Horizontal borer suits rail projects

Ward Hi-Tech has completed the installation of a HNK HB-130X horizontal borer at a major rail infrastructure manufacturer in the north of England.

The Korean-built machine, which has an X axis of 3 m, a Y axis of 2.3 m, a Z axis of 1.3 m and a 700 mm W axis, can accommodate large parts weighing up to 20 tonnes on its 2000 x 2200 mm table.
The installation and commissioning phase of the project was just short of one month, with two HNK factory technicians working alongside the team of specialists from Ward Hi-Tech. According to Ward Hi-Tech, the customer is very pleased with the machine, which is now in full production.
For further information www.wardhitech.co.uk

Gound broken at Space Park Leicester

Leicester has taken its first steps into the future of the space industry as work began at the £100m Space Park Leicester with a ground-breaking ceremony attended by the Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP.

Opening in 2021, Space Park Leicester will create a regional cluster in the UK, integrating industry with academia. This landmark initiative is being developed by the University of Leicester in collaboration with partners including Leicester City Council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).
The LLEP has allocated £8.175m from its Local Growth Fund to support the development of phase one at Space Park Leicester – part of the Loughborough and Leicester Science and Innovation Enterprise Zone. Planning permission for the second phase of the development was granted in January, and will focus on research into AI and robot-assisted satellite production.
For further information https://le.ac.uk/spacepark

Mitutoyo UK is 40

Mitutoyo’s UK subsidiary, which is located in Andover, has reached its 40th anniversary.

Back in 1980, the company began by concentrating on hand tools such as micrometers and calipers, but also ventured into the CMM marketplace. In due course, strategically placed showrooms at Warwick, Halifax and East Kilbride were established. A major change in recent years was the relocation of the Warwick operation to Coventry. Mitutoyo sees the future as exciting, with the launch of products including the MiStar shop-floor CMM, the Formtracer Avant and the Crysta‑Apex V series of CNC CMMs for smart factories.
For further information www.mitutoyo.co.uk

Guaranteed injection moulding tolerances

A specialist in the manufacture of custom prototypes and low-volume production parts is helping to make life easier for design engineers by guaranteeing specific dimensional tolerances for each type of plastic injection moulding resin.

After extensive testing at its Telford facility, Protolabs is offering customers a machining tolerance of ±0.08 mm with a resin tolerance of between 0.002 and 0.010 mm/mm, depending on the material. The tolerance guarantee applies to all 50 of its stocked resins, although the company can advise on the accuracy of the other 1500 that are available to customers across the world.
For further information www.protolabs.co.uk