ETG serves up a treat with new press brakes

New to the Engineering Technology Group’s (ETG) Fabrication Division is the Durma AD-Servo range of press brakes, which the company says can increase productivity by up to 60% and reduce energy consumption by up to 72%, credit largely to variable-speed drives. In addition, the AD-Servo series incorporates stress-relieving technology for the precise and long-term operation and stability of the machines.

Designed to make less noise with control of position, pressure and load pressure, AD-Servo press brakes feature an open/closed hydraulic circuit and four-quadrant operation. Further features include a bell housing and coupling, power unit, valve block, prefill valve, cylinder, servo controller, Indra-Drive C Software and linear scales.

The AD-Servo series is available in 17 variants with a bending force from 100 to 600 T and a bending length from 2.55 m on the smallest machine to 6.05 m on the largest. A wealth of options provides ETG customers with a distance between columns from 2.2 to 5.1 m with a stroke from 265 to 365 mm. The AD-Servo line-up also gives customers a choice of table widths, axis dimensions, Y-axis rapid and working speeds, and much more.

With over 1000 machine installations across the UK in virtually all sectors at users ranging from small businesses to world-class OEMs, ETG is excited to service Durma customers, who the company says will benefit from the same high levels of service and technical support enjoyed by existing ETG customers.

More information www.engtechgroup.com

Genius Facades invests in automated panel bender

Genius Facades, a manufacturer of A1 non-combustible rain-screen façade systems, is taking its production capabilities to the next level by investing in a Trumpf TruBend Center 7030 fully automated panel bender. Adding to the company’s growing range of Trumpf machines, the speed and right-first-time capabilities of the new TruBend Center 7030 is helping Genius Facades keep pace with increasing demand for its aluminium rain-screen façades.

With a fast-expanding order book, Genius Facades has been investing heavily in new manufacturing technology for its two purpose-built factories in the Midlands. This progressive manufacturing business saw the acquisition of a new panel bending machine as the next step in the evolution of its production proficiency.

“We were keen to expand our in-house manufacturing capabilities to keep up with rising customer orders for our A1 non-combustible rain-screen facades,” confirms Richard Bland, production director at Genius Facades. “We looked to Trumpf in the first instance due to our long-standing and successful working relationship.”

In 2022, Genius Facades installed a Trumpf TruPunch 5000R XL punching machine and a Trumpf TruBend 5170 press brake, adding to a long line of Trumpf models at the company. Indeed, Genius Facades even has a 21 year-old Trumpf punching machine that is still fully operational, speaking volumes about the reliability and longevity of these machines.

“We knew that investing in a fully automated panel bender such as the TruBend Center 7030 would significantly increase our bending speed and offer excellent automation capabilities,” states Bland.

Panel bending is ideal for complex bending applications with radius bends, short sides or narrow profiles. Trumpf’s TruBend Center 7030 offers automatic part loading and unloading for forming panels up to 3 m in length. The machine features both rotary and two-axis part manipulators.

More information www.trumpf.com

Key Renishaw appointment

Renishaw has appointed Kasim Hussain as its new group general counsel and company secretary. Hussain, who joined Renishaw in July 2024, will lead the group’s legal, compliance and company secretarial functions, including the regional legal and compliance teams. With substantial experience of working in a listed environment, Hussain will provide strategic direction to Renishaw’s board of directors and executive committee. He will also advise the company on all matters of risk and governance. Prior to joining Renishaw, Hussain was group divisional counsel at the FTSE 100 global engineering group, Spirax Group.

More information www.renishaw.com

Groundbreaking new facility

The MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre) in Coventry is providing the UK with the capability to disassemble and assemble prototype battery modules and packs based on large-format, high-power/energy density cells. The Hazardous Operations Cell (HazOps) will fill a significant UK gap in enabling high-risk R&D activities. Featuring robotics, machine vision and laser systems, the cell will provide a flexible and remote manufacturing facility for research into hazardous manufacturing processes. Notably, the facility will enable research into highly-automated battery disassembly for the recovery of critical raw materials.

More information www.the-mtc.org

Co-ordinated approach to net zero skills

Two leading figures in ‘clean growth’ are calling for a more co-ordinated approach to net zero future skills if the UK is going to reach its target of 480,000 ‘green’ jobs by 2030. Coventry University’s Carl Perrin (associate pro-vice chancellor) and Deepak Farmah (director of the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems) have made the rallying call as part of new research that Coventry University is completing to understand the commercial and sector-specific barriers of training and reskilling workforces for the decarbonisation challenge. To gather views, a survey (link below) is now underway.

Take the survey at www.bit.ly/3TfP5Uu