Arden Group reaches 60

The Arden Group, which was first launched by two brothers in the cellar of their family home, is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Brothers Frank and Philip Poynter first set up a die-making workshop with just one saw and a workbench in the 10 sq ft cellar of their mother’s semi-detached house in Bredbury, Stockport, in 1964. Today, the Arden Group comprises three specialist divisions: Arden Dies, Arden Engraving and Arden Software. Arden Dies says it has become the UK’s largest die-maker, manufacturing specialist dies and tooling for packaging and cartons.

More information https://ardendies.com/

Smart Industry Solutions Zone at MACH

MACH 2026, the UK’s largest manufacturing and engineering exhibition, is unveiling the Smart Industry Solutions Zone in collaboration with MTC Events. The new area will be dedicated to showcasing the latest advancements, products and technologies set to inspire, connect, and unify the manufacturing industry. Over 30,000 visitors are expected to attend the show.

Richard Watkins, director of events and customer experience at MTC Events, says: “We’re delighted to join forces with the MTA in convening the manufacturing community for MACH. By bringing our expertise in events management to the show, we can create a better environment for visitors and exhibitors to engage with each other and enhance the value available from attending the exhibition.”

More information www.machexhibition.com

Metrology specialist brings machining in-house

High-quality fixturing of components under test is a crucial prerequisite to ensuring Sempre Group customers achieve traceable, reproducible and repeatable measurements on the shop floor. To meet the increasing demand for these fixtures from its user base, the metrology specialist made a strategic investment in a Hurco VM10i vertical machining centre, a move that would allow it to design, manufacture, build and test them internally, rather than outsourcing.

Mike John, head of technical delivery at Sempre, says: “The decision was driven by a desire to ensure faster component production and greater flexibility, subsequently addressing the challenges our customers face more effectively. After evaluating several machine tool providers, the Hurco VM10i emerged as the ideal production platform, due partly to the suitability of its working volume, which accommodates 90% of the fixturing components we make. The VMC’s speeds and feeds are appropriate for the materials we primarily machine, namely aluminium, stainless steel and engineering plastics, added to which the price of the machine was competitive.”

The integration of the VMC at Sempre’s Gloucester facility has already yielded tangible benefits. Response times have improved and the quality of manufactured components has increased now that production is handled in-house. The ability to prototype and develop new fixturing solutions rapidly enables faster iteration and testing of complex assemblies, shortening delivery timescales and often enabling the completion of projects ahead of schedule.

Looking ahead, having the Hurco VM10i positions Sempre to support its customers more quickly and efficiently with turnkey solutions, including smart fixtures and other products.

More information www.hurco.co.uk

High-volume machining of aircraft brake clips

Aerospace is Westley Engineering’s largest market, accounting for 45% of total production by value. A notable aerospace contract involves the manufacture of rotor clips used in aircraft disc brakes. Made from aerospace-grade steel and Inconel, the components see application in both civil and military aerospace programmes.

Three years ago, Westley Engineering improved the accuracy of the manufacturing process by switching from piercing holes in the clip using press tools to drilling them on a 40-taper vertical machining centre. Although it improved precision, the new approach also increased cycle times substantially and made the process more labour intensive. So in late 2023, the company installed a Brother Speedio S700Xd1 4-axis, 30-taper machining centre, followed by a second in April 2025. Supplied by Whitehouse Machine Tools, the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for the Japanese manufacturer, these high-speed machines have now replaced the VMC for clip production.

In partnership with Whitehouse Machine Tools, Westley Engineering implemented an automated, single-operation process on each Speedio. The new production route features custom-built fixtures with nine inclined bars, each capable of holding 36 clips. This high-density arrangement enables over 300 parts to be machined per cycle, significantly more than the flat fixtures used previously.

Cycle times have been reduced to between two and three minutes per clip, depending on the variant. For example, the Inconel version requires additional milling on the outer arms, whereas the steel variants do not. Typical batch size ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 units.

Before deployment, the process was validated at Whitehouse Machine Tools’ Kenilworth technical centre.

More information www.wmtcnc.com

Improved results with live tools from Heimatec

The desire to save time and the related cost benefits has always existed. However, in the past, lathes – or the turrets mounted on them – were limited in their maximum rotation speed, subsequently restricting the achievable cutting speeds. In order to produce higher quantities in a shorter time, attention was paid directly to the live tool and, where possible and sensible, speeders were designed and produced. Gear ratios up to 1:4 result in a speed increase of 48,000 rpm.


In the meantime, there are some machine tools with turrets that achieve higher rotation and thus higher cutting speeds. This adaptation results in higher requirements on the mounted live tool units mounted. Wear parts such as bearings and seals are more stressed and must be replaced more frequently. Likewise, when using tools that are not designed for such high rotation, there is a risk that the gears of the tools will overheat, spindles will be overstressed and, as a result, tools will be damaged.

To counteract these problems, Heimatec – available in the UK from Hyfore – has adapted some products and designed them to be suitable for extra high rotation (up to 15,000 rpm). Thus, axial drilling and milling heads – as well as radial drilling and milling heads – for selected machine manufacturers are already available with these specifications. In use by customers, these prove the design measures implemented to achieve high speeds with the predictable wear and service life.

The advantage of the Heimatec high-speed tools is that they also operate smoothly at lower rotation over the speed range available from the machine tool turret.

More information www.hyfore.com