Corbetts the Galvanizers targets growth and jobs

One of Shropshire’s oldest manufacturers is targeting over £2.5m of new opportunities in 2022, as more companies tap into the firm’s short lead times and high quality. Corbetts the Galvanizers, which celebrated its 160th birthday in 2020, has seen significant growth from the transport, street furniture, agriculture and construction sectors during the past 12 months, with orders expected to jump a further 20% going forward. Despite taking on 30 new staff, the Telford-based firm is still looking to bolster its workforce with a further 39 employees and is embarking on another recruitment campaign.

For further information www.wcorbett.co.uk

Industry calls for sustainability support

Industry leaders have called for government and industry to work together and help manufacturers respond to the net-zero drive. Speaking at the second annual National Manufacturing Summit, which focused on sustainable production, Manufacturing Technology Centre chief executive Dr Clive Hickman called for a specific funding pot for net-zero manufacturing to ensure that UK industry can realise the innovation and economic opportunities that de-carbonisation offers.

Dr Hickman said the UK’s commitments at COP26 required a rapid, deep and sustained reduction in CO2 emissions: “It will be us, as manufacturers, who make these ambitions a reality. We need a manufacturing strategy to ensure the sector is future-proofed for the decade to come. A funding pot for net-zero manufacturing would give manufacturers the confidence to pilot innovative green technologies and support the commercialisation of these technologies.”

For further information
https://nmsummit.co.uk

Additively manufactured Inconel blisks

Kingsbury, the sole UK sales and service agent for WAAM equipment builder GEFERTEC GmbH, has put together an application example detailing the benefits that additive manufacturing can bring to the manufacture of an Inconel engine blisk. Traditionally, the blisk would be produced from a 72 kg, £3500 forging that would subsequently be milled, adding further expense and time. As a cost-effective and economical alternative, Kingsbury started with a 300 mm diameter Inconel 718 central hub on to which the GEFERTEC machine deposited Inconel 625 in four stages to create a fully printed blisk.

The material and machining cost totalled £1764 and the printed Inconel weighed just 27.8 kg. Overall, the additive process saved 37.5 kg of Inconel during the additive process over the traditional subtractive manufacturing method. The subsequent machining time was consequently shorter than forging, as the material removed during milling of the near-net-shape blank was only about 16 kg, while tooling costs were also proportionally lower.

For further information https://kingsburyuk.com/

500 3D-printed parts for Lotus project

Stratasys has partnered with Radford, a global luxury automotive brand, to create over 500 3D-printed parts for the launch of the coach-built Lotus Type 62-2 as shown in the Discovery+ documentary, Radford Returns. The show features car builder and host Ant Anstead and former Formula One driver Jenson Button, and documents the build of the retro-modern Lotus Type 62-2 supercar.
Viewers get an inside look at the 3D-printing process from designing to prototyping, tooling, and finally producing production parts utilising Stratasys FDM, PolyJet and stereolithography 3D printing technologies. To produce the first two cars, over 500 parts were 3D-printed at the Radford Studio, automotive design and engineering firm Aria Group, and Stratasys Direct Manufacturing.

For further information www.stratasys.com/automotive

As swift as an SVM 4100

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has introduced a high-speed vertical machining centre. The SVM 4100 helps manufacturers reduce part processing times, especially when machining aluminium alloys and for the light-duty machining of steel components.

With fast acceleration/deceleration rates (0.72/0.6/0.6 G in the machine’s X, Y and Z axes), tool-to-tool change times (1.3 seconds) and 36 m/min rapids on all three axes, the SVM 4100 can reduce non-cutting times and, as a result, component cycle times. Further exemplifying the machine’s speed and power is its 18.5 kW/12,000 rpm/95.5 Nm directly-connected BT40 spindle, which also features the Big Plus face and taper dual contact system, and an integrated thermal displacement correction system to maintain high accuracies even during long machining runs.

The SVM 4100 is equipped with a 920 x 410 mm work table (600 kg maximum load) that Mills CNC says is the largest machining envelope in its class. Also featured is a 30-tool position ATC, a grease lubrication system that eliminates the need for oil skimmers and reduces lubrication costs by up to 60%, a Doosan Fanuc i Plus control with 15” touchscreen, and Doosan’s conversational and menu-driven Easy Operation Package (EOP) for improved process reliability and functionality.

Doosan’s SVM 4100 is available with a range of options that include: an ATC Shutter that provides greater protection from chip ingress into the ATC area than the standard barrier brush system; TSC (Through-Spindle-Coolant) from 20 to 70 bar; tool and workpiece measurement systems; and different hinged or scraper-type chip conveyor systems.

The new SVM 4100 will make its UK debut at MACH 2022 (4 -8 April, Birmingham NEC) on the stand of Mills CNC (hall 19, stand 100).

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk