Lointek orders PEMA solution

Pemamek has delivered a PEMA Assembly station to Spain-based Lointek, which specialises in structures for the process and energy industries, such as pressure vessels, reactors and columns.

The delivery includes PEMA Assembly line TW5000-100, PEMA A100 Roller beds, and PEMA HD 6×5 Column & Boom. The latter comes equipped with a PEMA WeldControl 500, which has laser-tracking and a special welding head designed for semi-narrow grooves. By investing in the PEMA Assembly station, Lointek increases its welding capacity for thick materials and automates the
SAW welding process.

For further information www.pemamek.com

Motorsport specialist invests in Haas

Motor racing is in the blood for Jeremy Welch.

His great grandfather built the first six-cylinder engine ever made in the UK (in 1906) and went on to build Brook Marine racing engines with notable success (world champion in 1921). Jeremy’s father founded Denis Welch Motorsport over 40 years ago and the company has had notable success in the UK, Europe, Australia and the Far East.

While building cars it became obvious that older models needed new components, as the originals were no longer available. The company supplies replacement performance parts for classic cars, restores and prepares ex-works cars, and specialises in Jaguar E-type and Austin Healey models.
Three Haas lathes, a UMC-750 five-axis universal machining centre and a VF-4SS super speed vertical machine have been added in the last few years.
“Having our manufacturing in-house has made a massive difference,” says Welch. “We’ve expanded our range considerably and can now control our own processes and quality.

“The training has been tremendous,” he continues. “I’d never written a program, but with Haas’ help I jumped straight on the five-axis machine. We do mainly 3+2 machining, which enables us to use fewer fixtures, and most programming is completed manually at the control using the Haas G254 dynamic work offset function. One of our operators had never used a CNC, but after training with Haas he now writes programs on our Haas ST-25Y lathe using Y axis and live tooling.”

The latest acquisition is a Haas ST40 turning centre, which is currently machining period magnesium wheels and uprights for race Jaguars.
“We bought the machine especially for this job and it’s been fantastic,” concludes Welch.

For further information www.haas.co.uk

Faro recruits industry veterans

Faro Technologies has hired two industry veterans to manage the global hardware and software R&D teams.

Avi Ray-Chaudhuri, who serves as vice president of hardware R&D, and Wesley Tilley, who serves as vice president of software R&D, joined the company at the end of last month.

“We’re adding critical talent to the executive team to lead both our software and hardware R&D organisations, a move that will accelerate our product development efforts,” says Michael Burger, president and CEO of Faro.

Ray-Chaudhuri has over 20 years of leadership success in diverse industries including semiconductor, advanced lithography and laser development. Most recently, he served as VP engineering – commercial lasers for Lumentum, where he reduced the product development cycle time and implemented best-in-class programme management, engineering and operations practices. Ray-Chaudhuri earned a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin and a degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University.

Tilley brings has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, primarily in the areas of product management and R&D leadership. He most recently served as VP communications SaaS at Oracle, where he led a strategic shift in global business unit strategy to cloud-native, SaaS offerings in the telecommunications space. Tilley has an MBA from Duke University and a degree in computer science from North Carolina State University.

For further information www.faro.com

Automate image-based inspection with AI

High demands on products, as well as high time and cost pressure, are decisive competitive factors across all industries. Quality, safety and speed are today – more than ever before – factors that determine the success of a company, whatever the sector.

Zero-defect production is the goal. But how can it be guaranteed that only flawless products leave the production line? In order to make quality inspection as efficient, simple, reliable and cost-effective as possible, the German company sentin GmbH develops solutions that use deep learning and industrial cameras from IDS to enable fast and robust error detection. A sentin Vision system uses AI-based recognition software and can be trained using a few sample images. Together with a GigE Vision CMOS industrial camera from IDS and an evaluation unit, it can be easily embedded in existing processes.

Sentin’s intelligent Vision system uses AI-based recognition software and can be easily trained using a selection of test images. The system is capable of segmenting objects, patterns and defects. Even surfaces that are difficult to detect cannot stop the system. Applications can be found, for example, in the automotive industry, such as defect detection on metallic surfaces.

Depending on the application, the AI is trained to detect errors or anomalies. With the latter, the system learns to distinguish good parts from bad. If, for example, a surface structure is inspected, errors are detected by AI deviations from a comparison with reference images. By using anomaly detection and pre-trained models, the system can detect defects based on just a few images of good parts.

For further information https://en.ids-imaging.com

XYZ adds models to turning range

XYZ Machine Tools has adopted customer feedback and extended its Compact Turn range to offer greater capacity.

The company has introduced the CT 65 HD and, a highly cost-competitive solution, the CT 52 LR.

With the CT 52 LR, the use of linear rail technology has been extended to XYZ’s turning centres for the first time, having proved successful on its machining centre range. Using linear rails offers cost advantages without any compromise in capability. The CT 52 LR is available from under £36,000, making it advantageous to small and medium-sized businesses considering their first turning centre. Despite the relatively low cost, the CT 52 LR boasts an 11.2 kW (4500 rpm) spindle, 52 mm spindle bore, 10-station turret and Siemens 828D control.

The larger XYZ CT 65 HD offers enhanced turning capacity with a 510 mm maximum turned length, almost double that of its predecessor, and a total Z-axis travel of 525 mm. Another upgraded addition is the increased coolant delivery pressure, which now runs at 30 l/min (at 2.5 bar). Positioning is by ball screws that have been increased in size to 28 mm (X axis) and 40 mm (Z axis) respectively, with 20 m/min feed rates. Metal-cutting performance is enhanced using a Siemens 17 kW, 4500 rpm motor and the upgraded Siemens 828D ShopTurn touchscreen control unit.

Nigel Atherton, managing director XYZ Machine Tools, says: “The arrival of these two additions to our turning centre range will see a better balance between turning centre and machining centre sales. At present, machining centres outsell turning centres by around 3 to 1, but with these additions we can see that becoming more balanced.”

For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com