MTA names vice president

Andrew Hodgson, strategic lead – digitalisation at Siemens, has been named by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) as its vice president.

Hodgson has been a member of the MTA board for a number of years, and chairs the association’s technical committee, which looks at activities in advanced manufacturing technologies, such as 3D printing, automation and industry standards.
“We look forward to working closely with Andrew in his new position, especially in relation to the enormous opportunities for increased productivity in UK manufacturing brought about by accelerating digitalisation,” says James Selka DL, CEO at the MTA. Hodgson adds: “The MTA works hard to both represent and inform members in a fast-changing manufacturing environment. I look forward to working even closer with James Selka and his team, ensuring we continue to progress as an association and accurately reflect the diverse range of technologies we champion.”
For further information www.mta.org.uk

MRT foundry construction progressing

Construction is now well underway on the new foundry of MRT Castings in Andover.

With 60% more space than the company’s current die-casting area, this purpose-built, 20,000 sq ft additional facility is only 100 yards from the existing site and represents an ambitious new chapter for the company. After several years of sustained growth, MRT realised that it had outgrown its current foundry and needed to invest in a new site. In addition to relocating all of its existing foundry machinery to the new building, the company will be investing in new equipment and capabilities that will provide a platform for the next phase of development.
For further information www.mrt-castings.co.uk

Sandvik Coromant partners WorldSkills

Sandvik Coromant is partnering with WorldSkills for the prestigious ‘Skills Olympics’ that are currently taking place in Kazan, Russia (22-27 August).

As a silver partner, the company is supporting the ‘Production and engineering technologies’ competition, and leading the ‘Manufacturing team challenge’ skills contest. WorldSkills is the global hub of skills that brings together influencers, educators, industry, national governments and international organisations to facilitate salient research and provide the best global benchmark for vocational systems.
For further information www.sandvik.coromant.com

Fintek installs another OTEC machine

To meet growing demand for ever more precise surface finishing in aerospace, Fintek has invested in a latest generation stream finishing machine from OTEC Präzisionsfinish GmbH.

“The new SF is particularly important for our aerospace work to ensure the precise profile tolerances now demanded for turbine blades are met,” explains operations manager Jamie Phillips. “For example, the control provided by the new step motor technology allows us to repeatedly change and lock the angle of the blades as they pass through the process media to carefully manage the finishing effect on vital leading and trailing edges.”
With six other stream finishing machines, along with drag finishing and centrifugal finishing systems, the AS9100 and ISO9001 accredited company says it has the capacity, depth of knowledge and expertise to provide a comprehensive range of surface finishing services. These range from deburring and mirror-finish polishing to smoothing and polishing, as well as important edge rounding. For aerospace, this offer covers not just turbine blades but complete blisks, gear wheels, cutting tools, fasteners and extremely thin parts.
“Problem solving is integral to our service,” says Phillips. “We work closely with aerospace customer engineers, including in research and development, to create better parts by applying surface finishing techniques that meet their commercial objectives. Often we’re able to achieve a quality of surface finish in minutes [sometimes seconds] that can’t be matched by hand or other traditional methods. Furthermore, processes are precisely repeatable to ensure total quality consistency and confidence to achieve surfaces with values down to Ra 0.01.”
For aerospace companies requiring on-site processing, Fintek is the exclusive UK agent for OTEC, and can supply and install machines.
For further information www.fintek.co.uk

Schunk demonstrations at SolidCAM workshop

On 11 September, SolidCAM UK will be hosting a ‘learn and lunch’ event at its Technology Centre in Dodworth, Barnsley.

The event will give visitors the opportunity to see the company’s CAM developments working in conjunction with products from work-holding and gripping expert Schunk. The 10:00 until 13:00 event will demonstrate how working with technology partners like Schunk can improve machine-shop efficiency. With SolidCAM presentations throughout, the event will host
live cutting demonstrations on a Romi D-800 vertical machining centre.
For further information www.gb.schunk.com