Manufacturers urged to stay open

In an open letter, business and industry secretary Alok Sharma MP (pictured) has stressed the importance of manufacturers remaining open during the current COVID-19 pandemic (while observing safe working practices).

Alok Sharma – UK Parliament official portraits 2017

“Our country needs your support to keep supply chains moving and key workers mobile, as well as to protect the economy as much as possible,” he stated. “Manufacturing is a critical part of our economy and I would like to be clear that there is no restriction on manufacturing continuing under the current rules. Guidelines from Public Health England provide best practice advice on how this can be done safely.”
He added: “I, my fellow ministers and department officials, are in regular contact with industry leaders and trade associations to monitor the effect of COVID-19 on manufacturing and its workforce, and this will carry on. I’m fully committed to continue engaging through the coming days, weeks and beyond to ensure that we can support our manufacturing sector. I realise this will be challenging, but you are contributing to the resilience of our nation and I am grateful for the enormous efforts you are making in order to support the UK at this testing time.”
For further information www.gov.uk

Latest fine-boring tool

A specialist in tooling systems and solutions for the metalworking industries, Big Kaiser, has introduced the latest version of its EWA fine-boring tool.

Available in the UK from Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC), the intelligent and automatic tool received its global premiere at the EMO 2019 exhibition in Hanover last September. EWA achieves fast, accurate boring because the process does not need to be stopped to make measurements or manual adjustments. As well as saving time, this instils confidence in the operator and minimises costly scrap that can result from manual adjustment errors.
Notable, the EWA’s motor is sealed against dirt and water to IP69 rating. The clamping system provides additional stability and repeatability to deliver consistently high levels of reliability and precision at cutting speeds above 200 m/min.
To maximise flexibility, the tool offers an adjustment range of 22 mm, which ITC says is substantially larger than similar solutions available in the market. Furthermore, the system has an integrated accelerometer that measures vibration during the cutting process and, in the event of excessive vibration, alerts the machine to automatically adjust its cutting parameters.
“The EWA is far ahead of the rest in its level of automation and sophistication, and this gives our customers real benefits in terms of time and money saved,” says Jose Fenollosa, head of R&D at Big Kaiser. “It also makes it ideal for Industry 4.0 applications.
We are talking to potential customers now, including some leading machine-tool manufacturers.”
EWA is initially available in two versions. The EWA Peripheric covers diameters from 68 to 90 mm, while the EWA Centric incorporates a central boring bar with internal coolant for smaller diameters. Further models for different adjustment ranges are currently in the design phase.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

More appointments at Dugard

The restructuring of the sales division at machine-tool specialist Dugard is now complete, with the company adding six new employees over the past 18 months.

The latest phase in this restructuring programme has seen the company add two more area sales managers. In the southwest and Wales region, Dugard has employed Peter Tilsed, who joins the company alongside Kevin Searl, who will offer sales support to the East Anglia and Home Counties region.
Says managing director Eric Dugard: “We’ve added world-class brands to our portfolio and the sales of these high-quality machines will rest firmly upon the shoulders of our new team. The management team at Dugard are confident that our new sales engineers have the right blend of industry expertise and local market insight to really drive the advantages of the Dugard brand into manufacturing facilities the length and breadth of the UK.”
For further information www.dugard.com

Alloy Wire helps ventilator producers

Wire manufactured in the West Midlands is helping support the UK’s unprecedented drive to build more ventilators.

Alloy Wire International has been commissioned to supply more than 5 km of material that will be used to produce crucial parts for life-saving equipment deployed by the new Nightingale Hospital in London. The company, which holds more than 200 tonnes of EU/DFARS compliant stock at any one time, put its ‘Emergency Manufacturing Service’ (EMS) into action to meet the urgent requirements of a spring maker that, as part of the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, is assisting in the ramp-up of Smiths and Penlon ‘Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator Systems’.
For further information www.alloywire.com

Machining need becomes opportunity

Techgrave, which provides bespoke industrial engraving and tool making to a diverse range of customers, has invested heavily in CNC engraving, laser, reverse engineering, CADCAM and, most recently, its tool-room capabilities.

The latest investment has seen the arrival of an XYZ MiniMill 560 HD vertical machining centre, an XYZ SLX355 ProTurn lathe, an XYZ KMX 1500 turret mill and an XYZ surface grinder from XYZ Machine Tools.
“The XYZ machines give us total control over manufacture of die and press-tool blanks, collars, and die holders, along with the knowledge that we can guarantee 100% conformity across our entire manufacturing process,” says co-founder Dillon Evitts. “When we budgeted for the machines, we were happy that producing our own work would cover their costs, so had no desire to fill any spare capacity. However, as word got out, we began to receive inquiries from existing customers for tool-room work.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com