Rolls-Royce award for JJ Churchill

Leicestershire-based precision engineering business, JJ Churchill, has been presented with the Rolls-Royce ‘Trusted to Deliver Excellence’ award. JJ Churchill specialises in the aerospace and defence sectors, and has more than 80 years’ experience in producing gas turbine blades from forgings, castings and solid billets.

The business was one of four companies presented with the award in a ceremony which took place in front of 120 business peers. The Rolls-Royce Trusted to Deliver Excellence award blueprints the ongoing commitment to delivering excellence to stakeholders and wider partnerships.
For further information www.jjchurchill.com

Efficient and simple work holding

The Allmatic range of German-manufactured vices, which is offered in the UK by Stocdon, is said to be a high-end solution for work-holding applications that include the three or five-axis machining of prismatic parts, as well as non-prismatic components like castings and forgings.

What makes Allmatic solutions different to the rest on the market is that they often fulfil the complete needs of a customer’s application, says Stocdon, where previously they had to spend time using multiple vices or resetting vices between applications.
Allmatic’s engineering allows users to pre-select working pressures, use minimum material work holding and grip rough materials.
The latest Allmatic Gripp solutions are said to lead the way when it comes to all types of component selection, with large capacity, high clamping force up to 7 tonnes and minimum deflections, for easy setting.
Allmatic has been a work-holding partner of Stocdon since 1972, largely because of the company’s pedigree when it comes to accurate pre-selection of material clamping pressures. The vice performance, across the range, is second to none, says the company.
According to Stocdon, a question that clients always ask when enquiring about Allmatic work holding is the cost, versus other brands, to which the company always showcases the savings to be made in the long term. Stocdon knows that budgets are always under pressure, but it also knows that investing in work holding pays dividends, long term.
For further information www.stocdon.co.uk

Engineering exhibition

Austin Court, part of IET Venues, has installed a series of permanent engineering exhibits across the city-centre venue, celebrating ground-breaking objects and innovations from the West Midlands.

The conference and events venue has been redeveloped to showcase the contributions that engineers from Birmingham and the surrounding areas have made, including the X-ray scanner, pneumatic tyre, electric kettle, auto-changing record player, mass produced steel nib pens, celluloid, and even the first weather map.
For further information https://austincourt.theiet.org/

SHEP seminar readies SMEs for inspections

The Safety and Health Engineering Partnership (SHEP) is running a free one-day welding fume and metalworking fluid seminar on 26 November to help SMEs keep their workforces safe and their companies on the right side of the law.

cnc metal working machine with cutter tool during metal detail milling at factory

The focus of the HSE’s January-March 2020 inspection programme will be on ensuring companies have effective control measures in place to minimise the risks associated with exposure to metalworking fluids and welding fumes. All welding fumes are now classed as carcinogenic, while metalworking fluids can cause occupational asthma, occupational hypersensitivity pneumonitis and dermatitis.
For further information https://is.gd/lapeti

GFMS opens headquarters in Biel

GF Machining Solutions’ newly constructed headquarters has opened for business in Biel, Switzerland.

The CHF100m building, which will manufacture 65 machine tools a month, is set to house 450 employees from 29 nationalities, bringing together (under one roof) the nearby facilities of Ipsach (former Competence Centre), Nidau (former milling production site) and Luterbach (a Step-Tec site). Hosted by Swiss sports TV journalist Annette Fetscherin, the opening ceremony was attended by over 300 guests and, in addition to a tour of the facility, included various keynote addresses.
“It’s by far the biggest machine-tool plant in Switzerland,” states Pascal Boillat, president of GF Machining Solutions. “With our new headquarters, we not only have a fantastic, state-of-the-art facility, but one that will help us achieve our long-term growth plans and objectives. From this new site we will be able to consolidate our position as a global powerhouse and offer best-in-class solutions to our customers worldwide, while at the same time underlining our Swiss heritage.”
For further information www.gfms.com