New Site For Open Mind

CADCAM software developer Open Mind has established a new subsidiary in Seoul, Korea, to continue its course of international expansion. With Open Mind Technologies Korea, the company is strengthening its presence in Asia and creating a foundation for further growth.

“Korea is one of the most exciting and important markets in Asia, with a highly developed manufacturing industry and leading high-tech sectors,” says Volker Nesenhöner, CEO of Open Mind Technologies AG. “This dynamic economy offers ideal conditions for the use of our hyperMILL software.”

More information www.openmind-tech.com

Sustainable Aero AM

The MTC in Coventry has joined the Digitally Enabled Competitive & Sustainable Additive Manufacturing (DECSAM) project. Led by Airbus, this £38m, four-year UK aerospace programme will develop and deploy the latest additive manufacturing technologies (AM), such as beam shaping and in-situ process monitoring, to make metal laser powder-bed fusionmore cost-effective, productive and sustainable for flight-ready parts. The project, which runs until June 2028 is funded through Innovate UK, the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the UK Department for Business and Trade.

More information www.the-mtc.org

A Stronger Role in Global Production Metrology

Bruker Alicona, a global specialist in high-resolution optical 3D metrology, has undertaken the legal merger of Alicona Imaging GmbH and Bruker Austria GmbH.The unified entity, headquartered in Raaba/Graz, Austria, reinforces the company’s position within Bruker’s global network. The merger is purely legal; the Bruker Alicona brand remains unchanged, continuing its reputation for “Made in Austria” precision. General manager Urban Muraus heralds the move as a signal of confidence in production metrology.Founded as a Graz university spin-off, Bruker Alicona says it has grown to become a trusted industry partner.

More information www.alicona.com

Celebrating the Best of UK Industry Skills

Nominations are now open for the Enginuity Skills Awards 2026, spanning the engineering and manufacturing sectors. Each year, theseawards recognise individuals and organisations championing skills excellence and driving industry innovation.Nominations will remain open until midnight on 25 January 2026, with the winners announced at a ceremony on 1 July 2026 in London.The awards honour achievements across a range of categories, highlighting apprentices, educators, training providers and employers making outstanding contributions to the advancement of skills.

More information www.enginuity.org/skills-awards-2026 

Autonomous laser cutting cell for Sellafield

The first COTS (commercial off the shelf) robotic installation in the UK nuclear industry has been successfully completed, proving FANUC’s technology in this challenging field. FANUC ARC Mate 120iC and M-900iB/360 robots are playing a starring role in a pioneering waste size reduction project as part of Sellafield’s ongoing decommissioning process.

In a first-of-its-kind autonomous application designed and delivered by integrator Cyan Tec, the new skip sorting and laser cutting cell has reduced the amount of space needed to store radioactive waste to a third of its original footprint. The cell has also slashed the time it takes to dismantle and repack radioactive skips from months to minutes, while eliminating the need for human involvement in this hazardous operation.

Cyan Tec designed and installed a full turnkey laser cutting and handling system to operate autonomously within a nuclear bunker. At the heart of the system are the two six-axis FANUC robots: the compact ARC Mate 120iC for cutting, and the heavy duty M-900iB/360 for panel handling. They were selected above all else for their reliability, which has been proven in accelerated life tests and comes with an eight-year zero maintenance promise.

“The cell had to be 100% reliable, as there was no opportunity for going in and fixing it if anything went wrong,” says Tony Jones, managing director of Cyan Tec. “That’s why we chose technology that had already been proven in demanding industries.”

He continues: “It’s incredible to think that by automating this task we’ve been able to reduce the time it takes to cut down and repack a skip of waste from approximately one month to just 60 minutes.”

More information www.fanuc.eu