series.

Developed specifically for the machining of steel and exotic material types, the 6054 series offers manufacturers a long flute length for reaching into pockets and difficult-to-reach surfaces. The company says that the geometry of the 6054 series provides end users with a robust and stable platform which instils confidence when undertaking extended-length machining with high material removal rates. Furthermore, the latest end mills have a centre-cutting geometry with harmonic fluting to maximise material removal rates.

Swarf evacuation comes courtesy of effective chip breakers. The 6054 series has a square-end geometry for 90° machining in corners, with a corner radius range also available. The corner radius tools with 0.25. 0.5, 0.75 or 1 mm radius prevent edge chipping and prolong tool life.

ITC’s six-flute series is available with diameter options of 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 20 mm, with a length of cut from 18 mm on the 6 mm diameter tool, through to 60 mm on the 20 mm diameter end mills. To provide long reach, the 6054 series is available with an overall tool length from 75 to 150 mm depending upon the diameter selected. Rigidity and performance get a boost with a shallow chip gullet that guarantees core strength for high material removal rates and stability. Complementing this feature is the polished harmonic flutes and Cupro coating that work in synergy with the chip-breaker design to evacuate chips at high rates.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Smarter digital manufacturing guide available

Digital transformation specialist LMAC Consulting has partnered with EAMA (Engineering & Machinery Alliance) to create a free-to-download Industry 4.0 guide. The guide summarises the different pillars of Industry 4.0, the impact they have on costs and KPIs, as well as giving practical examples. EAMA secretary Jack Semple says: “This insightful guide is fit-for-purpose and offers long-overdue help and advice after the delays caused by Brexit and Covid-19. It’s both a training and education solution that gives quick productivity improvement wins, but also the longer term framework for sustainable change.
Download the guide at www.bit.ly/3d9ECaS

New sales manager at Leadwell agent

With effect from the start of August 2022, Graham Cherry is the UK sales manager of WH-Lead, the sole sales and service agent in the British and Irish markets for the Taiwanese-built Leadwell range of vertical machining centres and CNC lathes. An established figure in the machine tool industry, Cherry has spent recent decades progressing through numerous well-known machine tool subsidiaries and agencies, always in sales and marketing roles. He also has experience of the carbide cutting tool industry.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me to bring my long experience of CNC technology, particularly five-axis prismatic machining, to promoting and selling the Leadwell brand,” says Cherry. “Everything is in place to allow that to happen, including six new machines in stock in Towcester, with more on the way, alongside good applications engineering support and excellent service.”
For further information www.wh-lead.co.uk