Show moved to 2021

Easyfairs says that its Advanced Engineering 2020 event, which was due to take place on 4-5 November at the NEC, Birmingham, is postponed to 3-4 November 2021.

The decision has been made following consultation with the engineering and manufacturing industry, and due to the ongoing unforeseeable and unprecedented global scope of the COVID-19 pandemic that has seen the Government suspend its decision to allow live events to run from 1 October. Providing a way for its community to stay in touch, Advanced Engineering has launched a series of free-to-attend webinars entitled ‘AE Talks’.

For further information www.advancedengineeringuk.com

Bentley test facility tops out

A new state-of-the-art engineering test facility, built at the headquarters of Bentley Motors in Crewe, is nearing completion following an official ‘topping out’ ceremony.

When it opens in 2021, the facility will cover more than 4600 sq m over two storeys. Included will be a climate-controlled chassis dynamometer, operating across temperatures from -10°C to +40°C. There will also be a dedicated laboratory to run RDE (real driving emissions) using the latest portable emissions measurement systems. Bentley’s Technical Conformity department will be based in the test centre, with over 100 people working in the building.

For further information www.bentleymotors.com

TWP installs used sliding-head lathe

Despite starting out more than 25 years ago, Dudley-based TWP Manufacturing only opened its CNC machine shop at the beginning of 2019 to produce in-house most of the components needed for its proprietary products.

Vertical machining centres and a single-spindle, fixed-head bar auto are to be found on the shop floor, but in May 2020 the company bought its first sliding-head twin-spindle lathe, a 20-year-old Citizen Cincom M32 equipped with an Iemca Boss 432r bar feed. The machine was originally sold in 2000 by the Japanese manufacturer’s agent for the British and Irish markets, NC Engineering, which in 2008 became a wholly-owned subsidiary, Citizen Machinery UK.
Phil Stanley, a director of TWP Manufacturing, says: “The speed and surface finish we are achieving are just incredible, and the fact that there is no operator intervention means we’re able to implement lights-out production, which we are looking to do later this year.”

In the first few of months of operation, the Cincom M32 was devoted to large-volume production of one particular component, but another four part numbers have now been added. All are machined from 1” hexagonal steel bar, and annual production will exceed 200,000.

Pre-sales time studies and cutting trials carried out by Citizen Machinery UK showed that all five components could be produced within tolerance at the required speed. The calculations were performed following a visit by managing director Edward James and regional sales engineer Warren Garratt to the Dudley factory, during which the company was advised on how best to proceed with its in-house turned parts production strategy.

“Even though the machine was 20 years old and we bought it independently on the second-hand market, from the outset Citizen have been behind us,” says Stanley.

For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

COVID-compliant open house

Hurco Europe has decided to help keep the wheels of industry turning by staging an open house on 20-22 October at its UK headquarters in High Wycombe.

The open house will mark the official launch of a new range of Hurco driven-tool CNC lathes, represented by the TM8Mi with 12 axially-driven VDI 30 DIN1809 tool locations, and a new servo-drive that is said to offer high-performance milling.

Attendance at the open house is strictly by appointment and a maximum of six people per company may attend. Visitors from no more than three companies will be allowed in the showroom at a time, where a one-way system will be in force. Barriers will be in place at a 2 m distant from the machines being demonstrated. There will be hand-sanitising stations available for use and every visitor will be given a Hurco-branded face mask and an individually packed lunch.

For further information rozanskab@hurco.com

Tornos aids automotive fortunes

Identifying a business opportunity is one thing, but turning an opportunity into a profit centre is quite another. When the founder of Wuxi Fortune Technology decided to pursue manufacturing certification with one of the world’s largest automotive technology powerhouses, he chose Tornos as his partner for turning machines and the respective application and process support.

Managing director Jian Wang says: “We saw there was a place for high-end turned part production. To fulfil the great potential this opportunity represented we needed high-end, reliable and effective turning machines that would guarantee our ability to serve automotive customers. We knew that using advanced production equipment and technologies would help identify us as an excellent supplier, allowing Wuxi Fortune to deliver parts earlier than expected and even become an exclusive supplier of certain components.”

Jian Wang specifically wanted multi-spindle turning machines to gain higher efficiency and product consistency, while reducing manpower and production costs.

Wang visited and compared several turning machine manufacturers before purchasing from Tornos. Today, there are two MultiSwiss 6×14, one MultiSwiss 8×26, an SAS 16.6 and a MultiSigma 8×28 for small precision parts on site at Wuxi Fortune.

“Our Tornos machines are reliable and efficient,” he says. “Tornos provides completely integrated services, application knowledge, machine maintenance, training and spare parts to the Chinese market.”

Collaborating with Tornos helped pave the way for Wuxi Fortune to become the exclusive, worldwide supplier of a diesel injector pin shaft to a leading automotive technology player. The 23 mm long part has a maximum outer diameter of 9 mm and a minimum groove diameter of 1.3 mm, and requires a tolerance of ±0.03 mm on the outer diameter.

For further information www.tornos.com