Increased hardness testing accuracy

Bowers Group has provided NMB Minebea UK Ltd with an Innovatest Falcon 507 Vickers, Knoop and Brinell hardness tester to ensure accurate testing of manufactured parts.

The Falcon hardness tester has enabled the company to increase its PTP testing results from Class 3 to Class 1, deliver a faster turnaround of samples and increase the accuracy of tests performed. Jason Woodhouse, laboratory manager at NMB Minebea, says: “Since investing in the Falcon, the accuracy of our hardness testing has improved by 60%. It’s not just accurate, it’s really easy to use.”

NMB Minebea manufactures a variety of cold-form parts for aerospace and military clients, including bearings and landing gear. Hardness must be accurately measured to prevent fracture during the cold-form process, which can result in components having to be scrapped, as well as damage to the dies and tooling on machines.
Says Woodhouse: “We chose the Falcon 507 because it offered us all the features we needed at the right price. It was the perfect balance for us. Most people in the metallurgy lab use the hardness tester anything from once a day, to several times, depending on the demands of the current project.”

NMB Minebea can now test to ASTM and British standards on the hardness tester, validate paperwork, and export all results to Microsoft Windows. To ensure the hardness tester is as accurate as possible, it is calibrated by an external company every 6 months.

For further information www.bowersgroup.co.uk

CMM reaches quality summit

Summit Engineering (Birmingham) Ltd has invested in a Crysta-Apex CNC CMM from Mitutoyo. The CMM was installed in a newly-built, environmentally controlled inspection facility at the company’s Solihull production facility.

Director Kevin McCormick says: “Although the advanced Crysta-Apex CNC CMM was marginally more expensive than the other machine that made our shortlist, given the importance we place on quality, we were happy to place an order. As it had the ideal capacity for inspecting the vast majority of our components, we specified a Mitutoyo Crysta-Apex CNC CMM with an XYZ capacity of 705 x 1005 x 605 mm.”

Summit Engineering quality engineer Stephen Smolak adds: “Following its trouble-free installation, the new Mitutoyo Crysta-Apex CMM soon began making a significant contribution to ensuring the premium quality of our output. Due to its simple operation, soon after their initial training sessions, our operators quickly became confident its use. It helped that, while they were still learning, support was always available via Mitutoyo’s online service.

“In addition to inspecting large, one-off components, we are also able to load multiple smaller parts on to the CMM’s bed, recall the relevant program, then perform a rapid, fully automated CNC mass inspection routine,” continues Smolak. “Dependant on the customer’s requirements, we now archive the generated inspection results or print-off in-depth reports.

“Due to the specifications of our new Mitutoyo Crysta-Apex CMM it is able to inspect our most complex components, as well as those with extremely challenging accuracy requirements. In addition, our new CMM’s speed and ease of use, means that, not only is it capable of inspecting our current levels of output, it will also handle any future anticipated rises in production.”

For further information www.mitutoyo.co.uk

Rolls-Royce resumes two-shift working

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has resumed full two-shift production at its Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence in Goodwood, West Sussex.

The move means that the marque is now operating at pre-lockdown levels, with the workforce maintained and all manufacturing staff on site. Strict health, safety and hygiene measures remain in place, in line with the latest official guidance.

“Returning to full two-shift production is a major milestone and comes just four months after we became the first UK automotive company to restart manufacturing after lockdown,” says CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös. “It reflects the long-term strength and resilience of our business and significant worldwide demand for our products, which have been boosted further by the recent launch of our new Ghost.”

For further information www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

New talent at Inspec

Sheffield-based Inspec Solutions, a technology systems provider to industries including power generation, metals and petrochemical, has invested in its future by recruiting three new apprentices:

Tom Oakley (18), Tom Rickers (17) and Michael Cunningham (26). All three are undertaking a BSc in electrical engineering with Sheffield Hallam University, while simultaneously working as assistant controls engineers at Inspec Solutions. They join five apprentices already employed at the company as it continues investing in its own talent.

Mark Ritson, managing director at Inspec Solutions, says: “We’re constantly looking to increase our talent pool and strongly believe in training our own engineers to grow and develop within the company. This is our fourth cohort of apprentices and we really do recognise the value they bring to the business. We’ve kept a competitive edge by investing in our people – and our commitment to developing our own engineers through apprentice schemes is a big part of this.”

For further information www.inspecsolutions.co.uk

Topsolid opens two new subsidiaries

France headquartered Topsolid is pursuing its international growth strategy with the acquisition of two of its historical distributors in Belgium and the Czech Republic.

These new acquisitions are part of the Topsolid 4.0 strategic plan, which aims to accelerate its international development and its product offering as part of industry’s digitalisation.

Richard Lamure, CEO of Topsolid Group SAS, says: “We had two very good opportunities to expand our direct presence abroad. I’m very pleased to expand the Topsolid family and further strengthen our presence in Europe.”
A Topsolid partner for over 17 years, Belgium-based 4D Services has a strong team and recognised technical expertise. The company, which now becomes Topsolid Belgium, will be managed by Pieter Cornelis and Kurt Neuckermans, the two existing managers of 4D Services, who state: “Our common objective is to strengthen our operational capacities on technical and commercial levels. This will help us continue providing more service to our customers and reinforce our presence in the Belgian market.”

Centersoft has been present for 10 years in the group’s network of 70 distributors and is the only TopSolid reseller in the Czech Republic. Topsolid Czech will be managed by Karel Preis, CEO of Centersoft, who says: “We’re very confident about the development prospects of Topsolid Czech. The Czech Republic is historically a country with a strong mechanical culture,

and Topsolid CADCAM solutions – in particular TopSolid’Cam – have great potential for success.”

For further information www.topsolid.com